Richard Thompson and Danny Thompson with Harry Shearer, Judith Owen, Debra Dobkin and Pete Zorn
This was a jem of a gig! Three days of recording with Richard Thompson and Danny Thompson alongside my good friend Ed Haber. Richard was commissioned by the International Society of Bassists (ISB) to write a new work featuring Danny Thompson. In typical fashion, Richard far outdid himself: he wrote a full 78 minute song cycle entitled Cabaret of Souls, complete with a 13-piece string section, drums and percussion, flute, sax, multiple vocalists and none other than Harry Shearer as narrator! We recorded for three days at the State Theater in State College, PA. The final evening featured a live performance and recording as part of this year's ISB convention.
Anoushka Shankar, with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Live At Carnegie Hall
I recently had the pleasure of recording Anoushka live at Carnegie Hall, performing her father Ravi Shankar's newest concerto, Concerto No. 3 for Sitar and Orchestra, performed with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. The crew consisted of myself (microphone hang/direction and music mix), Ed Haber (technical director) and Noriko Okabe and Paul Schneider (engineers). What a wonderful night!
You can hear my mix and the full concert recording here, courtesy of WNYC Radio (please pardon the "locker-room" style intro...live radio...what can you do!):
2008 In Review - Andy Statman, Bela Fleck, Ricky Skaggs and More!
Hey Everybody!
It's been a while since I've posted an update and now seems like a good time to let everyone know what happened in 2008.
Cool Sessions:
Where to start!!! 2008 was awesome. Here are few of the people I was privileged enough to work with last year:
- Andy Statman Trio (Andy Statman, Larry Eagle, Jim Whitney) with special guests Bela Fleck, Ricky Skaggs, Bruce Molsky, Byron Berline and Jon Sholle - Bang On a Can All-Stars - Bela Fleck with Richard Bona and Jojo Kuo - Bitch and The Exciting Conclusion - Christy and Emily - Cynthia Hopkins and Gloria Deluxe - David Weinstone and Music for Aardvarks - Deerhoof - Frank London and The Klezmer Brass Allstars - Fulton Lights - Hopewell - Jonny Greenwood (from Radiohead) - Popcorn Superhet Receiver - Lesion - Lil' Monica - Lucinda Blackbear - Michael Alpert - Miriama Young and The Briney Deep - Molly Wheeler and Rhonda Rinering - Mostly Mozart at Lincoln Center - Nights - Orchestra Of St. Luke's - Orpheus Chamber Orchestra at Carnegie Hall - Push Battery - Ryan McGiver, Jefferson Hamer and Cleek Schrey - Shot Heard Round The World - Steve Shiffman and The Land of No - The Clearing - The All Things - The Anywheres - The Long Winters - The Supreme Court - The Ukuladies - Warm July
Studio Updates:
My Neve console was fully re-capped by Coral Sound, including a new Acopian power supply.
Lots of new equipment in 2008. Here are the highlights:
- EMT-140 plate reverb - Summit DCL-200 tube compressor - Anthony DeMaria Labs ADL-1000 tube compressor/limiter - Tube-Tech PE-1C EQ - Pair of AEA R84 ribbon mics - Placid Audio Copperphone mic - Vintage rackmount MXR Flanger-Doubler - Zephyr classic ISDN for remote voice-over recording - API lunchbox with... - Two Purple Audio Action compressors - Burgin McDaniel Design Komit compressor - API 550a EQ (more to come)
Also new is full remote recording rig, including a 24 channel, transformer isolated mic splitter, Mackie Onyx 1604 mixer with the firewire output option, Apple Macbook 15" laptop as the primary multitrack and an Alesis HD-24XR as the backup. So, I'm all set to do full-on recordings of any concert or show.
So, that's it for this update. Best wishes to everyone for the new year!
Hopewell Rocks The F!@**ing House
NYC indie-rock giants Hopewell were in my studio doing overdubs, mixing and mastering their new release Good Good Desperation for TeePee Records. Vocals were cut, guitars shredded and amps smoked. Tape delay was abused to a shocking degree. My Neve console may never be the same. The meters are bent and I swear I saw it roll over and cop a smoke after the last mix. Good times!
Andy Statman with Special Guests Béla Fleck, Ricky Skaggs, Bruce Molsky, Paul Shaffer and Byron Berline
You know the music gods are smiling on you when one of the world's best mandolin players decides to cut a double album with you. When that person also happens to be a top clarinet player, you're doubly blessed. When that person invites luminaries like Béla Fleck, Ricky Skaggs and Byron Berline to do their thing, you've died and gone to heaven.
2008 saw an intense set of sessions with Andy and his amazing band (Larry Eagle, Jim Whitney and Jon Sholle) and guests, yielding over 40 cuts. In 2009 we're working through the tracks, doing overdubs and mixing.
