archer avenue studio

Well maybe thats a bad title for this blog post since many of you already know Brandon.  But the truth of the matter is, if you know him, you probably know him as a bass player, or just as a nice guy...  But this marks the official beginning of Brandon Kean the singer/song-writer.

Brandon is a close friend of mine (we actually play in a band called Rejectioneers together), so when he approached me about recording his new song of course I was excited.  Little did I know just how good the song was.  He sat down in my studio and played it for me and immediately I had a smile on my face.  This was a great song and would be a blast to record.  

We enlisted the help of our good friend Will Grubbs (of the band Foley) on the drums and Brandon and I took care of the rest of the instruments.  We had a lot of fun and ended up with a product we're all very proud of.  

Here is a short video showing a bit of the recording process.  Unfortunately I totally forgot to break the camera out the second day that we recorded.  I should also note that our friend Megan Lannigan stopped by and added her amazing vocals to the song.  Too bad I didn't capture that on camera. 

Brandon will be recording a few more songs in the coming weeks and releasing an EP shortly.  Until then he graciously decided to give away this first song for free on Bandcamp.  Head on over there are check it out!  You won't regret it.  

For the past several years I've had it in the back of my mind that I'd love to record a Christmas record.  Not just another CD filled with the likes of "Jingle Bells" and "Santa Baby"; What I had in mind would be something that would creatively draw the listener in and captivate them with lyrics filled with Christmas truths.  Maybe even something that on the surface didn't HAVE to be classified as a "Christmas record".   I think some of this idea sprang from listening to Austin Crane several years ago as he sang a song that he had written for Christmas time.  The song was a bit dark and haunting, yet was clearly about Christmas.  I found myself asking "why aren't more bands doing this!?"

A couple months ago I heard a rumor that some good friends of mine in The Sea Wolf Mutiny were thinking about recording a Christmas EP but didn't have much of a budget.  I quickly realized that this was my chance. The Sea Wolf Mutiny has fast become a serious musical force in Columbia.  I recorded their debut EP a few months ago and have continued to be captivated by these guys  creativity and immense talent.  I called Bobby (the lead singer) to discuss the idea of us working together on this project.  We figured out how to  work around the budget constraints and booked two full days for tracking and mixing 3 songs.  


While we ended up taking a bit longer then the two days we allotted, I think we are all very pleased with the outcome.  I know this short EP surpassed my expectations and I'm thrilled to have you listen to it. The first of these tunes is an original song and the other two are lesser known old hymns that these fellas have given their own unique spin to.  The guys in The Sea Wolf Mutiny have decided to give the EP (titled "The Apple Tree") away for a "pay-what-you-want" price.  So don't let money be an object!  Grab it now for free or give these guys a few dollars for their effort.  You can download it here. 

I also put together a short video showing some of our time together.  If you dig the EP make sure to tell your friends about it, I mean it IS free music!

Well if you've been following us at all on Facebook or Twitter you may have noticed that we recently added a couple guitar amplifiers to our arsenal.  We are very excited about these additions and I wanted to take a minute to properly introduce them.  

The first of the new amps is a Vox AC-30.  If this type of amp doesn't ring a bell, think of the famous guitar sounds of The Beatles, U2, Radiohead, and Tom Petty.  These people/bands have relied on Vox amps for the majority of their signature sound. 

This is The Edge's (U2) original 1964 Vox AC-30.  It has suppossedly been used on EVERY U2 album.

Brian May of Queen. Nine AC-30's!

It was 1958 when Vox first introduced the AC-30 to be a big brother to the popular AC-15.  By the early 1960's the AC-30 had taken on the look and sound that we all know and love today.  In fact, I first totally fell in love with the AC-30 in a studio in New York.  I recorded most of the electric guitar parts for that record through the studio's 1964 Vox AC-30.  Of course I already loved the guitar tone of the aforementioned bands,  but playing/recording through that amp sealed the deal.  I quickly sold some gear and bought my first Vox AC-30.  

Those early 1960's AC-30's have become some of the most sought after vintage amps out there, which of course means the price to get one is VERY high.  Thankfully for us in 2007 Vox introduced what they are calling "The Holy Grail of Vox tone", and "Perhaps the finest Vox amplifier in the company's 50 year history".  This limited addition (only 500 made) version of the AC-30 is completely hand-wired and absolutely beautiful.  The normal channel in this amp is an exact copy of the 1958 EF86 preamp channel, and the other channel is an exact copy of the 1963 Top Boost channel.  To top it all off it's made out of stunning African Mahogany and (of course) includes two of the famous Celestion Blue speakers.

This amp immediately blew Eric and I away when we first plugged it in.  As I played through it and adjusted the tone, I could hear the famous sounds of Johnny Greenwood, The Edge, and Brian May spilling out of the speakers.  This amp is truly a joy and inspiration to play and we are excited to put it to great use!

The second new amplifier that deserves a fine introduction is an amazing 1969 Marshall 50 watt head.  The guts of this thing are seriously from 1969 and of course, are hand-wired and all original.  Once again if this type of amplifier isn't ringing a bell think early Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Pete Townshend, early Eddie Van Halen, and Angus Young.  The list could go on and on. 

Jimi Hendrix's Marshall stack.

Eric Clapton shown here while playing with Cream.

Needless to say, Marshall amps have greatly helped shape the voice of electric guitar over the past several decades.  It was actually in 1969 that Marshall first introduced a 50 watt version of their 100 watt Superlead.  These new lower wattage amplifiers were called the 1987 model (no relation to the year) or also referred to as 50 watt Plexi's.  

Honestly I haven't had a very extensive history with Marshall amps.  I am proud to say that the first "real" guitar amplifier I bought (when I was in highschool) was a Marshall JCM 900 half stack.    This was a pretty impressive amp for a 17 year old and I played this amp exclusively until I fell in love with Vox (refer to the story above).  So even though I've heard amazing Marshall sounds on recordings most of my perception of these amps came from my JCM 900.  While there is nothing at all wrong with that amp, my memories weren't all that  impressive.  So when Eric started talking about wanting a Marshall head I just kinda went along with it.  I assumed I'd use it here and there but really it'd be Eric's tool.  Well let me be the first to admit I was gravely wrong about true vintage Marshall tone!!  As soon as I began playing through this beautiful red amp I knew I was falling in love all over again.  Yes, Vox is my first love, and will always be, but now there was a new contender.  

This Marshall sounds HUGE!!!  It is the perfect "rock n roll" amplifier.  It does everything from very "dirty" or distorted to "crunchy" mild breakup.  If these words and terms mean nothing to you then just take my word for it, this thing is amazing and very versatile.  


By adding these amps to our "tools of the trade" we believe that we'll be able to give our clients an even more enjoyable and inspiring studio experience.  We take what we do very seriously and want to be able to offer the best.  Actually, very soon we'll have another exciting addition to our amplifier collection to tell you about!  But until then we'll be perfectly content with these two new (to us) pieces of guitar history.

I wanted to take a quick minute to write a post about a company that I have quickly grown to love.  Whether you're a guitar player, or know someone who is, you need to know about Caroline Guitar Company.  Not only does this company make GREAT products, they are right here in Columbia, SC.  This is a chance to not just support a top quality company committed to hand-crafted and creative excellence, but also to support a group of people doing business in our "backyard".   You owe it to yourself (and to our SC) to give these pedals a chance!  Of course if you don't play guitar then these fine stomp boxes make great Christmas presents...

So I now officially own all three of their pedals and can in no way
quantify my excitement about this company and these fine products.  I
literally have two boxes of wonderful guitar pedals at my disposal, but
when it came to deciding what would live on my pedal board, there was NO DOUBT that all three of these had found their home.  

 The first pedal Caroline released was The Wave Cannon.  This pedal puts all my other overdrive/distortion pedals to shame.   More of my clients and friends have bought this pedal, after playing it here in the studio, then any other pedal I own.  It's  is extremely versatile in the best way possible.  I find myself using it mostly for low to medium gain settings, but this thing also excels at high gain and even fuzz sounds.  Trust me, I'm not the only one loving this thing.  It is getting high praise all over the place.  Watch the Guitar World demo video here.  

The Olympia was the next pedal released by Caroline.  It is a transistor-based fuzz that has really caught my attention.  Think of a Big Muff on steroids (but in a smaller housing!), without the need for a tone knob.  We all love fuzz pedals but sometimes it's hard for me to commit to putting one on my pedal board. Let's face it, they have a very specific sound that is not always usable, BUT this fuzz is versatile enough that I immediately knew I could find uses for it and it now sits nicely on my PT-2.   

The third (and quite possibly my favorite) addition to this fine line of pedals is The Icarus.  This is a clean boost pedal but to put it in the words of the designer; "Here at Caroline, we think there’s a distinction to be made between clean and plain".  I couldn't have said it better myself.  This pedal has a personality that does nothing but enhance your tone!  I'm currently, most often, using it to drive  one of our fine tube amps into a smooth breakup, but I seriously have a hard time turning this pedal off at all.  Since I got it, The Icarus has been on about 90% of all the electric guitar tracks I have recorded...  I may be obsessed...
 
All three of these pedals are so responsive that as I'm playing through them I feel like I can take them wherever I want to go and they happily oblige.   Do yourself a favor and get one or all of these fine pedals immediately!  Click here for a list of their retailers, or of course you could come check them out here (AAS) and get them on your new record! 

In the past couple months I've had the privilege of working with Grace Marie on her 1st record.  She is a very talented song-writer and worship leader.  I'm excited about her songs and am thrilled with where this record is heading.  She brought a couple of her own players to the sessions, most important of which, is Connor Hinson.  He is her  co-songwriter/co-producer and has been an integral part of the whole project.  I'm very impressed with this guy and am looking forward to hearing more great things from him in the future.  I was thrilled to again bring in Josh Kean to play drums on this record.  It didn't take very long at all for both Grace Marie and Connor to love his playing like I do!  

Here's a short look at some of our time together.    

So I know this post will be boring to many of you, but I've come across a piece of equipment that deserves it's own post.  If you don't play guitar you may want to stop reading here...

As guitar players we all know that looking for the perfect pedal/pedals is a lifelong task.  There are just too many options to ever really get to try everything.  I'm actually in the process of totally re-working my pedalboard and  have found some amazing pedals.  

While I still have a few pieces to replace I can tell you with certainty that my Caroline Guitar Company "Wave Cannon",  will never leave my board.  That along with my Keeley Compressor and Fulltone Full-drive 2 are responsible for most of my tone these days.   Of course the Keeley modded TS-9 and Fulltone Fat-Boost are great as well!  

Well, the reason for this post is that while re-building my board, I've discovered that due to the amount of pedals I'm using, I'm actually losing some tone somewhere in between my guitar and my amp.  This of course is a huge problem.  I'm carefully choosing pedals to advance my tone NOT deplete it.  While some of this tone loss may be due to the random assortment of cables that I've amassed in the last ten years (this problem will be taken care of very soon with all new cables), I know that some of the loss is due to having a large number of "true bypass" pedals.  When a few of these pedals are stacked together there is noticeable loss in clarity and top-end.  

Much to my relief there is a solution!  And best of all, it doesn't have to break the bank.  

Introducing the T1M Mini Buffer.  While I barely understand what this little thing does it has made a huge difference in my tone!  So far, I'm putting it first in my chain and it sounds like I've lifted a sheet off my amp.  Please check this it out and do yourself a favor and go ahead and buy one!!!  At $39 plus shipping this is the most inexpensive tool you could add to your pedalboard with the most amount of positive change.  Get it!

This month I've had the privilege of working with several very talented bands and artists.  One of these bands is Southwood.  They are a four piece rock group out of Charleston SC.  We've spent three days together so far and will get a couple more at the end of the  month.  These dudes are great people and I've had a blast with them.  I really believe in their songs and I think they have a substantial future ahead of them.  We'll be wrapping u p this EP shortly and they will be releasing it in October.  But until then here's a small sneak peak of one of their songs and our time together.

Well I am now four days into making a great record with Shameka.  We really have gotten a ton done this week.  Today we mostly focused on vocals but spent some time working on electric guitars,  acoustic guitars, Rhodes and percussion.  My favorite part of the day was definitely recording Shameka's vocals.  She has a killer voice and each take we did was exciting and unique.  This made editing vocals fun and interesting.  Getting to choose between two or three great takes makes my job easy!  
   
Tomorrow we are looking to pretty much finish recording recording this record.  That will give me three days next week to mix this thing.  We have plenty more background vocals to record as well as one bass track, a little electric guitar, and some strings.  Pretty exciting!  

Here's a short video with some clips from our second day of recording.  Shameka's brother Alex came in and killed some drum tracks and then the always AMAZING Reggie Sullivan played upright bass on a couple songs.  

Enjoy!

Today I began working on a record I am very excited about.  You may have already heard of her but if not I'd like to introduce you to Shameka Dwight.  She is a VERY talented singer, songwriter, piano and guitar player!  We'll be working together for the next week and a half and I'm convinced we'll end up with a record we are both proud of.   Today we tracked the first round of drums and bass.  Fred (drums) and Joe (bass) totally killed it and we got off to a GREAT start.  Here's a very short video showing some of our day.

I'll be sure to blog more about her record this week.  Click here to find her on Facebook.

Here's her music video for a song she has previously recorded that should also make it on this record.  Check it out!

As you may (or may not) know last night was the FIRST Archer Avenue Studio showcase.  Four extremely talented bands were kind enough to join forces for this power house show.  Not only that but three of these bands were releasing records recently recorded at right here at Archer Ave. 

To start the night off right Emily McCollum and Cayla Fralick performed together and totally captivated the audience.  Both of the girls are great songwriters and excellent performers.  

Immediately following them Rejectioneers took the stage.  This band has been Ben Walker's brainchild for many years and has finally come together to record an EP and begin playing shows.  Ben has been an integral part of the columbia music scene for well over a decade and he hasn't lost a thing!  Their set was full of well crafted songs driven by  undeniable emotion.  It's good to see Ben on stage again!

Foley was the next band to take the stage.  These guys have been making  music in Columbia for a few years now and continue to churn out great songs with well thought out parts and melodies.  Jay Hendricks fronts this rock band and sells the whole show through his passionate performance.  Each of these guys performed perfectly and the set seemed flawless and powerful.

The Sea Wolf Mutiny closed the night out and we couldn't have asked for a better end for an incredible night.  These guys are quickly emerging as one of the most talked about bands in the columbia music scene.  Bobby Hatfield is at the helm of this band and it's almost impossible to take one's eyes off him as he blazes through their set with unabated energy and excitement.  

If you missed the show last night please check out each of these great bands!  Here's a few pictures from last night (pics provided by Steve Von Fange):