so this was my busiest year ever at the studio and ive been trying to build a recap of what i've done these past 12 months.. so here are a few random "awards" to bands and people ive worked with this year!. this is pretty much a "best of " list, the winner for each category is decided because i probably still actually listen to them the most! but all the nominees and even ones that werent names are still probably on my constant rotation! unless it's like a metalcore band.. also this is only stuff that came out in 2009 ! some of my fav records ive worked on this year were made this month and wont be out til 2010! so keep an eye out :)
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demo of the year!
nominees :
thousands fled
canyons
calculator
the winner = CANYONS !
this band is from orange county and rules.. the music is along the lines of old modest mouse and tokyo police club .. i havent stopped listening to their demo since we made it!
www.myspace.com/wearecanyons
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e.p of the year !
nominees :
bad lovers
worship
bleeding kansas (the bk/cathedrals split)
the winner = BLEEDING KANSAS!
this is a band i've loved since i was a kid in high school , somewhere along the line i ended up becoming friends with them and in a band with one of the members.. their part of this release is amazing! , they were known for being an amazing live hardcore band with their roots in punk but this time around they pulled a "cave in" on everyone and put on some super solid rock songs!
www.myspace.com/bleedingkansas
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drummer of the year !
the nominees :
Z - touche amore ( studio drums for "to the beat of a dead horse" )
garret harney : ex-charged,narcissa,
wolf - worship
and the winner is : Z!
the first day of recording for the touche amore record was supposed to be a long ass day of drum tones, tempo tracks and multiple takes... but no.. z came in with the old ass drum heads and i was bummed.. then i heard him hit the drums and i was silenced.. his drumming on the ta record is on point from start to finish , we did tracks for 11 songs all to a click track in under 4 hours.. talented dude! be sure to check out his band good friday!
*garret holds the record for fastest tracking , 13 songs, over 45 minutes of music all to a click track recorded in under 2 hours ! , but that record isnt out yet : /
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guitarist of the year!
daniel p. - bleeding kansas
todd jones - nails
the 2 dudes from calculator who's names i forget
and the winner is - Todd jones from nails..
if you don't own "obscene humanity" by nails, you need to.. we all know todd from betrayed, carry on , terror ect.. but nails is on another level.. recording this guys guitar tracks was a hell of an experience.. one side with a bogner and his top secret pedal and the other with my yamaha t100.. he can produce the best feedback i've ever heard, and strum harder/speed pick better than anyone else ive ever worked with .
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bassist of the year!
nick - touche amore
madison - canyons
eric - bad lovers
and the winner is .. ERIC from bad lovers!
eric and i have worked together several times.. all the restrained releases, the first bad lovers demo , deadhead ect.. but on "long hair, no care" his bass playing carries the songs wonderfully ! , plus we've developed a "secret big baby jesus" bass tone over the years.. be sure to check them out! for fans of : the jesus lizard and young widows .
www.myspace.com/badlovers
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vocalist of the year!
jeremy - touche amore
todd - nails
kevan - restrained
and the winner is .. JEREMY from touche amore
the vocals for this record were very raw.. a mic a few inches from his mouth and one like 4 feet back from that.. the further mic is what was used most in the mix.. you can understand every single word on the record , the timing is on and the emotion is there.. there is a reason every fucking kid on earth knows the sing along in "honest sleep" ..
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most laid back fun experience !
canyons - demo
xibalba - madre mia ..
children of god - demo
and the winner is .. XIBALBA!
we laughed all day.. watched movies , made fun of nate, laughed some more..
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most stressful record to make!
xibalba - madre mia
the gypsys - praise jesus ( seriously)
bleeding kansas/cathedrals - split 12 "
and the winner is .. XIBALBA!
we laughed all day.. watched movies , made fun of nate, laughed some more..
this record took wayyy too long to make.
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lunch break of the year!
7 generations - purgatory pizza
abandon - vegan house
restrained - wurstkuche
and the winner is ... 7 GENERATIONS!
vegan pizza > anything else ..
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song of the year!
canyons - "table scraps"
bleeding kansas - "lucky"
spirit fangs - "strawberry skin, where have you been"
and the winner is ... CANYONS!.
i cant stop listening to this damn song! great drumming , great guitar work , awesome bass tone and a very catchy melody!
www.myspace.com/wearecanyons
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best fight that could have happened!
romeo vs tommy - restrained
tommy vs eric - restrained
eric vs tommy - bad lovers
me vs idiot that made a "cop" comment about a friend of mine.
and the winner is ..
ERIC VS TOMMY- bad lovers/restrained!
there is a love that runs deep for each other.. i think , but in the studio it never shows its face!
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most random session of the year!
mr.tyler - mr.tylers neighborhood
the gypsy's - praise jesus
and the winner is.. THE GYPSYS!
this was my first time ever working on a record for a church.. and it will probably be my last.. it was a huge learning experience .. but 9 days working on a 70 minute record with choir's and 11 guitar tracks on each song .. is rough.. oh and it wasnt in english %99 of the time!.
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album of the year!
touche amore - to the beat of a dead horse.. (6131 records)
nails - obscene humanity (6 feet under records)
spirit fangs - read my palm , revenant (steal mantra)
and the winner is .. TOUCHE AMORE.
this album is 11 songs and pretty damn short.. but gets the point across!
it was awesome making this and mixing it (paul miner mastered it) , it has gotten tons of great reviews and really pushed this band forward.. they just got back from a long tour across the u.s , playing along side bands like : thursday , the fall of troy , rise and fall , la dispute and more.. pick up this record asap. with that being said, they are also my pick for band of the year.. they work hard, are great dudes and sacrifice a lot to be on the road for so long to do what they love.. get into it .
www.myspace.com/toucheamore
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