Last Sunday, we spent the whole day at Cape Sound Studio in Lewisberry recording 6 new songs for the latest bailey release. After a healthy lunch, we finished setting up the equipment and rearranging the studio for the drums and amps. We started recording with “Yo-Yo” and then recorded our newest song “Road Weary”. After several takes, we continued to record “Faded Signs”, “Disorder” and Matt’s new song, which we still don’t have a title for. With an hour left, we decided to record “Drive Me Crazy”.

We finished up in just enough time to make it home to catch the Eagle’s Preseason game. Wes made a copy of the master files so that he can work on the songs at home and add additional guitar and vocal tracks. It was a fun day in the studio and I’m excited to hear the finish product.

Cape Sound Studio
Located just off the highway in Lewisberry, Cape Sound Studio is a nice size studio that has hosted bands such as the Julie Schreiber Band and the Jellybricks. With artistic walls and three large recording rooms, the studio is a lot better than what I imagined. It had a lot of additional instruments and the engineer’s room was stocked with an Apple G5 and a large digital mixer. The studio has several different compressors and inputs in each room that lead to the engineer’s board. With a couple of large audio foam walls, it was easy to set up a vocal booth anywhere in the studio. I liked the fact that there was a couple couches and director chairs in the recording rooms and the engineer’s lounge. I could really see myself spending days in a place like this perfecting songs and adding track after track.

Check out photos from the studio and bailey’s recording session.

On Sunday night, Rick and I decided to go bar hoping on the Boardwalk while in Ocean City, MD. We hit up a few bars and then took a walk further down the Boardwalk. We ending up at the Brass Balls Tavern for a drink. As we were leaving, there was a young man sitting on a bench playing guitar and singing. His brother was playing a small hand drum behind him on the wall next to the beach.

Rick and I sat down next the kid and listened to him play a few songs. We learned his name was Ben and he was in a small band from Morgantown PA. At some point, Rick turned and said, “This guy here plays a little guitar,” and pointed to me. Ben encouraged me to play and I took his guitar and started jammin’ with his younger brother, who had a really great feel for the rythm.

We jammed for a song and then another kid came up to us, trying to impress his girlfriend, asked to play a song. With Ben’s permission, I handed him the guitar to learn that he had no idea what he was doing. He gave the guitar back and asked me to play something he knew. He requested some Sublime, but I told him I’d only play if he sang. After a little convincing, I started playing and singing “What I got”.

Before I knew it 5 or 6 additional people came by and were listening. I took another request and then played “American Girl”. After the first chorus, I looked up and saw that the people from inside the Brass Balls Tavern were standing on the patio singing along and following the clapping which Rick lead. I ended up playing a few additional songs and after 15-20 minutes there were about 20 people gathered around singing and laughing. Another impromptu show. Thanks again to Ben and his brother for letting Rick and I have a little fun with their instruments.

Where’s the Party At?
If you ever get down to Ocean City Maryland, there are a couple of places you need to visit. Most people will swear to Seacrets and spend every night there. Although Seacrets is a cool club, if there is one place to party, it is the Party Block. The Party Block offers a small dance club and an outdoor bar, but what separates the Party Block from all the other clubs in OCMD is the live music in the Paddock. The Paddock is where I’ve discovered Mr. Greengenes and most recently Reaction. This is year, Reaction from Philadelphia put on a show like no other cover band I have ever seen.

Reaction
Most cover bands try to impress their audience by playing songs note for note, but Reaction changes all of the rules and plays these familiar songs their own way. I was really digging their music, but when the band changed up and the lead singer played dual drummers on Phil Collin’s “In the Air Tonight”, everyone turned their head to the stage. This was an amazing rendition of an amazing song. Hard, loud, rockin’! Once they finished up this song, they continued on with a unique medley of ‘80s tunes. Encouraging everyone to sing along, the band threw a real party. The ladies were singing and the drunk dudes were dancing, it was a lot of fun. It was really cool to talk about music to some beautiful women, have a good drink and enjoy a great band.

Finally, it was great to see the band out in the crowd during and after the show talking to the people about music and their tour. Check out more from Reaction.

I headed into Shane Garland’s studio this past Wednesday to finish the mixing on my demo CD. After listening to the first mix this past weekend, we had some changes to make. We increased the volume on the electric guitars and the leads. We corrected some of the vocal pitches and then worked on editing the endings.

We are almost done with Forgive and One Step. We have some work to do on Before. This will be our mission this upcoming week. Check back, I’m going to post the updated tracks after my next day with Shane.

Here’s a sample of the rough cuts of two of the songs, I’ve been working on in the studio. Remember that the songs are not complete, we still have some mixing and editing to do. Check them out and let me know what you think.

Forgive | One Step

Five days of recording and nearly two months worth of work and we have finally have something to show. Shane and I met up on Wednesday to rerecord the vocals for “Before” and lay down the backing vocals for “Forgive”. Shane compressed the files and mixed the tracks to produce a really rockin’ sound. We have the rough cuts of all three songs done and now it’s time to critic and fix. Shane made a CD of the initial mixes for me to review and I’ve been listening to them all weekend. I’m excited to finish the mixes and finally finish my demo.

I’ll post the rough tracks for “Forgive” and “One Step” within a few days. Once they are up, let me know what you think.

Does it get any more American? July 4th, your family, fireworks, hot dogs and the Beach Boys. God bless this land!

It is rare that you get to see one of the most influential music groups EVER perform live. And, we had the chance to see these rock and roll hall of famers for FREE! What a show! The Beach Boys played Harrisburg on the 4th to several thousand people. The city closed off Front street to assemble a huge stage for the finale of the American Music Fest. With a gigantic American flag as a backdrop, the remaining members of the Beach Boys minus Brian Wilson, took the stage at 6pm and played hit after hit until 8:30.

They played their classics, “Barbara-Ann”, “Help me Rhonda”, “Fun, Fun, Fun”, “Surf City” and of course “Kokomo”. It was great to hear all of these songs once again and to see all different people enjoying the music. Their music has spanned the test of time since 1961 until today when a collection of their summer tunes went double platinum. They are true American Icons.

The Beach Boys album, “The Greatest Surfing Songs”, was the first tape that I bought with my own money. I remember grabbing my radio and taking it out back and listening to “Little Deuce Coupe” what seemed like thousand times and then listening to the same tape on my walkman everywhere we went. What great songs and what a great band. I was so excited to see the band and I’m glad the opportunity. God bless America and God bless the Beach Boys whose music will be live on forever.

It’s not often that a cover band will make an impression on me. There are few cover bands that I look forward seeing. To me a cover band is one that plays in the background as everyone sits around, drinks and talks. A cover band is similar to a jukebox in that you’ll sing along during the night, but the next day you forget what (or who) you did and carry on with your life. Very rarely do you say… “Wow, that band was good.”

That brings me to the Amy K Band. I had the chance to check out this new cover band this past weekend and although they played the normal set of songs, they had something different. They had a unique and talented female lead singer in Amy K. Not since the days of Juiced did a female lead stand out. Originally the lead singer of Love Stomp, Amy went out on her own, formed a new band with some very talented musicians and just started playing the bar scene. I caught up with them at Shakey’s and were plesently surprised. For only playing out a few times before, the band was tight and Amy really got the crowd into it. By looking at his gear, I could tell the guitar player was a huge Van Halen fan with two Wolfgang guitars and a Marshall stack. With all that, it was good to hear a cover of “Hot for Teacher”. The only thing that would have made it better was Amy in teacher glasses.

To wrap it up, I could have done without the dozen AC/DC tunes or the “Ride a Cowboy” song, but that’s the name of the game as a cover band. I would have liked to see some original spins to some of their songs. Like I said, the band was tight and Amy could really sing, but make me turn away from the bar with something different, please. The Amy K Band has some real potential and they are really good at what they do. So, if you have the chance on a Friday night and you are in the mood to listen to a good live cover band, check them out. This is one cover band you will remember.

I had the opportunity to check out a few bands at Gullifty’s on Friday as part of the Millennium Music Conference. With bands playing all over Harrisburg and neighboring cities, only a few people came out to enjoy the bands at Gullifty’s Underground. This was the line up…

9:00 The Andy Browne Trio, Philadelphia, PA
10:00 Exit Clov, Washington, DC
11:00 Parallax Project, Mechanicsburg, PA
12:00 Lejeune, Washington, DC
1:00 The April Skies, Hershey, PA

I got to Gullifty’s around 10:45 just before the Parallax Project hit the stage. The show was sponsored by WiAB Records which provided a free CD for all in attendance. After hearing the CD, I wish I had gotten there a little earlier to see The Andy Browne Trio and Exit Clov. Unfortunately, I missed them, but I’m hoping to see them in near the future. Here’s a quick review of the bands that saw.

Parallax Project
From Mechanicsburg, I’ve heard a lot about these guys. They opened and played with several different bands in the area. This band has came with a ton of hype and did not disappoint. The quartet could best be described as power pop rock. They have a similar sound to Fastball with catchy lyrics and memorable licks. What really stood out was their cover of David Bowie’s “All the Young Dudes”. If you ever get the chance, you should check them out live. Check out Parallax Project online.

Lejeune
This was the main reason I went to the show. Lejeune from Washington DC packs an amazing sound mixed with great lyrics. Their unique sound is can be attributed to Sam’s deep voice and Matt’s melodic guitars tones and harmonics. I think their website best describes them… “dedicated to writing and performing romantic pop rock about the usual: Japanese nightclubs, dorm-room affairs, street violence. Lejeune’s songs have been described as a soulful and velvety mix, inspired by ‘60s torch singers and spaghetti-western soundtracks.” I first heard Lejeune when I opened for the April Skies and the Mint at the Whitaker Center and the guys are not only really cool, but also very talented. Check Lejeune out online.

The April Skies
Finally, the headliners, local boys The April Skies. Along with Lejeune, I first met Jake and the guys at the Whitaker Center when I opened for them last November. The April Skies have been around since 1988 and are still rocking. Their sound resembles early U2 and the Cure. These guys put on a great show and if you ever get the chance, do not hesitate and check out The April Skies. I guarantee you will not be disappointed. Check out The April Skies online and check out their song X... amazing.

Day 4… Well, we laid down the final vocals for “One Step” and “Forgive”. Shane completed an initial mix of the songs and we changed a few things around on the tracks before we began. It was a real quick session, but it didn’t take too long to finish up the vocals on “Forgive”. Within a few takes, we had it down and ready to mix. I was surprised to see E-Vil Earl, outside the recording box listening in. Earl was preparing for a session with Shane. When I walked out, I heard someone singing, “Forgive Me…” and it was Harrisburg’s own Hip Hop star. Earl praised my songs and said everything sounded pretty good which means a lot coming from a true professional. It looks like we should be finishing up soon. Complete the mix, add the drums, compress the tracks and then I’ll be debuting my demo! ROCK!