We love hosting any session with Neil Dorfsman. It's no secret that he's one of our favorite engineers to work with. Not only that, but we can always count on him to bring projects to us that are anything but predictable. This time was no different.
Neil was here in 2008 with Peter Kiesewalter to mix the last East Village Opera Company album, "Olde School". That album was nominated for a Grammy and got plenty of critical acclaim, but the large numbered EVOC crew was in need of a break at the end of their touring schedule. When they went into hiatus, Peter shifted his focus to working on a rock opera version of the classic Rodgers & Hammerstein work, "The Sound Of Music" and formed a new group called the Brooklyn Rundfunk Orkestrata (or B.R.O. for short). As he told us, he never expected this project to gain momentum like it has. ...especially when he was served with a cease and desist order directly from the Rodgers and Hammerstein organization!
Initially, the one-off production was going to be a live show to be performed around the holidays. R & H have a vast and very astute team of watchdogs on the prowl for folks attempting to capitalize off the Sound Of Music material. When they found out about Peter's project, they took immediate action to have it shut down. Once Peter explained to them what he was doing with the arrangements, played them early versions of the songs, and told them what his intentions were, not only did R & H give him permission, but they fully endorsed his project! That endorsement marks the first time that they have ever allowed anyone to rework the original arrangements into a new musical arrangement. Once the tracking phase had been completed, Peter decided that the level of excitement around what B.R.O. was doing couldn't be wasted on a low-budget mix. That's when he called up Neil and the plan was hatched to come back to Saint Claire.
The guys came down in the midst of a stretch of perfect weather in late October and stayed with us for two weeks. Walking into the building to hear rocked-out versions of "Do-Re-Mi" and "The Hills Are Alive" made for interesting atmosphere for any given morning's first cup of coffee, but there was never a dull moment and the project wrapped up ahead of schedule. We had a blast hanging with Neil and Peter while they were here and can't wait to see the final product when it rolls out in February of 2011. Be sure to watch for it! It's epic.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Monday, September 20, 2010
Saint Claire teams with NewSong
We're proud to announce that Saint Claire has teamed up with the fine people who run the Mountain Stage Newsong Contest. This year's winner will accompany Grammy-winning producer/engineer Jacquire King (Kings of Leon, Tom Waits, Norah Jones, etc.) to our studio to record an EP. They'll be staying on site and living it up while working on their project.
Here's Jacquire talking about the contest:
Regional winners have been announced and are moving on to the finals. We're eagerly watching to see who will be the lucky winner to come record with us! Good luck to all the talented finalists!
Here's Jacquire talking about the contest:
Regional winners have been announced and are moving on to the finals. We're eagerly watching to see who will be the lucky winner to come record with us! Good luck to all the talented finalists!
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Loveland Music Academy returns!
Aaron O'keefe, director of the Loveland Music Academy, called up to tell us that they had such a great experience the first time, they wanted to come back for another round of recordings! This time around they tackled much deeper, more involved tunes, such as "Live and Let Die" and "Revolution Is My Name". I stated it here last time I wrote about the Loveland school, but it bears repeating; these kids can really play! Their collective level of skill is really amazing. Hopefully we'll be seeing some of them again later down the road when they've graduated to become working pros...
Our guys, Tim Price and Cailon Williams, handled the session, which lasted from 8 am until nearly midnight. It was a long day of recording and yielded some incredible results. Videos of the day should be up sometime in the near future. We'll be sure to post them when they're available.
Our guys, Tim Price and Cailon Williams, handled the session, which lasted from 8 am until nearly midnight. It was a long day of recording and yielded some incredible results. Videos of the day should be up sometime in the near future. We'll be sure to post them when they're available.
Friday, September 10, 2010
ABC WTVQ at Saint Claire Recording Company
Steve Broderson, a local musician and jingle writer who has worked countless times at Saint Claire, brought our local ABC affiliate to us to produce a new station promo. Steve wrote and recorded a large portion of the music at home, then brought his tracks to our studio to record drums, vocals, and a few other odds and ends. While he was here working on the music, a representative from ABC came out to capture footage of the session to be used in the piece. Tim Price recorded and mixed the music, assisted by Cailon Williams. The station promo should start running on WTVQ 36 in the upcoming weeks.
Anwar Sadat @ Saint Claire Recording Company
The newly emerging Louisville band, Anwar Sadat, came to Saint Claire in August to record the first two tracks for their forthcoming EP. The music they perform rides the line between post-punk and aggressive indie-rock (mixed with elements of electronic instruments, hip-hop style lyrical performances, and.... well, let's just say they're hard to describe...).
They've got tons of energy and the songs they sing are fueled by an antagonistic view towards the state of the world as they see it. Despite that fiery source of inspiration, they deliver opinions on some heavy issues with tongue-in-cheek humor and cynical comparisons. Seem hard to grasp? That's because this is one of those bands that's difficult to categorize. More sessions are planned for the near future to finish out the EP (which, in true indie fashion, is intended to be pressed to 7" vinyl).
They've got tons of energy and the songs they sing are fueled by an antagonistic view towards the state of the world as they see it. Despite that fiery source of inspiration, they deliver opinions on some heavy issues with tongue-in-cheek humor and cynical comparisons. Seem hard to grasp? That's because this is one of those bands that's difficult to categorize. More sessions are planned for the near future to finish out the EP (which, in true indie fashion, is intended to be pressed to 7" vinyl).
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Natalia Zukerman and company
Willy Porter brought his album, "Available Light", to mix here back in 2006. Since then, we've stayed in contact and seen him play shows when he comes through the area. It's an understatement to say that Willy is one of our favorite people. A few months back when we caught up with him after a show in Lexington, he told us that he had been working with someone from New York named Natalia and that he was very excited about her music. Not long after that conversation, Willy was on the phone booking time to record her next album.
Once we were up and running, Natalia and her fellow musicians (David Shoepke on drums, Brian Mir on bass, and, of course, Willy Porter) more than lived up to the hype that Willy had provided. It was great to see a session come through the building that was mostly straight-forward in approach. Everything was tracked at the same time in full passes. You can see more photos of the setup and the session by clicking on the image in this post.
Natalia's songs are strongly based in the "acoustic guitar and vocals" school, but they have so much feeling and attitude that they match perfectly with richer sound of a full band. And, as a testament to their collective talents, the group managed to knock out the basics for a full length album in just a little over two days. That's a lot of music in a short time!
Keep an eye out for Natalia's upcoming release. It's going to be a good one!
Once we were up and running, Natalia and her fellow musicians (David Shoepke on drums, Brian Mir on bass, and, of course, Willy Porter) more than lived up to the hype that Willy had provided. It was great to see a session come through the building that was mostly straight-forward in approach. Everything was tracked at the same time in full passes. You can see more photos of the setup and the session by clicking on the image in this post.
Natalia's songs are strongly based in the "acoustic guitar and vocals" school, but they have so much feeling and attitude that they match perfectly with richer sound of a full band. And, as a testament to their collective talents, the group managed to knock out the basics for a full length album in just a little over two days. That's a lot of music in a short time!
Keep an eye out for Natalia's upcoming release. It's going to be a good one!
Monday, April 5, 2010
CRICKETS ALL OVER THE BUILDING!
No, we're not New York City. We're not Chicago, L.A., or even Atlanta. For not being a major metropolitan area, however, Lexington has no shortage of incredible talent. We've got great local bands and awesome venues for them to perform at, lots of traveling acts through town because we're situated on two major highways, tons of great local restaurants, and a thriving art community. I think Lexingtonians get sick of being compared to Austin, TX for the climate of our growing entertainment and artist scenes, but the comparison is a valid one. We're not a huge city, but we're still home to some truly world-class talent.
A shining example of Lexington's hidden gems is Cricket Press. The husband-wife duo of Brian and Sara is making some of the most incredible rock-posters you've ever seen. They're making posters for local events and local establishments right alongside gig posters for seriously cool indie bands. Their repertoire includes people like Mogwai, Murder By Death, Fleet Foxes, The Decemberists, Animal Collective, They Might Be Giants... The list goes on and on. And now, thanks to the kindness of these two wonderful artists, Saint Claire is proudly displaying 18 of their gig posters in our building! Since their love of music rivals even our own, teaming up was a no-brainer. We're thrilled to be able to partner up with local talent that thinks as big as we do.
Make sure you zip over to www.cricket-press.com to look at all of the amazing work that they have on display. And, if you're planning a big show or trying to promote an event, think about having them design posters for you! I guarantee you'll grab people's attention with artwork from these guys.
A shining example of Lexington's hidden gems is Cricket Press. The husband-wife duo of Brian and Sara is making some of the most incredible rock-posters you've ever seen. They're making posters for local events and local establishments right alongside gig posters for seriously cool indie bands. Their repertoire includes people like Mogwai, Murder By Death, Fleet Foxes, The Decemberists, Animal Collective, They Might Be Giants... The list goes on and on. And now, thanks to the kindness of these two wonderful artists, Saint Claire is proudly displaying 18 of their gig posters in our building! Since their love of music rivals even our own, teaming up was a no-brainer. We're thrilled to be able to partner up with local talent that thinks as big as we do.
Make sure you zip over to www.cricket-press.com to look at all of the amazing work that they have on display. And, if you're planning a big show or trying to promote an event, think about having them design posters for you! I guarantee you'll grab people's attention with artwork from these guys.
Friday, March 12, 2010
Loveland Music Academy, 2010
Loveland Music Academy is not just another music school teaching worn-out approaches to becoming a musician. Quite the opposite, actually. Situated just outside of Cincinnati, OH, this group is teaching young musicians real-world applications of musical skills. They've got a nice facility where they teach everything from guitar to piano, drums to vocals, and even acting. One of the more exciting things they work into their curriculum is the regular trip to an actual recording studio where the students get to experience the process of tracking the songs they've been rehearsing. The academy's co-owner, Aaron O'Keefe (who also happens to be one of the instructors), contacted us to see about bringing their students into Saint Claire for a day-long session. It was quite an experience for everyone. They kicked off their day with an ambitious arrangement of Pantera's "Cowboys From Hell". You won't believe how it came out... These kids can seriously rip it up.
Whatever it is that they're doing with their kids, it's working! Even Phil Anselmo (former frontman of Pantera) agrees. He posted a comment on their previous endeavor done at Chicago Recording Co. on his band's webpage. http://down-nola.com/index.cfm/pk/view/cd/NAA/cdid/422246/pid/400042
Keep it up, guys! You're doing great things!!!
Whatever it is that they're doing with their kids, it's working! Even Phil Anselmo (former frontman of Pantera) agrees. He posted a comment on their previous endeavor done at Chicago Recording Co. on his band's webpage. http://down-nola.com/index.cfm/pk/view/cd/NAA/cdid/422246/pid/400042
Keep it up, guys! You're doing great things!!!
Monday, February 22, 2010
Alejandro Escovedo and the Sensitive Boys
Alejandro Escovedo teamed up with producer Tony Visconti and came to us in late 2008 to record his album, Real Animal. One morning while we were having coffee in the lounge, Al turned to me and remarked, "This place is fantastic for us. If I have my way, I want to record all of my albums here from now on." Since then, the band's lineup changed, Alejandro's management changed, and so did the label he was signed to. True to his word, though, when it came time to record again, I got a phone call and Alejandro brought his new album to us to track.
Tony Visconti produced Alejandro's last album here and it was clear that he was a perfect fit for the band. They hired him to produce again and this time around, he requested that our very own Tim Price be given the role of engineer for the project. The band hit the road and toured for weeks on the new material before they came to the studio. They ended their run of dates at Headliner's in Louisville (an hour away from here). When we saw them play that night, it was clear that the band was at the top of their game and the songs were well polished. The day after the show, the band rolled into the studio, Tony flew in from London, and everybody took a while to get re-acquainted with The Claire. After loading in and a good night's rest, the next day kicked off a whirlwind of activity that lasted for the next two weeks.
Without giving too much away, I can honestly say that this album is unabashedly straight-forward. Alejandro even explained to me on the phone months before they showed up that he was taking a simpler approach to his music, and that was no understatement. That certainly doesn't mean that the material is any less powerful. In fact, the songs are so packed full of imagery and emotion that bigger arrangements would have only gotten in the way. Most of the songs are traditional rock guitar/bass/drums and they made it a point to do minimal overdubs during the process of recording.
The band was so incredibly tight and the material was so well rehearsed that we ran through the basics at an unprecedented rate. Everyone was in such high spirits about working together, about the music they were producing, and about being here in our studio, it was hard to part ways when the session was over. We were admittedly a little sad that we don't get to host the mixing of the album here, but knowing that the tracks left our building to go into the capable hands of Bob Clearmountain kinda took the edge off. This session is going to go down in our books as one of the best experiences any of us could have and that none of us will ever forget.
Watch for the album due out early this summer! It's going to be crazy-good!
(Lots more photos of the session to be seen here.)
Tony Visconti produced Alejandro's last album here and it was clear that he was a perfect fit for the band. They hired him to produce again and this time around, he requested that our very own Tim Price be given the role of engineer for the project. The band hit the road and toured for weeks on the new material before they came to the studio. They ended their run of dates at Headliner's in Louisville (an hour away from here). When we saw them play that night, it was clear that the band was at the top of their game and the songs were well polished. The day after the show, the band rolled into the studio, Tony flew in from London, and everybody took a while to get re-acquainted with The Claire. After loading in and a good night's rest, the next day kicked off a whirlwind of activity that lasted for the next two weeks.
Without giving too much away, I can honestly say that this album is unabashedly straight-forward. Alejandro even explained to me on the phone months before they showed up that he was taking a simpler approach to his music, and that was no understatement. That certainly doesn't mean that the material is any less powerful. In fact, the songs are so packed full of imagery and emotion that bigger arrangements would have only gotten in the way. Most of the songs are traditional rock guitar/bass/drums and they made it a point to do minimal overdubs during the process of recording.
The band was so incredibly tight and the material was so well rehearsed that we ran through the basics at an unprecedented rate. Everyone was in such high spirits about working together, about the music they were producing, and about being here in our studio, it was hard to part ways when the session was over. We were admittedly a little sad that we don't get to host the mixing of the album here, but knowing that the tracks left our building to go into the capable hands of Bob Clearmountain kinda took the edge off. This session is going to go down in our books as one of the best experiences any of us could have and that none of us will ever forget.
Watch for the album due out early this summer! It's going to be crazy-good!
(Lots more photos of the session to be seen here.)
Friday, January 22, 2010
Lee Allen at Saint Claire
Engineer Ian D'Souza and his crew from KLM Distribution have made a few trips up to our place in the recent past, working on new stuff from the up and coming artist Lee Allen. Their first trip up was a tracking and overdub date, followed up by a few mix dates. Lee is kicking off this new material with a huge push including a nationwide radio tour and plenty of shows. They've been getting some great reactions over the single, "Settle Down". You can read all about what people are saying over at Lee's blog.
Lee Allen's Website
Also, make sure to check out some photos from the session at our Flickr page! Lee Allen @ Saint Claire
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Be Inspiring
The Cre8tive Group is a design/marketing/production firm out of Wilmore, KY and they do some really great work. Not only do they do great work in their field, but they also do amazing things for creative minds in the area by hosting an annual event they've labeled "Be Inspiring". This event they hold brings in professionals from all sorts of different fields. For their most recent installment, they found Peter Lehman. Peter is a sound engineer and composer in the film/themepark/entertainment industry. He's done sound for some 60+ feature films including Braveheart, Jerry McGuire, and Spiderman. He's also one of the guys who designs all those amazing sounds you hear on rides at theme parks such as Walt Disney World and Universal. Since Peter deals primarily with audio, Saint Claire was a perfect choice of venue for the presentation.
The crew from Cre8tive brought out a stage, a screen, projector, tons of local food catered by Wallace Station, and our neighbors provided parking for the crowd. We packed about 75 people into the live room and Peter gave a wonderful presentation on the importance and the placement of sound in film. The crowd was very eclectic and represented a diverse sampling of local talent and socialites from all walks of life. It was the first time we've ever hosted a group that large for anything other than a recording session. The evening was a complete success and we hope that maybe we can do more in the future.
For more about Peter Lehman and Cre8tive Group's "Be Inspiring" event, check out what one of our local papers had to say.
The crew from Cre8tive brought out a stage, a screen, projector, tons of local food catered by Wallace Station, and our neighbors provided parking for the crowd. We packed about 75 people into the live room and Peter gave a wonderful presentation on the importance and the placement of sound in film. The crowd was very eclectic and represented a diverse sampling of local talent and socialites from all walks of life. It was the first time we've ever hosted a group that large for anything other than a recording session. The evening was a complete success and we hope that maybe we can do more in the future.
For more about Peter Lehman and Cre8tive Group's "Be Inspiring" event, check out what one of our local papers had to say.
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