When I saw Don Felder from The Eagles...

Last Friday, I was honored to have been present to see Don Felder from The Eagles at Full Sail University talk about and perform a hand-full of songs he wrote for the band in their early days.  Most known for writing “Hotel California”, Don also shared stories of his beginning in the entertainment business.  Originally from Gainesville Florida, Don is very familiar with the small town atmosphere the southeast United States has to offer and was able to propel himself through those struggles to super stardom with The Eagles.  I’m sure he only shared an extremely small portion of the hardships he dealt with over the years to achieve what he has in the business, but I appreciated what he decided to share with us.  For someone like myself, trying to gain as much momentum as I can before Graduation, his experiences were valuable to me.  I could easily place myself in many of the tales I heard and I was very excited when I noticed my decisions almost paralleling Don’s.  In this blog, I wanted to focus on another part of the biz, equally important to the actual recordings if you want longevity in your career in the music business.  Planning, budgeting, and execution are some of the many aspects of controlling your career path as much as one can.  Don mentioned he started with only a suitcase and a guitar case with about fifty bucks in his pocket.  Even through many of the years he was touring and recording music for others, he was basically broke.  What Don has kept for all these years and what everyone who wants to achieve even a spec of what people like Don have achieved needs to keep is the desire to do what you do.  True, said desire will keep you going through the tough times and impress potential colleagues, but it takes more in the days in which we live to perpetuate self-employment.  Don didn’t have much of a plan when he started except for the drive and passion for what he did, but as the years progressed he definitely forged through any situation that came his way.  I noticed his careful placing of the chess pieces so to speak, as the best musicians and performers of the time surrounded him, he placed himself in those situations for success.  When you don’t know where your next paycheck will come from or when it will arrive, the freelance life most musicians and performers have to live lends itself to very careful budgeting.  Lastly, I think most of the world could agree that The Eagles music is awesome.  Most of the works we all know and love came from Don Felder’s brain and heart.  There isn’t much more I can say about execution that his music hasn’t said to all of us at one point or another.  We were all moved by Don’s performance and I can’t place into words how very fortunate I feel to have witnessed one of the greatest songwriters of many generations in his moment of creation and love for music.  Thank you Don, until next time…        

Pink Floyd members discuss recording "Money"

      Pink Floyd was and is one of the most influential and experimental bands of all time.  Personally, I love Floyd’s music and their fearless approach to creating timeless pieces of art.  I found this video on You Tube that walked through the creation of the song “Money” from Dark side of the Moon.  Rodger Waters, the bands forming member and co-creative force, created a loop of sounds, which yielded a rhythmic effect to the opening of the song.  He recorded the sounds of change, a cash register, ripping paper, and spliced them together against the 7/8 time signature.  I thought it was amazing that they sent the tape around a mic stand then through the tape machine.  Equally amazing is how all of this editing was done on tape.  You would think with today’s digital editing advancements, engineers would choose to use these techniques more.  I feel like the creativity level one achieves from having to use and edit tape has taken a back seat to the ease to digital editing.  I think decisions are made quickly due to the ease of editing and this doesn’t leave much time for experimentation and discovery.  In the video, David Gilmour mutes out the other tracks so you can hear some of the layers that made up the intro of “Money” mostly from the guitar standpoint.  You can hear how the layers helped support each other to make a much larger piece and they all were designed to fit the loop created by Roger Waters.  I hope to see more analogue techniques used in the digital audio domain and this makes me think more about what decisions I should make when I am producing or engineering my future projects.  The video goes into more than just the few items I mentioned, but the mic stand tape machine supremely impressed me.  I want whoever finds this as interesting as I did, feel free to make comments, connect with my RSS feeds, and help me spread “The Summing Amp” to many more people.  Everybody stay with me, I appreciate your patience while I hone my blog craft.  Eventually, this will be one of the most exciting, informative, and hopefully respected blogs around.  With all of your help, I know it will be…        

Day-Lee Dose's Chris Lee talks about priorities

Last week we looked at an article written by Mr. Bob Katz, Mastering Engineer and owner of some of the greatest ears know to man.  I appreciate all of the interaction and comments you shared with me.  I learned a bunch and I am now in search of some answers about proper summing.  With all that being said, this week is a bit different.  I was able to conduct an interview with an up and coming artist about his priorities and how he sets them for success in the music business.  I know this is slightly off topic from pro audio and recording, but it is very important information I think you all should consider.  In the mid to late 90’s throughout the mid-south, a strong blues movement washed over and brought with it some great talent.   I know because I was in the middle of it all as a session and touring drummer for some of the bands.  However, like most movements there was an initial spark followed by a raging inferno of coattail riders.  Out of this movement was a band with a different take on music and business alike.  The Blues Messengers was the name of the group I am referring to.  The band later changed their name and members to finally come to rest at the name Infectious Blues.  I played for them for a few years and became very close friends with the harmonica player, Chris Lee.  Chris is one of the most underrated harp players in the country and I also learned a few things about priorities and their effects on the output of your particular group.  Chris in now the owner of his own group called Day-Lee Dose, named for the two players in the group Chris Lee and Kiel Day.  I contacted Chris about the subject and he was gracious enough to participate in my interview. 

TSA:  Chris, would you tell my audience about how you go about making the hard                                    decisions that come around in Day-Lee Dose?

CL:  Well, you never know where problems will come from so you have to be ready all the time.  The best way is to write down the possible options, then roundtable those with your members to gain perspective.  Then I can make an informed decision, or take it to an advisor to help me finish my thoughts.

TSA:  I know in the early days you were a “member” yourself, what changed when you became the owner of your own group?

CL:  When I was just “in the group” I was the one the owner came to get opinions and I thought I was just that smart . . . (laughs out loud) Now that I am the owner I know why he was asking.    

TSA:  We are talking about priorities, their effects, and how to properly make them.  What do you think is the best way to accomplish this?

CL:  I think a lot of my priority making skill comes simply from life.  I am getting close to 50 and that is a lot of hours learning how to do what and when.  So, life experience I believe is the best teacher of making priorities.  Other than that, trial and error.

TSA:  So, when you make decisions during the “staring a new album” phase, and there are seemingly a million options with only a small hand full of right combinations, how do you start?

CL:  I find it is better to simplify everything first.  I delete any problem areas to be solved at a later time.  I find out exact information like the who, what, where’s, when’s, and how’s so I know what I am working with.  I take the already finished material, my partner Keil, and our newly found info and separate everything according to importance.  Then simply go right down the list, knocking off one after the other.  Before you know it, everything is done.

TSA:  So, no magic answers or special tricks?

CL:  (laughs again very loud) NO! Nothing worthwhile is easy or short.

TSA: Very true.

TSA:  I want to ask you one more question; I always have the problem of how to prioritize people.  I know your band only has you and Kiel, but in the past you have played with large bands too.  What do you think?

CL:  People are always your only un-sure piece to the puzzle.  I have learned the half the people will do whatever it takes, the other half won’t do anything at all and if they did you would wish they hadn’t.  I know it sounds bad, but hear me out.  I think of people like dogs only in the emotional sense.  You never know when a dog will bite or attack.  He will look at you very calmly, and then chomp down.  People will be involved all the way, look you in the eyes and promise you the world.  Only a very, very few people will finish what they start, stick by you through thick and thin, and put into the project what you have put it.  I don’t count on anyone but myself to always be there, but I keep positive hope that who I am working with at that moment won’t drop the ball.

TSA:  Chris, I want to thank you for you time as I know you are very busy.  Keep us informed on any Day-Lee Dose movements or music, I know my audience would love it.

CL:  Thank you, I look forward to reading this later.  I love The Summing Amp, I think when it gets rolling you will be very happy with the outcome.  So long everybody, until next time.

I enjoyed interviewing Chris about this subject.  I hope to have him, as well as many other guests on to share their practical knowledge of the world of pro audio, music, and the entertainment industry.  I want to thank all of you who have followed The Summing Amp, I appreciate your support.  Please, if you know anyone who would find this blog interesting, or even if they wouldn’t find it interesting, pass us along.  The more followers we have, the more fun we will have.  Stay tuned for more interviews, special articles, videos, and much, much more.  Until next week . . . Cheers!  


Check out Day-Lee Dose at: www.myspace.com/dayleedose  

Finally, analog v/s digital - who will win?

I thought long and hard about how and where to begin a blog about a subject as deep as pro audio and recording.  I also thought about my potential audience and what impact my blog would have.  Who is out there listening to me?  Well, as with most things, the best place to start is the beginning.  As far as what audience I may have out there, I hope for a very diverse group in the understanding of the subject and in opinions about the subject.  If you have just begun your journey into the realm of pro audio, or if you find your self somewhere in the midst of a successful career, the one thing that you should understand very well is the digital capture of audio.  I think this is one of the most overlooked, but most integral parts of the recording process.  Let’s face it, our job is to place a listener a room at the exact time an artist was performing a piece and not to spearhead the next wave of signature plug-ins.  In an insightful article written for informit.com, Mastering Engineer extraordinaire Bob Katz from Digital Domain, a world-class Mastering facility in Florida supported the reasoning for the balancing of your digital and your analog gear and the impact this will have of the quality on your final product.  I found his article wonderful because Mr. Katz is a well-known audiophile, (someone who excepts no substitute for perfection considering the capture and reproduction of audio) and even he sees the prospects of the digital audio domain and the benefits therein, but knowing where to draw the line is the key.  Quickly, digital recording involves the input of an analog signal like your vocal or guitar.  This signal is really sound pressure waves, which in their infinitely unique way vibrate at different speeds, (frequency) and make up all the sound around us.  In the past, Engineers would capture these waves and through the use of vacuum tube gear, a mountain of electrical knowhow, and extreme human efforts to capture sound.  In the process of digital recording, the analog signal waves are converted and sampled.  You might have heard the term “sample rate,” that is the number of tiny pictures that are taken of the original analog wave.  Higher sample rates result in more pictures taken, thus a more accurate representation of the original analog wave will be captured.  According to Mr. Katz, and I strongly agree, we commonly use a tube saturated input stage to try and place a fuzzy blanket that hides the potential resolution of the system we are working with, when a more suitable conclusion would be a better balance throughout your system between analog and digital equipment.  Mr. Katz goes on to sum up the two reasons for edgy, harsh sounding digital recordings.  One is linear frequency response, which reveals non-linearities in the rest of the recording chain.  The other is built-in distortions in the A/D/A (Analog to Digital back to Analog) conversion process.  At risk of shooting right over the heads of any potential audience I may find myself entertaining, I am trying to bridge the gap between the super intelligent anomalies like Mr. Bob Katz and the guy who wants to achieve the best recording possible, but not necessarily any hobbyist.  I suggest reading a book about digital recording basics to grasp a full understanding of what I am talking about.  I myself have a Bachelor’s Degree in Recording Arts and I always find something new I didn’t know or fully understand and that is the real reason for this blog.  I want to challenge myself to locate and understand topics interesting enough to blog about, meanwhile picking up tons of information along the way.  Hey you never know who you will come in contact with through life’s journey also.  Please tell your friends and colleagues about this blog and let’s try and have as many people as possible involved, that way we will all get the most out of it.  Please share your knowledge with me; I enjoy reading and learning something new.  Until my next post . . . cheers.       

Check out the Bob Katz article: http://www.ingelec.uns.edu.ar/pds2803/Materiales/articulos/BobKatzArticles.pdf

My New Blog

Hi everyone, this is my new blog "The Summing Amp," it is about everything pro audio and recording related.  I want this blog to be very interactive for my followers.  Please tell your friends and colleagues about this blog and spread the virus.  I am currently in my graduate studies at Full Sail University for Entertainment business and I have recently completed my Bachelor's Degree in Recording Arts.  I hope you all enjoy this blog and learn something new.  Please share with me your knowledge as I want to always learn new things and progress in the industry.  Until next time, cheers.

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