It’s insane to think I’ve been here for 10 years. Thanks to Kristen, Elle, Daniel and Jessica. Funny to think we’re all married now and most of us have kids. Who would have thunk it?!

Maybe I need to start back up here. I am going to work on it.

Lily looks outside

Aside from Lily looking like she has horrible hair highlights, she’s growing up awesomely. She started a Nanny share with a kiddo down the street and it’s going wonderfully. I feel like while we are at work she’s growing. When we pick her up at the end of the day, she appears older. It’s kind of refreshing, but also I feel like I am missing out on a part of it.

So other than Lily getting older and growing and learning and talking and eating and pooping (not as often as we’d or she’d like) everything here is great. The studio is growing and Emily is working that front office in the rear like no one’s biznazz. Emily has killed one paper shredder and I just killed the new one last night.

In other news, I started a monthly recording club (sorta like a book club without all the reading and books) here at the studio and it’s a lot of fun. I love learning stuff and the only way to do so is to surround yourself with people who know stuff! It’s just something I really look forward to every month.

Hope your winter is treating you nicely with an abundance of snow. We’re getting ripped off here as usual.

Back to donuts and coffee.

So I am excited beyond all means that change is coming. Maybe not as drastic as many people believe. But the bottom line is that Bush Jr.’s regime is over. Which means something new is coming. And I am down with that. Not to mention his crew speaks to our generation. Could you imagine Shakira at Bush’s inauguration ball?

I felt like a huge weight was lifted from my shoulders just thinking about George and Laura packing their bags last night.

Oh and did anyone else see Beyoncé rip up some Etta James? It was awesome. And gave new meaning to the song.

But on a more serious note:

TOMORROW. LOST. OMIGOD!

1. Angela Desveaux: The Mighty Ship – I played a show with a band a few weeks ago. We opened for them. And they had their record on vinyl. It’s insanely good. The drummer is mind blowing. I’ve not seen a drummer lean in to his hits in forever. I’ve never seen someone so expressive. Oh and the music is beautiful. And Angela’s voice is wonderful.
2. MGMT: Oracular Spectacular – While the album does fall apart after “Time To Pretend,” the record is totally a stand out for what’s on the radio these days. And their beats are super fun and spacey.
3. Dennis Wilson: Pacific Ocean Blue- Why it took this long to be re-mastered is beyond me. This is such a gem of a record. I use it as a reference CD at the studio. If you don’t include Brian Wilson’s SMiLE it’s my favorite solo Beach Boys record. Hands down.
4. The Felice Brothers: Adventures of The Felice Brothers Vol. 1- Listened to heavily on our trip to North Carolina this summer. Fit the ride tremendously. While we only listened to it once. It was listened to and not simply heard. I need to listen again.
5. David Byrne & Brian Eno: Everything That Happens Will Happen Today- Just breathtaking. Also this record solidified the fact that I am no longer a kid. I liked the record after a few listens. But I didn’t begin to love it until I got a note from my friend that he was going on tour with David playing keys. Once I saw the show I got it fully. It’s been in heavy rotation since.
6. Eureka Birds: s/t- Local kids gone awesome. Yet they are still unsigned. I was supposed to see these guys open for a friends band, but just got to talk with them right after their set I missed. I did get to eventually see them a few weeks later. Their record is awesome and so un-Baltimore. It’s a record to listen to on headphones.
7. The Ting Tings: We Started Nothing- I think I first saw them on the European MTV Awards at my parents house because they have cable TV. I think I like them because they are different. And catchy as hell. Women singers who don’t sing slow sad songs with a lot of acoustic guitars really stand out for me. Not that I don’t like women who sing slow sad songs.
8. Vampire Weekend: s/t- The record really should have been called “As Indie As You Wanna Be”. But whatever, I really liked the record as much as I want to punch them all in the neck.
9. K-Swift: K-Swift Club Queen Jump Off Vol 10- Baltimore Club queen. RIP. Solid club. And my little girl loves dancing to her.
10. She & Him: Volume One- This record was non-stop for a long while. Then it stopped to breathe and now it’s back again. Such a sweet and fun record. Completely looking forward to Volume Two.
11. E. Joseph and The Phantom Heart: All The Medicine In The World- A total stand out record. Awesome production from the Starflyer 59′s Jason Martin. And incredible songs that pull from a lot of the best bands of the 1980s with out being derivitive or cliché.

We decided to do all our holiday shopping locally. So we got kiddie toys at Amuse in Fells Point and the rest of the older-people toys in Hampden. There was this one store that had free books with a purchase at the door. They had “The Joy Of Cooking.” Amazing how we were just talking about picking up a copy. Perfect timing. Oh and of course we ended up picking up a few pieces of art. Totally funky and cool and our style. We’re total suckers for good local art.

The only thing we didn’t do was to pick up Lily’s pink Chuck’s in Canton. But we’re going to do that tomorrow. Yay Chuck’s on kids!

Tomorrow I’ll be spending a lot of the day mixing my latest project I’m producing. Then I think we’re going out with Brian and Minu for dinner. After that I should be heading to the Metro Gallery to check out a Beechfields band. Anyone wanna go?

PS. Our tree flooded today. All over the living room and in turn, the basement. Our poor basement. I am not sure if I just put too much water in the tree or our funnel thing isn’t working. This is reason #1 that a Jew is not supposed to be doing this. I light candles and fight/run from oppressors. It’s what we do.

Lily is growing amazingly. She’s walking like a champ. She’s eating everything. Her favs are curry chicken/shrimp and edamame. She’s also been known to eat onions. Clearly she has Mommy’s palate. It still amazes me how Lily completely skipped mushy food. Which is good because kids with food all over their face kind of drives me nuts.

This past week I’ve been tracking this band from Annapolis. This is the first band I’ve done at the Studio where I feel like I’ve had the time to do what I want with them. And vise-versa for them with me. We tracked drums the first day. The drummer had 8 toms. I am serious. 6 rack toms and 2 floor toms. Usually one uses 2 overhead mics. I had to use 3 including one “center” mic. It was amazing. In that Alex Van Halen kind of way. The funny (slightly irritating) thing was that the drummer rarely used his toms. Go figure. Regardless the tracking went well and at the end of the day we tracked acoustic guitars. The second day was all electric guitars and vocals. Today was finishing the leads and I added some percussion. At the end of the day we did  a rough mix and while nowhere near finished it’s a good start. Even after 3 12-14 hour days I am kind of exhausted, but it’s an awesome exhaustion. While I love recording hip-hop, and seem to do a lot of it, there’s something about setting up more than one mic that really gets me going. That and the difference between good and bad hip-hop is vastly more contrasting than other genres I’ve recorded.

Oh and the other night we did our first Micro-Show at the Studio and it went great. We had a bunch of people show up and the recording is grrrrrrreat. That and people from WTMD and the City Paper showed up. Yay! Emily is the queen of marketing and promotion. THE QUEEN.

Hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving. Anyone else ready for some single digit weather? This 60+ degree BS has to end soon or else we’re packing our bags for Montréal.

Besides being a perfect Greatest Hits record there are some serious problems with the drum production. Primarily in the snare drum.

Why waste time. Let’s begin:

Only The Young – Too much gate. Too much mid-lows and mids. Perhaps where Robert Mutt Lange got the idea for the snom (snare/tom) on Hysteria. I am itching to hear some more attack and brilliance.
Download audio file (01%20Only%20The%20Young.mp3)

Don’t Stop Believin’ – While this is the perfect song, it just kills me to not hear the snare on the 2&4. It’s probably the rockist in me. Again, the snare is a little flat and low in the mix.
Download audio file (02%20Don’t%20Stop%20Believin’.mp3)

Wheel In The Sky – Other than the drums being mixed backwards (hi-hats in the right channel? Seriously?) the snare is tuned like a piece of cardboard.
Download audio file (03%20Wheel%20In%20The%20Sky.mp3)

Faithfully – The perfect ballad? What I do love about the recording are the actual dynamics in the drum fills. Hear that on the radio these days? Didn’t think so. This snare works for the most part. I do desire more attack. The fluffy ‘verb and levels are what does it for me. I’m still yours, too, Steve Perry.
Download audio file (04%20Faithfully.mp3)

I’ll Be Alright Without You – Aside from the fact that I always thought this was a Tina Turner song this song’s snare is pretty decent. It is still borderlining on cardboardy, but it does have some of the high end in there that more than makes up for it. And you have to love the tasty hi-hats at 1:46.
Download audio file (05%20I’ll%20Be%20Alright%20Without%20You.mp3)

Anyway You Want It – What is going on here? Can you tune the snares any more tightly? Sounds more like a hammer squashing a bug to me. Splat!
Download audio file (06%20Any%20Way%20You%20Want%20It.mp3)

Ask The Lonely – Simply thin and low in the mix. I think it’s all there I just need more.
Download audio file (07%20Ask%20The%20Lonely.mp3)

Who’s Crying Now – This snare I can get. Ironically it’s my least favorite cut on the record. Let’s move.
Download audio file (08%20Who’s%20Crying%20Now.mp3)

Separate Ways – Why bands cover Come On Eileen and not this song is beyond me. Toms on the 4 for the verses set up the snare on the 2&4 on the choruses. Like Don’t Stop Believin’ this is also the perfect song. And the snare almost works for me (the hi-hat definitely accents the snare’s harmonics) but I just wish it was a little more defined on it’s own.
Download audio file (09%20Separate%20Ways%20(Worlds%20Apart).mp3)

Lights – Cardboard. But decent sounding cardboard, this time.
Download audio file (10%20Lights.mp3)

Lovin’, Touchin’, Squeezin’ – Where to start. EXPENSIVE CARDBOARD! (priced up from the stellar Lexicon reverb) And Mr. Snare Drum, why ‘o why are you at 2 o’clock?! Please come back home to 11 o’clock.
Download audio file (11%20Lovin’%20Touchin’%20Squeezin’.mp3)

Open Arms – Steve Smith, you are a monster at the 51 BPM tempo sans click track (at least rumored to be). And your snare drum is completely dreamy and perfect just like the song.
Download audio file (12%20Open%20Arms.mp3)

Girl Can’t Help It – Flanging drums in the intro? At least this snare has balls. The 80s was bad to a lot of things, but not this snare.
Download audio file (13%20Girl%20Can’t%20Help%20It.mp3)

Send Her My Love – What’s up with the reverb pre-delay? Other than that, I can digest this one.
Download audio file (14%20Send%20Her%20My%20Love.mp3)

Be Good To Yourself – Does anyone else think this snare was sampled? Either way, this snare drum is where I want it to be in this song. Great way to end a compilation. With good snare.
Download audio file (15%20Be%20Good%20To%20Yourself.mp3)

One random tidbit: After listening to these songs rather quickly after testing to see that they work, I realized that a lot of the snare reverb ‘verbed out in the right channel. I had never seen such consistency with this before. Especially spanning over a number of different records. Anyways. Just an observation.

Ps. Disregard this. The record is perfect. What was I thinking?!

Download audio file (lilyzerbert.mp3)