As usual we've been really busy lately! We just finished the mixes for the new album from Never Say When. The band is listening to the mixes now, after which we'll make a few tweaks and then get the songs down to Nashville for mastering. Their album, featuring some great folk rock songs and rich harmonies, should be available later this year.


Midwest rockers Greenview will be in the studio next month starting work on their third album. We are looking forward to bringing their new music to life and capturing some great tracks.


We've started early planning for some music videos for Following Indigo. After we get a few more songs complete in the studio we'll decide which song(s) we want to shoot. We're excited about this phase of the project!


Legendary country singer/songwriter Nick Nixon will be back in the studio next week with talented Heather Watkins to do some additional work on Heather's demo.


Blue Stream Records artist A.O.E. have got some great new songs written to continue work on their album. Fronted by vocalist Jon Wheaton, their music rocks with phenomenal playing and singing. Our A&R rep Joel is currently in Nashville meeting with some industry folks and presenting some of A.O.E.'s tunes.


Pianist Ed Clark, following the success of his three instrumental albums last winter, is re-releasing his two previous albums. Ed has asked us to oversee the production process, so that will keep us busy for the next few weeks as well.




 
We'd like to welcome our new Universal Audio 6176 channel strip to our growing family of gear! Over the past few months we've added some new mics, including the Neumann M149 and a matched pair of Neumann KM184s. Throw that in with our Avalon VT737sp, our Vintech 273 and our Neumann U87 and we've got quite a variety of tonal options at our disposal! Now we just have to get busy finding rack space and do some rewiring.


(Sorry if we sound like we are just name dropping, but man are we proud to have this gear available for our clients and artists!)




 
Blue Stream Records artist Following Indigo is back in the studio this weekend tracking keyboards. We are making great progress on their debut album, to be released in spring 2010.

Hey Everyone -

We've been keeping really busy with Blue Stream Records business!

Last weekend we pulled a double session with Sha Kluge doing some vocal work for part of the day, then Faith Hall and her sisters Hope and Grace (accompanied by Rachael Thurman on keyboards) came in and laid down vocals for an original song.  Everything sounds great!

 




This weekend Never Say When is back in the studio wrapping up their debut album.  We'll have two full days of finishing up a few tracks and cleaning up a few parts before we start mixdown.  This album has been nearly a year in the making, and the band can't wait to get it out to everyone!

The Indigo officially starts tracking their new album on August 7.  Adam will be in laying down drums for the first couple of songs.  Unfortunately his new custom kit from SJC Custom Drums won't be in for several months...but he does have some sweet new cymbals to use on the tracks.  The band has several big shows coming up in August, so between recording and concert appearances they will be busy!

Brandy Kristin will be in the studio August 15 to track a new song.  This new song, entitled "Desperately Need" is one of our favorite songs from her album, and is sure to be a fan favorite.

Jon Wheaton continues to write for his album and has several more songs to start tracking.  We should have the next song complete (called "On My Own") in a few weeks.  We are also busy getting Jon's band assembled so they can start rehearsing and get a few shows in before the album is released.

We'll keep you posted as more news happens!

Our final day working with Pete Lesperance at his studio in Toronto was amazing.  We finished lead vocals on two of Jon's songs, and laid down the first set of harmonies on both songs.

Jon was singing some amazing harmonies, blowing us away with his ability to perfectly follow his lead lines while hitting some incredible notes.  Jon's range is really impressive!

Unfortunately, all good things have to come to an end, so at 8pm we loaded up our car and drove 11 hours straight through to return to central Illinois, listening to rough mixes of the songs the whole way.

Pete is going to touch up the guitars on the songs and lay down some additional harmonies, and hopefully soon we'll be able to let you all hear the fruits of our labor.  I'm telling you, these are some really really good songs!

We are heading out to Knights Action Park in Springfield tonight to see The Indigo perform a set.  They will be in the studio soon to start tracking drums for their debut album.

Never Say When performed several shows this week at Cornerstone Festival.  I haven't had a chance to catch up with them yet to see how the shows went...but I'm sure they blew everyone away.

Have a great July 4th holiday weekend!

Hey everyone - another fantastic day in Toronto at Pete Lesperance's studio.  Pete is a real master at coaching the right vocal performance out of an artist.  We got some of the most emotional performances Jon has ever sang today on his power ballad "On My Own".

Jon and I spent the evening having dinner at a local Thai restaurant, walking around China Town, and now rewriting some lyrics in our hotel room to prepare for tomorrow's session.

We'll be heading home tomorrow night or Friday...but regardless, I plan on getting back up here as soon as I can!