Hello folks,
It's been a while since recording in NC in the summer, but  since  then
I have been busy preparing for the second half of the  recording,  and,
finally this weekend, I am going into the studio again. For this
session, I will be recording in Fairfax VA, with Dan Rappaport.
I am super excited about the work I have done in NC, with Ted
Comerford and all the musicians, and the outcome is amazing.
Ted has been working on the songs, adding drum loops,   programming, and
other effects.
Many of the songs that I will be recording this weekend will  consist
of vocals and guitars only, however I am planning on sending a   few of
them to Ted, for additional production.
Some of them are 'older songs', but favorites of mine such as Shadow,
Scream, and Fine Lines. Those three are strong songs which I  always
loved to play on stage.
Also, I will be recording a few on an electric guitar, a cover  song
and one full length track of a super cool guitar piece I wrote.
Once all is done, this album will deliver a diverse mix of  songs  that
differ in style and production.
Well, no more details, gotta leave some surprises for later,   right? ;)
Can't wait to finish, and have the whole world hear it...

On the same note of the recording, I wanted to mention that the online album fund is open, and your contributions will be greatly appreciated. My budget is very slim, and studio expenses and such are high. Every bit can make a huge difference :0)

To contribute online via PayPal go to:

https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_xclick&business=nefrit%40nefritel%2dor%2ecom&item_name=Nefrit%20El%2dOr%20Album%20fund&no_shipping=2&no_note=1&tax=0&currency_code=USD&bn=PP%2dDonationsBF&charset=UTF%2d8

Thanks much for all the support in the past :)

In the meantime, keep safe and warm, and I will be sending more
details as I move forward.
Sending love, Nefrit.

Life after the studio…

Ah…So I am back in town, making plans for the near future.

The week in the studio down in North Carolina was all sorts of things. It was fun, intense, exciting, it was different in many aspects, and, of course, lots and lots of music.

We have ended up recording full 7 tracks, and, I have to tell you, they sound AMAZING.

I was a bit nervous before going down there, since it was a lot of money to invest, and it was a lot of work for only one week. I wasn't sure recording all that much music in only one week would work. But it did.

Everyone was real professional- fast, and skilled, and delivered great performance. They all knew their stuff, and I am glad to have been proven that yes, 7 songs in a week was indeed possible. It was a bit of a crunch, but it worked.

Ted (producer) will be working on adding programming and additional arrangements in the following weeks, and then it's off to mixing.

All the seven songs sounded fantastic when I left, and they will sound even better once Ted is done adding his stuff…

As to other endeavors in that week- As I was introduced to the Kroger food chain, I have decided that it would benefit humanity much more if it replaced the Giants chain (no offense to any Giant workers out there). What can I say? It's just all around better… and, they have these cool "sandwich pockets" which is basically 6 halves of pita bread cut open and ready to be stuffed with stuff (as opposed to the toilet-paper-thin pita bread you get anywhere else, which totally crumbles, when you try to make the tiniest slice in order to put, well, something, in it…)

The hotel was another interesting ordeal. I'd say it was ok, all in all… aside from the "wake up call" I got on the second day (after spending long 'into the night' hours in the studio)- in the form of people banging on my door, announcing to the not-yet-fully-awaken me, and to the rest of the hotel dwellers: 'maintenance and pest control'. And then, I set up a quite alarmed, sticky eyed and wondering 'what the-', they tried to open the door. Yes. Good thing I put the latch on…

Then there was that other late night, coming back to my room to find the orange 'message light' on my hotel phone blinking nervously, to let me know that I have a message waiting. 'Who'd leave me a message?' I wondered. 'Nobody knows my number here (including myself…)'. It turned out to be the weirdest message from some woman threatening some dude not to call her again, or else (and then came a chain of profanity, that made me wonder how wide that woman's vocabulary was). I was really hoping not to find some enraged woman with a chainsaw at my door the next morning.

There were some suggestions in the studio, to include that woman's message as the hidden track on the album.

So, aside from those encounters, things were ok with the hotel.

Anyways, I Can't wait for the songs to be done, and can't wait to share them all with you.

And what now? Now, I am working hard.

No rest for the weary.

I am planning on recording some more songs up here in MD. I might send some of them to Ted for extra work, but things are not certain yet. I am rehearsing other songs, and hope to be recording them at the end of the summer.

In any case, things are good, and lots of exciting things are coming.

We are also working on a new website that will be launched with the album.

On these last few notes, I'd like to remind everyone that the album fund is still up. There is mastering and printing the album, and more recording coming up. I am putting this album out independently, with no outside help, so any contributions will be greatly appreciated :0)

Every little bit helps.

https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_xclick&business=nefrit%40nefritel%2dor%2ecom&item_name=Nefrit%20El%2dOr%20Album%20fund&no_shipping=2&no_note=1&tax=0&currency_code=USD&bn=PP%2dDonationsBF&charset=UTF%2d8

I would also like the thank those who already contributed and made things more possible in my music world. Your support and belief means the world to me.

Also, be sure to check out my blog section on my forum. I'll be putting up some pix from the studio soon (I will add it to the blog posting):

http://www.nefritel-or.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=8&sid=8b8b869b8873af83b9555b4dc50e7bae

Lastly-

I have two shows coming up this month.

The next one is this Monday, at Iota in Arlington.

My friend Heather Reene has asked me to play with her and I gladly agreed. I want to get back to playing for you guys, especially with all this exciting things coming up.

The next show is on July 29^th, at Reston Town center. It is a big stage and a fantastic setting, as part of an outdoor festival.

All the details are below, and on my website.

I would love to see familiar faces, as well as new folks at the shows. Bring a friend, and come to say hi J

Sending love, Nefrit.

July 29^th 7:00 pm

Reston Town Center

11900 Market Street

Reston, VA 20190 

For directions and other details

Click on:

Reston

http://www.restontowncenter.com/

July 9^th 8:30 pm

Iota

2832 Wilson Blvd

Arlington, VA 22201

With Heather Renee

10$

www.heather-renee.com

www.nefritel-or.com

www.myspace.com/nefritelor

Its official, I am going into the studio.
Yes, it's been a long time coming, but I am finally there.
I will be down in North Carolina for a week mid-June, to record with producer Ted Comerford- (http://tedcomerford.com/), drummer Eddie Pasa (Juniper Lane) and Brian Webber on bass, at the Low Watt Studios (http://www.lowwattrecording.com/).I am all sorts of exited, and anxious, and, thrilled, and, yes, excited.
We'll be going for an EP, since my current budget is slim.


On this note- the album fund is still open, and your contributions will be super welcome. It might make the difference of adding a few more songs to the recording.
To contribute go to:

Album Fund


My approach with this album is different, so there will be lots of drum loops, effects, electronic sounds and other yummies …
I hope to come out with 6 amazing songs, and am planning on recording in MD a couple of solo tunes once I am back from NC.
Once it is all done, hopefully by the end of the summer, I will have a new CD for you guys and a demo to shop for a label, a manager and an agent with.
We've been planning this thing for months and months now, probably since last summer.
Realization finally sank in about 3 days ago. I was doing my laundry, when suddenly I realized: holly shit, I am going into the studio in a week and a half.
And then I thought: that's not a whole lot of time
And then: And there is a heap load of things I should be taking care of before.
I better get on it…
So, commenced the frenzied- last minute things to take care of- undertaking. booking hotel, renting a car (I am not sure whether my 95 Nissan Altima which served me quite well, I must add, throughout my nomadic traveling to and fro gigs over the last 4 years- will make the trip), acquiring a car charger for my ipod (it is a 6 hours drive. I need my music…), purchasing a cell phone charger (just exercising caution, getting stuck in the middle of the road with a dead battery is a universal bad idea), and so forth.
So, did I already mention that I am excited?
I am looking forward to working with Ted and Eddie. They are both wonderful people and talented musicians, and I am anticipating immensely enjoying my time in the studio with them, making some amazing music.
I am also quite excited about burrowing in the studio for a week, forgetting about everything else for a while, living music only.


Ok, so now that you are all well informed in all my musical strategizing and grand planning, I can move on to the other trivial things of life…
So let's see, what else does the life of a wana be rock star also encompasses?
There is breaking my elbow in March (doing Capoeira- a Brazilian martial art- see my other blog entry), an incident that stamped a big question mark on recording, but, yes, my elbow is better now, and obviously recording is still happening.
After a month of walking around with a cast from shoulder to finger tips, a bunch of wooden skewers (I don't know what it is with being in a cast, but it itches like, ALL THE TIME) that kept breaking inside my cast, leaving wooden splinters that poked me all day long (there was a nice pile of wooden chips deposited all over my cast when they took it off), one handed teeth flossing (suddenly all the trivial things in life, and all the little tasks that we take for granted and give no second thought to- become an ordeal), and some excruciating two month of PT- I got my arm operating again.
So, as far as Capoeira goes, if you want to check it out:
Capoeira Sul Da Bahia
The video was taken at my group's first Batizado, which is the ceremony of receiving a belt.
You can see my teacher playing with a few other instructors and at the end, my teacher playing with the Mestre of the entire group.
After a three moths hiatus, on the account of elbow breaking and all, I am finally back to practicing Capoeira, and have no plans on breaking my elbow again… :0)
I am also working on editing my stories and books, and hope to have those ready in a few months as well.
So, summer is here and it seems like lots of exciting things are coming up.
Can't wait.
As always, sending you love.
Cheerio, Nefrit.

Hey everybody,

Z104.1 radio station is conducting a Listeners Choice Poll, with a special year-end Top 10 Favorite Local Bands/Artists, selected by people’s votes.

So, I need you guys to help me get into their top ten artists list, by voting for me on their website. It’s very simple, and there is a direct link to where you can vote.

You can also help by spreading the word around, and sending the link to all of your friends (you can send them a link to my website as well, or to my- Myspace page, where they can listen to my songs.)

So, here are the links:

To vote- http://www.z104radio.com/index.php?nid=17

My website- www.nefritel-or.com

Myspace- http://www.myspace.com/nefritelor

There isn’t much time left, only until the end of December, so… now it's the time to do it :0)

Thanks for all your help and support! Much love, Nefrit.

It’s snowing again… So they closed the place where I teach, and that means no guitar lessons today, and that means I get to stay home and work on my new song for the new album.
I don’t get paid for those snow days. But does it worth it?
Well, if I get to finish this song then… HELL YEAH :0)
I’ve been toying with the new tune for a couple of days now. It’s been sitting at the back of my mind for a while, nagging me to let it out. So I got the guitar parts down, but the melody… It’s on the tip of my tongue… I can taste her… but she’s refusing to show herself. I get a glimpse, and then she’s slipping out of my hands.

Well, maybe today, with the few extra hours that fell into my hands, I could finally find the melody that belongs to the chords and rhythm I’ve already constructed on my guitar.
Maybe today, I could finally shape them together to a full song…