Well, here we are about to close off the month of July. Summer is one of those seasons that I have a love/hate relationship with. I love that its summer, and its kind of like vacation all the time. I don't like the heat - especially when it stays over 100 degrees for weeks on end.

Its also one of those seasons where I do the most, and also do the least. I mean, things always have a way of crowding together, but its at its worst during summer. I'll spend two weeks working daily, pumping out mad hits, mixing, running live shows, etc. And then I'll spend a week watching all the seasons of Dexter 8 hours a day.

This can be great, because it allows time for creativity and work to be the main focus, and then time for just being a 22 year old lazy bum, but it also creates scheduling havoc and un-needed stress.

Anyways, all of that business aside - I've been working with some seriously great music this summer. The stuff I've done in the past two months is probably of the highest caliber I've done in my life. Maybe I've honed my craft enough to attract the top musicians, or maybe its just been a lucky summer. Either way - I don't really care. I've had so much fun working with everyone.

THE KEVIN REID PROJECT: (myspace.com/thekevinreidproject)
I love these guys. I have been fans of this band for over a year now, and I finally managed to convince them to come and do some work with me. We've done two songs so far, with plans for two more. I had a lot of fun working with Kevin and the gang - they take criticism well, and are very open to creative input. A lot of times, recording is about capturing good 'sounds' - but with this band, my main focus was capturing their essence. They write songs that are so good they completely shine through the recording, so I made sure that the emotion and vibe they pumped out was permanently archived, rather than stressing over minute details. Oddly enough, this approach yielded some very good sounds, and the songs came out both sounding great, and chock full of vibe! Who knew! Go listen to "I Thought" and "Those Things" and tell them how great they are.

THE BELIEVE: (myspace.com/thebelieve777)
Justin and Josh are two people I am very close with. They play guitar and sing with me in My Second Chance, and crossed the border from 'friend' to 'family' years ago. Being so familiar makes working with them easy. I've recorded with and alongside them more times than I can remember, so I have a pretty good idea of how to bring the best out of their hands and vocal chords at this point. They're both very talented, so its not like I have to coach them; I just do a few things on the technical side to keep them inspired. For instance, I know Josh likes his vocal a certain way in his headphones while he tracks. And I know Justin isn't really picky in that area - he's more concerned with capturing the performance. What this all adds up to is three people working together who understand each other, and thus can create musical magic with little resistance. Check out their latest offering, "Daylight Savings" - its a cool journey, packed with emotion.

THE THOMAS CONFESSION: (myspace.com/thethomasconfession)
We wrapped up The Thomas Confession's EP earlier in the summer, but I had to post a reminder about them. These guys are honest, fun-loving musicians. They make great music that manages to appeal to a very wide audience. If you haven't given them a listen yet, please do yourself a favor and do so! Their EP is available now at all their shows, and they should have it on iTunes soon. They also put on a very good live show - so if you're near one of their tour stops, go support them. There's a good chance you'll see me there with them!

SUBDUE: (myspace.com/sbdrocks)
Subdue has had an interesting year. I had worked with them last fall on a few mixes, and  January of this year they came up to record an EP. We spent a week in the studio, and laid down some inspired, technical, head banging metal. The day after they finished in the studio, their singer/guitarist decided to leave the band for personal reasons. This obviously had serious effects on the recording, and they spent the better part of this year auditioning new vocalists. They finally found their man and began re-working and re-recording vocals in May. I've been slowly doing mixes for them since January, and we're finally approaching a finished product now. I have become quite close with Ricardo (their guitarist/songwriter), and I can tell you honestly that its hard to find a more passionate and deserving person than him. He and the rest of the band really poured their souls into this album, and I'm happy to be the one lucky enough to put it all together. Go check them out, they manage to blend a familiar genre with a raw originality that you just don't hear much anymore. They should be debuting new songs as early as next week, so keep watching.

MY SECOND CHANCE: (myspace.com/mysecondchance)
Ah yes, we're back at it again. In all honesty we never really stop being 'at it' - but with everyone leading busy lives, it is a rare moment when we can actually get together and work on new material. We managed to get a new MSC track done when Josh came to visit Justin and I last week, so now its finally available for the world to hear. It would be weird for me to write much more here - if you're a fan of MSC, I think you'll dig the new stuff. This has been my baby and musical outlet since I was thirteen. I'm as proud of MSC now as I have ever been, and I love that we still find time to put out new music. Go listen, and enjoy!

I think that about wraps up this update. I'm currently finishing one of the lazy weeks I talked about earlier, and am heading into a couple weeks of non-stop craziness. I'll update again when I reemerge!