I went out dancing last night.

IMO- Everyone in a band should go out and experience the power of dance music. Very compelling stuff.

What I mean is you gotta learn how to rock the party and understand that most people have a long work week and so you owe it to them to give a great show and write great songs. Otherwise, they’re just gonna turn to the DJ for a good time.

—

On the way home around 4am I tuned in to 91.9 KCSB and they were playing a track from the new Tall Tales and the Silver Lining album! And then they played Agent Ribbons, a band I had perform here at the studio earlier this summer. I know some pretty important people! : )

—

Anyway – because I was up so late, I didn’t get in the studio til after noon, but I was stoked to begin mixing some new ReEarth tracks.

As I’ve said before, ReEarth is one of my favorite bands. Really good songs, weird and passionate  singing, thoughtful abstract lyrics. Good stuff overall.

I opened up the Pro Tools sessions and did a quick clean up. Dumping all the unused tracks and takes.

(Properly naming your tracks before recording is soo important. Many times I’ve been able to find old tracks and repair or improve things quickly because I keep my audio folders clean and clearly labeled. This makes things easy for me and makes bands happy.)

I then dumped in a mix template I set up during their previous mix sessions. The template is not a cure all, but saves time, and reminds me what the other stuff sounded like. As well as what to keep and what I can improve on.

I was just about done when Karl from the great local bar band, Jumpdrive, paid a visit.

He’s got a sweet Martin  Acoustic guitar on loan and wants to cut a few tracks with it. Sound like fun. He’s even offered to bring down a nice big tube mic for the sessions. I’m interested to hear both. We’re working out the dates and details.

Karl’s a good guy, a strong front man, a great guitar player and singer. I look forward to recording w/ him.

After Karl left I finished up with my mix sketches – I’ll go back to them after my lessons. I’ll be giving my usual lessons from 4-7pm.

At 3:30pm Matt from another great local bar band, Longrider, came in for quick tour of our facilities. I’ve seen Longrider live maybe a dozen times and I’m always impressed by them. I’ve already met Kim, their bass player, and look forward to meeting the other guys at the session we set up at the end of the studio tour.

4PM -Lessons start now…

Then I’ll grab some dinner and come back with fresh ears for some fine tuning of the ReEarth mixes.

I’ve got to get to bed early tonight, I’m recording Santa Maria punk pockers The 1st line at 9am tomorrow!!!!