Los Angeles based rock band Statues of Cats have been burning the midnight oil working on their debut EP, “Memorabilia”, to be released on 80/20 Records September 26th.
The band consists of David Hauge (vocals/guitar/trumpet & other noises), Jonney Machtig (guitars & crazy sounds), Anthony Salazar (drums & percussion), and Dan Rojas (bass) and their sound is a modern-vintage rock explosion of fiery jams, funky-jazzy skank, and 8-bit, punk-rock sandpaper grittiness. If you think that description sounds over the top then you haven’t heard this band yet.
It has been a real pleasure working with these guys. They are young and have lots of energy but they also have an amazing amount of musical maturity. Well beyond their years. We were also able to get everyone in the room at the same time playing and capture them as a band with all the energy their live shows have. I think you’ll hear that when the EP comes out.
The band needs your help to finish the EP! Give the band some support. We promise you won’t be disappointed!
Just to tease you a little bit Statues of Cats was featured on FullOnDrums.com. Check out the video below and see for yourself what these cats are all about! We’ll post more info on the tracking process soon.
Reggae outfit Dankrupt, featuring Grant Bogorad (Rhythym Guitar/Vocals), Tony Ward – (Bass), and Tim Canton – (Drums), recently finished recording their debut EP titled “Chapter 11 Dankruptcy”. They’ll be bringing their brand of Reggae, Funk & Latin Rhythms to the masses very, very soon!
“It was a lot of fun working with these guys. Especially on the final tune because we tracked it completely live in the studio. These cats nailed it! I’m really looking forward to the mixing process.” says engineer Charlie Waymire.
Rock drummer extraordinaire, Jeff Bowders, joined FullOnDrums.com at Ultimate Rhythm Studios and put on a clinic of power precision and groove! Jeff has played with some very talented artists (Paul Gilbert, Puddle Of Mudd, Justin Derrico) and we were thrilled to have him in the studio.
“Jeff makes it easy to record drums. His precision is second to none and he’s powerful but still has finesse. Not too many drummers have that combo.” says engineer Charlie Waymire.
Check out FullOnDrums.com for all the details of the session and check out the episode below. You won’t be disappointed!
A new project featuring members of the band Tomorrows Bad Seeds has been tracking drums at URS for their upcoming album. They’re using some pretty awesome drummers and last week was Josh Freese! Besides being a phenomenal drummer he’s one heck of a story teller!
Here’s a short video of last weeks percussion and guitar sessions for Right Hand Rule. Leslie Jones (singer/percussionist) is laying down some cool congas and Robert Thrall throws down a solo! A few photos of the the recording setup are included too!
“We had some time to experiment with sounds and decided to use the size of the room to our advantage by capturing the natural ambience of the room. By capturing the instruments this way we are able to set them sonically where we would like them to sit without using lots of processing or digital reverb. It makes for a much more natural sounding recording and also adds a lot of depth. In other words the sounds we capture are pretty much done”, says engineer Charlie Waymire.
The Congas were recorded with 4 different microphones. A spaced pair of MXL Cubes about 3 feet out in front of the congas about 4.5 feet off the ground (pictured). The cubes have a really cool vibe. They are kind of dark and gritty and did a great job of picking up the full tone of the congas.
There is a Cascade Elroy about 6-7 feet in front of the congas about 2 feet off the ground. The Elroy is set to cardioid and is picking up a lot of the low mid and low frequencies. It really helps to fill out the congas. The placement of the mic was determined by crawling around on the floor and listening for the sweet spot!
We also had an MXL V67G up in the corner of the room about 11 feet off the ground to get some real room ambience just in case we needed it.
Leslie Jones Recording Congas.
For the guitar solo we had two amps set up. A Fender Deluxe in the ISO booth and a Marshall half stack in the live room. One of the cool things about the studio is the “loop” system that allows us to connect all the rooms in any manner we like. For instance, on this track Rob was in the control room and we ran a line to the ISO both with the Fender and continued that line to the Marshall in the live room. One amp is our tight close sound and the other is purely ambience.
Below is a photo of the Fender Deluxe in the ISO booth. It’s miced with and SM57 on the edge of the cone and an MXL V67i pointing straight across the cone.This gave us a nice focused yet smooth sound.
Rob's Amp miced with an SM57 and MXL V67i
We decided to take advantage of the large live room and capture some natural ambience. We set the Marshall half stack close to the control room wall, cranked it up to excite the room and captured it with a pair of MXL Cubes in a spaced pair about 10-12 feet away from the amp. This gave the guitar solo and awesome sense of space! Below is a photo with the camera sitting on top of the amp head. You can get an idea of how the kit was miced for this session too!
Photo from on top of the Marshall head with 2 MXL Cube's in a spaced pair about 10-12 feet away.
Shot of one of the MXL Cubes capturing the Marshall.
It’s very cool to have the room “loop” system that allows us to take advantage of the different rooms.
The boys in Right Hand Rule were back in the studio this week tracking the final song for their upcoming album. With all the rhythm tracks finished all that’s left is lead guitar, some percussion and vocals. It’s been a long road finishing up this album but it’s definitely going to be worth it!
“Working with Leslie Jones and Right Hand Rule is always a pleasure. He has a group of musicians, that when they play together, have a very unique vibe and sound. Very much like the groups from the 60’s & 70’s where the sum was greater than the parts. To me that is what makes a band unique. When you put a group of musicians together and they create a unique sound that only happens when that group is together. It’s special. says engineer Charlie Waymire
Here are a few links to Right Hand Rule on the net:
The new year at the studio started out with a brand new project from drummer Abel Vallejo and guitarist Scott “SVH” Von Heldt. These two have written some really cool tunes with heavy riffs and mean grooves.
Abel is the quintessential rock drummer and gave each song exactly what it needed. Scott has one of the best sounding rigs on the planet! His tone and rhythm definitely set the vibe for the songs. We tracked some solid rhythm tracks!
Check out the video clip below and hear for yourself!
