Recording studio, audio training, bands and DJs - Aurora, Illinois

The Guild: Think Tank

If you've gotten to know me at previous meetings of The Guild, you may know I'm kind of an ideas person. I love dreaming up new plans for getting musicians together, for filling the air with song, for making our community cooler. If you've been to our on-going season of Songwriters' Showcases, or if you're among those drooling for more info on the upcoming Backthird Songwriting Conference (patience!), then you know what form a few of those ideas have taken lately.

But here's the thing. I'm not the only one.

Lately, it seems like everyone I meet has a dream involving the arts and their community. In Aurora, these folks and these folks and these folks have all come across my path this month in one way or another - and those are just the ones that have webpages. People are dreaming and hoping and getting together. And that's fantastic.

And it ought to lead somewhere.

So here are the questions I'd like to discuss this month. Is there something you'd like to see happen involving music in your community? What's your dream? What's your frustration? What's your hope?

And then: What are you going to do about it?

Come Monday night prepared to share - and to listen. I think it's time for us do to something together, as a group. But I'd like you to tell us what that something is.

See you Monday at 7:30pm!

The Guild May 18!

About twice a year at the Guild, we do what I call critical listening - a handful of us will bring a track we find interesting or evocative, we'll listen silently as a group, and then we'll discuss. In the past this has provoked great conversation on everything from production technique to the ultimate reason musicians create in the first place. We always learn a lot from each other at these evenings.

And it's time for another one.

This month, I'm throwing the door open: bring any piece of music you'd like to discuss. Whether it's the latest Lady Gaga or the latest rough mix of your own work, we're willing to discuss if you're willing to share.

Priority goes to those who rsvp, so if you want to bring a piece of music, please let me know in advance.

when: 7:30pm Monday, May 18

where: Backthird Audio (map)

who: artists, producers, promoters, and anyone else who "does" music 

what: eating, drinking, listening, responding

The Guild: Gig Me!

Maybe some musicians never need the public. They stay in the back bedroom, playing guitar in the dark, going blind as a cavefish from the lack of sunlight. They write brilliant songs and only ever play them for their mothers. That's enough for them.

Maybe there are musicians like that - but I've never met one. Everybody I know wants to share their music. We want gigs.

And how do you get a gig? Ask this month's panel! For next Monday's meeting of the Guild, I've invited four of my favorite local agents and promoters out to tell us how the music-booking game is really played. If you play music in the western suburbs and you've never been turned down for a gig by at least one of these folks - well, you're simply not trying hard enough!

Here's who'll be joining us Monday:

• Tommy Hartman's Screaming Beaver Records has done booking, promotion and sound for rock shows and open mics all over the 'burbs. He currently production manager at Doug's Rockhouse.
• Mary Rothe has been an entertainment agent for more than 25 years. Her Chicago company, Artists, Events & Entertainment, has been putting musicians and entertainers in banquet halls, hotels and casinos since 1988. And look out - she's also a lawyer.
• Joey Demarco and United Talent book music for literally dozens of bars and clubs in the Chicago area, including North Beach, the Cubby Bear and Walter Payton's Roundhouse.
• Gina Moga, event's coordinator with the Mayor's Office of Special Events in Aurora, books and promotes all of the city's major events - including the Downtown Alive! series of summer festivals.

Now that's a guest list! Of course, these folks aren't here so you can beg them for a gig - they get enough of that from 9 to 5. But if you listen hard and learn to make their lives a little easier, you may find yourself playing more than ever.

As always, the Guild kicks off with drinks and snacks at 7:30pm. We never run out of coffee, but any other food or drink are welcome. See you Monday!

Songwriters' Showcase

We're thrilled to announce our upcoming Songwriters' Showcases, kicking off at 7pm Friday, May 8, and continuing throughout the summer on the first Tuesday of every month. Our season of showcases will culminate in a songwriting conference the second week of September, at which one lucky showcase writer will be treated to a one-on-one meeting with a leading song publisher from EMI.

Each showcase is a live concert, a demo recording sessiona dn a songwriting workshop -- combined. You perform your music in our recording studio, in front of an audience fo other songwriters and music lovers. We record your performance and compile feedback from the other participants. You leave with your songs on CD and a written evaluation to help you improve your writing.

Excited yet? We're currently registering for the first Showcase only - at 7pm Friday, May 8. You can register online here, or view the Showcase Q&A to get the full details. The summer showcase schedule is online right here.

The Guild, March 30: Watch them work!

Are you making music you're proud of - or music that sells? Does your band make decisions democratically, or via the tyrannical-front-man method? And just how DO you explain that great sound you've been hearing in your head?

Next week, watch someone else figure all that out for a change.

At Monday's meeting of the Guild, I'll be showing a favorite rock documentary of mine. It's great footage of a great band recording a great album - but even better, it's a great conversation starter. This film (no, I'm not telling you which one) is one of the classic modern-day stories about what happens when art and commerce collide. I'm looking forward to some great discussions afterward - so don't plan on rolling when the credits do.

As always, the Guild kicks off with drinks and snacks at 7:30pm. The coffee's on me, but if you want to bring something else to eat or drink - popcorn, perhaps? - you'll be a rock star among rock stars.

I'll be starting our film at about 8pm to make sure there's plenty of time for discussion afterward, so don't be late if you want to know what all the buzz is about afterward. See you Monday!

when: 7:30pm Monday, March 30
where: Backthird Audio (map)

who: artists, producers, promoters, and anyone else who "does" music at any level
what: eating, drinking, discussing a great music film

The Guild: 3 on 1

Want to go to concerts for free? Want to meet your favorite artists in person and ask them all the questions no one ever thinks to ask? Wish you listen to new records all the time, and get paid for your opinions?

Well, you can't - not without taking market share from the panelists I've rustled up for this month's Guild.

At Monday's meeting, we'll be joined by three area music writers. Andy Argyrakis is a notorious freelancer whose bylines turn up places like the Chicago Tribune, the Daily Journal and Paste Magazine. Carter Moss is a regular with the Illinois Entertainer. And Guild regular Andre Salles, when he's not sneaking good music into the pages of the Beacon News, is my favorite music blogger.

We'll sit these three down, and get the scoop on what they do - and what we as musicians should be doing to make their jobs easier. Our format will be mostly Q-and-A, so if you're a musician wondering how to better interact with the press - here comes your chance.

As always, the Guild kicks off with drinks and snacks at 7:30pm. The coffee's on me, but if you want to bring something else to share we'll love you for it. Beer drinkers, I'm looking in your direction. And cheesecake bakers - I'm practically begging here. We ALL are.

when: 7:30pm Monday, February 23

where: Backthird Audio (map)

who: artists, producers, promoters, and anyone else who "does" music at any level

what: eating, drinking, writerly panel

Monday, Jan 26: The Guild - Q & A

Complete the following:

1. I'd be happy with my music if I could just...
2. I have no idea what musicians mean when they say...
3. The only difference between me and John Mayer is...

What'd you come up with? Probably questions. Stuff you don't know, don't have or don't get about music and the performing world. But you're lucky! I've got answers for you.

Ok, maybe not me personally. But I'm betting someone does. This Monday at The Guild, we'll be leveraging the power of collective knowledge ("crowd-sourcing," they call it in Silicon Valley) to get our burning questions answered.

Wondering how to get a club owner to notice you? Not sure why death metal guys sing like that? If you're like me, the above list of statements inspired some questions ("what makes people book me?", "what's Mixolydian mean?", and "how can I be cuter?", respectively). Write your questions down. On Monday we'll sort through them - and see who in our group knows the answers.

As always, the Guild starts at 7:30pm with networking and socializing. Coffee's on me; BYO whatever else. I'll see you Monday!

The Backthird Audio Christmas show

We're working on a tradition at Backthird Audio. In 2005, and again in 2006, my sister, her husband and I shut up this studio to the public for a night in December and invited a small group of friends over for an intimate evening of music and fellowship. These first Christmas shows, which we announced with a simple postcard with a picture of a tiny candle, have a really special place in my heart. If you've ever been to a show here you know it's about much more than great music in a great studio. It's about people. We put on the best show we could those first two years in the hopes of honoring the one we believe this season is about - and the precious people who had chosen to join us for it. But when the music ended, the people stayed,We had cookies and coffee and cider, and we laughed late into the night.

Those nights immediately became some of my favorites of the season. So when my sister's band - now known as Willowfair - released an album in 2007 and we had to let the Chrismas show - well, it simply wasn't the same.

I'm simply thrilled to announce that the tradition is back. This year we're broadening the circle - I hope this place can be about community, after all, and we've met too many friends with incredible talent not to share the love. So we'll be joined on December 12 and 13 by Andrea Dawn, Ben Thomas and Jeremy Keen. This will be small. It will be special. And we hope you'll choose to join us. You can reserve your seats and get more information here.

Man Draws Guitar Fish, Rests on Laurels

This is clearly the greatest single thing that I have ever drawn - the hack artist's equivalent, surely, to what landing on the moon must have meant to Neil Armstrong. But I can't retire - I've got to host this month's Guild meeting, which I'm thrilled to note will be our second-ever guitar pull!

Not sure what a guitar pull is? This axe-shaped fish - or "Fishtar," as I've dubbed him - should be more than ample to communicate the plan. You "pull" your guitar over to Backthird Audio, just like pulling on a fishing line. Then you play a song you wrote, or just something you love, and revel in the joyous noise as other local musicians to the same. We get to know each other, and we get to share the music we're passionate about. Life gets grand for another month.

If you're not the guitar-pulling type, your favorite Aurora recording studio has guitars to share - and a grand piano, to boot. You can even sit and listen. The main thing is to get here.

when:   7:30pm Monday, June 23 (music starts at 8:30)
where: Backthird Audio (map)                   
who:   artists, producers, promoters and anyone else who "does" music
what: eating, drinking,  talking
but especially: playing!

If you'd like to share a song with us, here are the rules:

1. Be informal. We're a group of musicians workshopping songs. We're not a recital, a concert, or even an open mic.

2. Be informative. We'd love to hear briefly - BRIEFLY - about where this song came from and why you're sharing it.

3. Be inelectric. Yes, we mean "acoustic" - no amps, no syths, and nothing that goes "wah." But if it's acoustic and you can get it here, you're welcome to play it.

4. Be quick! Let me know asap if you intend to share a song. We can only fit so many tunes in one night, so this is first-come, first-served.

See you Monday!

The Guild: Spaces - July 28

Where do you play? What makes a good or bad music venue - for audiences and for artists? What does it take apart from great music to guarantee a great show?

At this month's meeting, we'll talk venues. I want to hear what your favorite area music rooms are, and what you do to book and promote great shows for yourself. If there are tools and promotional materials you use in connecting yourself with great venues, bring 'em along to share - we'd love to see what works for you.

As always, we'll start the night in casual conversation and refreshment. Coffee's on me - bring a six-pack or something savory to share if you're so inclined. See you then!