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!

Harp on!

Kyle spent a long Saturday with the Naperville Chamber Players, who polished off sixteen (!) tracks - and gave him a chance to brush up on his harp-recording technique. Group leaders Dorothy Deen and Marie Bennett appreciated the sunshine and organic vibe of our live room - and we appreciated their incredible level of professionalism. Looking forward to next time.

Our second Showcase winner...

The results are in, and the favorite Songwriter at Tuesday's Showcase is Todd Kessler. Todd plans to perform with violin and cello accompaniment as Featured Artist at our next Showcase, July 7. Register online now before space fills up!

Showcase photos!

Last night's Songwriters' Showcase was another rousing success, with eight intriguing performances from local songwriters and an encore-eliciting set from featured artist the David Yeager Band. If you haven't joined us for one of these events yet, either to share your music or simply to listen, you're really missing something special. Registration for the July 7 Showcase is now open - you can register now right here.

We were lucky to have James Jordan photographing last night's event. James got great shots of all our songwriters - and he's made them available for us online. Click here to see our Songwriters in performance, then click here to see the David Yeager Band.

I've also got a couple mp3's of last night's Showcase up in the player at www.backthird.com.

I'll be announcing last night's favorite songwriter later this week and giving him or her the offer to return as next month's Featured Artist. Watch this space for details.

Los Músicos del Norte

Kyle spent all day Saturday with Firme, a newly formed Norteño group we've been seeing a lot of lately. The quintet tracked and mixed three songs top to bottom - and left us this to remember them by. For me it was a welcome change to trade the guitar amps in for sax and bajo sexto. Thanks, gents - looking forward to next time.

Produce this, sucka!

It wouldn't be a listening party without a good argument about production. Last night the debate centered on the role of a producer. Should production create an artist's sound, or merely translate it? Do successful producers capture artists or improve them?

Yes, it's always a treat when the gang gets together. The Guild was an intimate dozen or so last night, which made it easier to swap horror stories. If you've never heard how Joe got stuck in a bathroom stall under a 250-pound man halfway through a gig... well, now you'll make it a point to ask.

Of course, our real focus last night was listening to a discussing recordings. The tracks we shone our spotlight on:

• Nirvana's "Something in the Way" from Nevermind
• Leo Kottke's "Watermelon" from 6- and 12-String Guitar  
• "When Your Mind's Made Up" from the Once soundtrack  
• Starflyer 59's "A Good Living"   

The Guild meets again on June 29, when I'm hoping for a rematch with our panel of booking agents. Enjoy Memorial Day!

And the winner is...

Not that it's about picking winners, of course. Friday's kickoff to our Summer season of Songwriters' Showcases was a rousing success. A full roster of 9 songwriters performed for our studio audience, enjoying what's become a rare thing - a perfectly attentive room. We heard some great piano- and guitar-based songs in a variety of genres, and every artist walked out the door with a recording of their work. Featured Artist Vanagon wrapped up the night, with a set that can only be described as - well, just bounce over to the studio page and hear for yourself.

I've been telling people that while the Guild is about relationships, our Showcases are all about craft. But that didn't stop you guys from networking - from all the feedback I've gotten, the chance to connect with other serious songwriters after the Showcase was appreciated almost as much as the music itself. That tends to happen when you really take the time to listen to someone's creations, I suppose - you want to know the artist too.

Participating songwriters agreed to provide feedback for one another in the interests of growing better songs. I compiled that feedback and sent out the results to artists today. There were a lot of great comments, but David Yeager was the clear favorite. David and his band will be performing a half-hour acoustic set as our Featured Artist at the June 2 showcase. This also puts David in the running for the grand prize - an hour consultation with an EMI creative director at our Songwriting Conference in September.

Want to be in the running yourself - or just wish you were here to listen? We're currently registering Songwriters and Guests for the June 2 showcase right here. With three weeks until that Showcase, songwriter registration is already more than half full - so if you want to play, don't delay!

For more photos from Friday, cruise over to the studio's Facebook page.

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

School of Rock

I spent the morning with 10 students from this year's OHS rock songwriting class, talking tracking and mixing - and, more importantly, doing it ourselves. We started with a simple acoustic-guitar pattern and built ourselves a song. In fact, we built two! I'll let the music speak for itself - check out the results on Myspace or see the photo album on Facebook.

Agent secrets, man!

Ok, bad news first. Our booking panel at last night's meeting of The Guild wound up a little thin - unexpected emergencies meant three of our four scheduled booking agents had to excuse themselves at the last minute. Welcome to the music world! I've issued temporary pardons only, though - expect a rescheduled panel sometime over the summer. If you're not on the studio e-mail list, stick your address in the box to the top-right of this page and be the first one to know when that happens.

Meanwhile, we soldiered on and had a great meeting nonetheless. Close to 50 of us packed into the studio lounge to hear Gina Moga, who books Downtown Alive! for the city of Aurora, fill us in on the world of festival booking. Gina gave us the straight talk on what festival promoters are looking for - do people know your music? Can you sell beer? And - above all - do you have a name that will bring people downtown?

For most of us local axe-grinders, of course, the answer's no. But there's more to a fest than a headliner. Here are a couple moves we touched on that might make you more attractive if you're a local band looking to work your way into opening local festivals:

• Play local. If you've got a following here, you're proven already. And fest organizers probably subscribe to the mailing lists of the local clubs - if you're playing there, they know your name already.
• Play covers. In case your momma forgot to tell you, everything's not about you. Fest audiences want to hear stuff they can sing along to. Give them some points of access.
• Consider Sonicbids. Some festivals insist on EPKs, while others - like Downtown Alive! - are willing to consider a variety of submissions. 
• Hit a conference. The Illinois Special Events Network does a convention every year - last year's was in February, but they're moving the next one up to November 2009. If you want to get yourself in front of 150 festival planners from all over Illinois, you can get a table on the expo floor for surprisingly cheap. Even better, 8 lucky acts get to perform at a conference showcase. Submissions for the showcase are taken only through - you guessed it - Sonicbids.