December 26, 2004
I am working on the finishing touches to a few songs, Caribbean Islands, City of Angels and Love You Naturally. I am getting closer to having some decent vocals and then we will need harmonies. It is great that Mike and I can transport hard drives and work in both studios. We will work out the process but so far it going very smooth. It is so good to be making music in the recording studio again. I could hang out there every day and never weary of the work. It is also a fine thing to be able to meet with my musician friends outside of a bar. What a novel thing. We will be sending some roughs up to Larry Mason for some input and to talk about a marketing strategy. So step by step we go. Thanks to all the people who continue to be supportive.
December 15, 2004
Scott MacGougan will coming on board this weekend at Studio 04 this weekend to help leap forward on this recording project. Tonight Mike and I did the jump up version of Mask. It is really going to rock! It is so good to be recording.
December 14, 2004
Tuesday is session day at Mike Daily's Studio 04. We are going to revisit You Wear a Mask as John Matthews suggested and record a faster version of the tune. It is a little too laid back and it is meant to rock. We were going to let that slide but John called us on it and so there you go. Mike has some days off so we hope to get a lot done before Christmas. I am trying reach Scott MacGougan to bring him on board for some consultation and tracking. Ronnie Llinas will be doing some guitar work tonight and we are going to go over harmonies. I hope to have a Hamilton Murat song on the CD called Where Can I Find Love. I have arranged it as a Reggae tune and it is a happy little ditty. That is my story and I am sticking to it.
December 9, 2004
Manolito (Dale Fuentes) is off to Mexico on Sunday the 12th of December. He spent 8 hours at Studio 04 on Tuesday night and went through all 23 songs with Mike Daily. We will be trading out some files between our studios so I can go home and add some guitar and vocals. Manolito is a world class player and he adds so much to any song he plays. He has the boyish sense of joy and all that Latin rhythm. He played through a take of These Blues and I loved seeing him smiling when he listened back to what we all knew was a great take. Manolito and I have played together off and on from the time we met at the Admiral's Mistress on Whidbey Island twenty years ago. I had the honor of doing three songs with his Latin Jazz band Bahia at a concert last year. He gets better with age and remains ever young at heart. We used his name for the band name at the final Garlic Festival. We have closed down more bars together than the IRS. He is a huge part of this CD project. Thanks man.
Google Search Leads to Licensing Deal!
Celeste records in Japan came upon this website while searching for Rhythm Cafe. They made contact with me and I arranged a connection with Larry Mason, who produced Rhythm Cafe's CD and Room With A View. I also contacted Don Quijano, a record producer friend of mine and got information on what to expect monetarily in regards to licensing and what to watch out for and what to avoid. I introduced Larry to Miya at Celeste and stepped aside. Short story made long, 20 years after the CD was recorded Rhythm Cafe has a licensing deal in Japan for distribution and a part of the world will get to enjoy this wonderful music. You never know what results your efforts will bring. I certainly would have never thought when I put up this website that it would play a small part in the success of Bob Marcure and Deirdre Lord, but surprise, surprise. Congratulations.December 4, 2004
The saga continues with weekly recording sessions. The guys have been troopers showing up each week and putting their talents and inputs into every song. Mike is becoming quite the engineer and he puts in so much person time into the sessions on his own. He is a pro, always prepared and enthusiastic about moving forward. We would be getting nowhere if not for Mike. We now have 23 songs recorded in rough form and just have to pick 12 and wrap them up. We will come out the time with two CD's and ready to start on a third. We will stay focused on the one at present until it is finished and Andie can whip out some art work for the cover and insert. The songs span a few decades because I continue to write and I don't like to lose old friends. The songs have stayed fresh through performance and through the creative inputs of the players. So although I have written enough material over the last year or two to do a completely new CD some standards will be on these new projects. The music has as much variety as I have mood swings and will take the listener through a wide range of emotions. I look forward to the time when it is complete..
Jimmy Culler doing what he loves.Sarah came over and showed us 6 of her short films. What an imagination she has. I think her ideas are unique and very creative. I would love to see her working with a budget and camera crew. I am sure that is the future for she is a determined artist and not afraid of work. I am very proud of her decipline and her pursuit of her talents in so many areas. Go girl.
At present the focus is recording two new CD's simultaneously. I will be continuing to engineer and produce Bill Spies remaining songs to complete his CD and other than that our focus is entirely on recording myself and the band. Rob Peebler will be assisting as an engineer and Don Quijano will be co-producing the projects. That will keep me plenty busy from now until Christmas. I still hope to do some work with Mark Dodge if we can coordinate our schedules.
Our first band gathering was on the 27th of October when a group of us got together for our first session to play some music at Studio 04. John Matthews, Ronnie Llinas, Jimmy Culler, Mike Daily and myself. The last time we got close to having a band together at Mike's was with Mark Dodge in preparation for the Taste of Edmonds. We were rushed and it would have been more fun with more time. The night was meant for relaxing and experimenting with recording a bunch of us live. Manolito couldn't make it but he said maybe he can do it this Wednesday. There are so many songs to record and the biggest challenge for me is picking which ten or twelve songs to record. But the whole point is dialing in the sound and just having some fun. I am looking forward to it.
November Newsletter
October Newsletter Aaron Ewing