Update On Kerry McFate’s Clarence Lowden Album Project
Posted: July 7, 2013 Filed under: Client News, Client News, Pro Tools Software, Studio News | Tags: .wav, Bill Watson, Hank Williams Jr., Jamey Johnson, Johnny Cash, Kerry McFate, Mike Douchette On Pedal Steel, nashville trax, Taylor acoustic guitar, Wanda Vick on fiddle Leave a comment
Songwriter Kerry McFate (left) and producer Bill Watson (right) taking a break from mixing Kerry’s songs.
Songwriter Kerry McFate (left) and producer Bill Watson (right) take a break from mixing songs for Kerry’s Clarence Lowden album.
Kerry McFate will be taking his flight back to New York City tomorrow morning just thrilled with the experience at Nashville Trax and stoked about the way the songs came out.
“Bill, I’m blown away, I can’t thank you and your team enough for taking the songs I brought in, mere kernels really, and growing them into these fabulous recordings!” Kerry exclaimed as we parted.
He’ll be the first to admit he’s not a highly skilled singer technically, but he has a great voice and with do-over punch-ins, plus a little help from software, reverb, delay and EQ, his strong baritone, (which has shades of deep register country singers like Hank Williams Jr., Johnny Cash and Jamey Johnson) sounds just great, even better than he expected. He also played his own Taylor acoustic guitar and those tracks mixed in, no problem.
Fiddle and steel guitar are featured throughout, which Kerry requested when we first discussed the project, and sound super, thanks to the contributions of my favorite calls on both of those instruments, Wanda Vick on fiddle and Mike Douchette on pedal steel.
The mixes are finished on all three songs, which Kerry intends to release on CD under his fictitious Clarence Lowden name.
Kerry has the stereo mix .wav files as well as the (Pro Tools) session files on his hard drive. That’s actually the 8th or 9th copy of all files on 4 different drives because at Nashville Trax we meticulously back up on external hard drives in rotation at each stage of the recording process: After each song is tracked, after each overdub musician or singer completes their parts, and of course, after the final mix.
With these first few tunes I think we were able to define a direction and create a unique sound for Kerry that can be explored even further as the album is completed- b.e. watson
Why Nashville Trax?
Posted: July 7, 2013 Filed under: Studio Equipment | Tags: Bill Watson, Gretsch drum kit, Nashville session guitarist Tom Wild, nashville trax Leave a comment
Want great drum sounds? Come record where the great drum sounds are!
Nashville session guitarist, Tom Wild, mentioned how well the CD he produced in a couple previous tracking sessions at Nashville Trax (for one of his own clients) with yours truly engineering, turned out. (We cut the rhythm tracks and overdubs then exported them to Tom’s hard drive for him to mix.) He said his client was thrilled, the entire CD came out fantastic and promised to forward a copy.
The music was rock and Tom reported, “The drum sounds were just awesome and mixed great, don’t ever touch a thing.” Most Nashville studios either don’t own a drum kit or have a tiny, constrictive drum room with zero ambiance guaranteeing “dead on arrival” sounds that require a lot of signal processing to make them right, if they ever can be considering the typical “studio drum kit” is probably assembled from a bunch of used junk pro drummers didn’t want anymore. The huge drum room here with a permanently setup Gretch kit and microphones chosen specifically for each drum guarantee consistent sounds, The only adjustments I have to make most of the time are volume to account for drummers with a lighter touch and minor EQ tweaking to a specific type of music- Bill Watson
A Great Day Recording Music At Nashville Trax!
Posted: July 7, 2013 Filed under: Client News, Nashville Session Musicians, Now Tracking, Session Player Stories, Studio News | Tags: Avalon compressor/preamp, Avantone CK-7 large diaphragm microphone, Bill Watson Nashville Music Producer, David Northrup Drummer, Kerry McFate, mike Douchette, recording music, The Opry, tom wild, wanda vick Leave a comment
Songwriter Kerry McFate (left) and producer Bill Watson (right) take a break from mixing songs for Kerry’s Clarence Lowden album.
Wow! A truly fantastic day today tracking the first songs for the Kerry McFate CD at Nashville Trax. Two days of rain welcoming him to Nashville couldn’t dampen his enthusiasm that only increased as the recording progressed. Kerry ended that evening with, “Bill, this is way beyond anything I could have possibly imagined, just incredible, I’m so excited!”
Drummer David Northrup laid down fabulous tracks, including a couple of country shuffle beats, for Tom Wild, Wanda Vick, Mike Douchette and other session players to build on. As always, the Nashville Trax studio drum kit sounds were killer.
Kerry played his new Taylor acoustic purchased just for the session. It was routed through the Avantone CK-7 large diaphragm microphone plugged into the Avalon compressor/preamp, a combination I’ve come to rely on for acoustic instruments and it produced the rich, full bodied sound with excellent articulation it always does. We’re getting a reputation for delivering excellent acoustic guitar, fiddle, dobro and mandolin sounds.
Part of the fun for clients coming in to town is hanging out with the session players between takes. Kerry was treated to stories from David about his recent gigs with Wynonna and other artists, a story from Mike Douchette about how, back in the day, a master tape with hundreds of thousands of dollars of work on it, the only copy, was accidentally erased by some drunk guys clowning around who decided it would be a good idea to record their antics and grabbed the wrong tape to record over. Just lots of priceless stuff I’m sure Kerry will delight in sharing with everyone back home.
Tom Wild played two of the tunes on the same rig he used to played The Opry this past weekend, a maple Telecaster direct through his pedal board that could have easily passed for a Fender Twin Reverb amp.
Early vocal tracking on Kerry’s project, then mix tomorrow, I can’t wait to get at these fabulous tracks!- b.e.
Traditional Country Song Pitch Opportunity
Posted: July 4, 2013 Filed under: Song Pitch Opportunity | Tags: garrett miles, garth brooks, play it again demos, Taylor Swift, traditional country Leave a comment
Play It Again Engineer Mixing A Song Demo. Why not yours?
If you have an uptempo traditional country song you’ve been holding back here’s a great excuse to have a demo made at Play It Again Demos and pitch it.
Garrett Miles is seeking uptempo traditional country. He is playing bars and concerts, has built a large fan base and has opened for several well known country acts. This may offer an excellent chance to get a cut before he signs a major label deal.
Some new songwriters can’t understand why they’d want to give first rights on a song to a rising star instead of holding out for an established artist. Agreed, it’s a gamble. But imagine, if you had a cut on an early Garth Brooks, Taylor Swift….you name the artist… CD, it would have forever given you a credit that meant something as well as exposure for possible future covers of your song. And it’s generally easier to get a thumbs up on a song pitch at this point in a career.
Send your uptempo country tune in and if we agree it fits the pitch request, we’ll cut it at a discount rate (15% off our most recent order form rate*) and submit it for the project. Of course you’ll retain all rights.
*Discount offer does not apply to projects already agreed to or already in production.
Christian Songs About Faith
Posted: July 1, 2013 Filed under: Christian | Tags: Building 429, Chris Tomlin, Christian Songs About Faith, Faith vs. logic, Jesus, John 20:29, kutless Leave a commentHere is an inspiring collection of faith building contemporary Christian song videos:
There are songs by Kutless, Building 429, Chris Tomlin and more. Listen long enough and you’ll hear the same songs on Christian radio but here they’re back-to-back in a powerful, faith building array!
Faith vs. logic? Faith is everything.
Jesus is like a fantastic pair of shoes that don’t look all that comfortable to walk in and aren’t as fancy as some options but try them on in faith. Experience how much lighter your step is, how much farther you can go with them than without, and how much better you feel with them on; you’ll wear them every chance you get. Get Him living inside you and you’ll never want to be without Him.
Logic tells us to strike back at our enemies. Jesus says love them.
Logic says crush your competition. Jesus says to be counter-intuitive, help them out instead. Have faith that your work won’t decrease. Know that all your work comes from Him and He will bless you with even more.
Logic says if there’s a God he’d surely respect the highly intelligent, the rich, the powerful. But Jesus, God in the flesh, walked the earth hanging out with the weak, the despised, the blind, the poor.
Your logic skills won’t impress Him. Your IQ won’t save you. Your love will.
Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” – John 20:29
The Cream Rises
Posted: June 26, 2013 Filed under: Songwriting and Career Promotion | Tags: ryan lafferty, still working music Leave a comment
The best advice I received when I first came to Nashville was, “Work hard, the cream rises to the top here.”
And here’s proof it can rise quickly. Songwriter Ryan Lafferty, who moved to Nashville about one year ago has just signed with Still Working Music as a songwriter . b. e.
Sister Sparrow and The Dirty Birds
Posted: June 14, 2013 Filed under: Songwriting and Career Promotion | Tags: A & R, development deal, live showcase for major label, showcases, Sister Sparrow and The Dirty Birds Leave a commentA lot of aspiring artists just don’t seem to get it. They can sing, they may be good looking. But in Nashville that’s only the bargaining chip that gets you to the table, everyone holds those cards. In most cases, to “win” you need more.
My advice: Hit the stage with intent.
This band gets it:
Sure, there are big acts that basically just stand nearly motionless onstage and win people over with their personality and/or talent. But they already have hit records. Too many aspiring artists who “want to get signed” get the chance to do a live showcase for major label A&R and when the lights go on, have nothing.
No stage movement, no personality, nothing unique.
The difference between singers I’ve recorded during my time time here who did move on to a major label recording contract and the ones who had great talent yet failed to move beyond a development deal or even the showcasing stage is a lack of drive, a lack of setting themselves apart from other aspiring artists in some way.
Sister Sparrrow and The Dirty Birds is a group totally into what they’re doing. It wouldn’t matter whether there were 5 people watching or 55,000, they’d perform just the same. The band is tight, the girl has a unique voice and makes the most of what she’s got. This is the type of act any A & R person would jump to sign- b.e.
Demo or Master?
Posted: June 11, 2013 Filed under: Song Demo Tip, Songwriting Tips | Tags: Demo or Master?, Demo to Limited Pressing Conversion Agreement 2 CommentsShould you have a demo made of your latest song or a master? That is should you use a service such as Play It Again Demos or should you use a studio such as Nashville Trax?
Do a demo if:
Do a master if:
Note that in 2012 AFM Local 257 here in Nashville approved the Demo to Limited Pressing Conversion Agreement which permits an upgrade from demo to master that gives credit for payments already made. Previously it was illegal to sell a demo.
Christian Song Demo Service and Christian Recording Studio
Posted: June 10, 2013 Filed under: Christian, Studio Services | Tags: Christian radio stations, Christian Recording Studio, Christian Song Demo Service, Christian songwriter tipsheets, K-Love, King of Kings, songwriting, The Fish, The Way Leave a comment
A Christian Demo Service guitarist kneels at the foot of the cross
Need a Christian Song Demo Service? A Christian Recording Studio?
Try:
Play It Again Demos’ Christian Demo Service
If you believe in God, make the Lord Jesus Christ the center of your life and write music that would best fit on Christian Radio Stations like:
K-Love
King of Kings
The Fish
The Way
…then Play It Again Demos is the Christian Demo Service for you!
The producer, Bill Watson who produces for both Play It Again Demos and Nashville Trax Recording Studio is a Christian and listens to Christian music of all types. The musicians and sraff who work for both the demo service and the recording studio are Christians.
Most, like Bill (who plays bass guitar) serve on worship teams at local churches on Sundays. Most of those teams play contemporary Christian music so the musicians keep up with the latest trends in the genre.
Having quality demos made of your best songs is an important step that will position you as a serious Christian songwriter whether you are writing sinply to glorify The Lord or you’re pitching them directly to a popular Christian artist in the hope they’ll record them.
If you already have a solo act or a band a Christian Recording Studio like Nashville Trax will be needed to start recording songs professionally and offer them for sale on CD, download or at live performances.
Christian Singer Seeking Songs For Project
Posted: June 9, 2013 Filed under: Christian, Song Pitch Opportunity | Tags: christian singer seeks songs, Hannah Belle Leave a commentHannah Belle, of Lorman, MS will be recording here in Nashville this summer and she’s seeking uptempo hit single country material. She’s a Christian and wants clean lyrics but the song submissions need to be country, not pop country, not Christian. If you have something you’d like to have cut specifically for this pitch send in your rough for evaluation.
Nashville Trax News
Posted: May 16, 2013 Filed under: Client News, Client News, Studio News | Tags: Cash, Jennings, nashville trax, Prine Leave a comment
Bill Watson, Owner & Producer of Play It Again Demos and Nashville Trax
Nashville Trax News: I’m beginning charting today on the first few songs for an album by songwriter Kerry McFate. Kerry hails from New York, NY. Some of the songs will be recorded there, some here at Nashville Trax, with the first session scheduled in late June.
I love that a lot of the influences in Kerry’s writing are Cash, Prine and Jennings. I’m hearing lots of good, old traditional fiddle and steel tracks on these tunes- b.e.
Piano Tracks Online
Posted: May 12, 2013 Filed under: Nashville Session Musicians, Studio Services | Tags: piano tracks online, piano tracks over the internet Leave a comment
performing band silhouette
Announcing: Piano Tracks Online
Start your demo with a custom session quality piano part!
Replace a poorly played piano track!
Add a piano track to build your production.
For additional information please go to:
A Songwriting & Recording Blog 