Quiet here, busy elsewhere

Been neglecting updating the website stuff of late, as we ramp up our production calendar at The License Lab and integrate our workflows with the systems at Universal Music.

Someday maybe I’ll get around to starting that mix/production walkthrough series for this here blog that I keep pondering. Honestly every time I see another Masterclass or How To Series from a producer I’ve never heard of, it dampens my spirit for the whole idea. I mean, there’s plenty of places to learn production tricks and the How and Why elsewhere online. But I’ve had some people ask, and have a few ideas started that I do hope to finish up someday and put out into the world… in particular the single-microphone approach to recording an ensemble in the studio, and the projects I’ve taken on recently where I’m not quite mixing but also not really mastering… kinda “heavy handed mastering” maybe? It’s like “mixing” where there’s a lot more going on than traditional mastering but I only have a stereo source file to work with… some fun creative challenges with these projects.

I’m still remote mixing for artists in my new workspace in Seattle, and have had a few bits from pandemic era begin to see the light of day… new songs and albums for Trapper Schoepp, Adoptahighway, Nick Zoulek, Argopelter, Arum Rae, Valerie Lighthart, Buffalo Gospel, Devin Drobka’s fantastic avant garde jazz trio, and a new single from Immortal Girlfriend that’s coming out soon. And the Versio Curs record that I tracked drums for (and bass? it’s been a while) is finally out. I’ve been adding some bits to my mixes playlist at Spotify and trying to keep my discography here up to date.

The whole Sample Pack thing (Holtergeist et al) is just on forced hiatus due to the renewed focus on our production music efforts at the Lab. Many ideas still floating about, and chatting with some longtime trusted associates about the whole affair. Time will tell. Too many ideas.

Also deep in discussions about the next chapter for the studio in Milwaukee, Wire & Vice. Sessions continue with the crew there, Ashlee on booking and management, Ian as the main engineer working in Studio A, but lots and lots of ideas about what the next few years could like. Oh and Justin Perkins and his venerable Mystery Room Mastering have moved out to his own new place in Madison (but remains our only mastering guru for all things License Lab related, and the studio’s first call/referral for any work passing through our doors there). So we will have a room available for lease at some point once we clear that room of all the gear we’re assembling and cleaning up for our forthcoming summer (or fall?) studio garage sale. More on that on the coming weeks and months.

Anyways, hi. Busy busy. More (probably not very) soon.

I miss live music. Hopeful for the future. Get vaccinated. Bye for now.