Who's in The Studio - Dec 27, 2011
Posted by elmo
Boy, time flies! I just noticed that I need to update the Elmo's Lab posts to reflect the activities since AUGUST! So, here goes…
The Freddie Steady 5 - We finished recording and mixing the new The Freddie Steady 5 EP of four new songs to be released on vinyl (mastered for vinyl by Bob Ohlsson of Bob Ohlsson Audio Mastery), AND a six song CD (mastered at Elmo's) to be released early next year. The title is "1000 Miles" to be released on Freddie's SteadyBoy Records label. Greg, Layton and Bill - Greg Jackson and Bill Browder have been working with yours truly, Elmo on some songs intended to exploit a particularly pleasing vocal blend. Work in progress…
Emily Grace Berry - Freddie is mentoring Emily, a newcomer with promising vocal talent, and working on a CD to be released next year. Good luck to you, Emily. It sounds great!
Ben Livingston - Mixed and mastered a compelling set of Ben Livingston and The What She Said Boys live at the iconic Cactus Cafe.
Hunter Peterson - Speaking of mentoring, I mentored Hunter for his Westlake HS mentoring class this fall. He aspires to be in audio production. We recorded his band, and, in the process gave Hunter a view of the work flow, techniques, etc. The track came out great! Hunter, I sincerely hope the experience was helpful. I sure enjoyed it!
Mitch Jacobs - Mitch is working on his next studio CD. Getting opportunity for him to come up from Houston has been daunting, but we are scheduled for basics with his band in January. Great songs! Another work in progress…
Peter Lewis - Yes, we're still working on Peter's project, scheduled for a single release, some SXSW performances and a full CD next year.
Bill Goins - Bill asked me to retrieve from archives some tracks we created for him several years ago. Back then we engaged Tommy Taylor, myself and other Denim members to play along to select records so that Bill could play his guitar to them in his Protools rig. He could listen to the original, and then play with us as practice and entertainment for him. The tracks sound great! Tommy's drums may be the best I have recorded, and it was fun to hear them again!
Bill Starrett - Bill came in just before Christmas to record two original songs as a start to his next product. Excellent songs and performance! We will be working on that in the new year as well…
Clients & Discography Updated - Aug 10, 2011
Posted by joeld [webmaster]
Today we've updated the studio discography to include the latest release from Sugar Bayou. Check out all the lab's albums and listen to sample tracks on the Clients & Discography page.
And get ready to "Like" Elmo's Lab even more…but this time on Facebook. The official Elmo's Lab Facebook page is coming soon!
Who's in The Studio - Aug 10, 2011
Posted by elmo
Leonard & Kristine Arnold - Back in May of this year, Leonard, Kristine, John Inmon, Mike Rieman, Tommy Hill and myself got together to play a couple of shows around Austin. The response was overwhelming! And when we played The Saxon Pub, Richard Vannoy recorded the live show. Work at Elmo's Lab has begun on the editing and mastering of that show for future release. We also played Poodie's Hilltop Lounge to a wonderful, responsive crowd. A repeat is now tentatively planned for October around the Poodie's Birthday weekend, and we might add another venue, Threadgill's South.
FS5 - Here he comes again! Freddie Steady Krc has been in the studio working on a new release plus some special offers for his fans. Bon Wier recorded some sterling drum tracks for this project at his new drum production facility. Rumor has it that Freddie plans a vinyl and CD release for the up coming year just before SXSW. In addition, I still hear about working on more Peter Lewis tracks for that as yet unreleased work by Peter.
Ben Livingston - Ben came in with a live multitrack of his recent Cactus Cafe show for tweaking. We are also planning another CD for him, possibly produced by veteran producer and Tacoma Records CEO, Denny Bruce. We'll see how that progresses as we look for a large, good sounding hall for an acoustic live recording for Ben's third release. He has two former releases, both recorded at Elmo's Lab.
Mitch Jacobs - Mitch is coming in this weekend to start work on a new project here at Elmo's Lab. We look forward to working with this great singer-songwriter again.
Who's in The Studio - Apr 14, 2011
Posted by elmo
The Party Posse - Here they come again! The Party Posse came in to rerecord some vocals with their new lead singer, Jennifer Z (Zavaleta). She's been here before with Jon Blondell to demo some of her great songs. This time she will be singing for fun and profit with The Posse. Needless to say, this former "Hot Tomato" claims her ground as a soul, rock, R&B and Hip Hop Diva Extraordinaire! Well, it was obvious that she's great when she was here before!
Who's in The Studio - Jan 28, 2011
Posted by elmo
Sugar Bayou - Work is just about finished on the third Sugar Bayou CD, and it turned out great! All picking and singing, ably overseen by producer, Lloyd Maines, was carried out to perfection. But the biggest plus in this record will be the sterling songwriting ability displayed by the three principles, April Rapier, Bill Browder and Bob Oldreive. Final review of the mixes is being carried out now by all participants, and the project will be sent to mastering engineer, Bob Olhsson at Bob Olhsson Audio Mastery in Nashville TN. After Bob's great work on last year's Ben Livingston CD, Trust Your Equipment, we just had to get him involved in this project. We look forward to completion of the final product with an expected release date as early as late February, 2011. It was a joy to work with these great folks on this wonderful project!
Donny McCorqudale - Freddie Steady Krc brought Donny in just after Christmas for a one-song-in-a-day recording featuring Freddie on Drums, Cam King on guitars and yours truly, Elmo on bass and vocals. The track is a devotional song written by Donny that is a compelling testament to his faith and songwriting ability. Thanks to Freddie and Donny for the opportunity to work on this track!
Coming Up - Back to the Peter Lewis Project and a new project for Freddie and SteadyBoy Records…
Who's in The Studio - Dec 1, 2010
Posted by elmo
Sugar Bayou - Studio partner, Bill Browder brought in his hybrid Bluegrass/Americana group for the production of their latest and yet untitled CD. The group was originally formed several years ago in Houston TX by April Rapier and Bob Oldreive. After they added Browder to the group, I worked on their last CD, "Dance Hall Incident" at Elmo's Lab back in 2006/2007. With Rapier and Oldreive subsequently moving to central Texas, this latest project will be tracked and mixed totally in house at Elmo's Lab. In addition, the group secured the services of Grammy Award winning producer, Lloyd Maines to produce and perform on the new project. If you don't already know about him, Google this guy! Although Maines has performed on several CDs at Elmo's Lab in the past few years, and I have worked for Lloyd as a session vocalist several times, this is our first production together. The team of Sugar Bayou, Maines and Elmo has proven to be a powerhouse combination. Lloyd's great work ethic and Sugar Bayou's sterling writing and performance have made this an unforgettable experience. Sugar Bayou also brought in Eddie Cantu on drums and percussion, and Richard Bowden on violin (fiddle) to weave their musical magic on the tracks. In the home style setting at Elmo's Lab, the meals and camaraderie shared by all during long work days have created a bond which has certainly enhanced the experience, and has surely enhanced the quality of the outcome. Thanks to April and Bob, JoAnn and Joel DePenning for providing the comforts! And the work continues…
Peter Lewis - After taking a break while producer, Freddie Steady Krc took care of some gigs and other tasks, we will be back in Elmo's Lab to finish up Peter's project soon. I can't wait to hear the finished product!
Jenny Wolfe - Well, Jenny's now 18 and applying to colleges with an emphasis on her singing career. She has asked me to create some edited (non-vocal) versions of tracks from her first CD, "Jenny Wolfe and the Pack" recorded, mixed and mastered at Elmo's Lab and released in 2007 on SteadyBoy Records, to use in her auditions. Good Luck, Jenny! That's all you might need 'cause we all know you've already got everything else you need to succeed!
Who's in The Studio - Oct 26, 2010
Posted by elmo
Peter Lewis - Freddie Steady Krc and I have been working sporadically on Peter's project as time allows around our live performance dates. Peter sent 6 more tunes to work on in September so we still have some work to do. This is fun…
Who's in The Studio - Jun 29, 2010
Posted by elmo
Peter Lewis - As one of the members of the famous rock band, Moby Grape, Peter certainly qualifies as a genuine rock star! As it happens, he is also a friend of Freddy Krc. Freddie is producing a CD of Peter's newest songs for release on the Steady Boy Records label in Feb of 2011. Peter has sent his vocals and guitar work for us to add drums, bass and other production. We will be working on this project this summer. We have high hopes for it's acceptance not only in the garage genre but also in the Americana market as Peter has included some definite roots/country touches to his style. More on this…
Who's in The Studio - Mar 23, 2010
Posted by elmo
Buddy Lee - Buddy was in often in this spring working on demos for his next project. Helping Buddy arrange the songs and playing most instruments (acoustic guitar, dobro, etc.) on the acoustic demos was Jeff Plankenhorn. Buddy's songs are full of the truth in life a person sees only when he has lived in danger of losing life itself. There's an honestly and attention to what is really important in his lyrics. Jeff is a delight in his ability to produce, arrange and perform material on the spot…and spot on.
Jennifer Zavaleta - Jon Blondell brought in Jennifer Z to demo some songs for her upcoming project. Jennifer is an impressive writer and has an amazing voice and style! here's hoping we hear more from her.
Rose Kimball & Judy Painter - Fletcher Clark brought in his production of a new CD by Rose Kimball and Judy Painter for mixing. After an intensive 14 hour mix session the duo took their project to Terra Nova Digital Audio, Inc. for mastering the next day. This is some nice folk music!
Who's in The Studio - Feb 7, 2010
Posted by elmo
Well, after a very busy Holiday season, work is finished on most of the projects listed in the 2009 entries.
Rusty Wier - As most of you know, Rusty passed from this life October 9 2009 after a valiant battle with cancer. My old friend was here several times in the last two years, and he was in the studio a scant three weeks before his untimely passing with characteristic determination to keep on making music. I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to reconnect with Rusty and his family in his final months and enjoy again, after 35 years, the thing that bonded us from the start, making music. He will be sorely missed.
Jenet Z - Janet is having her new product mastered by Andy Bradley at Sugar Hill Studios in Houston. The project was a joy to work on, and I wish her all the luck in getting it out there!
Ben Livingston - Ben's project, ably produced by veteran songwriter/guitarist, Bill Browder is finished and it turned out great. Ben's poetic writing and wry sense of humor make this a very entertaining CD. It was mastered by industry icon Bob Olhsson of Bob Olhsson Audio Mastery in Nashville TN (http://www.hyperback.com). If you don't know who he is, check out the interview in Tape Op mag. A link is provided on his home page. Bob's work is the absolute best. After reading his creds in the interview, I can see why. A quote from Bob Olhsson about Ben's project: "This is a really good sounding record!"
Steady Boy Records Projects - Mastering on two CDs set for release in 2010 were completed. The Explosives "Three Ring Circus" and the Jimmy Silva Tribute. Freddie's new Explosives CD, a compilation of live and studio versions of most of the Explosives greatest hits along with a DVD of some live gigs, will be out in February. The Silva comp, spearheaded by master wordsmith Jud Cost is a very interesting group of diverse musical acts performing Silva's material. Tracks came in from all over, even one from Abbey Road Studios in London. Elmo provided three tracks from previous releases on the CD, one from The Freddie Steady 5's "Texpop" CD on Steady Boy Records and two from former Beau Brummels lead singer Sal Valentino's CD, "Come Out Tonight" originally on "Fat Pete Records".
COMING UP…
Johnny Ray Watson has been in with his talented daughters recording vocals on a new devotional Christmas product… Buddy Lee, a new artist and veteran of three tours in Iraq is coming in after his debut on the "Voices of a Grateful Nation" CD of last year to demo some songs for a future project purported to be produced by Jamie Oldaker ...Sugar Bayou is coming back to demo songs for their new CD ...Mitch Jacobs is making noise about a new product to be recorded at Elmo's… Will Callery, legendary songwriter, says he'll be coming in soon for a new project… and on it goes…
Who's in The Studio - Sept,20 2009
Posted by elmo
Dennis Keller- brought in his Fever Tree Rising to record eight new tracks. This is history, folks, eight new tracks from the iconic '60s Houston art rock band. The songs, written by Dennis, have the same flavor as the vintage songs and should meld well with the original works still available from the major labels.
Rusty Wier - came in with his son, Bon Allen on drums, John Fannin on guitar and your's truly, Elmo on bass to record an old song never before recorded by Rusty called "Mail Order Bride". Bon says he remembers that Rusty wrote the song on a family vacation trip to Tabernash, CO back in '81 or '82.
The Big Time -new party band demo was completed . Check it out at www.thebigtimeaustin.com. Everyone turned in great performances just like they do at all the Big Time gigs. The performers were: Eddie Cantu on drums, Mike Rieman on bass, Riley Osbourn (and Bill Browder) on keys, Bill Browder on guitar, John Mills on sax, Keith Winking (and Pat Murray) on trumpet, Suzy Remeny and Mike Cross on vocals. Background vocalists were Suzy, Bill and Elmo.
Ben Livingston - tracked nine new basics to add to the four tracks we recorded a few years ago. Working with Ben were the Big Time/Denim rhythm section comprised of Bill Browder, Eddie Cantu and Mike Rieman. Ben's songs are interesting and entertaining, and I look forward to their further development.
Janet Z - from Houston came in with Freddie Steady Krc producing and performing. Janet's 12 songs are a mix of Texas roots, blues, rock and country. This stuff is very authentic.
The Explosives - mastering was finished for the coming CD and DVD product called "Three Ring Circus" to be released early next year on Steady Boy Records.
The Jimmy Silva Tribute Compilation - tracks for mastering keep coming in from all over the world. Jimmy had a lot of friends, and he wrote a lot of songs. There are some very interesting cuts in this compilation. I look forward to hearing them all in the finished CD to be released next year on SteadyBoy Records.
Who's in The Studio - Aug 1, 2009
Posted by elmo
Over the past few weeks Elmo has been involved in a couple of mastering projects, a new project start up, and taking care of some long needed maintenance and repair.
Professor Jud Cost, rock historian, interviewer and writer of liner notes for the stars, is spearheading a compilation CD of garage band icon, Jimmy Silva's songs. Jimmy is no longer with us, but he left a great legacy of recordings and material. Although I did not have the opportunity to know Jimmy, it seems that just about everyone else did. Freddie Steady's SteadyBoy label will release the CD. Elmo's Lab and Elmo will master the project. More to come as the tracks roll in and the work commences.
Speaking of Freddie and SteadyBoy, Elmo recently mastered a group of previously released tracks for the label from the post punk, power pop band, The Explosives. The CD will be titled "Three Ring Circus", and will be accompanied by a DVD of classic video performances. I believe that the product will be showing up on the record store shelves in the fall.
Ben Livingston, neon artist extraordinaire, came in the studio this week to work on new tracks to add to the four done at Elmo's back in 2004. He intends to put it all together on one CD to be released sometime late this year. In the studio with Eddie Cantu on drums, Mike Rieman on bass and Bill Browder on guitar, eight new basic tracks were created. The new basics are heavy with Ben's tongue-in- cheek humor and startling emotive insights as well as the sonic excellence which can only come from great players plying their trade on great instruments recorded with great gear. Ben is one of the best songwriters and performers I have worked with, and yet, he humbly doesn't really seem to consider himself to be either. I can't wait to hear the final product.
Who's in The Studio - May 3, 2009
Posted by elmo
John Mills and Pat Murray came in today for some scorching sax and trumpet on the Big Time demo. They were right on their game as usual knocking out horns on nine tracks in two hours. These are the guys you want on your session.
Mother of Pearl - Austin City Limits 1978
Posted by elmo
Check out this youtube video posted by sax player, Hugh Garraway, showing portions of the 1978 Mother Of Pearl Austin City Limits show. Ernie Gammage sent this link today. Thanks, Hugh and Ernie. You sounded great as usual! There is a Part 2 also.
Update 4/14/11: sorry folks, the owner of this video has made it private.
Who's in The Studio - May 2009
Posted by elmo
Rusty Wier - Rusty has been coming in to track new music for the last year and a half or so. He's been working with Tommy Taylor, John Fannin, Todd Potter and myself.
Fletcher Clark - Fletcher has been on a quest to produce a CD of his own material using the performances of his friends. He has been all over town getting tracks together. He came to Elmo's Lab to get Denim on a tune called "The Quiet Time". We also tracked basics for a couple of other songs, one sung by Tommy Elskes. Boy, there's a great vocalist! Fletcher also has tracks sung by Craig Toungate, tracks by Greezy Wheels and many others. He says he plans to get Chet Hymes to mix the project.
Joe Forlini - Joe's finally getting around to working on his own project. He came in for a couple of tracks and will be back for more, I am told. Sounds great!
Ben Livingston - There's a rumor that neon artist Ben Livingston is coming back to add to the tracks we created on his 2004 EP "Second Orbit". I look forward to that!
The Big Time - This hot party band that includes Mike Cross, Suzy Remeny, Bill Browder, Mike Rieman, Riley Osborn, Eddie Cantu, Keith Winking and John Mills has been in recently to update their demo.
Welcome!
Posted by joeld [webmaster]
Welcome to the new Elmo's Lab website.
