Dead Kenny G's Rocking the High Dive

I really dig all the vibes of this band (pun intended). Skerik rocks the electric sax and keyboards. Mike Dillon on drums, tablas, and vibes is even more of an extrovert than Skerik. Brad Houser keeps the songs rolling with cool bass lines. If you get a chance to see these guys... Do!

Altaeus Woodwind Quintet @ Fastback Studio

Rockin' with the Alraeus Woodwind Quintet at Fastback Studio. Jason and Mark are both fantastic guys running a great studio. Five Coles 4038s (one for each player). Sounded killer, ribbon paradise! Check the pic from the control room.

Cute Lepers

Cute Lepers with Johnny Sangster. Awesome band to work with. Also saw them this past Friday at the Crocodile with Tennis Pro.

I Got Married!

Erin and I tied the knot 11/14. Thanks to Phil Peterson for the music. Here is a pic of Hawaii from our honeymoon:

Virgin Islands

Virgin Islands with Johnny Sangster @ the helm. Tracked on 2", mixed to 1/2", straight to mastering AAA! Gary's studer gets hot and can be finicky, but at the end of the day sounds great (coupled with a 9000J).

Black Market Revue and Handful of Lovin' in Ellensburg

RAW SPACE. A great looking and sounding venue. My friends in Black Market Revue were having an East side CD release party so I made it over to Ellensburg (90 miles) to check them out.

Handful of Lovin'. Fantastic band. This pic includes my friend Kevin Lane who sat in with Handful for a great jam song.

Tolex Soul PICS & VIDS

The band.


A clip of Tolex Soul playing the song "Tolex Soul" @ Trophies.


Christian and I @ the Sea Monster.

Tolex Soul in Renton @ Trophies... TONITE!!!! (10/16)

Come check out Tolex Soul @ Trophies in Renton tonight (10/16). 9-12......

Check out our blog for upcoming Tolex Soul performances and events.... www.tolexsoul.blogspot.com.

Christian Smith - guitar
David Miner - tenor sax www.davidminermusic.com
Ken Strong - bass
Vern Lawton - drums www.verndoggie.com

Altaeus Woodwind Quintet @ lbs

The Altaeus Woodwind Quintet was in at London Bridge yesterday tracking for their upcoming Christmas release.

Neve Tech Alan Garren

Alan Garren, Neve tech extraordinaire, swung by the bridge last week. He put the 2bus back into commission (it hasn't been used since it was installed at lbs in 1985!). He also showed me how to better care for the ol' Neve 8048.

Tolex Soul @ the Sea Monster

Tolex Soul is playing the Sea Monster tomorrow night @ 9PM.

Spanish for 100

Worked with producer and engineer Gary Reynolds on a couple of tracks for Spanish for 100s upcoming CD. You can hear past releases @ http://www.spanishfor100.com/musicandlyrics.php. "October" off the album Jezebel was recorded at Electrokitty with Gary not too long ago.

Black Market Review

I've been working with a great soul meets jazz band Black Market Review. We did a monster 14hr session @ LBS, tracked 5 songs to tape (GP9 @ +9 on the a827!) and edited and mixed in 2 days at my new space (mix room) in Fremont. Currently I'm working on a few mixing changes, and we'll have this baby off to duplication.

Mel Lyons

Next up was some tracking with Mel Lyons for an upcoming benefit album (CD Release on Sept 18th!). Pictured below is Mitch on drums in the big room @ LBS:

Vibrant Society

First up was 2 days of tracking for Vibrant Society's upcoming release with producer, engineer Geoff Ott.

Busy

I've been really busy lately on a number of cool projects. The next few posts will be some of the things I've worked on from the last couple of weeks. Good times all around!

Tolex Soul's New Blog

Check it OUT: http://www.tolexsoul.blogspot.com/

Tracking Drums @ LBS

Here is a video of tracking drums at London Bridge Studio:

Tolex Soul @ TosT

My new group Tolex Soul is playing at Tost on Aug 3rd with Far Corner. Please come check us out. Also visit http://tolexsoul.blogspot.com/ to check out some of our music.

The lineup:
Christian Smith - Guitar
David Miner - Sax
Ken Strong - Bass
Vern Lawton - Drums

Jim Knapp mixing @ lbs

Finished mixing Jim Knapp Orchestra today! Its been over a year, but I think the final product is awesome. I'll keep you posted on when, where, why, how you can get... possibly... a vinyl copy. Here is a pic Jim and I after we finished up.

Saxophone Mic Setup

Working on a new saxophone micing setup.... Check it out.

Article about the Cody Beebe CD Release

A great article about he Cody Beebe and the Crooks CD release party: http://www.melophobe.com/concert-reviews/cody-beebe-and-the-crooks-andrew-vait-t-simmons-nectar-lounge-seattle-wa/.... ENJOY! I've also been told the best to buy a physical copy of the album is on their website: http://codybeebeandthecrooks.bigcartel.com/.

Cody Beebe CD Release

I had a great time last night at the CD release party. The Nectar Lounge in Freemont was SOLD OUT! and sold out is packed!

Please go and buy Cody Beebe and the Crook's new album "Friends of the Old Mill" on amazon:http://www.amazon.com/Friends-Mill-Cody-Beebe-Crooks/dp/B003TLMS02/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1277701284&sr=8-4. I recieved a small production credit as well as played some saxophone and flute. It was a very fun project.

I borrowed this photo from fantastic photographer Jeff McKeown. Please look him up if you're interested in some great band photography.

Zappa Played Zappa

Thanks Dweezil for such a fantastic show. I would love to be in your band.

Saxophone Quartet

The Jasper James Chen project ended with a performance at Jasper's wedding reception. He was married in Hawaii several weeks ago and had a family reception at the China Harbor Restaurant in Seattle on Westlake this past week. I had a lot of fun working on the arrangements of his classical works, both as an arranger and as a saxophone player.

SCA & SIFF

The Seattle Composer's Alliance and the Seattle International Film Festival paired up to present a panel of music and film experts to discuss the pairing of film and music.

More News on the Angel Band Project

Another great article mentioning London Bridge and the Angel Band Project: http://m.apnews.com/ap/db_15980/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=wXgiMHSb

Angel Band Project

The last couple of days I have been pro tools operator for the Angel Band Project recording session @ london bridge studio. Engineer Chris Shepard from Chicago was fantastic to work with, and the whole session was smooth. Please visit the Angel Band Project blog and donate: http://angelbandproject.wordpress.com/.

Q13 fox here in Seattle covered the story which you should be able to view below.
 

Mixing Tess Henley @ Electrokitty

I'm currently working with r&b/pop/soul singer Tess Henley mixing two songs for an upcoming release. Please visit her myspace page and give her support: http://www.myspace.com/tesshenley. Bellow is a picture of some of the signal flow I was using. I'll let you know when the song are released and where you can find them.

Robert Lang Studios

I visited Robert Lang Studios for the first time a couple of weeks ago. Jonathan Plum was getting some drums sounds with house engineer and drummer Nathan Yaccino. Steven and I both figured we should sport our London Bridge Studio t-shirts. Here is a pic of us in front of the ssl-4000g.

The Hearts of Men

Working with Danjuma Mallum and his actor for the short film The Hearts of Men. We worked on the movie's heavy voiceover as well as some dialogue replacement in the overdub booths @ London Bridge Studios. I am also currently scoring the movie 15 minute short.

Long Time No Blog

Long time no Blog. I've been pretty busy this month, but the next couple of posts are some of the highlights.

Gig @ the Sundown Saloon w/ Christian Smith

I played tenor last night in a newly formed group with Christian Smith on guitar, Vern Lawton on drums, and Ken Strong on bass. We played all original music by myself and Christian in 3 hour long sets.

Seattle Symphony - Sibelius, Rachmaninov, and Adams

Last Thursday I went to the symphony and saw some great music. Guest conductor Robert Spano is intense and emotive (what more could you ask?). Sibelius' "Pohjala's Daughter, Op. 49" was beautiful. Then guest pianist Dejan Lazic killed on Rachmaninov's piano concerto #2. The piece demands an aggressive player, and Lazic got the job done. After the intermission (after 1/4 of the audience skipped out to miss the discordant Adams' piece) was "Harmonielehre." If kind of made me laugh because after the first movement, there was the little old lady rush for the door... "oh no... so crazy... must leave..." To me the harmonic language was barely on the brink of being out. The orchestration is beautiful... I loved the unison harmonics and false harmonics in the strings. The end of each movement seemed to me to have a nod to the minimalists. Very good concert, and if you're reading this and didn't go... you missed out!

Antonio Hart and Lisa Henry with the LACHSA Jazz Sextet

I saw a pretty cool concert last night at Jazz Alley. The Thelonious Monk Institute travels with high school kids and has them teach other highschool kids about jazz. This week they're in Seattle working at some of the high schools in the area, and to kick that off they had a free concert. The highlight of the night for me was Antonio Hart's playing. I haven't seen a sax player like that in a long time... huge round sound! Also performing with the youngsters (can I say that?) was Lisa Henry and her beautiful voice.

Jessie Anderson @ lbs

Jessie Anderson came to the Bridge last week to track some straight ahead jazz songs for a senior project. He got 3 great sounding songs. I was blown away at how well his band (all high school kids) played, and how well they worked in the studio environment. Check out Jessie below listening to a mix.

Crack Sabbath and Stuck on a Bus @ High Dive

Last night I saw Crack Sabbath perform for the first time. I was really blown away by the depth of musicality of the group.... They effectively move from Mingus to Nirvana to Joshua Redmand to Led Zeppelin. Thanks for the great show.

The other surprise of the night was school of rock kids calling themselves Stuck On a Bus tearing up old standards and a few originals. 13 year old kids or so should not be that good!

Far Corner @ lbs

Avant garde jazz quartet Far Corner was at lbs last night tracking a few songs live. Check out the pics... recordings to be posted soon... Please check out their website: http://www.dickvalentine.com/FarCorner/index.html

"I'm Free" - Recording

GO HERE TO LISTEN TO SOME OF MY MUSIC
Excerpt from an Impromptu session after a canceled Marc Smason gig 1-22-10: Marc Smason - Trombone......... Ken Strong - Upright Bass...... Diane Peterson - Flute .................. Greg Vinson - My old beat up acoustic guitar ....................... David Miner - Sax, Keys anything else he could find................. Sounds engineered and mixed by Vern Lawton

again: http://ia361309.us.archive.org/15/items/ImFree/ImFree.mp3

Cody Beebe and the Crooks @ lbs

Helped out producer and studio owner Jonathan Plum on Cody Beebe and the Crooks these past 5 days. Great group of guys, and great music. I stole these photos from some posted on facebook.

Seattle Symphony Pictures of an Exhibition

Saw the Seattle Symphony a couple of weeks ago, and I am only getting time now to post about it. I was almost late! I found a parking spot at 7:50 ten blocks aways, so I ran 10 blocks, and when i got there I ordered a perrier and I had to pay for it ($3) in quarters. At that time, I asked an attendant to help me find my seat, and I was 4 rows back! Then the show started. Thank you Valerie Leslie for hooking me up with this great seat.

On to the concert:
1) Leos Janacek "Suite from The Cunning Little Vixen".
2) Sergey Prokofiev "Piano Concerto No. 5 in G Major, Op.55" - awesome guest artist Alexander Toradze on the Piano.
3) Maurice Ravel's Orchestration of Modest Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition" - I love any orchestral music with a saxophone in it. I also decided while watching this that if I died and came back as another instrumentalist, it would have to be a cymbal crasher or low brass player.

Colonies Show @ Neumos 3/25/10

Saw the Colonies the other night with Tu Fawning, The Mopes, and Conservative Dad. The surprise of the night for me was Conservative Dad whose songs were well conceived. Thanks to my friend Adrian Centoni, who was the drummer in my first ever band Pr What, for inviting me. He is the drummer in Colonies. Check out their myspace: myspace.com/colonies.

Colonies in concert @ Neumos 3/25/10.

Pr What logo from ages ago.

JJ Chen Sax Quartet Recording Session

Last week I spent some time recording some saxophone quartet music I arranged for the composer Jasper James Chen. Below is a pic. I'm in the midst of editing the tracks (3+ hours of recorded material!). I want to thank Matt Lanka - Bari Sax, Mark Claassen - Alto Sax, and Fred Winkler - Soprano Sax.



I also want to thank Rick LeDoux - engineer, and Jim Davenport - Pictures.

Medeski, Martin, and Wood

Medeski, Martin, and Wood were awesome tonight at the Showbox Market. Check out a couple of pics I took.

MMW right before the startup.

Medeski!

Skerik made an appearance.