Summer 2010

It has been a busy, cool summer here at B7A. So busy we’re behind on the news update

Since May, CSC has been working on projects for Hardboiled Wonderland, John Ehlis Ensemble, Jerome Madigan, Ella from the Phillipines, local East Bay band Mission Peak, whiz jazz keyboard prodigy Kevin Coelho, Doug Ellington and the New Urban Groove, Gus Fjelstrom, Victor Manning, New Sun, Live sound/FOH duties for the newly reopened Fox Theatre RWC, several festivals throughout the Bay Area, and 2 full system/acoustic design installation projects.
Whew!

Hardboiled Wonderland is a new collaboration between Martin Birke (Genre Peak) and Percy Howard (Meridiem), with CSC playing guitars occasionally, producing and engineering a full length CD for release early 2011. HW is a blend of electronic, R&B, hip hop, blues, and rock and very unique. It has been an exciting and stimulating project to work on.

Old friend and longtime client John Ehlis enlisted CSC to mix two different recordings done in NYC. John was looking for a very organic natural sound in the mixes. Who better for that than CSC. Their relationship goes back to the mid 1990s when CSC produced 2 CDs for the John Ehlis Ensemble. Jazz in the ECM vein with special guest John Tchicai on sax.

CSC has pulled in the very talented Jerome Madigan (Nifty Tom Fifty) and his current band to produce a CD for Eden Records. Jerome has a Tom Petty like quality with pleasant and catchy melodies and a great band backing him up. CSC had worked with Jerome in 2002 on a CD never released and they met again while CSC was working at the Fox Theater in Redwood City. The material is sounding fantastic and this is an artist to watch for as he will become a household name.

Recently a new client called about doing some vocal tracking at B7A. The producer was flying in from Manila and the vocalist was local. Unknown to CSC, these two folks were huge stars in the Philipines in the 70s and 80s. Ella and her producer, and band member, Dennis Garcia decided to bring her back and see what happens. Wow, did she ever go up the charts in the homeland. Looks to be a fruitful and fun relationship working with her here in the US.

In May and June Mission Peak, a local group, came into B7A to record a 3 song demo. for folks who had not really recorded in a pro studio, they did a great job and were very happy with their final demo. Though a large contingent (2 gtrs, keys, drums, bass, perc and 3 vocals) we got them all in the cozy confines of B7A and they laid it down beautifully

Throughout the summer 14 year old Jazz Wunderkind Kevin Coelho had CSC record some solo piano, including 3 classical pieces, and his jazz trio of drums, keys, and guitar for a three CDs. All three are high schooler students and CSC wished he were that good at 14. They laid down 10 jazz standards from the 60s in less than 6 hours. Kevin will be another young prodigy to pay attention to.

Long time client and friend trumpet player Doug Ellington was in to mix a song by sax player Chazz Alley called Melo C. This was a song recorded at B7A some years back and never finished. Doug and Chazz are renowned horn players walking in the footsteps of Doug’s great uncle Duke. A very modern and hip tune with a great feel on drums laid down by Darius Minaee.

Back again for yet more trouble, bass/cello instrumentalist and looper Gus Fjelstrom (of Maximum Indifference) was in during July remixing 2 songs and having CSC master his 2nd release of ambient bass loop music. Gus is a very talented bass player, but also a fine photographer and graphic artist as well. Visit his website for insight into this very talented friend and sometime musical collaborator www.botched.com

Another longtime client Victor Manning was in having CSC mix 3 songs for a demo Jazz CD. The vocals were recorded at B7A in 2008 and Victor recorded all the instruments himself. Like many who record at home, mixing proves to be a daunting task often needing an experienced hand to help along. Something we do a lot of these days here B7A.

New Sun, CSCs prog rock band, celebrated their 17th year together by continuing work on the forthcoming CD (their 4th) that has been in progress for over a year. basics are all tracked at B7A with Chris Trujillo on drums and vocals, Alex Kley on bass, and CSC on guitars, vocals, keys, production and engineering. The band hasn’t ever been this excited about new material. It is sounding huge and heavy, yet soft and dynamic throughout. So far 7 songs have been recorded with some work yet to be done. Look for it in late 2010/early 2011. Also watch for tour announcements in late Sept as this will be their first shows in over 10 years.

CSC has also been busy providing live sound support, consultation, and installation to a wide variety of events and venues in 2010. He was on staff at The Fox Theatre in Redwood City Ca for 2 years till it’s closing in Dec 2009. Now under new ownership, he was asked to return and consult, as well as provide FOH duties for their grand opening night event. Request for consultation on system installations in church and venue facilities has increased this year as well. Currently he has 2 projects in the design stages, one for a Basque Cultural Center and the other for an 600 seat house of worship in San Jose. And somewhere along the way provided full system PAs and FOH duties to 4 events and his usual duties at Open Door Church in San Mateo Ca.

2010

Wow, the 2nd decade of the 21st Century already. Time does instead fly by.

Dec 2009 was a busy month here at B7A, very busy.
CSC finished mixing and then mastered the debut CD by South City Blues Band. Two blues projects in a row is a bit unusual for CSC. Though challenging, turned into a fun and fine CD when finished.

Also in to remix and re-record material on his debut CD, Evan Tom, a young (15) uke player from Hawaii with a great voice and some strong talent.
CSC mastered the CD and it should be out in early 2010.

Design Works, of San Jose Ca, were in at B7A recording both VO and video for a client needing webcontent/flash.

As per usual every year for the last 10, the two weeks before Christmas Holidays is a bit crazy and frantic for B7A. CSC spent the better part of two weeks at PRN, mixing audio for TV in store content. They have become regular clients at that time of year as the push for advertising goes into overdrive.

CSC has been working with electro/pop group Genre Peak on yet a third CD. The band now includes vocalist Percy Howard and the sound has altered a bit toward R&B in a great way. CSC will be engineering and producing, as well as playing guitar here and there.

New Sun, CSCs band, has been rehearsing at B7A with an eye toward finishing their 4th CD in early 2010. Plans are on tap for recording final 4 songs in February and having the CD out by June.

Also rehearsing regularly at B7A, with CSC playing guitar, Celtic group Bruach featuring Peter Daldry. This group will also be recording a CD for release later this year. Will be a busy year for CSC in the live gig realm as there are already many shows booked with Bruach this year. Stay tuned for where and when and look for an announcement about their new website in February.

Nov 2009

October and November have been very happening here at B7A and the rest of the year into 2010 are promising to be just as occupied.

Blue State Blues Band were in at B7A mixing and mastering their debut CD Duracool with CSC.
Band leader Vince Caminiti runs the Blues Jam at the Little Fox Theater in Redwood City, Ca where CSC does FOH duties.

Old friend and musical companion John Ehlis is visiting B7A from NYC to record an impromptu jazz session with Tony Passarelli and friends. Remains to be seen what will come out of these sessions, but stay tuned.

After hearing CSCs work on Blue State CD, John Boutell of South City Blues Band has asked him to remix their debut CD and master it as well. they will be in all of November and the CD should be out by the end of the year.

Doug Ellington and Urban Groove have returned to B7A to mix a new tune, Who We Are. And was in recently remixing a different version of the Chazz Alley tune Melo C.

CSC has been doing FOH mixing duties for the Little Fox Theater in Redwood City, Ca for almost two years now and has been thoroughly enjoying seeing old and new musical friends playing the 250 seat small theater. Enjoying doing live sound, now theres a concept.

Aug Sept 2009

Busy busy here at B7A, which is why we haven’t put any news out in the last two months. The studio is hopping mad these days . . . in a good way.

All of July, August, and September saw Rahul Pandhe and Saylee Raja in recording vocals on Classical Indian songs by GS Chandra. CSC tracked mixed and mastered 4 CDs for the duo and though they haven’t been officially released yet, are already causing quite a stir in India. Saylee will be traveling there in October for an official release in Bombai. There already plans in the works for more CDs after that. Their CDs will be available here in the US on CDbaby.com

Not only an audio engineer and producer, CSC also consults on acoustic design and implementation. His most recent project has been for the brand new facility for Open Door Church (a campus of Menlo Park Presbyterian Church) in San Mateo Ca. Providing FOH duties for the church over last two years, CSC was asked to design the acoustics in the new space and guide the installation. The project is done and looks, and sounds, beautiful (pictures to come). House system includes Nexos speakers, APB Dynasonics T-32 Mixing board and a host of outboard gear.

Blue State Blues Band has been in B7A mixing their first full length CD with CSC since July. Guitarist Vince Caminiti runs the Golden Gate Blues Society Blues Jam at the Little Fox Theater in Redwood City (where CSC provides FOH duties) and worked with CSC at The Music Annex a decade ago recording the band Souled Out. CD will be released October 24 2009, details to come.

Look for CSC at The Fox Theater in Redwood City Ca providing mixing duties for live shows. Always stop by the console and say hello if you see him there.

CSC has been providing mixing duties to TV content provider Premier Retail Networks in San Francisco on a fairly regular basis. PRN provides all in house content for Best Buy, Walmart, Sams Club, and a host of other retail outlet companies nation wide.

In recently doing her first recording ever was Megan Clare performing pieces on classical guitar. A wide range of material and styles were covered and Megan played like a pro.

Throughout the summer CSC has been seen playing acoustic guitar with B7A client Peter Daldry in venues all around the SF Bay Area. Most recently 7 shows at the Pleasanton Highland Games put on by the SF Caledonian Club over Labor Day weekend. These are the biggest and oldest Highland Games in North America. Nothing more impressive than 650 bagpipers playing Scotland the Brave all at once. Gives me goosebumps just thinking about it.
Peter is looking to record a CD of traditional tunes as well as a new CD with CSC and Tony Bishop (flutes) by years end. Stay tuned for that one.

B7A has become the proud owner of a brand new Gretsch Maple Reknown 6 piece drum kit. Purchased through New Sun drummer Chris Trujillo at Lemmon Percussion in San Jose, this will be the house kit as well as the kit that New Sun will utilize for further recording of the forthcoming CD.
Work does continue with Alex Kley (bass) and CT (drums, vocals), but has been hampered by how busy CSC has been at B7A. But we’re OK with that. better busy than idle!

July 2009

Summer is here! And almost half gone already sadly. But it feels that way because it’s been very busy around here at B7A.

July began with an intense 6 days of vocal recording for Indian songwriter G S Chandra and vocalist Saylee Raje and Rahul Pandhe at B7A.
Mr G has been composing and writing Indian classical Gazals music for 40 years and wanted to do something a little more contemporary with new unknown singers. Only having just finished mixing, several of the songs are already gaining momentum with fans in India. Mr G says he will be back for more in the fall.

Blue State Blues Band has been in B7A all of July mixing 12 tracks for a forthcoming CD as yet untitled. A more modern blues band led by Vince Caminiti on guitar, and the talented Greg Heumann on vocals, harp, tenor and bari sax. Check back here for updates on the release date.

B7A client and friend Peter Daldry has brought CSC into the fold on acoustic guitar, along with Tony Bishop on flutes, and renamed the group Bruach. They have been out and about playing gigs since January and recently opened for the highly acclaimed Scottish band Old Blind Dogs to a sell out crowd at Don Quixotes in Felton Ca. The crowd gave an enthusiastic response to the boys and more gigs are coming, stay tuned.

Martin Birke of Genre Peak was in to mix a new song with CSC called Candy for the Meatman. Benito Cortez guested on violin on this track and there is talk of Mick Karn doing a remix of the song and singer Percy Howard doing a different version on vocals. Should be very interesting indeed.

CSC has been working for Open Door Church in San Mateo Ca as FOH Engineer for almost 2 years now and has been consulting on the design and acoustics of their new facility. Pictures will be here to view of the new site soon.

Cheers,
CSC

June 2009

In May Martin Birke of Genre Peak was in tracking Benito Cortez (New Sun, Ramana Viera) on violin for the GP song Candy For The Meatman.
CSC will be producing/engineering as well as contributing guitar elements to the track.

May also saw Gus Fjelstrom of Maximum Indifference in mastering his solo ambient bass loops CD. Release date has not been set for this CD, but an EP version called Cloudlift was mastered by CSC back in February and released in small quantities.
Gus has been a regular at B7A and has played on New Sun CDs in the past. Great artist both in music and visual artwork. Gus will be doing the artwork for the next New Sun CD.

Speaking of New Sun, CSC has been busy with the boys (Chris Trujillo-drums, Alex Kley-bass) rehearsing and recording for the forthcoming untitled CD due out Winter 2009. Currently the first two singles, She Moved Me and Damage Done are available for your listening pleasure at the New Sun website.

CSC has been doing FOH live sound duties for the Little Fox Theater in Redwood City Ca and for Thor Audio Solutions as well as other smaller events and the usual Sunday mornings for Open Door Church San Mateo.

Artist Peter Daldry and CSC have been gigging regularly and have upcoming shows in June and July playing acoustic Celtic music, both traditional, contemporary and original songs. Tony Bishop accompanies on flutes and pipes. Check the Daldry site for details, and look for a new CD later this year.

April saw the final mixing and mastering of singer/songwriter Michael Lusk first CD. The material features Benito Cortez on violin in a string quartet and Jeff Hanson on drums, and covers a broad range of styles. The untitled CD has not been slated for release yet.

April also saw Williamson Communications in to do a whole series of VO demo material for their website. Jim Williamson doing his own VOs and also creating samples of the rock n roll recordings of the Williamson Brothers for another website.

News February 2009

New Sun (Alex Kley, Chris Trujillo, CSC) has released their first single in 8 years. Damage Done is currently available for free download at www.new-sun.com. It will be available through itunes, emusic, and other online retailers in early March 2009 along with the song She Moved Me. An EP will be released at the same time with 2 additional tracks.
A full length CD will released at a later date TBA.

CD Baby reports that the Genre Peak CD Preternatural is one of the top-selling CDs in the electro-trance category.
https://cdbaby.com/top/55?skip=250
Sales have been good for this CD worldwide and Martin Birke, Tara Taylor, and CSC will be working on new material at B7A this month. A release date has not been announced yet.

CSC has been seen out and aboot with Scotsman Peter Daldry, playing acoustic guitar along with Tony Bishop on flutes. If you wish to be added to the email list for gig dates, send a request to .
Peter is looking to have CSC produce and engineer his next CD this year, so stay tuned for further info.

New Year

2008 is drawing to a close and it has been an interesting one I’ll grant you that.
There is a feeling that the winds of change are blowing a wee bit stronger of late, and here’s to that change being for the positive in 2009.

December saw B7A busy and happily so.
Cynthia Marcucci was in for a VO project for Design Works. The VO will be used for a flash based website for Siemens of Germany.

Songwriter Michael Lusk has been in quite a lot here at B7A tracking string quartet, vocals and mixing. His debut CD will be released in 2009, title to be announced.

CSCs band New Sun has been tracking and mixing a fourth CD to be released Spring 2009. The first single Damage Done will be released February 2nd along with the song She Moved Me.
CSC has also been working with New Sun drummer Chris Trujillo on his first solo outing, yet to be titled with no release date as of this writing.

CSC was also seen working at Premier Retail Networks this month on audio mixing for various TV advertisements for Walmart, Best Buy, and Sams Club.

In October and November B7A supplied the Obama Campaign with audio systems for various private fundraising events throughout the SF Bay Area. Some interesting guest at these events have included, Senator Patrick Leahy, Senator Joe Biden, Caroline Kennedy, Josh Groban, Senator Zoe Lofgren, and of course the President elect himself, Barack Obama.
Congratulations Mr Obama on your election.

CSC has also been providing FOH engineering duties for the Little Fox Theater in Redwood City Ca since September. This has been a wonderful experience because of the all the artists coming through the door. If you’re by to see a show, stop by the mixing console and say hello.

News September

On September 27th B7A supplied sound system and mixing for a DNC/Obama fundraising event in a private San Francisco home. Guest speakers included Caroline Kennedy and a performance by Josh Groban on piano for a packed house of 300.
B7A and CSC have provided audio and mixing for the Obama campaign 7 times in the last year.

September 2008

July and August saw continuation of work on the Doug Ellington produced debut project by Izzy Lozano. Basic tracks for a new song were laid down here at B7A by Nelson Braxton on bass, Darius Minaee on drums, and John Carlson on keys. Three songs have been mixed thus far. With the demise of famous Plant Studios in Sausalito work has moved to B7A. Yet another sad loss to the industry.
www.dougellington.com

August saw prog rockers New Sun (Alex Kley-bass, Chris Trujillo-drums/vocals, and CSC-guitars/vocals/keys) returning to the studio for the first time in 7 years. The songs Damage, She Moved Me, Mistakes, and Dreams were tracked live here at B7A. CSC continues with overdubs and mixing. At least one tune will be available to the world in early October.
www.new-sun.com

At the same time CSC has been engineering and producing Chris Trujillo solo material for a forthcoming CD early in 2009. Very organic and very acoustic oriented in nature. CT will be playing almost all the instruments himself.

In for VO recordings this month were web designers Design Works with Cynthia Marcucci supplying the voice for various flash based web content.  John Champion and Cynthia will be back in for more VO work soon.
www.design-works.com

Songwriter Michael Lusk has been in and out of the studio a lot recently here at B7A. Most recently to record a string quartet for 3 of his compositions. The players included New Sun alumnus Benito Cortez on 1st violin, Nori Tagawa on viola ,Jeananne Weber on 2nd violin, and Pawel Walerowski on cello.

In late July the Tom Povse Jazz Trio (flute, guitar, bass) were in at B7A tracking basics for a 5 song EP. Very interesting and cool material from an unusual trio. Check out Serpents Fang at:
www.myspace.com/tompovsejazz

CSC has been seen at the Alameda County Fair and other English pubs about the SF Bay Area playing acoustic guitar with Peter Daldry. Peter is looking to begin work on a new CD for release early next year. Stay tuned
www.peterdaldry.com

June 2008

April saw the completion of Preternatural, the second CD Genre Peak has done at Blue Seven Audio. CSC tracked, mixed, produced, and played guitars on the CD along with drum programmer, vocalist Martin Birke, and vocalist Tara Taylor. Guest musicians on the project included bassist Mick Karn (of Japan and Polytown fame), bassist Gus Fjelstrom (Maximum Indifference), and guitarist Steve Sullivan.
The CD is set for release June 27th. 
http://www.genrepeak.net

April also saw CSC providing live sound for the Obama Campaign at a private fundraiser in San Francisco. This is the 5th time B7A has provided audio services for Senator Obama. since October 2007. 
http://www.BarackObama.com

Celtic fiddler Kathy Buys was at B7A in May tracking 5 new traditional Irish and Scottish tunes for a future project. She has also been busy with Druid Sister’s Tea Party playing festivals and shows throughout California.
http://www.dragonsdance.net/

Singer songwriter Michael Lusk has been in at B7A quite a bit over the last three months tracking and mixing his compositions. Drummer Jeff Hanson has provided the backbeat for most of the tunes. No word yet when any of the material will be available for release.

Premier Retail Networks in San Francisco has tapped CSC for post-production audio mixing services in an on call basis. PRN provides all the COTV content for Walmart, Sams Club. Circuit City, and Costco. If you have walked into any of these stores and seen the material playing on the TV screens, you have heard some of his recent work.

Pianist Nina Paulsen tracked a new solo piano CD with CSC at The Annex in Menlo Park in May. This will be her 6th release and 4th with CSC behind the desk.

June has seen CSC at the famed Plant recording studios in Sausalito California tracking a new project with Doug Ellington. Doug is producing a debut jazz CD for singer Izzy Lazano. Many of the best Bay Area jazz musicians have been tapped for this recording, which is being done in the famous Studio B. CSC is being assisted by Brandon Hunt
The Ellington track Mind in Meditation (mixed by CSC in January) was placed in the film Mixtress Online, which debuted at the Portland Film Festival this past May.
http://www.myspace.com/dougellington

New Sun (CSC-guitars/vocals/keys; Chris Trujillo-drums/vocals; Alex Kley-bass) has been deep in rehearsal land prepping for recording a fourth CD at B7A. No release date has been set but four songs are ready and many more await pondering and work to get ready for tracking.
http://www.new-sun.com

March 2008

Drummer Kelly Child ,of The Tomorrows and Hobbyhorse, was in B7A tracking drums, keys, guitar, and vocals for the song Reasons & Rituals. A collaborative effort started by Steve Nardelli of The Syn (bassist Chris Squires first band before Yes) that involves musicians all around the country. The song is forwarded to the next artist after the current artist has laid down their tracks. Welcome to the modern world of recording.

Genre Peak was in tracking and mixing the song Different Dangers with Tara Taylor on vocals and CSC on guitars. This month will see the last song mixed for the forthcoming CD Preternatural. Different Dangers will be the single released for the CD this Summer. This has been an exciting project to work on and will definitely attract attention in the Electronic Music crowd.

Design Works has been in at B7A a lot over the last 2 months recording voiceovers for various flash and webcontent material for companies such as Genesys, TriNet, and Mentor Graphics. Voice talents in have included Gary Williams and John Crump.

The Berkeley landmark club Ashkenaz asked CSC to master their 35th anniversary CD for their upcoming party this coming Saturday March 15th. This is a collection of live performances by various artist at the venue over the last year compiled and mixed by house engineer Joe Balestreri. Look for the CD at the show.
We always encourage folks make an effort to support local venues, and bands, by attending shows and making your presence known!

CSC was asked by a label in LA to do an instrumental electronic cover version of the Bob Dylan song Knocking on Heavens Door for a meditation CD. Not sure of the release date at this point, but a sample can be found on the New Sun website if you are curious. A very different sound for CSC who was helped out on bass by Gus Fjelstrom of Maximum Indifference.

The band Zanzibar will be in this month mastering their debut CD with CSC. It should be available at their show next month at the Devils Canyon Brewery in San Carlos. If you like funk, African grooves and danceable music, check them out. Long time B7A friend and collaborator Tim Hilborn plays drums for Zanzibar.

CSC has been very busy with his other band Mind Furniture rehearsing for shows this coming Summer. Their sophmore CD Hoop of Flame, released on MUSEA in France, has been getting excellent reviews and is starting to draw excited attention. If you are interested in a special song not released on the CD, just email and request DMFD, and a link will be provided. This song has garnered much attention for it’s emotive and raw edge. Definitely not for the faint of heart!

January 2008

A new year and it’s off to a good start.
CSC has been busy working on New Sun material and getting in practice with Mind Furniture.

Jazz artist Doug Ellington was in with CSC recording horns and vocals on three new songs. 2 pop oriented vocal tunes and one 9 minute instrumental called Mind in Meditation. Not sure when this will be available, but well worth the wait. Doug is one very talented trumpet player and composer. Must run in the family!

CSC has been doing contract work with Premier Retail Networks over the last 2 months, primarily in the form of audio for TV/Feature spots for broadcast in various retail stores.

Guitarist Phil Campbell and vocalist Lissy Abraham will be recording a cover of the Motorhead song Damage Case at Blue Seven Audio this January. Tim Hilborn will play drums.

July 2007

Janet Lee Myatt has been at Blue Seven Audio recording and mixing her 7 song EP. CSC plays guitar on the track “Fear”. Janet is a fine singer/songwriter and her CD should be available in August.

Genre Peak was also in B7A with guest Tara C Taylor from Canada on vocals and Gus Fjelstrom of Maximum Indifference playing bass on the new song “Blue Filter”. CSC also makes an appearance on that song playing acoustic and electric guitar. Both “Blue Filter” and a new ambient piece called “Amena” were tracked and mixed in 2 very full days. The CD “Preternatural” will be released late in 2007.

3 Lunas, the Lunas brothers heavy metal group, were also in having their debut release mastered by CSC. This should be available by August. This is good heavy tunage with vocals in both English and Spanish.

Songwriter Michael Lusk will be in B7A in late July to record Jeff Hanson on drums in continuing sessions to get 6 songs Michael has written recorded, mixed and mastered for release.