Piety Street Studios Blog

mark's happy talk band set up sept 6-9 2009

Written by damook
Tuesday, 08 September 2009 16:58

Happy talk band  sept 6-9 Piety A room

w/ wesley Fontenot/engineer   aaron Hill/assistant eng      eric cusimano/assistant to wes and aaron

using analog tape at 30 ips (old GP9) and transferring good takes to PT HD at 24/96

 

the basic set-up.

 

LUKE: glass iso

1. nylon or taylor steel w/  retrospec DI

2. merc 57/windscreen - great river/1176

we added a nakamichi 3 head cassette deck for tape echo on Luke's voice.

we have 2 more  3 head cassette decks to gang for more Tape echo , along with an Otari 1/2" machine.

 

the vox mic was changed to a Charter Oaks thru the same chain.

 

 

ALEX: Concert Amp/wall Louisa wall facing control room/gobo

3. royer; chaNDLER/neve comp 2.1  100

4. at-25 ; top neve

this changed to facing the amp toward Royal st. with baffles.

barely touch the compressor

 

BAILEY: Casey's Champ or some small amp/ Control room wall facing Louisa/gobo

5. Royer/ btm neve/ neve comp 2.1 100

 

this changed to Eric Cusimano's 64 Champ amp or the Orange head and a 4/10 bottom. The royer didn't make it for bailey so we went with a Sennheiser 409 and an Audix D3. This was re-aimed at Rpyal street with some baffles.

 

MIKE: Drums- center room btwn control windows

6/7T/S  Coles  API/distressors very light 2.1  attack 8  release 3

8. snare  57 - API- daking comp - very light comp only moving when he whacks it..

9.  kick 195 - API/ dbx 160 (we axed the 160- no comp on the kick- analog tape took care of it)

11/12   Royer Stereo in front of kit  - Portico

the Royer stereo ended up over the kit

We took my recently acquired PENTRON 4x1 mixer and added an Audix d6 on the bass drum, beyer 88's on the toms and an Audix I-5 on the shell of the snare and mixed all that to mono via an Aguilar DI and  a Chandler mic pre.

we also added a Neumann KM-84 as a ride cymbal mic. barely used

 

CASEY:

PIANO opens to Louisa wall/Casey faces glass iso

pick mics for isolation and unique sound, maybe an under mic ?

SM-7 ? inside with lid closed ? copperphone  ?  441 ? john's piano mic?

piano/all PORTICO

lo filter @ 100.

 

wurli/ DI and Music man in iso 1/ 57/1176  UA-610

Organ  leslie in iso 1  Coles 2' back  btm neve

set up organ and wurli so everyone can still see Luke in glass iso.

 

Casey ended up doing Wurli on the basics and using his Vox ac-30 and an avalon DI. We will do the 2 piano songs when the piano is in tune. We have the upright in the iso with a Blue Bottle 6' off the floor and centered around middle c about 9" from the back wood.

 

ended up with piano as a room mic by putting a concrete block on the sus pedal and taping down keys in whatever key the song was in. put an omni mic (not sure the brand) on the metal inside the piano.

 

STEVE:  amp behind Mike.  DI / Robbie/La-2a plus 44 on amp/ btm neve

bassman 135 head with 4 x 10" ampeg bottom.

maybe some upright in small iso w/ charter oaks or bottle.

 

It got too loud in the room so we moved the amp to an iso. Steve had to change basses and we switched him to an Avalon DI.

altitude

Written by Administrator
Saturday, 05 September 2009 00:08

7200' feet plays a bit rough when you are used to sea level.

after a hiking yesterday up to 8000' and getting a massage, I figured I'd be ok.

but no.  today I was energyless, resting all day and looking forward to getting back to sea level. took some chlorophyll. All the days' plans cancelled. Rested at SFAI.

I remember a comical trip to Boulder. After a bad travel day of late planes , plans stuck on run ways and bad weather plus little sleep, I thought to work out right away.

This didnt seem to help. After a mastering session, it was time for the 10 mile bike ride.. what I didn't know was

that it was straight up and down on dirt trails, some of it hard a wash boarded and eventually back on roads.

I took up the rear and was dragging in 10 minutes after everyone else.  Then it was a few beers.

Then it was time to go to Red Rocks to see Big Head Todd. I never got Big Head Todd or the Monsters but that's what waqs on the agenda so we drove... we were late and the parking lot was full. we parked almost a mile from the venue- straight up.. I was walking so slow... missed the opening act and barely made it in.. went backstage and immediately went to sleep on the side of the stage, not too loud there. eventually, got up and walked back to the car and went to sleep on the hood until the show was over.

watch out for altitude.

off beat article

Written by Administrator
Saturday, 29 August 2009 03:27

 

 

how odd that I would agree to do a story and yet, the editors decide to

be:

contentious ?  Ironic ? hostile?  funny (as in ha ha funny)?

 

who knows ?  If I didn't care, why would I have done the article?

Am I that damn cool ?

I agree with Ray Davies ... everybody's in show biz, from me to the Chee Wees to Drew Brees to Albert Ayler's ghost.

Off beat is People mag for a small sub set of humanity. God bless em for carrying on, in the face of dwindling advertising and their own self destructively stubborn ways .

 

John Swenson knows our world, a he's a real writer, thus I say yes to a story. I trust him.

 

Anyhow, they're right, it's no big deal to be on a mag cover.

Now if I had been on Mad magazine in the 60's, I'd be proud.

But, the cover of Off Beat is not really a big deal.

Perhaps my inclusion is an indication of an expanding view of NO music.

I thought so until I read the piece and realized that although John Swenson spoke to me at length about music and the music I was releasing, the piece is basically the "White Boy Button Pusher" story, the weird guy, the outsider, the school of hard knocks and somehow assumes that Piety Street is a success.

 

Success ?  Let's take all the success cliches and put them in a pot and reduce them to a coq au vin style sauce and pour it all over our lives.

Ooo-eee. fact is, I live hand to mouth, month to month. This is not a complaint, this is life. I work hard to keep my kids in school, in food,

in vehicles and insurance and there's very little left .

The good news is that this will not go on too much longer. Either I will drop dead or my kids will get done with school and venture out.

Plus, it costs plenty to keep a joint like Piety going. There is an extended family. So, I work. I like to work. Music as work is fine.

 

Anyhow, a few things:  It was Howard Cosell who judged a band battle (along with Elektra art director William S. Harvey and DJ Cousin Bruce Morrow).

Not sure where john got Ed Macmahon from.

 

The periwinkle pasta was so awful I threw it out.

 

What else. I do live in the studio, not in the house across the street.

Used to, dont anymore.

 

Anyhow, I wouldn't mind if someone checked out the music I'm releasing.

making more all the time. I falsely assumed that by giving John Swenson all that music, it might be listened to, checked out and so forth.

John hurt his leg and had to go to NY for medical services (NO is not exactly the Mayo Clinic these days, the mayonnaise clinic, maybe) so we had to cut it short and do phone interviews.

 

So, the musician angle was not to be. can't expect too much respect all at once.

I'm fine with being a producer, who cares what people say about you anyhow?

 

The music will be available on this web site asap, as well as on I-tunes,

seedy baby and assorted digital vendors. There's a bunch of stuff that's free. Use it for soundtracks, do what you want with it.. just let me know if you use it and give me credit.

 

Off to see Phil Degruy...

 

MB 10:24 p.m.  8/28/09  new orleans