Updates from lauren RSS
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08:06:55 pm on November 5, 2008 |
Here’s video coverage from the election night rally in Grant Park! I arrived around 4:45 in the evening yesterday and got to watch Grant Park fill up pretty fast with people (there was a couple by me who even came all of the way from Canada!)… the video is a chronological documentation of the entire night, leading up to and including the crowd’s reaction to Obama’s victory.
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01:59:08 am on November 5, 2008 |
I’ve always like The Decemberists, but let’s be honest… I am so wrapped up in my world of Ben Folds that I usually don’t notice many other artists. However, within the past week or two, I have absolutely fallen in love with Colin Meloy. And for those of you that are unsure… he is the frontman for The Decemberists. What saddens me is that they played at the University of Chicago this past weekend, and I missed it… but even more importantly, something else was pointed out to me in regards to the concert.
In my progress on this final paper, I’ve been reading the posts on Gapers Block: Transmission pretty regularly and one of its writers, Anne Holub, posted a link to a YouTube video (posted below) of a little PSA from Colin himself.
Now, election day has technically passed… and I hope you all went out to vote… but I was lucky enough to get to attend the rally downtown in Grant Park this evening. And okay, maybe not lucky because I didn’t get a ticket, but at least I wasn’t among those who got turned away, right?Anyway, I got there around 4:30 and got to see Grant Park fill up… and the crowd was endless. Video to come tomorrow!
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09:00:11 pm on October 18, 2008 |
With all of the random questions and ideas that have come up since starting this blog, I feel like I’ve gotten off track in what was my original intent – discovering the process of recording an album and what exactly comes along in doing just that.
As an emerging artist, it might be obvious to begin playing as many live shows as possible and write as many songs as possible, but when it comes time to professionally making an album, finding a good recording studio might appear to be a little more difficult… but it’s actually not. Most active local musicians typically have some general knowledge of the recording options within their own specific city.
(If you’re interested in locating Chicago’s or any other specific city, check out this site.)
Studios can be found all over the country, but in Chicago… they’re every where. And I do mean almost literally everywhere. Each studio is different – they have different prices, offer different equipment, the atmospheres differ, and some produce higher quality recordings than others. The best way (and really, one of the only ways) to find a studio that best fits your need though is to simply contact and visit various studios.
Here are just a few located near DePaul:
The Boiler Room
Handwritten Recording
Studio Chicago
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11:53:25 pm on October 7, 2008 |
The other day, I was reading Greg Kot’s latest blog post (at the time) and began to wonder if, when vinvyls were made, the process to record and produce is the same as that of creating a CD. And then I began to wonder if that in itself is a really dumb question… but either way, I was going to figure it out.
Of course, it has appeared to be among one of the more difficult things to figure out (or does that really exist?). After failing at the art of “googling” information and instead turning to local musicians for the answer… and the good news is, my question was only half dumb.
The process of actually recording is no different. Sure, some advancements may have been made throughout the years, but it’s essentially the same. However, the process of actually producing a complete vinyl is way different… Check it out.
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09:44:22 pm on October 4, 2008 |
Back in the day when MTV used to actually feature shows about music, I was obsessed… and I do mean obsessed. Back in the height of the Hanson days, I used to literally sit and watch the channel in hopes of a glimpse of my soon-to-be husband, Zac Hanson.
Clearly, the days of the music focused MTV network are long gone, but the channel used to show artists recording their albums in the studio and you could always see the engineer/producer working in the control room (pictured below) – you know, that room with all of the buttons and knobs and whatnot.
Gravity Studios Control Room
This always, always, always intrigued me… and maybe it’s just because I like to push random buttons, but either way, I’ve always been curious to know what exactly the purpose and function of this room is.
Well, in general, the control room gives the engineer/producer the ability to manipulate the recording and, in the words of Angel Bluff Studio’s Cary Carpenter (located in Colorado), make you sound like a star (see video clip below).
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12:00:10 am on October 1, 2008 |
In looking at listings of recording studios in Chicago, it’s become very clear that there appears to be an endless list of them… and although I don’t have the ability to look into all 2,000+ that the Yahoo! yellow pages lists alone, the studios I have been able to investigate a little further appear to all follow what is considered the general set up of a recording studio:
- control room-considered the “heart” of the recording studio, containing the mixing desk, effects, recorders, computers, and monitors that are need to produce a finished master tape recording
- live room (or studio)-soundproofed room where a full band can play/record
- lounge
- vocal booth
- drum room (typically provided by larger studios only)
The Paragon Recording Studio is one of the larger recording studios within the cities with clients such as The Eagles and Frank Zappa, but the studio, as you can see, exhibits the general set up of a recording studio… one that is a little on the lavish side, but nonetheless a typical recording studio.
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06:38:23 pm on September 27, 2008 |
I’ve spent a good majority of the past eight years of my life being dead convinced that my taste in music is invariably better than that of anyone else–yet in that time, I have eventually come to realize this is a notion out of narcissism rather than actual enlightenment (or whatever you might prefer to call it). And by that, I mean I know next to nothing about music or the music industry except for the fact that Ben Folds dominates it… or should. I mean, he drinks Stella and performs with smiley faces and the three headed dog from Harry Potter (check it out). Sure, it’s random, but it’s pretty badass.
Therefore, for this blog, I’ve set a goal to change that and learn more about the industry and how it operates. More specifically, I want to learn about how recording studios function and what exactly goes into recording a record.
As I have recently come to discover, Chicago has a lot of recording studios. And I do mean a lot such as Gravity Studios and Engine Music Studios to name a few, so I’m hoping to spend the next few weeks getting to know them a little better.
