Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Ironwood Rain debut CD "TRIO" now available!


TRIO, the debut CD from my band Ironwood Rain, is now available!
The CD features 9 original acoustic rock songs, as well as two unusual classic cover tunes.
Visit the Ironwood Rain store for CDs, t-shirts, souvenir posters and more to come.
You can listen to Ironwood Rain on Reverb Nation.
Visit the website for more information.

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Ironwood Rain thumbnails

The cover of TRIO, the new CD from my band Ironwood Rain:


Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Back home again!!! V and Sam - long lost brother and sister?

After years of circulating around the country, I am beginning to get my guitars all back in one place.
Today, the Flying V arrived. I just HAD to put it next to Sam, they are like brother and sister.

What a pair!!!



Thanks so much to Dino for all his efforts to ship the guitar.

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Ironwood Rain video "Until The End Of Time" now on YouTube!


IR is now worldwide! The video for "Until the End of Time" [from our soon-to-be-released CD Trio] is now on YouTube! Special thanks to Gusty and the guys at MohrFire Studios, and SWaT Productions for an excellent video production. Also thanks to the The D-Note, the Buffalo Rose, and the Laughing Goat for letting us film the live shots.
Check it out now:
http://www.ironwoodrain.com/

Or go to YouTube and search for "Ironwood Rain". There you will see an interview video as well.

The tentative date for the official Trio CD release party is November 20 at the D-Note. The CDs should be available for sale by then. Stay tuned for more updates.

The whole experience - from putting the music together, to recording the CD, to playing live, to making the video - has exceeded my expectations.

Monday, June 29, 2009

Ironwood Rain VIDEO SHOOT LIVE at the Laughing Goat

06/23/09
Ironwood Rain live at the Laughing Goat coffee house in Boulder.

Tim from SWAT Productions getting set to record live video for Until the End of Time.
[No animals were harmed during the filming. One coffee mug was broken, however. ]

Monday, June 15, 2009

Ironwood Rain CD project at Mohr Fire Studios

My band, Ironwood Rain, is busy recording our debut CD at Mohr Fire Studios.
http://www.mohrfire.com/
First of all, let me say that it is a pleasure working with Gusty and the guys at Mohr Fire. As you can see, the facility is outstanding, and simply beautiful. For example, take a look at the magnificent quilts all around the studio... What an exceptional experience.
Day 4:
06/24/09
Getting down to business. Vocal tracks, guitar tracks, and "safety pants". (It's a long story...)
Getting ready to 'lay it down.'
Listening back to the tracks.
Check out Gusty's custom-made "twisty" didgeridoo just on the other side of the window. It's wild.

Day 3:
06/17/09
Video Shoot!
Today the film crew from SWaT Production LLC arrived to shoot the 'studio' portion of the video for Until The End of Time.


Gusty and the SWaT team discussing deatails and getting set to film. Great guys, fun and easy to work with.
I have no pictures from the actual shoot, because we were all in the video and hadn't a free hand to shoot our own pics.
You'll have to wait for the video.

"A-HA!!!" Moment!

The vocal tracks were good, but Gusty felt they could be even better.
JJ suggested singing his leads while holding his guitar; it felt more natural to him.
A magic moment!
The difference was unbelievable. There was something intangible but extremely evident. The energy was really there. Everything just seemed to flow.

It worked for Scotte, too!


JJ recording vocals for 19K M mph.
(Rock star...)


Scotte lays down the "Na na na's" in 5th of September.

Day 2:
06/14/09
Getting down to the nitty gritty; basic tracks for more songs, then individual tracks, vocals, and harmonies.

We are all in high spirits. This just gets more fun all the time!


The hypnotic tuner. Seriously, don't stare at it for too long!!!...

The magician at work.

It's like NASA.
I wonder if the folks at NASA say, "Wow, it's like a recording studio!!!"

Rhythm tracks:

Scotte and JJ in the big room.

Laying down individual tracks:

JJ gets ready for a track, as seen from the vocal isolation booth.

Scotte listens back to a bass track.

Time for vocals:

Let's try a little mood lighting...

Ah, that's better!

Monkey Shines. You can almost see the steam and feel the heat of the swamp.


Cafe Society. ooOOoo...


19K M mph. JJ is such a rock star.


Really, he should think of changing his name to JJ Rokstah.



And don't forget who is turning all this into a beautiful recording.... "The Magician," Gusty.
[Leaning against the wall by the quilt is a didgeridoo that Gusty hand-built. He's multi-talented.]

Yours truly, working my dulcit tones over the rhythm and lead vocal tracks.

Listening to the results.

As seen from the big room.

As seen from the isolation booth.

The big room, clockwise from the entrance:

[Sam in the big room. Ain't she beautiful?]



To the vocal isolation booth:


By the end of the day, we had two songs 'in the can,' and five other songs tracked and ready for vocals and solos.

Day 1:
06/13/09
[Due to the low lighting, some of the photos are blurry. That's fine, I prefer the ambience.]

Scotte, the mastermind behind the CD project, and the band as a whole. He is standing in the vocal isolation booth.


JJ warms up in the live room. It is HUGE.


Gusty, Mohr Fire's ace engineer, at the helm.
Gusty is an incredible engineer, and really knows his stuff . He knows his equipment and how to use it to get the best recording. His experience and expertise are invaluable, making the most of our time and energy, and making the whole process a real pleasure.
On top of all that, Gusty is a great guy, and unbelievably easy to work with.


JJ and Gusty in the main room.


Scotte tunes up.
We all wound up standing there, staring at the tuner. It's hypnotic, like a truth serum.


Mission control. Great mood lighting - so important to get that creative vibe going.
And the sound?... AWESOME!!!

The view from the isolation booth.

Gusty working his magic. Seriously, it is like watching a magic show.


Scotte gets ready to reccord bass lines.


JJ ready to record.

The view from the control room:

Gusty gets JJ set up to record vocal and guitar on 19K M mph.