CD Release Party

We had a little CD release party for two of the bands on Go-Kustom last night at the Sunset Tavern in lovely downtown Ballard (Seattle, Washington). Good turn out and both the bands, Bill Wolford's Head and The Penningtones, rocked the joint. I took some good photos and will have a photos page up shortly. Opening the show was The Polaris Experience with a very heavy old school prog rock kinda set. Next up was Bill Wolford and his upright bassist. They started out with the acoustic guitar and bass and after several songs Jeremy Sever (who also plays in The Penningtones) joined them on stage as they switched into a more rockin' electric sound. A very eclectic set! The last band of the evening was the Alternative Country stylings of The Penningtones. They've progressed leaps and bounds from their first show at the University Bookstore back in 1998. That was a promo show for the CD Americana: A Tribute To Johnny Cash that I released that same year. As a band they sound very tight now, like they've been playing together for a decade or more. These two bands make me proud to be doing what I'm doing with Go-Kustom Rekords. Getting good music out to the masses.

Almost Ambient CD

Finished the Almost Ambient CD and next dayed it to Invisible Records last Saturday. They are supposed to master it today in Chicago. I had to rush to get all the tracks sorted and arranged. When they master the disc they are gong to compress and e.q. it, basically to get it to sound more polished. Mastering is key to getting a CD to sound it's best. A lesson I learned first hand with the first Kill Switch...Klick CD, Beat It To Fit, Paint It To Match. When I sent that one off to Cleopatra Records back in '94 I didn't know their was an extra step in CD production that included e.q.ing and such. I heard it for a full year after Beat It... came out. "How come your CD sounds so mid rangey," "I love the music but it sounds like its muffled or something," and "Reminds me of when I put my stereo speaker under my pillow when I was a kid." So let that be a lesson to you kids...always have your CD's mastered by a professional.

Almost Ambient CD

Got the cover art for The Kill Switch...Klick - Almost Ambient CD done and it looks like this...





Which is to say it is very different from the old version which looked like this...


I decided at the last minute to make a few adjustments and ended up changing the entire layout. I think the new version captures the mood of the CD better. I've also been trying to get the music finished by middle of this week. Invisible Records said I have to get them the pre-master CDR by this week if I want to make sure it comes out by January 2002. I only have one more song (Restraint) to arrange and then the album is done.

A Copper Penny In My Hand

Finished mixing A Copper Penny In My Hand (formerly Copper). This ambient stuff can go quickly if the inspiration is behind it. Did A little work on His Restraint, which is the last song for the Kill Switch...Klick - Almost Ambient CD. Should have His Restraint completed later this week.

Restraint

Half of His Restraint (I'm keeping that as the song title) is recorded. Got a slowed down a bit. the inspiration was wearing thin so I decided to start writing another ambient ditty calling it Copper. Both these tunes will be nice additions to the Almost Ambient CD's over-all feeling. Bill Wolford is just starting to master the Teen Feeding Frenzy! CD. We are looking at an early 2002 release on that one.