Mick (top left) and I are the two seventies-looking dudes with the moustaches.
This was a nine-year live-sound gig.
Hanging out at a friend's studio. The Neve console was great for looks but rarely used.
Two-time Grammy winner Laurence Juber www.laurencejuber.com , former guitarist with Paul McCartney & Wings, recorded live acoustic performance at Alva's in San Pedro. I recorded all of the performance for this DVD/CD set entitled "Catch LJ Live." See the promo clip of this 2013 release at the top of his web page www.laurencejuber.com to hear some of this live recording. Video and surround mix by Sunlight Digital.
Grammy winners Doug Smith www.DougSmithGuitar.com and Mark Hanson www.AccentOnMusic.com, live recording (also done at Alva's in San Pedro, CA) for their DVD/CD set released in 2013, entitled Guitar Confluence LIVE.
Final mixes of all 5 songs for the 2010 Tour EP for Jared Mees and The Grown Children. This is a group worth checking out. See the review of his second album below.
Morry Louden, extraordinary jazz bassist and group http://www.morrielouden.com/ , http://www.myspace.com/morrielouden , live recording at Alva's. This artist plays on an amazing 300 year old bass. Check it out.
Two great jazz fusion performance recorded at Alva's featuring Brett Garsed on guitar, Ric Fierabracci on bass, and Joel Taylor on drums. Check out these guys, their discographies and credits. They're simply among the best musicians you'll ever hear. Don't miss the recording samples in the next section.
John Brown and Harold Payne live at "Live at The Lounge" (Comedy and Magic Club) Hermosa Beach, CA.
Frank Stallone (yes, he does look a lot like his brother, Sylvester), www.frankstallone.com , live recording of acoustic set in Hermosa Beach, CA.
Rudy Kalfayan live performance for EPK produced by Sunlight Digital.
VAST, former Elektra recording artists, now independent, http://www.realvast.com/ live recording at The Key Club, Hollywood. Did the recording and mix for the song "Flames" (the only song used from this performance) that is a bonus track on their latest CD release, "Me and You".
Two great jazz fusion performance by “Dirty Martini” recorded at Alva's featuring Brett Garsed , widely considered to be Australia's premier guitarist, Ric Fierabracci , amazing bass virtuoso (has played with most jazz greats and Sir Tom Jones, and Joel Taylor , another fantastic player on drums. Check out these guys, their discographies and credits. They're simply among the best musicians you'll ever hear. Don't miss their Recording Samples.
The Kofi Baker. Band. Featuring the son of legendary drummer Ginger Baker (Cream, Blind Faith). Recorded twice--The Baked Potato (Universal City) and at Alvas (San Pedro).
Complete mix and mastering of "Caffeine, Alcohol, Sunshine, Money by Jared Mees on the Tender Loving Empire label. Here is just one of many favorable reviews from PerformerMag: West Coast Performer: Recorded Reviews: November 2008.
Jared Mees and the Grown Children - Caffeine, Alcohol, Sunshine, Money.
Engineered by Jeremy Wilson Recorded by Jeremy Wilson at Mastan Music in Portland, OR Mixed and mastered by Bill Forbes at Rolling Recorder Produced by Jared Mees and Jeremy Wilson.
With its ingredients clearly labelled on the package, Caffeine, Alcohol, Sunshine, Money is an album made up of all good things. It was also clearly made by a genius. Jared Mees weaves powerfully nostalgic and emotional lyrics into a fabric that is warm, familiar and soft from spilt tears and booze. Stories are told with the cleverness and refined skill of an old-fashioned songwriter and filled with words that need to be heard – and shouted along to.
Released on Mees’ own Tender Loving Empire label, Caffeine, Alcohol, Sunshine, Money is more distinguished than its highly remarkable predecessor, If You Wanna Swim with the Sharks, flowing seamlessly between its many different flavors. Songs move through the rural back roads, into hung-over mornings, inside what must be dirty kitchens and up trails that always seem a little too steep. The one theme that resonates throughout is life and learning to understand to never expect to completely understand it.
Stylistically, the songs embody decades past – from track-side hobo campfires to back-porch musings – but fortunately, Mees and The Grown Children, as his musical foils are known, are based out of Portland. Their rowdy folk songs are additionally decorated with the swirling, churning string arrangements of Marriage Records’ Jordan Dykstra and Megan Spear, and emphasized with Spear’s crystalline vocals.
Mees’ lyrical brilliance lies in the way he brandishes clever rhymes together with everyday happenings, relating a genuine feeling of real life. In true storyteller fashion he sings, “I drank pots and pots and pots and pots of strong black coffee / trying to keep my sleepy soul awake / but the sleepiness still comes along and when it does it’s fast and strong / I end up with a bad case of the shakes” on “Strong Black Coffee.” In “The Tallest Building in Hell,” Mees restrains from his usual lyrical complexity and sings what could easily be the mantra of the album: “I hate to say it but these last few years have been hell / but patience pays off finally.” Without a doubt, the patience did pay off as Caffeine, Alcohol, Sunshine, Money was made – and it’s incredible. (Tender Loving Empire)
www.myspace.com/jaredmees
-Evan “The Bug” Jerome
Internationally famous Latin jazz legends (and the Guests of Honor) Flora Purim and Airto Moreira, with Eyedentity, live at 2 venues of the Telluride Jazz Festival (Telluride, Colorado). This concert was also captured in video that was to be used for a documentary DVD that unfortunately may never be completed due to lack of funding, and an obsolete video format.
Canon, a talented progressive rock band with some accomplished young players. I recorded them live in one of the coolest venues yet--the old ticket room in Union Station, Los Angeles. My recording and mixes for the video can be heard (although the audio was degraded a bit in the process) at the following link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvH6UtIFW8w. Even though the stage was too tight & there were some PA problems, It's that live energy thing again.
Finn Riggins -A great band from Idaho, on the Tender Loving Empire Label. I recorded their first full studio-style CD in 3 days with the remote rig on a sound stage in Torrance, CA during their tour. Their CD was released at the end of 2007, and got some great reviews.
Mastering projects for Tender Loving Empire, including "Pop Tomorrow," one of their many compilations of Portland Oregon's best bands, and also mastering of Super XX Man's CD "There'll Be Diamonds.".
Recording, mixing and mastering of Jared Mees' amazing self-produced and mostly self-performed debut album "If You Wanna Swim With the Sharks, You Gotta Concentrate" on Tender Loving Empire. This whole project was done in the Forbesound mix room, including tracking live drums! I still love the sound of this album--touches like guitar amp simulation plug-in on the vocal and other unique "lo-fi" tweaks make this a true classic.
Rolling Hills Covenant Church (four large concert recordings).
The Whiskey Imperials (Tracy's Bar and Grill--Long Beach).
Fullonthropy--James Musser, Ric Fierabracci et al. A group whose players vary each year, but James always lines up some amazing seasoned pros to go with him into a live, improvisational journey into the unknown. (Four annual recordings).
Joe Herpin/Genuflect (Mix room tracking).
Strand 13 (Band members home--Manhattan Beach).
Live sound system set-up and mixing for the 75th anniversary show at The Warner Grand Theater, San Pedro (Mike Brink, directing).
Opus Däi (two sessions--at The Key Club and The Roxy--Hollywood), These live tracks were used for their live EP entitled Actum Procul.
Scott Turchin Band (Old Towne Pub--Pasadena).
Glen Lynsky (twice at Rodney's Grooveworks sound stage--Torrance. Glen is an amazing guitarist who I got to jam with for several months, and is also a fellow audio engineer. He is now living in Idaho.
Perk (Pop singer and later actor) at BB King's—Universal Studios Citywalk).
Midnight to Twelve (M212) at the Galaxy Theater--Santa Ana).
Wendy Lata/Girlie Freak Show (Pro Tools mixes from 2" 24 track analog masters).
John Brown Band (two sessions--backyard tent video shoot in La Canada, CA and the Long Beach Hilton in CA). If you like good covers of classic rock, check out Procol Harum's Whiter Shade of Pale in the recording samples.
Steel Roots (all-original acoustic band from Colorado, recorded in a living room in Palos Verdes).