no offense to the rest of you, but the kids in cats and the fiddler are some of the most talented musicians i’ve ever had the privilege of working with.  this was the first traditional bluegrass record i’ve worked on, but their skill level made the whole project a breeze, as my primary job was to make sure we were rolling and stay out of their way.  i’m really looking forward to see where their musical path takes them…i’m sure it will be a long one.

the debut release from jon sergott (jonny franchise to his adoring fanse) manages to infuse a heavy dose of 70′s classic rock into the contemporary christian rock scene.  the project was originally recorded by jon at his home in minnesota and brought to me for mixing, but as things got underway we decided remove and rerecord quite a bit, including all of the drums and bass and a handful of vocal tracks.  the result is a cool hybrid of lofi and and modern recording and, as jon put it, it sounds “like george friggin’ lynch”.  don’t worry…i don’t know who he is either.

towers is the first full length release from midland band archana. these talented folks won a few days of studio time in the galaxy entertainment center battle of the bands and made the trip from midland to my humble digs many, many times. the final produce is a nice blend of indie rock with some mathy prog elements and general silliness thrown in for good measure.  you can stream the whole thing and buy the cd at their bandcamp or listen to the title track below.

the not quite companion cd to last month’s black history year, this disc is all about jyoung doing what he does best.  we recorded an album’s worth of material, but trimmed it down to the seven best songs for the ep’s release.  like many of the blat! pack’s projects, the whole thing is available as a free download at his bandcamp.  downloads not your thing?  check out ‘she likes me’ below.

tricia kjolhede’s tunes n tales was my first ever kids’ record (not counting the verve pipe’s a family album on which i did some boring, boring editing work).  it was a pretty serious departure from my usual fare and a ton of fun, largely because the musicians involved were kind of like my musical family.  drummer/guitarist/tricia’s son cj and bassist jason marr both play in multiple lansing bands (elliot street lunatic, rollover radio, happy human, probably like six more) and paul, the trombone player on five little monkeys (audio below), is an old high school friend and bandmate.  once you’ve given it a thorough listen, pick up a copy of the disc at tricia’s website.

between his own projects and features on tracks by philthy, business, and the other members of the blat! pack, it seems like jyoung is always in the studio.  this project, recorded and released for black history month, features six songs celebrating black history and its heroes.  you can download the entire thing at his bandcamp or listen to ‘hatian fight song 2010′ below.

midland band aurorealis came into the studio with an ambitious schedule and totally surprised me by sticking to it.  we recorded and mixed the band’s full length in three days with minimal stress, thanks to their preparedness and organization.  there’s a pretty broad span of styles on this record and i had trouble picking a track, but check out ‘before dawn’ below and then visit their bandcamp fcr more music.

i met good weather for airstrikes a few months ago when they came to my place to record a song for a christmas benefit cd and, thanks to my charm and good looks, the band couldn’t resist coming back to record an ep.  the band’s songs favor long dynamic builds to the traditional verse and chorus structures we’re all so used to hearing, and recording their record was a nice change of pace.  check out and all seems lost’ below, then visit their myspace for tour dates and the like.

this is one of the first really aggressive records i’ve recorded where everything felt like it clicked right into place.  the band trekked all the way here from alpena and we recorded and mixed the ep over the course of three days.  hopefully one of these days the band will make it down to lansing for a live show, but until then you can check out ‘codex of equilibrium’ below and then visit their myspace for more music.

10 to impact is a band to watch out for.  they may be a bunch of young whippersnappers now, but they’re in the fortunate (and rare) position where their songwriting is more developed and ambitious than their playing.  i’ve really enjoyed seeing the growth they’ve experienced as musicians between this project and their first one as ‘shell shock’ and am expecting even greater things from them down the road.  check out ‘johnny’ below, then visit their facebook page or myspace for more info.