This is a photo of Barack Obama speaking in St. Louis yesterday, October 18, 2008 (my birthday). Official estimates put the crowd at 100,000, which means it was probably closer to 150,000 or more. There is no way that this man will not win the election and become our next President. And I can’t wait. I finally feel some hope for the future, for my daughter, for all of us, and for the world. This country must come together, under the leadership of Barack Obama, to correct the wrongs that past eight years have wrought. The world is watching us, and they too, are hoping for an end to war, the destruction of the planet, the globalization and monetary policies that have destroyed their economies as it has our own. Is it too late for us, and for the planet?? No, I don’t believe it is. Can we change it all for the better, for ALL of our brothers and sisters every where??? YES! WE! CAN!!! GObama!!!

OK, OK, it’s not THAT bad! Mixing is actually quite fun. No, honest…really. It IS!

As I mention in Part I, you need to start with vocal tracks that are pristine, ‘dry’ (no effects), and of the very best performance quality. Think of the mixing procedure as the Recipe, and you are the Chef. You MUST have the freshest, highest quality ingredients before you begin putting it all together…the sum is only as good as the parts! So…let’s start mixing!

Generally speaking, I ask the engineer (my engineer is the fabulous Jamie Bridges, of “Room With a View Studio” in Petaluma, CA) to first mix the instrumental tracks separately from the vocal tracks. “But I thought we were going to start with mixing my VOICE!!” Well, “Patience, Grasshopper,” is my response to you, O Impatient One. You need to build the ‘frame’ for your fabulous vocals FIRST. THEN you mix your vocals….So, where was I? Oh yes… (more…)

Oh man, poor Jamie, my engineer on the new CD project. After weeks of vocal sessions, overdubs and do-over sessions, I finally let him know about 10 days ago that OK, I am FINALLY satisfied, somewhat, with my vocals and ready to mix the project. So like a good soldier, he began the mixing process - he would mix a song, send it to me via email so I could listen in iTunes, and then I would email back my comments. And 9 times out of 10 the comments were - “Great mix. But I heard something in my vocals I want to fix - can I come over and do a quickie over-dub of ONE WORD?”

“Just ONE word?”

“Um….yeah. Is that a problem?”

“YES!!! You are obsessive, compulsive, and a perfectionist. And you’re a really good singer. So QUIT ALREADY!! I AM NOT GOING TO ALLOW YOU TO RECORD ONE WORD! WE’RE MIXING!! NOT RECORDING!” (more…)

Yesterday was a really fun day in the studio! I had decided that on one song in particular, an accordion would add a beautiful ambiance, a little bit of sparkle, to an already great arrangement that Gerry Grosz wrote for me. The song has a tango or rhumba feel to it, and I sing the last half of the song in Italian.

So, I hired Steve Albini, and really great accordion player (and an even greater singer!) to come in and add a little spumoni to the song…and it sounds so cool, I LOVE it!

It was a very interesting process, as Steve has such a different (and lovely) sense of melody/harmony than I do. And working with another chordal instrument was challenge, since I’ve already got piano, guitar and vibes providing the harmonic/chordal structure underneath the songs. So - how to add accordion without making everything sound muddy?

Luckily, it was really easy, with Steve! We did several tracks, and I sang the parts that I wanted him to play. He did a great job, but it wasn’t quite what I was looking for.

I decided to open the bottle of Italian red wine he had brought to the session (my kinda guy!) and we took a little break, enjoying the excellent bouquet and flavor of the wine and talking about Music, Life, Kids, and I also reminisced about my days singing at the Sons of Italy in upstate New York, oh soooooo long ago!

Anyway, that was enjoyable, but time to get back to work! I told Steve: “Now - just ignore everything I’ve told you to play, and play as if you’re on stage, in front of your own band, performing this song. Do whatever you want!!

Well, that was the ticket! He had incorporated my suggestions, but went with his own feelings, and of course, as usual, that worked beautifully. He did a great job, and he’s such a sweetie, too.

I’ve always wanted to add accordion, and now I have. Very soon I’ll begin posting some song samples so you can hear it!