Summer 2021
This is my first summer here in Portland and It’s also one of the busiest I’ve ever had. I’m having a blast exploring this part of the country and I’m really enjoying my first summer outside of New England. I’ve had the opportunity to work on some amazing music since I’ve been out here.
In early June the great Brooklyn-based band, Pons came out here to make an album with me. The record is awesome, It’s a concept record where every song flows into the next which was definitely a challenge in itself to wrap my head around. We spent four days at the legendary Jackpot! recording studio here in Portland. We did basics and also started to dig into overdubs there. Jackpot! Is by far one of the easiest studios I’ve ever worked at, owner Larry Crane has a wealth of experience making records and he’s outfitted his studio with absolutely everything you’d ever need and more to make an awesome record there. After we wrapped up at Jackpot! We went over to another awesome studio here in Portland called The Hallowed Halls. We spent the next couple of days making our way through the rest of the guitars, vocals, and keyboards. Hallowed Halls was super fun to work at and the super cool relaxed vibe of the studio definitely translated to the sound of the record.
I took a few days off after wrapping up tracking the Pons record before I went back to Jackpot! to start an EP with Boys Cruise. Conveniently Pons and Boys Cruise share two members and since they were already out here they decided to spend an extra week recording. The Boys Cruise EP is awesome. We made a full-length late last year but this EP is a totally different vibe. We really wanted this EP to feel live, like everyone was playing in the same room (which they were). After we wrapped up at Jackpot! we once again went over to The Hallowed Halls to wrap up the rest of the overdubs. As of today, I’m chipping away at mixing both of these awesome projects.
While I was in the middle of recording the Pons record I was asked to be a house engineer at Jackpot! To say it was an honor would be an understatement. I’ve been an avid reader of Tape Op magazine since I was a teenager, and have always found massive Inspiration from reading it. To be able to work at the studio that Larry created is an amazing and inspiring experience.
After I wrapped up with Pons and Boys Cruise I took a trip back to Boston to make a record at my “alma mater” 37ft Productions with Boston-based band Rootiger. my studio partner Sean has made some amazing changes to 37ft, some of which include new floors in the live room, and a raised ceiling. It felt awesome to be back recording there after freelancing at so many other amazing studios out here in Portland.
After I got back to Portland I finished up revisions on a couple of long-term mixing projects I had been working on during my early days here. Some of those artists include Patrick Greeley, James Burke, Muggs Fogarty, and Maria Earabino aka Laura, Laura! All of these projects are set to be released in the coming months and I think it’s some of my best mixing work to date.
In early July my new friend James Davis made the trip out here to get started on his new album. I mixed an awesome EP for James in the spring, and I was super excited when he asked me to make a full length with him. We went over to Halfling Studio here in Portland to do the basics. I was introduced to the folks at Halfling through my amazing friend Jeff Lipton of Peerless Mastering in Boston. A few months after getting here I had an awesome session at Halfling helping Portland legends Sleater Kinney record their performances for the Colbert Show and NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert. I was super excited to be back working at Halfling after a few months away. I employed the awesome drummer Paul Pulvirenti to play on the basics for James. I met Paul at Jackpot! A few months prior when I was working on a single for Portland-based band Silvertongue. Paul was so awesome and easy to work with that I wanted him to be a part of the project with James, It also didn’t hurt that Paul played with the late Eliott Smith and James finds a lot of inspiration from Eliotts music. After doing basics we once again went over to The Hallowed Halls for overdubs. James ended up staying out here for an extra few days after we finished up recording to play a show with my pals in Silvertongue. One day we had some downtime so we went over to an arboretum near my house to record a song outside. This is where the Arboretum Sessions were born.
That’s it so far! I’m sure I missed a bunch but It’s been super busy and I haven’t had much time to sit down and collect my thoughts. I’ve been hunkered down most of the month mixing and I figured now would be a good time to get this all down. I’m super excited to see what the next six months here in Portland will hold!