It's showtime!
Posted 12 November 2008, 18:17 by The Kennel
A bit of (off-off-off) Broadway came to The Kennel over the weekend as Perry Serpa and members of The Sharp Things gathered with playwright Rich Tayloe and the cast of Scene Street to record songs from the show.
Cast
Jesse: Aaron Schroeder
Karen: Amy Gironda
Rob: Felix Hess
Blake: Matte O’Brien
Cookie: Melissa Zygmant
Synopsis
Jesse is a young aspiring film-director who has moved from his small life in Iowa to the big city with dreams of becoming the next Quentin Tarantino or Wes Anderson. Unfortunately, his money has run out, he’s drowning in debt, and he can’t seem to hold down a job, let alone fit in with his terminally hip neighborhood, known to its uber-trendy residents as “Scene Street.”
While desperately hunting for a job, and after a series of misunderstandings, he unwittingly finds himself in a romantic triangle with Blake, a flamboyantly self-obsessed art gallery assistant, who considers himself an international art-star and fashion icon, and Blake’s sweet but clueless best friend Cookie, a restaurant manager, who has an intense passion for 80’s fashion and reality TV.
Meanwhile, Jesse’s roommate Rob, a record store clerk who makes an art-form out of apathy and judging people’s musical tastes, has unexpectedly fallen for Karen, a wannabe rock-star who is organizing a protest movement to save the street from Corporate take-over. Karen, however, is harboring a dark secret that could destroy her newfound romance or even worse, her indie-cred.
Will their love survive? Will they be able to save the Street from Corporate gentrification? Will Jesse find a job and be able to keep his dream alive? Will Cookie be able to find a sweater for Blake’s ugly sweater party? With cameos from several “celebrity guest stars” this absurdist indie-rock satire answers all of these questions and more in a hilariously over-the-top portrait of today’s celebrity- and pop-culture-obsessed Facebook generation.
Performers on the recording
Perry Serpa: piano, acoustic guitar
Steve Gonzalez: drums
Jim Santo: bass, guitar
Bob Byrne: piano
Mike Erwin: trumpet
recent enhancements
Posted 25 October 2008, 09:52 by The Kennel
We’re always working to improve The Kennel! James again showed off his mad carpentry skills by building a set of sound-absorbing gobos:
The hinged, three-panel structure at the center of this photo is ideal for isolating bass amplifiers while the two massive structures to either side allow for exceptionally clean drum tracks even with live amps in the room. With an absorbent surface on one side and reflective on the other, these babies make an already versatile live room even more so.
Speaking of versatility, the ever-popular Ruby Room took a step up with the installation of heavy drapes (hand-crafted by Giuliana Ciampoli) on rails.
By completely covering the room’s glass doors, we can totally deaden the space or slide them aside for a brighter sound.
Finally, we thought it was about time we showed off our fine collection of studio microphones, so we got them all together for a group photo:
The joint is jumping!
Posted 25 October 2008, 09:08 by The Kennel
New clients continue to flock to The Kennel:
Brooklyn-based R&B/hip hop/pop production team Firestorm Entertainment start work today on their latest project.
Norwegian splatter-folk duo Thinguma*jigSaw fly in mid-month for six days’ recording and mixing their new album.
Pawn’s Revenge are making great progress on their debut LP with Billy at the board.
Perry Serpa and members of The Sharp Things will begin work Nov. 7 on the cast recording of Rich Tayloe’s hipster musical Scene Street.
Yeah, the calendar is filling up but don’t let that scare you away — contact The Kennel now to arrange a visit.
Latest client updates
Posted 10 September 2008, 11:57 by The Kennel
Kadafi was in Monday and yesterday laying down drum tracks for their newest...Sexcop returns to mixing today...Jenny Arrigo is getting started on her debut...more to come...
A great drum sound
Posted 1 September 2008, 11:36 by The Kennel
We continue to be impressed by how easy it is to get a great drum sound in our live room.
Mark Kovacik (below) was in with James on Friday night, capturing some drum parts by Dan Gottesman (Chris Muir also laid down some bass guitar).
We used a matched pair of AKG 414As for the overheads: Sennheiser 441s on the toms; a Shure SM7 and an SM57 above and below the snare, respectively; an AKG D112 and an EV RE20 on the kick; and an Earthworks Omni 30 feet away at the opposite end of the room.
In less than 30 minutes, we had a kick-ass sound. Gotta love that!
Building The Kennel
Posted 24 August 2008, 10:16 by The Kennel
The greatest story ever told…in pictures.