Deep Cove, Vancouver B.C
Back from my second and final trip to Vancouver (well, final for now). My album is almost finished!!! It couldn't have gone more smoothly. Everyday started with 3 - 4 mile run, to the studio by 10am, a song, sushi, another song, beer run, another song, home by 9. Wow. How wonderfully predictable and consistent and all about music....MY music. I was in heaven.

So, here are some photos, like I promised...enjoy!!! The album should be finished in the next few weeks....I'll keep you posted....maybe even a sneaky early listen to a song or two!!!

Me, in the studio

my view, every morning

the control room

Producer Ryan Stewart and I, hard at work

working out the beginning to "Fairytale"

"Wait! I've got an idea...let me show you on my air guitar"

my turn to play producer

trusty vancouver folder and a sweet tattoo

ummm, ya....feeling a little bit sassy

the wolff visits vancouver :)

My superstar producer, Ryan Stewart...the album is....

FINISHED!!!

and we drive off into the sunset and live happily ever after.

the end.

Just kidding. Ok. That's all for now, kids. If you are in LA on MAR 14TH be sure to come down to THE MINT to see me play with the band Channel backing me up! Should be pretty sweet!

THE MINT
wednesday, march 14th, 9pm
6010 Pico Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90035
Just east of Crescent Heights

Hope this finds everyone well...i'll keep you posted on everything!!

xo,

jules

Black squirrels, Timber the bear dog, and a cat named Puppy…..

It’s the oddest thing…Vancouver has black squirrels. I thought it was a rat at first and I freaked out a little then I saw it’s bushy tail and relaxed. Isn’t that funny….the diference between freaking out and not is all in a tail. Hmm. John’s dog, Timber is like a bear. He’s a Siberian Husky. White and fluffy and big and snuggly. Makes me want one. But having a husky in LA is just cruel. Maybe I’ll get a bear. There’s a cat that wanders around the backyard named Puppy. Love that.
Ryan just put on the music of a Canadian singer, Matt Mays. Very Tom Petty. Nice. Wicked song. We are taking a break after song #1 of the morning, “Bobbi”. It was a bit challenging at first….it’s more of an “end-of-the-day” song I realized. But I lit candles and just made myself get there. Too bad that a beer at 10am didn’t real feel doable. Ha.

Up next is “Home”.

Ugh. Struggling on “Home” a little bit. The compression that has been working on all the other songs for some reason isn’t working so well on the choruses of this one….they sound all muffled. May need to adjust on my end…sing them brighter. We are now taking a much needed sushi break! It’s gorgeous out today (even if it is 26 degrees….that’s 2 degrees Celsius…I learned a trick – take the Celsius number, double it, and add 32 and there’s your Fahrenheit!

Back from sushi and we finished the track. Phew. It’s rockin. We’re about to start in on the last one for the day, “Spare Change.” I’m gonna sign off now…more to tell tomorrow and hopefully I will have some pics soon!!

latest and greatest from the 'couver....

January 25, 2007

Day 2: It’s 10 am and I’m back in the studio. Yesterday was a very successful first day. Ryan picked me up at the hotel at 9:30 am and off we went to John’s home studio…wowwee…it’s GORGEOUS. John lives in this sick house in Deep Cove (which reminds me of a cute little fishing town that you’d find in the NE United States. His house overlooks the bay and there are ginormous mountains like, right there in your face. The studio itself is so cozy with plenty of natural light and it overlooks his backyard garden (so much green, I love it!!) We’ve lit all these candles, setting up a totally groovy vibe. We got through 3 tracks yesterday after our initial EQ-ing of the mics (which was about 2 hours of me singing “Love Comes Quickly”…frankly I don’t care if it comes quickly or slowly or at all anymore, ha). Ooo…time to go record “Fairytale”….be back soon…


1:00 pm – Just recorded the most kick ass version EVAH of “Fairytale.” I am jumping up and down like a little girl, not even kidding. I just yelped. Yes, like a little puppy. Wow. This could be the single. Oh I wish you all could hear it now….but you will soon. ☺ Ok, time for lunch….aka “sushi time” that is all I eat here I swear. Alright…back in a bit….


Ok…back from some of the best sushi I’ve had….man, and a little too much of it. ☺ Ok, onto the next….”Cincinnati”….a little ditty in the vain of CSN’s “Southern Cross” all about my childhood home. It’s sweet.


Quaker Oats makes very yummy yogurt granola bars….not something I would buy on my own (too many carbs and sugar) but when your blood sugar is low and you’ve been singing 5 different vocal parts (and then doubling them all) for the past, oh, 2 and ½ hours, you reach for the first edible thing. John (who’s studio we are in) was really sweet and basically made a Craft services table for us with fruit and granola bars and trail mix and water and teas. Phew. Almost time to get back to work….one more track today – Dimestore Halo. “Cincinnati” is going to be FUCKING amazing by the way. I’m not going to try to describe it, you’ll just have to hear it. Man, I feel like I am in alternate universe…where people just sing their lives…maybe that’s what it would be like to live in an opera. Ok…I am whacked. Must finish this tune before I fully lose it.

Photos from VANCOUVER, BC

BAKERSTREET STUDIOS

(ya, it looks like a total dump, but that's just a disguise...)

Our view from the studio (in North Vancouver) over the water to downtown Vancouver

Another view from the studio...one of a very big boat.

Luis and the morning ritual...(*very important for funky bass playing)

Brett (assistant) looks on as Producer Ryan makes a few notes

Luigi and I jammin' on "Dimestore Halo"

The whole crew: Producer Ryan Stewart, Asst. Brett, ME, and Luis (bass, dobro, harp)

Crazy Harp Man

Fonky Bass Mon


"It's all kind of a fairytale inside my mind"

Awww, the little drummer boy. Ha, Ryan's gonna kick my ass for that one, eh? :)

We are clearly approaching slap-happydom here...where's my Heineken?


Post-Heineken, wake it up with some Starbucks...clearly Ryan (out of shot) has made a suggestion that I am a bit hesitant about. Luis is like, "Whatever, let's just play."

Oh, I remember this night. We started on "Take Me" around 9-ish, thinking it'd be an easier one to wrap up the evening with...ha! All I'll say is "Ha!"...but after a night of blood, sweat, and beers I think we got a winner...

Oooo. Intensity, Mr. Producer.

Me, the badass (* see tattoo) callin' some shots.

Mr. Oliart and the Jules, takin' a breather

Figuring out the arrangement to our last minute bonus live track :)

...coordinating it with the troops...

THE END...for now. This was taken about 5 minutes before we left for the airport back to the states. What a team, man. Vancouver, don't go missin' me too much because, in the words of my state's governor..."I'LL BE BACK..."

Whoops...didja catch my slip?

Ya, I slipped out the real name of my producer, known to you all up until now as "Honda." ha. Well, it doesn't really matter now...he's awesome, he's making the album...i guess there is no harm in letting you know his name is Ryan.

Huh. How anti-climatic.

*incidentally, is it "anti-cliMATic" or "anti-cliMACTic"? I always wonder that...

So, ya, i'm back in the good ol' US of A. This week I transitioned back into the world of the day job. It's not bad, I just would SOOOO rather be playing my ass off...

Ryan said he should have some of the roughs to me by this weekend...i hope so. i am getting impatient. 2 years ago i got a tattoo of the chinese character for patience, you know, as a reminder. Problem: I got it on my back. Doesn't do me much reminding good there, now does it? I look like i am having a grand mal seizure when I contort my head around to try and see it. (I used to think people were saying "grandma seizure" and could never figure our why the medical world would name something so violent after a sweet old lady who bakes cookies and reads you bedtime stories).

Speaking of tattoos...I'm getting a new one! Woo-hoo! I just emailed the artist yesterday to set up an appt. I have a photo of what I am getting but I think, rather than post it here, I'll wait til I get it and suprise you all...hee hee....

Alright. Back to the job that pays my rent. I will hopefully have some photos of vancouver for you all soon!!

xo,
j

bakerstreet studios in the good old BC...

(written on Dec 6th and Dec. 7th)

December 6 -
Well, here I am ...in Vancouver. 1st day. It all has been nothing short of perfect so far. We got in last night, got the rental car, drove to the 5 star HOLIDAY INN (I kid you not, I think it's the nicest freaking Holida Inn I've ever seen...or maybe it's just Canadian) Man, can I say how much I LOVE Canada? Maybe it's just BC. Or Vancouver. But whatever, I'm loving it. So, last night, Luis and I weent down to the bar and ended up chatting it up with Fritz, the owner til 2 am. He told us all about his adventures as an ex-street luger (like the luge but on a skateboard) and Pot farmer and how he came to buy the bar. This morning I got up and ran 3 miles and then John (my producer's manager) met us for coffee and we headed to BAKERSTREET STUDIOS. Wow. this place is the bomb. Not because it's fancy, but it's just completely vibey. t's right on the wharf by the water and big ships, overlooking downtown Vancouver. It's cold out but not too cold and it's partly sunny. It reminds me of late february / early March in Cincy. We got in and got right to work..."Fairytale" It's about 2:30 and we're just about to get some sushi for lunch and come back and do "Unraveled" and "Bobbi" for today. More later...

December 7 -
Hey! Well, I finally got access to a computer - man, i was going nuts. So yesterday was a 14 hour day, as the rest of them probably will be too. The funny thing is, I don't even notice the time passing...I am in my element here and it is great. Yesterday we finished all three - FAIRYTALE, UNRAVELED, and BOBBI. I'm really happy with where they are going and the 3 of us work so well together. Today we are trying to get through 4...HOME (which we are just finishing up) and then SPARE CHANGE, DIRTY LAUNDRY, and DRINK MYSELF PRETTY. Phew. Gonna be a challenge. Alright...i'll keep you all posted and soon i hope to have some photos too!!!

(written DEC 9TH)

Beautiful Vancouver, BC. it's 10:45pm on the fourth day of 14 hour days...I think we're all a little burnt and slap happy...man, it's been a ride. I'm sure that Vancouver is a lovely place but I haven't seen any of it, ha. oh well, next time. I'm coming very close to accomplishing what I came to accomplish: the music. we've recorded the beds (*meaning the bass/drums) for 11 songs in 3 1/2 days AND we've got rhythm guitar on all of them too. We finished everything up around 5 today and went out for some food. It was cold and rainy and i had yummy soup and some kind of pale ale. It was the perfect comfort food. When we got back, we listened to all the tracks. Wow. It started to sound like a real album! Everything is gelling really nicely and you can start to see the flavor of the album. (Fuckin' cool would be that flavor, btw) It's turning out to be this bluesy/soulful Stones meets Zepelin meets Lucinda Williams. I'm pretty jazzed.

Right now Luis is recording the harp on any song we can think of that might want to have it on it, just so Ryan has options when he starts to mix. Tomorrow we will probably record the 3 acoustic tracks that are left and then Luis and I head off to the airport to come back to home sweet home.

A lot of you have asked, "So, when will it be ready?"

From here, my producer will be getting guys to come in and fill in the songs with piano, organ, cello, and of course, lead guitar. He'll be emailing me MP3s of it all with rough mixes and we'll go back and forth on those to get to the final mixes on all of the tracks which should probably be finished by mid January. At that point, sometime at the end of January/beginning of February, I'll be coming back to Vancouver for another week to record my final vocals. Then the final mixes will be done and MP3ed to me to hear and once all is approved and complete, the album will be mastered and sometime in late February, the actual album should be finished.

That's when we officially chose a single and release that and all of the publicity and marketing begins, leading up to the Spring release of the album. Of course, during that time, album artwork will be done and sent to a manufacturer to be pressed.

So, as you can see, there is still a ways to go....oh, we are only at the beginning. :)

Sound issues....it's 11:03 and we can't get the harp to come through the mic we set up...this engineering thing is complicated...."Route 25 through gear 28. What channel? Whatever we're dealing with....the overhead...110." K, that might as well be Japanese to me.

Speaking of Japanese, we've had some AMAZING sushi here. So fresh and so abundant. It's like Starbucks is to the States....one on every corner. Yesterday we ate at one that was a bit scary. Not the sushi....the servers. Brett, our assistant, and Luis ordered all you can eat and we the rest of us didn't. They sent a man over to our table to "watch" us and make sure they didn't share the "all you can eat" with us. He was like a guard. Not sure what would have happened if we tried. I was imagining alarms going off and gates with bars flying down from the ceiling and Samurais careening towards us, swinging and waving large bladed swords in our faces. But we played it safe. Our little guard man was a bit unnerving.

The sound for the harp works now. Good. Ok. Time to get back to work. :)

See all you los angelenos very soon!!!!
xo,
jules

Bought me a ticket for an aeroplane...

No, that's not a new tattoo on my upper arm. It's the photographer of the photo protecting herself from people like me who don't want to spend $12 (for a freakin' 4x6!) per photo. It actually says "copyright" but I am wearing black so all you can see is "yri" and part of a "g".

well, this is it kids...I'm off to Vancouver to record my album, one week from yesterday! Yuppers, next Tuesday, Dec. 5th, Luis Oliart (my bass player/dobro/harp/bg vocals) and I are hopping on a plane to the BC. (It's like the OC but colder). Can't wait.

This past month or so has been spent choosing the songs on the album, finishing up some new ones for consideration on the album, futzing with the arrangements on all of them and generally, mapping out the vibe for the album. This has been done primarily between Honda and I, with input from Mark and Luis as well. I'm feeling really good, esp. about Honda and I as a team. He really seems to get where I'm coming from and where I want to take this. He will be playing drums on the album as well as producing which is really cool because it is crucial that your drummer gets the vibe - they are a huge part of setting the tone. Other than the 3 of us players, Honda has access to some of Canada's finest studio musicians. We've already got a guitarist on board. He, in conjunction with Luis will be laying down most of the guitar work on Dobros, 12-string, flamenco, pedal steel, and 6 string with whole lotta slide work.

That's been the "creative" side of this past month. Of course, there is the business side of things, which I won't bore you with...Mark's been dealing with that mostly. Contracts, expenses, budgets, etc...in addition to the two contracts for the two compilation cds that I am going to be on in 2007. Costco is putting out a couple of female singer/songwriter compilation cds and I am going to be on two of them. They've chosen "Take Me" and "Spare Change". Yippeee! I'll keep ya posted on the releases for sure.

Well, I didn't get around to getting a laptop so I am going to be at the mercy of whatever my lovely hotel accomodations have to offer. Hopefully I'll be able to get online some, to give you some brief moments of how the process is going. If not, I promise to write in my journal and transcribe it when I return.

Well, here I go. . . see ya'll on the flip side!!

jules :)