kyles and tigers and rocs - oh my!
lots happenin, lots happenin'......picking up from where i left off, we had 4 candidates: Roc, Kyle, Carson, and Tiger. First things first: our meeting with Carson.
Carson, as you may recall, is a local producer whom i have worked with before. I know his work, the way he works and i am a fan. That is why i wanted to meet with him. Honestly - Mark was a little hesistant but I insisted. Whoa, was it ever a suprise of a meeting...
He sat down and right off the bat said, "I don't 'get' the demo you sent me. It seems like such a departure from the type of album I thought you were going to make. It's very country and bluegrass...personally, I think you should just go to Nashville and find the top guys there to produce it for you. Me, I'm more of a pop/rock guy....i need hooks. Not that i don't enjoy you're kind of music, it's just not what i do. I'm just being honest."
Whoa! Man. Talk about ripping the carpet right out from underneath me. Mark and I just sat there, not really sure what to say or where to even start. I mean....huh? Country / bluegrass? Certainly, to each his own, but that is not the sound I am going for - sure, there is an element of that in my sound but I see myself as Americana/Alt-country/Blues rock.....with the Shelby Lynns of the world, the Ryan Adams, and the Bobbi Gentrys with a healthy dose of Wilco and Beth Hart. Carson OBVIOUSLY didn't get this. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely appreciated his honesty (I wouldn't want someone who didn't get it, working on my album) but it kinda hurt a little too. And hooks? I don't have hooks? He made it sound like i wrote meandering songs with no structure, no memorable "hook" that ever had a shot of being a hit. I ended this meeting as graciously and as quickly as I could. Well, one down, 3 to go....
The eye of the Tiger: well, the meeting with Tiger never actually transpired - Mark had a pre-meeting with one of his people and it became apparent that he was probably not in my budget. Ah well, another time perhaps (you know, once i'm rich and famous). 2 down, 2 to go.....
Kyle. As you might remember, I really dug him on the phone. He seems like a great guy, but I ended up deciding, not the right guy for me right now. See, I need a producer who is going to be a little bit more hands on, this first time around. Someone who can smell a hit a mile away and knows how to produce it as such AND without compromising artistically. The more I thought about it and listened to his production reel, the more I got the impression that he was one of those laid back dudes who just wanted to sit back and let it all "organically" manifest itself. When you are on your 3rd or 4th album and you've got the time and money to hire stellar musicians and you can just set up in some barn in Canada and jam for 2 weeks...well, then sweet, sign me up baby! However, I am on a budget of both money and time and at this point, who the hell is Julie Neumark? I've got to CHARGE out of the gates this first time out, like no other. So, I need a jockey who's gonna whip my ass to win this race.....
3 down...that leaves me with Roc.
As I thought about everything that I had wanted Kyle to be, I realized I was indeed descibing everything that Roc was. Wow. Process of elimination! Roc it is! Uh, Mark......time for you to give ol' Roc, my lovely Brit from Malibu a call......
And he did. And guess what? Roc would love to make my album...for about TWICE what I can afford. Sheesh. Didn't think about that. It's like when you are car shopping and you get so wrapped in figuring out exactly what you want that your head is spinning and when you finally come to, and you realize you picked a Lamborghini Murcielago and ummm....oh ya, how am i gonna pay?...i forgot about that part.
(***Incidentally, on a side note, I just bought a new car!! Yeah! Well, used-new. It's a 2002 Black Jeep Liberty. My little Saturn is finally being retired after 9 wonderfully loyal and mostly dependable years....***)
So, plan B. A relatively common approach for artists of my level. I rent the Lamborghini for an important weekend while I actually BUY a sensible, reliable, and affordable car (like a....Honda Civic...ya, that's good). Alright. Enough with the metaphor. Basically, we get Roc to figure out the 2 or 3 strongest track (the ones with the most "hit" potential) and he produces those. Then we take those tracks to a lesser known but no less capable producer who finishes it all up for a lot less money.
Now, to find my Honda.....
Ooo! Perfect, I'll call candidate #5 "Honda." Not to blow to big suprise, but I think I found him yesterday. He's up in Vancouver and after I heard a couple of his tracks I was like, "wow. I mean WOW! Damn, this guy is GOOD. I'll be lucky to work with him while he's still unknown..." So, Mark set up a call for us yesterday to check out the "chemistry" and to see if we were seeing eye-to-eye on my sound and approach, etc. Well, he's WAY cool, he TOTALLY got it - he's down with the whole "live approach", in fact, with the time constraints I'm working with, he thinks it makes the most sense anyway. And, way cool! I'll get to go up to Vancouver for 10 days! Woo-hoo! :)
So, nothing is set yet - Mark has to talk to Roc and figure out all the deets of that and then get back to Honda and figure out all the deets of that....so, i'll keep you posted!!
Oh, you should check out my other blog on my website, www.julieneumark.blogspot.com . It's got a new song on it, "Unraveled." I was DEFINITELY very inspired to write this one.... :) I'm a little sweet on someone (did i just say "sweet on someone"?)....yes, i did....and I am...well, a lot sweet on someone...err...oh lord, stop me before i get myself into trouble..... ;)
Carson, as you may recall, is a local producer whom i have worked with before. I know his work, the way he works and i am a fan. That is why i wanted to meet with him. Honestly - Mark was a little hesistant but I insisted. Whoa, was it ever a suprise of a meeting...
He sat down and right off the bat said, "I don't 'get' the demo you sent me. It seems like such a departure from the type of album I thought you were going to make. It's very country and bluegrass...personally, I think you should just go to Nashville and find the top guys there to produce it for you. Me, I'm more of a pop/rock guy....i need hooks. Not that i don't enjoy you're kind of music, it's just not what i do. I'm just being honest."
Whoa! Man. Talk about ripping the carpet right out from underneath me. Mark and I just sat there, not really sure what to say or where to even start. I mean....huh? Country / bluegrass? Certainly, to each his own, but that is not the sound I am going for - sure, there is an element of that in my sound but I see myself as Americana/Alt-country/Blues rock.....with the Shelby Lynns of the world, the Ryan Adams, and the Bobbi Gentrys with a healthy dose of Wilco and Beth Hart. Carson OBVIOUSLY didn't get this. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely appreciated his honesty (I wouldn't want someone who didn't get it, working on my album) but it kinda hurt a little too. And hooks? I don't have hooks? He made it sound like i wrote meandering songs with no structure, no memorable "hook" that ever had a shot of being a hit. I ended this meeting as graciously and as quickly as I could. Well, one down, 3 to go....
The eye of the Tiger: well, the meeting with Tiger never actually transpired - Mark had a pre-meeting with one of his people and it became apparent that he was probably not in my budget. Ah well, another time perhaps (you know, once i'm rich and famous). 2 down, 2 to go.....
Kyle. As you might remember, I really dug him on the phone. He seems like a great guy, but I ended up deciding, not the right guy for me right now. See, I need a producer who is going to be a little bit more hands on, this first time around. Someone who can smell a hit a mile away and knows how to produce it as such AND without compromising artistically. The more I thought about it and listened to his production reel, the more I got the impression that he was one of those laid back dudes who just wanted to sit back and let it all "organically" manifest itself. When you are on your 3rd or 4th album and you've got the time and money to hire stellar musicians and you can just set up in some barn in Canada and jam for 2 weeks...well, then sweet, sign me up baby! However, I am on a budget of both money and time and at this point, who the hell is Julie Neumark? I've got to CHARGE out of the gates this first time out, like no other. So, I need a jockey who's gonna whip my ass to win this race.....
3 down...that leaves me with Roc.
As I thought about everything that I had wanted Kyle to be, I realized I was indeed descibing everything that Roc was. Wow. Process of elimination! Roc it is! Uh, Mark......time for you to give ol' Roc, my lovely Brit from Malibu a call......
And he did. And guess what? Roc would love to make my album...for about TWICE what I can afford. Sheesh. Didn't think about that. It's like when you are car shopping and you get so wrapped in figuring out exactly what you want that your head is spinning and when you finally come to, and you realize you picked a Lamborghini Murcielago and ummm....oh ya, how am i gonna pay?...i forgot about that part.
(***Incidentally, on a side note, I just bought a new car!! Yeah! Well, used-new. It's a 2002 Black Jeep Liberty. My little Saturn is finally being retired after 9 wonderfully loyal and mostly dependable years....***)
So, plan B. A relatively common approach for artists of my level. I rent the Lamborghini for an important weekend while I actually BUY a sensible, reliable, and affordable car (like a....Honda Civic...ya, that's good). Alright. Enough with the metaphor. Basically, we get Roc to figure out the 2 or 3 strongest track (the ones with the most "hit" potential) and he produces those. Then we take those tracks to a lesser known but no less capable producer who finishes it all up for a lot less money.
Now, to find my Honda.....
Ooo! Perfect, I'll call candidate #5 "Honda." Not to blow to big suprise, but I think I found him yesterday. He's up in Vancouver and after I heard a couple of his tracks I was like, "wow. I mean WOW! Damn, this guy is GOOD. I'll be lucky to work with him while he's still unknown..." So, Mark set up a call for us yesterday to check out the "chemistry" and to see if we were seeing eye-to-eye on my sound and approach, etc. Well, he's WAY cool, he TOTALLY got it - he's down with the whole "live approach", in fact, with the time constraints I'm working with, he thinks it makes the most sense anyway. And, way cool! I'll get to go up to Vancouver for 10 days! Woo-hoo! :)
So, nothing is set yet - Mark has to talk to Roc and figure out all the deets of that and then get back to Honda and figure out all the deets of that....so, i'll keep you posted!!
Oh, you should check out my other blog on my website, www.julieneumark.blogspot.com . It's got a new song on it, "Unraveled." I was DEFINITELY very inspired to write this one.... :) I'm a little sweet on someone (did i just say "sweet on someone"?)....yes, i did....and I am...well, a lot sweet on someone...err...oh lord, stop me before i get myself into trouble..... ;)
posted by Julie Neumark at 10:58 AM
0 comments
