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Sonoma County Recording Studio Releases Podcasts

“Thursday Night Live from Zone Recording” is now available on iTunes and Podbean. Your favorite Sonoma County Recording Studio has released thirty, charming, half hour podcasts that feature both music and conversation with talented musicians. These local and traveling artists include so many noteworthy names!

Hold on to your seats as Teresa Tudury takes you on a musical journey of wild and powerful songs and stories from the depths of her incredibly rich and inspiring repertoire. Teresa Tudury is an absolute original. From her San Francisco roots to the Greek Islands to New York and LA, she wakes up the music scene. Teresa creates a loyal following and rave reviews wherever she performs.

Honey B and the Pollinators generate a lively blend of swing, jump/jive and jazz standards from the ‘20s, ‘30s and ‘40s. They bring good times, good humor and great music!

Poor Man’s Whiskey is a ragged, spontaneous group that performs story-telling originals! With zany on-stage shenanigans you can be certain that they will produce a delightful high-energy live show. PMW brings a fusion of bluegrass/old
time, southern rock, and old school jam to stages and festivals world
wide.  Listen up if you are interested in a foot-stompin good time.

Alison Harris’ melodies are timeless and her voice is haunting. She sings with a smile. Her style is a mix of folk, blues, and Americana. Alison favors sweet minor lullabies, but with the help of local musicians well versed in many musical genres, she covers a wide variety of moods and styles.

After 28 years with Chicago, singer-songwriter-keyboardist Bill Champlin is parting ways with the classic jazz/rock band to focus once again on his solo career. Funky, soulful, and simply “kick-tail” Champlin entertains an array of audiences!

 Bruce Kurnow performs with talent beyond comprehension. He is a brilliant singer/songwriter but  also showcases his unique simultaneous combination of stringed harp and harmonica.

D’Bunchovus combines fiddle, guitar, mandolin, banjo, and ukulele to deliver the ultimate in entertainment! With no-holds-barred, soulful vocals this diverse group of performers wow their audiences and delight our talk show listeners!

Get the podcast  here and prepare for hours of entertainment at your fingertips.

Our Sonoma County recording studio is located in City of Cotati, CA.  Easy access right off the 101 freeway makes Zone Recording Studio just a short drive from San Francisco and the Bay Area.  We also specialize in voiceover, recording, and audio mastering.

To set up your appointment, call us now or click here to contact us by email.

Time Traveling Turntable

It is almost unbelievable that a laser turntable exists, capable of playing the oldest recording of an American voice! Only a folded piece of tinfoil was used! Fox News shared the entire story, and I must say, I covet the rights to this amazing piece of equipment.

Though the recording is scratchy, and lasts only 78 seconds, it features the world’s first recorded blooper.

Experts say this is the oldest playable recording of an American voice. It is the first musical performance every captured, thanks to digital advances that allowed the sound to be transferred from flimsy tinfoil to computer.

The recording was originally made on a Thomas Edison-invented phonograph in St. Louis in 1878.

At a time when music lovers can carry thousands of digital songs on a player the size of a pack of gum, Edison’s tinfoil playback seems prehistoric. But that dinosaur opens a key window into the development of recorded sound.

The recording opens with a 23-second cornet solo of an unidentified song , followed by a man’s voice reciting “Mary Had a Little Lamb” and “Old Mother Hubbard.”

When the recording is played using modern technology during a presentation Thursday at a nearby theater, it likely will be the first time it has been played at a public event since it was created during an Edison phonograph demonstration held June 22, 1878, in St. Louis, museum officials said.

“The recording was made on a sheet of tinfoil, 5 inches wide by 15 inches long, placed on the cylinder of the phonograph Edison invented in 1877 and began selling the following year.

A hand crank turned the cylinder under a stylus that would move up and down over the foil, recording the sound waves created by the operator’s voice. The stylus would eventually tear the foil after just a few playbacks, and the person demonstrating the technology would typically tear up the tinfoil and hand the pieces out as souvenirs.”

It is hard to believe that a laser turntable of today can share with us the miracle of tinfoil music. This is certainly on my Christmas wish list!

If you’re in the area, be sure to stop by our Sonoma County recording studio and have a look at our voiceover and audio recording rooms.  We are located just north of San Francisco and Marin Counties in the small but lovely City of Cotati, CA. Our friendly staff is also available by phone 800-372-3305 or email. Call us today or click here to send us an email.

Justin Bieber lends his voice to ‘The Simpsons’ animated series

Pop star Justin Bieber has just completed the latest vocals for the upcoming animated series of “The Simpson”.

Bieber, 18, appears as himself when trying to gain entry into a talent show where Bart Simpson is playing piano, but is denied.

Bieber apparently did a tweet about the news, “Just did a voice over for the SIMSPONS!!! #swaggy” and executive producer Al Jean has since confirmed the guest appearance.

Steve Carell, Zooey Deschanel, Anne Hathaway and Natalie Portman are also expected to lend their voices to “The Simpsons” upcoming 24th season.

The “Best Friend” singer will make his cameo appearance in “Simpson” which is expected to hit the screens in 2013.

Zone Recording Studio specializes in audio recording, voice overs, editing and custom music, mixing and mastering, and much more.  Visit our website for more information on our services and to see the artists and clients we’ve worked with.  http://www.zonerecording.com

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Michael Jackson’s Kids To Do Cartoon Voiceover

Michael Jackson’s children are set to lend their voices to a cartoon animation it has been reported.

The late singer’s three kids Prince, Paris and Blanket are reportedly planning to take their first steps into the world of entertainment. The trio have grown up in the spotlight, but reports suggest they do not possess the superstar’s natural ability to sing.

Instead, the kids will apparently begin their Hollywood careers by providing voiceovers for an upcoming cartoon. They are hoping this will help them move into live acting roles as they develop their skills.

Paris is already making her attack on the film industry and is set to star in the 2014 film ‘Lundon’s Bridge and the Three Keys’.

“They are set to do the voices for a kids’ Asian cartoon hit that is being imported to the US,” a source explained to The Sun.

“Paris doesn’t share her father’s singing talents but has done some acting. And if the voice-over work is a success it will lead to more high-profile live action roles.”

Michael passed away in June 2009.

Since their father’s death Prince, Paris and Blanket have reportedly been educated at a private school in California. Despite the controversy and press intrusion they witnessed their father go through, the children are keen to pursue a similar career path.

Zone Recording Studio specializes in audio recording, voice overs, editing and custom music, mixing and mastering, and much more.  Visit our website for more information on our services and to see the artists and clients we’ve worked with.  http://www.zonerecording.com

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Recording Academy launches campaign to get liner notes behind songs on digital music outlets

As liner notes get scarce in the digital age, the Recording Academy wants fans to still be able to find out who the people are behind their favourite hit.

So the Academy announced Thursday that it will launch the “Give Fans the Credit” campaign, which plans to give music listeners more information on the people behind the creation of a song, aside from the song’s main performer.

Academy President and CEO Neil Portnow said in a statement that music fans are getting less information on songs today because of digital platforms, which tend to only offer a song’s title and performer. But the Academy wants be sure fans are getting liner notes for albums, and that songwriters, non-featured performers, producers and engineers are highlighted for their work.

“We can watch movies online with the credits included, and the same should be true for digitally released recordings,” Portnow’s statement reads. “If music devices can access millions of tracks in the cloud, we’re confident we can find a way to acknowledge those who created the tracks here on earth.”

The initiative will feature “honorary ambassadors” who will help facilitate the discussion, including T Bone Burnett, music producer RedOne, Jimmy Jam, Sheila E, songwriter Lamont Dozier and producer Don Was. The Academy’s news release said the ambassadors plan to meet with digital music outlets “to brainstorm ways to deliver more robust crediting information on digital music platforms.”

Zone Recording Studio specializes in audio recording, voice overs, editing and custom music, mixing and mastering, and much more.  Visit our website for more information on our services and to see the artists and clients we’ve worked with.  http://www.zonerecording.com

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Young DJs Leading an Electronic Music Revolution, Changing Recording Industry

The roar of 10,000 dance-music fans echoed backstage at Red Rocks Amphitheater near here one evening this month as Skrillex, the 24-year-old prince of dubstep, gave a brotherly bearhug to his protégé and opening act, Zedd.

Two years ago Zedd, whose real name is Anton Zaslavski, was making beats in obscurity in Germany. Now, riding the dance world’s accelerated career track, he’s recording with Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber, and the crowd at Red Rocks obediently followed his every fist-pumping dance command.

“It’s crazy,” said Zedd, who is 22 but could pass for 16 if not for the fuzz along his jaw. “I’ve always been making music. But suddenly I’m on the other side of the world touring with people like Deadmau5 and Skrillex.”

To most people over 30 those names might not mean much. But electronic dance music, or E.D.M., is having its day as the sound of young America. Festivals like Ultra and Electric Daisy Carnival draw crowds of 100,000 or more, and dance beats fill high-rolling nightclubs up and down the Las Vegas Strip. Forbes recently ranked the annual earnings of top D.J.’s, topped by Tiësto with $22 million. Naturally the music industry is taking notice.

“The record labels now are all saying, ‘We’ve got to find the next Skrillex,’ ” said Gary Richards, the promoter behind the Hard festival franchise.

Aside from Zedd, who was courted by Jimmy Iovine of Interscope Records (Eminem, Lady Gaga, U2), the contenders include D.J. prodigies like Madeon and Porter Robinson, and the Chicago group Krewella, which just signed with Columbia.

Zone Recording Studio specializes in audio recording, voice overs, editing and custom music, mixing and mastering, and much more.  Visit our website for more information on our services and to see the artists and clients we’ve worked with.  http://www.zonerecording.com

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American man breaks record with world’s lowest voice

The lowest note ever recorded by a human voice has just been released on a new album.

The American singer who produced the note is Tim Storms, who officially has the lowest voice in the world.

He said the note is so low, only animals can hear it.

“Elephants, yeah, I have heard that they can communicate like, they can hear each other over 25 miles or something like that because they communicate in 4hz, some frequency around there,” Storms said.

Storms said he can hear and feel the sounds in his head.

“Yes, I can hear them in my head, but as far as the sound, my vocal cords are making the frequency. It’s more something more or less that I feel,” he said.

Storms first broke the record in 2000, and it’s a record he keeps breaking.

“I just get lower the older I get … If you listen to a recording of someone when they are 30 and when they are 80, there is a pretty big difference in how low their voice is,” Storms said.

He also holds the record for the widest range. He sings in an unprecedented 10 octaves. The normal range is two or three octaves. Storms said he can thank big vocal cords for it.

“I was singing with a group a few years ago, and one of the concerts there was an ear, nose and throat specialist. And he said, ‘Mate,I’ve got to take a look at your vocal cords,'” Storms said. “He stuck a scope up my nose and throat, and he said my vocal cords were twice as long as normal, and the muscles had a lot of movement too.”

Zone Recording Studio specializes in audio recording, voice overs, editing and custom music, mixing and mastering, and much more.  Visit our website for more information on our services and to see the artists and clients we’ve worked with.  http://www.zonerecording.com

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Rolling Stones Recording in France

After months of speculation whether the Rolling Stones would record this year to mark their 50th anniversary, the band spent time in a Paris recording studio last week. The band was photographed exiting an unnamed studio on August 21st. Two days, later, Jagger tweeted a photo of himself in a studio surrounded by some very Stonesy items: cases of Fender amps, Telecasters, Stratocasters and several harmonicas. “Had fun in the Paris studio this week!” he wrote.

Last week, the Stones also posted a cryptic image of animal eyes on their Facebook page, instructing fans to download the free “uView” app and point their phones at the screen. The eyes came to life and an animal growled while “Start Me Up” played.

It’s at least the third time the band has gathered in recent months; they rehearsed in the New York area in late April. “We played everything, really,” Keith Richards told Rolling Stone then. “We’re just getting our chops together. It was like playing in the garage, a maintenance check, you know?”

The last day of the rehearsals was filmed by director Brett Morgen for a documentary chronicling the band’s history to appear on HBO this fall. “Someone would mention a song, and within the second run they had nailed it,” Morgen says. “Having screened through 50 years of material over the last six months, I would rank it up there with anything I’ve ever heard from them. They were extremely tight.”

The band also gathered in London in July to celebrate their 50th anniversary with a photo exhibit. Before that meeting, Keith Richards told Rolling Stone the band would also use the time to discuss recording. “I’d love to get some tracks down and see what songs we’ve got. And that goes along with part of getting the band back together and getting things moving. So I’d love to cut some tracks, yeah.” Asked if he saw himself writing one-on-one with Jagger again, Richards replied, “I have no doubt.”

If the band is recording new material, it would be their first new songs since 2005’s A Bigger Bang. (They’ve since brushed up a few old songs for 2010’s Exile on Main Street and 2011’s Some Girls reissue compilations).

Zone Recording Studio specializes in audio recording, voice overs, editing and custom music, mixing and mastering, forensic audio, and transfer services. Visit our website for more information on our services and to see the artists and clients we’ve worked with.  http://www.zonerecording.com

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