By Alexis Schwallier:

Red isn’t just the name of Taylor Swift’s latest album, or her sold out tour. From red lipstick, sparkly red shoes, and a fire-red guitar, it was obvious the color was the theme of the night.

Coincidence? I think not. Everyone can relate to songs about love, heartbreak, and the struggles of growing up. From five year old little girls, to adults ranging in their teens to 50s – moms to dads, girl friends, and bro-friends, it seemed like everyone came out to see Taylor Swift last night at the Colonial Life Arena.

I wasn’t expecting to see the whole show – armed with nothing but a camera and a press pass, I was happy to see the songs allotted for photographing. A nice gesture from Free Times photographer, Thomas Hammond, landed me with a ticket and much to my excitement, a great spot to see The Red Tour in its entirety.

With a two and a half tour set and over seven outfit changes, the former country sweet heart has certainly grown up to be one of the top pop performers. As a more closeted Taylor Swift fan, I was happy to hear the radio songs I’ve grown to love, from “You Belong To Me” and “Love Story,” to some of my favorites off of her latest album, “Red.” She opened with “State of Grace,” the opening track to the album, followed by “Holy Ground,” and the title track, “Red” kicked off what was about to be quite an experience.

The prelude to “22″ was a slide show of Taylor growing up, something that got the fans cheering as we watched twelve-year-old Taylor sing the national anthem, to eighteen year old Taylor after winning her first Grammy’s. The most recent single, “I Knew You Were Trouble,” followed the theme of how much Taylor has grown, opening with the violinist and her sparkly red violin that later turned into a dub step remix, stripped down outfit change, and a sultry dance sequence at the front of the stage.

The singer/songwriter certainly puts every emotion into her life performance as she did when writing the songs, allowing the glitz and the glamor of the event that is The Red Tour, to seem nothing shot of genuine.

If I wasn’t already a fan of Taylor Swift before, her performance certainly would have changed that.

“Magic and Fire” is the second single from Brave Baby’s debut album, Forty Bells, available January 15, 2013 on Hearts and Plugs.

By Keon Masters:

Brave Baby 2012

January – Name change. Sucked ass. Happy now.

February – New bass player, miss the old one, love the new one. Did a run with Holy Ghost Tent Revival, some of our biggest shows to date.  Tons of fun.  Myrtle beach is way more depressing in the winter.

March – Keon turned 22, Christian turned 24.  Boys turnin’ into dads.  Who knew?  Ryan went to Europe.  Somewhere in there the Spring Puke-uinox took place.

April – A few thunder clouds came through.

May – Keon graduated from CofC. Had a party.  A friend got married. Played Hippodrome with our new friends Heyrocco.

June – Crunch time trying to finish the album. Enjoying the summertime in Charleston.

July – Epic fourth of July bash at 3 Charlotte Street.

August – Finished Forty Bells. Praise God.  Ryan found out the meaning of life while recording Octopus Jones.

September – Keon went to see Bon Iver at Radio City Music Hall. Started talking with Dan McCurry from Hearts and Plugs.  Christ spent 2 weeks in Norway.

October – Joined Hearts and Plugs.  DIY bro. Came across a specimen named Steven Walker.  Great guy. New band mate.

November – Decided on a January release for Forty Bells.  Ate some turkey.  Played Ryan’s grandmother’s 70^th birthday party.  Shit was off the chain.

December – Bought gifts. Got paronoid about the release.  Have a lot of work to do before the tour/release.  Spent time with family back in Charlotte.  Remembered that David Stringer is one of the greatest things to ever happen to SC music.  New Years at the SPS house.

Toro y Moi in Nylon Korea Magazine

1. I got to travel to a dozen or so countries with four of my best friends and play music and meet lots and lots of rad people… and at only a quarter of the workload of last year.

2. I moved to Los Angeles and as a result have been able to spend a lot of time with my really awesome girlfriend.

3. I started recording songs as Pussy Wizard and some cyber-people said some encouraging things. Now I am having fun writing music again.

4. I helped put out 3 great records, some cool merch stuff (sunglasses, tank tops, koozies, mugs, shirts, etc), and a really incredible free digital compilation with two of my best friends under our Fork and Spoon label.

5. I invested truck-loads of thought into what could potentially be a lot of amazing happenings. I like being nostalgic just as much as the next person, but I try to remain much more optimistic and excited about right now and what is to come. Hopefully I will hug all of you all in 2013.

2012 in Review
By Mike Mewborne:

2012 saw the dawn of a new age.  I am not sure whether that applies to the whole world, or cosmos, or not, but it certainly applies to The Lovely Few.  This year saw a great deal of change in our personal lives as well as how we write, record, and perform.

This year we joined Charleston-based label Hearts and Plugs.  This has been a long-time coming, I think.  Dan McCurry has been involved with The Lovely Few since our early days.  I’ve long been a fan of his work with Run Dan Run, as well as Mr. Jenkins and Ash Hopkins.  We were very honored when they asked us to come on board.  What’s more, the label has grown this year, adding powerhouse-acts like Elim Bolt and Brave Baby.

We re-released The Perseids under Hearts and Plugs AND recorded and released a new EP The Orionids. This EP was one of the highlights of our year.  We recorded it over a two day period at what is now Apartment A, Dan and Megan’s studio in Charleston.  We mixed and mastered it at  Archer Avenue Studio (Kenny has also had a great year, renovating and expanding his space) and released it in April for free.  We felt like it represented a good progression for us; a bit darker and grittier.  Hearts and Plugs helped us to get reviews on blogs around the world for these two releases.

One of our favorite parts of the year was  our Wednesday night rehearsals.  We developed a little schedule.  Alan would come over to the house, we would set up multiple sets of computer speakers and amps for a makeshift sound system, and then we’d run our set.  Afterwards, we’d go to the Whig for Trivi-yeah, their weekly trivia match.  We never did well, but we got to hang out, talk business, and occasionally enjoy their chipotle pimento cheese fries, which are completely awesome, by the way.

The year is culminating, though, in great personal change.  Earlier this month, Kate and I had a daughter, Sadie, and Alan is getting married to a wonderful woman, Leize Marie, on the last night of the year.  These changes in our lives are difficult at times, but beautiful nonetheless.  The changes and tribulations are inspiring.  They make us want to be better artists.  They make us want to be better people.

We are looking forward to 2013.  We will be more intentional with our booking with bigger live performances.  We are in the early stages of writing the next LP in our Meteor Series “The Geminids,” a record that will focus on dualities and tension in personalities and relationships historical, literary, and biographical.  It’s a big undertaking, but a welcome one.

Moogfest 2012

“It’s all just four on the floor bullshit”

I said those words to two of my friends one summer day in 2010, as they spent the better part of the afternoon trying to explain to me the differences between techno, house, trance and any other disparate subgenre of electronic dance music (henceforth EDM). Two and a half years later I walked out of Carl Craig’s Orange Peel show, the final set of Moogfest 2012, still bobbing my head along to the memory of the Detroit techno guru’s closing song. The music I listen to has changed drastically from that summer day, and so has EDM. Dubstep’s explosion into the mainstream consciousness here in the United States, as well as the increased presence of producers like David Guetta and deadmau5 on the pop charts, has resulted in a change in what people consider EDM. I didn’t read this NPR Blog post until after I was home from Moogfest this year, but I feel like I got a small glimpse of the world of electronic music that does not necessarily fit into this new definition of EDM.

For starters, the only dubstep I heard all weekend was the thirty seconds I saw of Wick-It the Instigator’s set. Also, Primus was the closest thing this year’s lineup had to a “jam band” (Note: I do not consider Primus a jam band at all). Given that scene’s popularity in this region, it’s connections with the recent rise of EDM (Bassnectar and Skrillex routinely appear on festival lineups alongside STS9, Disco Biscuits, Widespread Panic etc.), and the precedent established by the lineups of the last two years, Moogfest was clearly making a concerted effort to provide festival goers with something new and different. Another big difference from previous years, the switch from three days to two, was a stroke of genius. Coupled with the more eclectic lineup, this was a much smaller festival and as a result I got into every show I wanted to save for GZA (more on that later). I admittedly went into this year’s festival with some serious reservations. I left KNOWING that it was by far my favorite of the three years I have attended.

FRIDAY
Nas – My festival began with the hip hop legend, and Nas had full command of the pretty sparse crowd in attendance. While his new album is, deservedly, getting a lot of love, everyone there wanted Illmatic and Nas didn’t disappoint. “NY State of Mind”, “It Ain’t Hard to Tell” and “Represent” all in a row, and I was satisfied enough to walk upstairs to catch some of Miike Snow.

Miike Snow – This is a band who I feel fame is thoroughly justified. Having already conquered the pop game for others (did you know they wrote and won a Grammy for Toxic by Britney Spears?), now they seem to be enjoying writing music for themselves. Playing to a packed Thomas Wolfe Auditorium, their set was full of energy and with a pretty impressive light rig to complement it made for a compelling show. The amount of equipment they had on stage was also impressive.
El-P – El-P was one of the very first “alternative” artists I was ever a fan of, but it took until Moog 2012 for me to see him in concert. His flavor of hyper-intelligent, storyteller hip hop, with all kinds of strange electronic sounds underneath, probably doesn’t make for the best live performance, but the Orange Peel forgives all sonic sins. His energy alone made the show enjoyable, and a guest appearance from Killer Mike was a nice moment.

Squarepusher – One of the more hyped shows going into the weekend, I enjoyed Squarepusher’s attempts to bend dance music every which way. It reminded of the much (over I would say) hyped Amon Tobin ISAM tour, in the sense that the visual presentation was just as important as the sounds being created on stage. Squarepusher even had the sense to make it kind of dancey! (I’ll stop ragging on Amon Tobin now). However, a few die hard Squarepusher fans I spoke to left feeling disappointed. Make of that what you will.

At this point in the night one of the magical things that can only happen at a music festival took place. Me and my group of festival goers made our way to the Orange Peel for GZA, only to find that the line to get in was over two blocks long. With minimal interest in Explosions in the Sky, we were left with one option: Richie Hawtin.

Richie Hawtin – Before I begin let me say that I had no idea who Richie Hawtin was before the festival. I had heard a few songs, and upon hearing them was reminded of my afternoon a few summers ago (“four on the floor…”). I left that show completely blown away. This was true Detroit Techno; there might have been two different bass lines for the entire show, and I don’t think I stopped moving for an hour and a half. You could feel the twenty minute builds, and the by comparison much faster 10 minute releases, before settling back to the initial groove. Hawtin stood behind his table of electronics and probably had a great time watching the crowd react to the minimal changes he was making. Pull the bass out, now bring it back. Add a high hat, now take it away. I have never been to a show before that was so mentally and physically engaging.

And to think I would have just stayed and seen GZA.

SATURDAY
“And now for something completely different”
Two sets literally (Magnetic Fields) and vividly (Death Grips) fit that bill for Saturday.

Magnetic Fields – I walked into this towards the end of the set and at a festival full of synthesizers, drum machines and MPC’s, I found an upright piano, a group of stringed instruments and band-leader Stephen Merritt sitting behind a table covered in all kinds of stuff. Obviously the acoustic instruments stuck out in a big way from everything else I saw this weekend, and their set provided a nice change of pace from the night before and what would follow.

Santigold – The word “pageantry” comes to mind when thinking about this show. Synchronized dancing, costume changes, and a wide range of colors were everywhere as Santigold made her case for pop-star status. I think all she’s missing is a pop single breakthrough, along the lines of M.I.A.’s “Paper Planes”. The parallels between the two, or perhaps the influence of one on the other, are apparent. Santigold would be wise to employ Diplo more often, the way M.I.A. has, as all of the dancehall-esque songs stuck out for me.

Death Grips – Easily the loudest show of the weekend, the pure aggression that Death Grips bring is unlike any performance I’ve ever witnessed. For those unfamiliar with Death Grips, they make a West Coast, Gangster-Rap, Americanized version of UK Grime (hooray genres!). Essentially: bass heavy, aggressive as hell sort-of-I-guess-we’ll-call-it-hip-hop and throw some Hardcore in there to be safe. Emphasis on the bass heavy. I only stayed for fifteen minutes, A. to make sure I got into Disclosure and B. I was honestly concerned about my ears. YouTube video’s do a laughable impersonation of seeing this band play live (as I learned after watching their CMJ stream online), and it took about thirty seconds for the mosh pit to start. So go see them live…if you have the balls.

Keep in mind, these guys are 20 and 17, respectively. HE COULDN’T EVEN BUY CIGARETTES IN ASHEVILLE!

Disclosure – There’s a pretty good chance that if you live outside of the UK that you’ve never heard of Disclosure. If you’re Facebook friends with me, then you have absolutely had the opportunity to hear almost every song Disclosure has written, because I’ve posted them. I’m kind of obsessed. And this show still exceeded even my wildest expectations. Scheduled up against top-billed Orbital, this was a show for the die hards. When it ended, there was literally a 6 man, group hug, BROMENT, and maybe the happiest concert moment for me, ever. Let’s just move on.

Prefuse73 – This was supposed to be the new collaboration between Prefuse73 and Teebs, a Brainfeeder/Flying Lotus alum, but the show began with Prefuse taking the stage alone and announcing that Teebs would be absent. What followed was a performance I found similar to Squarepusher’s: attempts at twisting dance beats in interesting ways. And at times it was great, and other times not so much. The “What Could Have Been?” of the weekend.

Full article about disclosures show forthcoming.

Carl Craig – “Welcome to my church…the Church of Latter Day Techno”, Carl Craig shouted to the crowd towards the end of his festival closing set. Another god of the Detroit Techno scene, Craig’s set, while similar to Hawtin’s, was less mental experience for me and more just good clean fun. More of that “four on the floor bullshit” I used to deride. A wonderful and fitting end to the best Moogfest ever.

All American Rejects Photos by Heather Fowler

By Heather Fowler:

9.28.12 at Amos’ Southend

Just stepping outside it has become obvious that summer is coming to a close. But if you were at Amos Southend on Tuesday night then would never would have guessed.

The show started with a punch with The Ready Set. A fun, energetic band was was perfect for getting the party started. This pop punk band has powerful vocals and strong beats that just makes you want to dance. The singers fast paced and hard hitting lyrics are perfect for a summer party.

 The show stayed strong with The All-American Rejects taking the stage. With every song the crowd was dancing or singing along. These rockers played hard and left an impact on their listeners. Bringing a hometown vibe to the stage, the band made the crowd feel like they were in a smaller venue and the songs were just for them. Throughout the show the band would joke around and enjoy themselves and they never left the crowd out. You were there to rock on with them.

Boys Like Girls brought this summer rock show to a close. With a mix of summer dance music and strong lyrics this band brought a fun but relaxing end to the night. You couldn’t help but to stomp your foot and sing along to the tunes. They brought the last life to the summer before the party ended.  They invited fans to sing on stage and even sang to the fans personally. They were there to experience that show for all it was worth and made sure that the crowd did too.

Facebook Event

On September 19^th, something colossal is touching down in South Carolina.

World renowned musical pioneer Amon Tobin will be showcasing his brand new audiovisual masterpiece ISAM Live 2.0 at the Brooks Center for the Performing Arts at Clemson University. This is one of the few Southeastern stops on his North American tour debuting the expanded project, and the Brooks Center is the most intimate setting on the list.

You can grab tickets at the Brooks Center website, $35 for adults and $30 for students.

ISAM Live employs a technique called projection mapping which sympathetically places digital imagery onto physical structures. The effect gained is kin to 3D without the glasses. Surreal and jaw dropping, the clusters of cubes that comprise the ISAM structure will leave you speechless.

The technical spectacle is centered on Amon Tobin’s seventh studio album ISAM in which the sonic artist takes pride in distancing his style from traditional and recognizable veins of electronic music. His approach to sound design has a tone and character all its own.

If you’re unfamiliar with electronic music production, a quick lesson is in order. Most people are now familiar with the concept of sampling, stealing bits and pieces from songs to construct new ones, but Amon Tobin employs an aesthetic many refer to as “found sound” in which the producer samples noises found in the real world and uses them as the instrumental basis for the music. These sounds, in Amon’s case, can be as complex as heavy machinery or as mundane as a chair squeaking. He then uses heavy effects processing to craft entirely unique instruments out of these sound sources.

Some of this creative process can be seen here:

A lot of the magic of ISAM is in the juxtaposition between the natural, organic qualities of the sounds used and the obscure, alien context the production threads them through. ISAM plays out as if you were encountering technology incarnate or exploring the mechanistic jungle of a distant planet. Mammoth sonic landmarks and rhythmically intricate creatures populate the album’s atmospheric soundscapes. Even with all of the unyielding beats and rigid edges, the whole animal is fluid and corporeal.

I was fortunate enough to witness ISAM Live 1.0 at Moogfest last October, and I can attest to the claim that no matter how many videos you watch of the structure in action, you cannot get the same sense of depth and impact as you can from physically being there, dwarfed by its grandeur. The machine proves itself versatile enough to compliment each of the distinct nuances of the mystifying score that is ISAM. At once, it is murky, shapeless void only to sporadically evolve into interwoven constellations of dancing stars. Digital landscapes also favor the geometric construction allowing for the oscillating and flickering hallmarks of modern technology to express themselves. The moments of highest gravitas come when the structure takes on a motorized nature. Shocks, pistons, and an array of gears all work in tandem with the clanky, sputtering, mechanical beats and samples. The experience is dumbfounding. You are not dancing; you are gaping in awe.

For some behind the scenes insight, check out the Creators Project preview of ISAM 2.0:

Additions for ISAM 2.0 include new audio/visual elements, material from Amon’s forthcoming, beat-oriented Two Fingers project, and, of course, the structure is twice as big.

Regardless of whether or not you are a fan of electronic music, this is an artistic excursion you will not forget about any time soon. Nothing will push your cerebral buttons quite like this illusive showcase of engineering wonder. Don’t miss out on this rare opportunity.

The Luck of the Irish came early this year with the 8^th Annual Green 17 Tour presented by Sailor Jerry’s. Flogging Molly, Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears, and The Devil Makes Three rocked The Fillmore in Charlotte, NC [2.26.2012] only 1 night after rocking Myrtle Beach, SC. Along with free samples of Killian’s Irish Red Beer, discounted Sailor Jerry’s Rum and even a Sailor Jerry’s Airstream the night was celebrated in true Irish Punk style. Even if you can’t celebrate with a nice Guinness, I guarantee you won’t be the only one considering the age ranged from about 10 to 60.

The show opening was The Devil Makes Three with a high energy and a fresh but classic sound.  With only three members playing the guitar, tenor banjo, and an upright bass the sound vibrating from the trio was powerful. Their mix of country, rockabilly, and blues made their sound something to be remembered and celebrated by all in the crowd. With songs varying from dancing to heartfelt, the music was enjoyed by everyone.

The next act to blow the crowd away was Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears. With 7 members to fill up the stage with instruments from the saxophone to drums this was a modern flashback performance. With a true rhythm and blues style, the band’s music and Joe’s smooth voice sends you flying back to the 60’s. I felt as if I had been blasted back to a dance that my grandmother had attended, and so did everyone else. If you weren’t dancing [like the band was] you were tapping your foot to the rhythm. With a soulful voice, hip and catchy rhythm, and an array of instruments this band demanded your attention.

Finally, with a grand powerful entrance Flogging Molly took the stage! Opening with their song ‘Drunken Lullabies’, the 7 band members filled the stage in a rush of energy and the crowd followed suit.  While blasting away some Irish pride and dancing music the crowd morphed into a sea of dancing. Waves of people crashed the front of the stage with the band as their leader. The folk punk music played with catchy guitar, accordion, fiddle, tin whistle, and so much more.

Dave King’s ever so swooning accent filled the venue with back stories for many of their songs between the music. After many boisterous, dancing songs the band turned it down some. They played a short acoustic set to remember love, lost family members and the hardships that the world is facing now. They played not only their joyful drinking songs but also their more serious ones like ‘The Powers Out’ and ‘Oliver Boy’. But just as they had started 2 hours earlier, Flogging Molly ended with a bang!

Not long after the members left the stage, the crowed continued to chant “Olé! Olé! Olé! Olé! Olé! Olé!” the band came back with two more songs to end the night with. They covered Bob Dylan’s song ‘These Times They Are A-Changing’ and ended with their popular classic ‘Salty Dog’. After the show ended many of the band members jumped down from the stage to meet their fans. This folk punk show is definitely not one to miss.

This is Dan McCurry of the Charleston-based indie rock band Run Dan Run. I’d like
to take a moment to share some DIY recording wisdom & mantras that I’ve acquired
over the past 5-6 years with Run Dan Run. RDR has been DIY from the get-go and
much of what we have learned has been through experience. I felt I personally
have learned a great deal in the past 1-2 years working on our most recent album
Normal. I often say that finishing this album felt like completing an associate’s
degree. Perhaps after the next record I can get a bachelor’s : ) Anyhow, here are
some philosophical tidbits in respect to recording.
1. Mantra: “Felt More Than Heard.” – Personally, I like listening to records that have
a lot of depth to them where after the 100th time listening to them you’re still
noticing elements that you never heard before. It’s the little things, you know. You
may think of it all as layers, percussive layers, sustained layers, reverb layers, vocal
layers, etc.
2. Develop your preferences. Have an idea of what you want things to sound like.
Do you like a dead kick? Do you like a thick snare? Do you want people to hear &
feel the sensation of space? Chime-y guitars? Dripping reverbs? Etc.? It’s important
to have a little direction, even if you end up going in a totally different direction later.
Your tastes will probably change over time anyhow, especially if you’re recording a
record over any period longer than 2 weeks. Listen to your favorite albums and
listen to how each element sounds. Take all your favorite sounds and mix them
together. And don’t worry about sounding like a carbon copy of your favorite band.
Chances are you couldn’t do it no matter how hard you try (especially if you’re still
trying to figure the whole recording thing out).
3. Take Time To Setup. The usual “just throw a mic in front of it and hit record” is
probably not going to give you the best sound possible. If you are using live drums,
chances are they are going to shape the overall sound of your recording a great
deal. If you’re recording guitar and the guitar sounds like crap, the best a
microphone can do is capture that crap. Take your time. Tune up, play with the
placement of the mics, try different mics, etc. These days, for example, I’ll set up the
drums and check everything a full day before tracking. With guitar I might spend
30-60 minutes playing with the amp, pedals, mics, etc. to get something that
sounds great to me in the room before hitting record.
4. Quality In = Quality Out. If it sounds good coming in, it’ll probably be easier to
work with and end up being a quality final product. If it sucks coming in, chances
are you’re not going to be able to fix it. So remember this:

> Quality Equipment. Just make sure that when you do buy things, don’t waste your
time or money on something that isn’t professional. Start with a good mic or two, a
good preamp, a good interface, good cables, etc.

> Quality Performances. If it’s not in tune, do it again. If it doesn’t have the moo, do
another take. When your done with it, listen to it. Then listen to it again. You’re only
going to put out so many records in your lifetime. Rushing through it probably won’t
make it better, no, it’ll probably make it worse. So take a little time, not too much, get
it done, but just don’t be sloppy. You’ll know when it’s done when it’s done.
5. Space. If you’re working with a stereo track, you can create a lot of interest and
contrast by playing with the location of a sound in the stereo field. You can do this
with the original signal as well as effects. Picture yourself in the center of a room
where all of the music is being created around you (in a semi-circle, not behind you
unless you’re doing surround sound). Close your eyes as you listen.

6. Experiment. If you’re used to doing something one way, try to do the exact
opposite. Flip something upside down, work backwards, work forwards. It’s all a
bunch of variables. Understand the elements, understand how & why something
works. Dare to question that. Experimentation will lead to creation.

7. Pare It Down Later. If you’ve got 8 channels and 8 mics, why not try using all 8?
You can always drop the least useful later. You never know what you might
capture. When you’re recording, you’re always trying to capture something in time.
Music is a time-based art. You create in time, you experience it over time. A song
cannot be experienced in one instance, just like a book. You can’t get away from
the time factor. It’s a lot easier (if you have the resources) to record more than you
need and pare it down later than it is to find out that you didn’t get enough on tape
and try to create what you need in post-production. Probably not going to happen.
You can create a lot of different sounds and aural textures by blending. 2 different
mics on an amp separately might not sound all that interesting but then you put
them together and you’ve created something much bigger and richer than perhaps
any one mic could capture.

Normal is Run Dan Run’s follow-up to their debut album Basic Mechanics (2007).
It’ll be released nationally on 1.10.2012 on Hearts & Plugs.

This is Dan McCurry of the Charleston-based indie rock band Run Dan Run. You probably haven’t heard of us. That’s okay, we get that a lot actually. If you hadn’t heard, well, we recently put the finishing touches on our sophomore release Normal (out nationally on 1.10.12 on Hearts & Plugs), which we recorded entirely ourselves. I am a total gear head so naturally writing an article about my favorite pieces of gear came easily.

Here is a list of 20 of my favorite pieces of gear in the RDR arsenal and why I like them:

1. Universal Audio LA-610 mkII (mic preamp) – Excellent for vocals, drums, & bass. They sound quite large and have some real body in the low end.

2. Sennheiser 421 (microphone) – This mic is awesome on horns. I love the 5 position filter. Swiss Army Dynamic mic. Sounds pretty awesome squashed.

3. Fender CIJ Jazz Bass, ’62 RI  (bass guitar) – The Japanese Fenders kill much of the USA Fenders except maybe the custom shops, plus they are cheaper. This bass is just incredible and simply “feels right” when you’re playing it.

4. 1975 Fender Vibro Champ (guitar amp) – Delivers the classic Fender chime at a relatively low volume. Excellent for recording as it is so easy to manage. Just remember to use a reverb pedal.

5. Golden Age Pre73 (mic preamp) – Rich analog sound for little bucks. I ran all of the keyboards (except bass keyboard) through this unit. It seemed to flatter the midrange of the keyboard perfectly where the LA 610 mkII simply did not. After running through this the keyboards needed very little EQ.

6. Massey Tape Delay (plugin) – Very intuitive and simple. Rich & warm delay sound, much better than any of the stock plugins that came with my Pro-Tools.

7. Izotope Vinyl (plugin) – I use this thing like an Pre-EQ EQ. Great for changing the character of an instrument in the mix.

8. Voodoo Labs Sparkle Drive (pedal) – All of the Voodoo Labs pedals are top-notch. The Sparkle Drive for me is a tone pedal more than anything. I rarely turn it off. Very true to the amp+guitar sound with just a bit more beef and clarity.

9. Boss DD-6 Delay (pedal) – Very easy to use digital delay. Sounds awesome and I love the trailing delays on this model.

10. Cascade Fathead (microphone) – This microphone has an entirely different sound. I used this a lot on kick drum as well as guitar amps. It is great on low end and has a lot of body.

11. SPL Twin Tube (plugin) – Excellent for adding a little grit and size to a signal. I like to think of this plugin as sort of an EQ as it can easily push an instrument forward in a mix and give it a little space to exist.

12. T-Racks 3 Opto Compressor (plugin) – Super smooth compression. Barely noticeable. I love this on vocal or any other signal that you’re trying to preserve tonally.

13. Fender Telecaster w/ SCN Pickups (electric guitar) – I am a telecaster man 100% for life. The SCNs are dead quite and have plenty of spank to boot.

14. Vintage Slingerland Drumset (drums) – I love Slingerlands! I think the classic vintage drums have a bit more character than most modern drums. It’s a different complexity, like a finely aged wine. Plus they just have a lot of vibe to them. This is all we used on Normal.

15. Zildjian K 20″ Dry Ride (Cymbal) – So rich and complex! I prefer a good bit of wash in my cymbals. I also like larger cymbals for their generally lower pitch. You won’t be hearing a 10″ splash on any RDR records anytime soon. It’s always 18″ plus when it comes to crashes. I also prefer a thinner cymbal.

16. Various Shakers (Auxiliary Percussion) – Honestly you can never have too many shakers. The size and shape of the shaker and beads inside, as well as the density of the materials influence the sound, decay, projection, and playability of the shaker. Sometimes you want something soft and delicate, something that sounds like sand. Other times you might want something really driving and almost piercing. Or maybe you just want to go with the happy medium. Having 3-5 different shakers on hand is a good place to start.

17. Auxiliary Percussion (Auxiliary Percussion) – I think aux percussion really makes Normal, that and the full drum kit on every song. There is not a track on the album that doesn’t feature at least 2 different auxiliary percussion instruments. Aux percussion can really flesh out a song and fill space that no amount of notes can.

18. Shure Beta 58 (microphone) – Great live and for recording. I like the Beta series a little better than the standards as they seem to be a little more hi-fi to my ears and just not as flat. I might say that they are just a tad more flattering. Plus the super cardiod pattern is a plus in nearly all of the applications I use it in.

19. Electro Harmonix Mini-Synth (analog keyboard) – These are somewhat rare and very hard to play due to the touchpad keyboard but it is sure hard to beat the beast-like sound that comes out of this thing when you’re pushing it through the LA-610 mkII. The sound is simply massive.

20. Fender Rhodes Mark I (electric piano) – There is nothing like a Fender Rhodes. It is its own instrument I think. Sure it has the same layout as any other keyboard instrument but I swear that there must be angels in there singing! I fell in love with the Rhodes when recording it on Normal. I honestly never played one much prior to  this point. It’s unfortunate that I hadn’t. It is hands down my favorite keyboard sound now. I am pretty sure that heaven uses the Rhodes for door chimes.