The first live performance held at Sound Arts was Sunday, March 15. Thanks to the folks at overlap everyone had a great time. It felt quaint, cozy and very…familiar to the underground. The seating was limited, and the treats were plenty. Miroque was a bit nervous; she kept patting her cheeks between songs and tapping her fingers over her heart. But she played beautifully, to the tune of drowning swans, including tracks from her latest record, Green Anthology. The word of the moment is happening, so check back often to stay in the know.

09/18/2008

Energetic, excited, organized-what else can you ask for in sound engineers?  How about creative, on-time, professional, confident and clever?  I’ve worked with sound engineers across the country and Canada and this crew has the fundamentals down with an eye on the future and YOUR finished product.  I feel very lucky to have found them (after an exhaustive internet search and word of mouth) and look forward to working with them more in a variety of venues.  I would absolutely recommend them to anyone, they have true experience in theatre, film and digital media.  Their studio is 1 part downtown “Soho workspace” theatre, 1 part Star trek media console and 1 part relaxed artist space and no pretense.  I ‘m reluctant to share my “diamond” find but they do such a great job, they are a good partner to have in the artist community.
Saylor Billings – Billibatt Productions.

http://www.yelp.com/biz/sound-arts-san-francisco

And if you have some thing nice to say about Sound Arts…feel free to let us know by writing your own review on Yelp!

Wow!

What an awesome week. Over 15 tracks recorded, 10 artists and bands, and 80 solid hours of hands on experience for our interns and engineers. I think we all learned a ton about recording, producing and coordinating. Everyone did an exceptional job! Mixes are now in progress and should be ready to review by the end of this month.

We are currently playing with the idea of showcasing the work from the week through an event sometime around October or November. Depending on funding, location availability, and potential partners this could be a big promo opportunity to connect with other artists, engineers, and labels plus a chance to field questions about everyone’s experience and creative process. In the meantime, check out the pics, learn more about the participating artists, and keep on blogging!

Project Renovate
Wisecrack
60 Watt Kid
Christopher Willits
Gabriel Coan
The Blank Slates
Sean Niesen
League 510
The Dervish
Max Paz
Midori/Audioclique

- Adam Shaening-Pokrasso

Today we are recording two tracks with local, up-and-coming Indy rock group, “The Blank Slates.” (Troy Lawton is lead engineering, with Jonathon Wong as assistant engineer.  All of the interns have been helping out this week and rotating responsibilities.) Featuring Andrea Iacopini on guitar and vocals, they produce a high-intensity, earthy nuance with a forward drive. According to Andrea, “The Blank Slates” is a “concept of ever-changing sound, where each song has space to develop into its own without allowing the band itself to be easily categorized.”

Andrea was joined by drummer Cochrane McMillan in January of this year, with bassist Martin Fowler adding to the mix later that month. Not only are they solid musicians, but their tracks are chock full of well-blended harmonies and tight fills.

In “My Only Regret,” Cochrane takes the lead on drums and has been playing solid all day, with Turkish hand-hammered cymbals adding nice texture and shimmer.  Martin has a solid ear in this tune with dead-on rhythm and innovative fills. Andrea is a natural songwriter, and struck gold with his addictive opening guitar and bass lines.

www.myspace.com/theblankslates

The goal of today’s session is to create the majority of a demo for distribution to local radio stations.

Good energy, good times, good clean fun.

-Emily Hendricks

Elements is a digital media training program for at-risk young people and ex-offenders ages 18 – 23. Funded by the California Employment Training Panel, the program provides 150 hours of industry-standard training in one of three training tracks – Web and Video, Audio and Multimedia, and Drafting and Design – as well as an additional 150 hours of job skills development and career counseling. The program engages students full-time, Monday through Thursday, from 9am to 5pm for three months. Upon successful completion of the program, students are given job placement assistance.

In cycle 2, different from the first cycle, Artist/Musician, Zack Vieira will be the focus of the group portfolio. Zack has recorded with Sound Arts and will continue the development of his debut solo release. The talented and eager students will team up and use Zack as their “client” and with their new skill-sets create and package a portfolio of Zack’s work. This will include designs for CD packaging, flyers, a mini documentary, and a website design and build with sounds, flash, songs and videos. Shortly after the completion of the portfolio, Zack will be releasing an EP and will later be featured in the Sound Arts Breakup Compilation.

Interested in applying to participate in the Elements Program?
Download the application for cycle 3.

Check out these tracks in the works:

“Mean Song” – Zack Vieira

“Call it in the Air” – Sparklebritches