We’re In!

FINALLY!

6 months to find the right space

2 months to renovate

ahhhhhh

WE'RE IN!

Did I mention we have a live room? 2 drum kits? Lots of mics and mic stands and headphones and mic preamps and all sorts of other non-sexy but essential studio accessories?
Did I mention that the live room is 13x22?
I didn't?
oh

Did I mention that it's totally private? And we are now in a lovely section of the UWS on 107@Columbus surrounded by restaurants and 2 parks,. (one is called Central park, it's lovely,..come see it)
No?
well

Did I mention that we're now OPEN???
The new studio is done and ready to rock! MONOLisa v2.0 bigger and better!

Man,. As a side note to any aspiring studio owners,. anything with the word "audio" in front of it,. or even "Acoustic" will set you back 3x more than you expected to pay.
buuuuut
I learned a lot.
here are some big nuggets of truth:

A: I learned that everything you need to know at a moment's notice can be found on the internet. Youtube videos can turn your average chump into a contractor. Rich and I learned how to put up drywall, how to use concrete patch, how to patch up concrete floors (or how not to, depends on how you look at it) We even built our own gobos!
(I'm super proud of those things,. just you wait!)

B: Installing heavy acoustic panels on the ceiling is hard,..

C: Drilling into concrete makes a mess. Don't do that 2 days after you paint the floor.

D: Sometimes it's worth it to let a contractor suck you dry of every penny you've ever earned so that you can be spared the above experiences.
(Next time)

Through it all, we learned about each other, learned to push the envelope on what we can do as opposed to what we can't. Many things neither of us thought we'd do, we've done.
It's a good thing
(again, depending on how you look at it)
That being said,..

Gear is set, and we got through our first sessions this week without a hitch.

Besides building a studio,.. What's Happening??

So excited to have been tapped to record and mix a new composition by renowned composer, Dr Jose' Bevia'.
The piece is entitled, "Cenizas y Fuego", written for harp, percussion, and electronics.
The piece was showcased at the 2014 NYC electroacoustic Music festival and featured Arielle on harp and percussionist June Moon Kyung Hahn, who I also had the pleasure of working with when recording the piece at Juliard this past month.
Dr Bevia will be releasing a CD toward the end of the year which will feature this as well as other pieces.
I'll keep you posted!

Another awesome artist I got the pleasure to work with is the lovely Lucy Kalantari.
She just released a new EP called "Pockets full of Joy".
The CD features Lucy on Ukelele and vocals, Rich Kulsar on drums, and Jay Foote on upright bass.
It is really a super CD, super happy and uplifting. I think you all might just love it as much as I do!
(I love it ALOT, so I challenge you to love it more)
Here's the link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/pockets-full-of-joy-ep/id875005396

Also NYFA has been keeping me busy in between painting and other light construction duties. So happy to be working with them again on the latest movie musical. It's my favorite yet!

In the meantime, we are planning to have a nice little shindig to introduce MONOLisa to the world. I'll let you all know about it!

Till then!
Make some music will ya?
d