Yes, it is summer time in Portland. No, I’m not ready for it to end. What’s new… Since my last post I finished Yeah Great Fine’s Circadian EP, toured the USA with Typhoon, mixed Hello Electric‘s new EP, and went to the river.

I have a special spot in my heart for Yeah Great Fine. Ultimately they are are comprised of my great friends and I can’t help but love their music. We worked together last year (listen to that project here) so they hired me to produce their next project, a four song 7″ EP titled Circadian. Circadian was recorded in four days at the Maproom Studio in SE Portland. The Maproom isn’t huge but we managed to isolate the guitars, keys, and bass away from the drums. The band was able to track most of the album live, playing together in the same room. We went back and added a few guitar lines, fixed some things, and added the vocals. I mixed “in the box” at my home studio and had Adam Gonsalves master it at his studio, Telegraph Mastering. Over all this record was a breeze to make. Considering the last album was recorded drums first, it’s obvious we took this album on a more “human” path. They are currently fund raising via kick starter and have a six week western USA tour booked for this Fall. The Circadian EP 7″ Vinyl will be released October 1st on 20 Sided Records.

I jotted away with Typhoon for a few weeks and toured the USA. Honestly it’s hard to write about my tour experiences because so much fun was had, it’s hard to remember it all. What I do remember is this – The Decemberists (as musicians and people) are legit. We spent a week on the road with them before departing on our own to the East Coast. We were invited to play the Newport Folk Festival in Newport Rhode island. I really liked that place, such a beautiful place to have a festival. NPR was kind enough to broadcast our concert, you can still stream it here. We played a blur of club dates on the east coast, including a stop at the David Letterman show. I got to help with the stage setup and broadcast mix which ended up being a valuable learning experience. It was interesting to see how a show like that is made audio-wise. We traveled to my home town of Washington D.C. and performed to a sold out audience, very surreal. After D.C. we left for Chicago and played Lollapalooza. There they actually treat you pretty well – we all took home some silly free stuff which made us feel weird. Chicago routed us to the Midwest where we played St. Louis, Kansas City, and Denver. One thing I learned on this tour is that Portland is now home. I have lived here for about two years and I couldn’t be happier to end my journey here. Typhoon will be performing at Music Fest North West‘s Pioneer Courthouse Square Stage on Saturday September 10th, opening up for Explosions In The Sky and The Antlers.

The week after I returned home from Typhoon tour I hooked up with Kirk Ohnstad of Hello Electric. I was asked to mix their new EP that they have been working on. It’s not my business to announce records on here, but I can tell you that it is a 10″ vinyl and it sounds amazing. Hello Electric is a three piece band with Portland roots. I have been listening to their previous releases for some time, so I was extremely pleased when I got that email. The record was produced by the band in unique recording zones, including a warehouse. I mixed the project in about 4 or 5 days which was promptly handed off to Adam Gonsalves for mastering. I believe the album is already on its way to the record plant, so I expect a Fall release. Please look out for it, I will post tracks and more release info when I can. The track above is from their latest LP, produced by Portugaul The Man‘s John Gourley.

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