Although this is my first “original” CD produced, it is not the first time I have worked in a recording studio. In winter of 1998, I was fortunate to discover a hidden treasure in my own back yard of Northwest Indiana. I desired to do some recording “just for fun” and looked for a local studio in order to hear what my voice could do. I happened upon Shaved Cat Studios in Valparaiso, Indiana and managed to schedule a few hours of recording time to produce my first short album entitled, A New Voice.
Only three songs were recorded on that album: My Heart Will Go On, Maybe This Time, and The Power of Love. It was a chance for me to gain some insight on what singing in a studio entails. My father accompanied me to the studio and also learned what it takes to do a live recording. It was really neat to have him there and show him what it is like to “perform without an audience”. I shared the CD with my family and friends and enjoyed playing “tricks” on them by asking who they thought was singing when I played the CD. It was definitely a fun learning experience, but it started a “recording bug” inside my heart!
After graduating from Western Michigan University in spring of 1999, my parents began to ask me “when are you going to record again? We need some new music!” I got to thinking it would be neat to surprise them with a Christmas present of a new album, and in December of 1999, I called Shaved Cat Studios and my first FULL length album, In Full Bloom, was born. This CD had eight songs produced with several musical styles represented: jazz, opera, pop, contemporary, and even an A cappella version of The National Anthem. I managed to “crank out” all eight tunes in a matter of five hours and had the CD mastered, mixed, and labeled by the end of the evening.
I enjoyed using this CD to perform for several occasions, however, I was still running into the same problem: The CD was not original work and I could not mass produce and market it. The frustration from lacking original work and professional musicians who would be willing to contribute to such an album enhanced my decision to take a short hiatus from music and pursue other avenues.
My time in “hiatus” from what I love most only lasted from January 2000 until August of 2001. On a whim, I auditioned at a local theater company in Chesterton, Indiana for a musical production, A Grand Night for Singing. I was fortunate enough to be in “good voice” during my audition and was cast as one of the principle singers. My next show was set for spring of 2002. It was an original Rock Opera version of Macbeth composed by Dan Shaaf .I was cast as Lady Macbeth and had several challenging pieces of music to learn. The show was a welcomed break from studying constantly.
In July of 2002, I moved to Erie, Pennsylvania to continue my academic pursuits and was forced into another “momentary” hiatus. However, THIS hiatus would be broken through several “chance” meetings of three key people: my vocal coach, my percussionist and arranger, and my producer. (For more on this “big fat story”, please click on the link: MY BIG FAT STORY)
It would be just shy of four years before I would FINALLY have an original work to cherish and share not only with family, but also with the music market. From August 2003 until November 2003, I learned the true process of what it takes to create, rehearse, record, re-record, mix, master, and finally, market a CD project. I honestly had NO idea of how massive an undertaking this project was! I took for granted my capabilities as a musician and realized that doing something that you love and making it your true passion and “escape” can give such balance and joy to one’s life.
In August, I met with Trevor Huster, my producer, and explained to him that I wanted to do an original work that would be marketable, yet very unique. After three hours of discussing several avenues to consider for potential music projects, we both agreed that an “internationally flavored” Christmas album would not only be unique, but very marketable! We discussed the details regarding which languages to choose and decided upon Greek, Spanish, and German. I am of both Greek and German descent and have studied Spanish for over ten years, so I felt it was best if I represented my heritage and paid tribute to my background through music and language.
After determining the genre of music to perform and the languages in which to perform them, the next step was finding the musicians to play for me. It would be Divine Intercession that would bless me with the talents of Harry Honard and Mark Alpaugh, my percussionist and pianist respectively. Both agreed to work with me on this project and managed to make the schedule within the confines of time that I presented to them: One Month! We decided we would rehearse one weekend, and then record the following weekend. Our first rehearsal was magical! It was as if we had played together for years! I couldn’t believe the sounds we were making and how easy it was to follow their rhythmic changes, their key changes, and their solos! We only rehearsed for two hours during that initial rehearsal, and we recorded the following day!
During rehearsals was when we decided what Christmas tunes would be fun and unique to perform. I had a relatively good idea of which songs I would like to have recorded, but I was very open to any ideas brought to mind. We let the creativity just exude from us and threw ideas back and forth. Granted, some of my musical ideas were SO “out there”, it brought a great deal of laughter during the rehearsals, yet when the music was put together, the final product illustrated a fresh and new interpretation on the traditional carols.
The recording process was such a fascinating experience because it was the first time I saw what it took to use LIVE and REAL musicians instead of recording my voice to a background tape. We were fortunate to only have to record one or two “takes” of each song in order to achieve the sound levels and mix we desired. However, my part in the project was only beginning. Trevor had me sing “scratch vocals”, a new process for me in which I sing along with the band, but my recordings are just a “rough draft” of the real thing. This way, we could record the band live and get the instrumental sound we needed. Also, this permitted me to re-record as many times as I felt necessary and permit me to enhance my voice with several parts of harmony and enhance the melody lines with my voice once more. This permitted the creation of a “choir/ensemble” sound and a “dead on match” for both harmonies and vocal style.
The day finally came where I had to put the pedal to the metal and sing “for real”. I made sure to “baby” my voice by not talking 24 hours prior to recording (a VERY difficult task for me!), and drinking lots and lots of eucalyptus decaffeinated tea. I had NO idea that Trevor could push my voice to do things that were insurmountable tasks in the past in my eyes. He gave me encouragement to go in the booth and just “HIT IT!” After singing for almost 9 hours straight, Trevor finally decided I needed some rest (even though I KNOW I could have kicked out another two songs!) and he sent me home to relish in the hard work I committed and celebrate the beginnings of a really exciting album.
After the second round of rehearsal (again, we needed only two hours to get the job done!) and recording the very next day (which took a little longer than I originally hoped, but was grateful for the efforts of my musicians), it was time to start the process of analysis, mixing, re-recording trouble spots, re-mixing, adding more percussion and vocals, and finally, mastering the CD album. I have a new respect for audio engineering and music technology after this experience. I had NO idea of the time and dedication it takes to analyze EVERY sound that is recorded on an album. The slighted “pop”, the smallest imbalance, the tiniest pitch bend, the millisecond drop of a vocal vibrato, the volume balancing of 15 or more parts, the editing, punching in and out of single notes, damping, echo enhancing, etc.
…I compare the process of producing this album to the physics of a bumblebee: the bumblebee is a very unique creature because if one studies the anatomy, one would realize that aerodynamically, the bumblebee should not be able to fly due to its body-size to wing ratio. However, nobody told the bumblebee it couldn’t fly. The moral to this analogy is simple: If you think you can, or you can’t, you are right! If you have a dream within your heart, you must see it through no matter how enormous the obstacles in your way may seem. Think of the bumblebee, and fly anyway!
BACK
