Hatfield Media

Today we bring you something rare.  This is not a recording from the 930 Listening Room.  Instead, we’ve dusted off an early gem that probably only 20 people have ever heard.  In 2004 and 2005, a band from Dallas, TX called The Alexander, came and performed in Louisville.  They played Zerofest (a small independent music festival I put on with several friends) twice, and two shows in my prototype recording studio (717 Studios).  There is next-t0-nothing recorded from Zerofest (3 years, a few miniDV tapes are floating around somewhere) but I did make recordings of both performances in my studio.  This is the first one, and definitely my favorite.

A small bit of background…  This recording is flawed and raw.  The mic on the kick drum shorted out a bit on the first and last tracks.  The band was run ragged from traveling and playing and there are noticeable errors in playing.  The first track is basically a warmup/soundcheck and the playing gets better as the performance wears on.

The recording available here is the only mix ever made of this performance.  I lost the master session files (backup harddrive failed) and was unable to go back and re-mix this project.  This recording is the rough mix I made at 2am after everyone had left the studio. (I wanted to listen to the show as I drove home.)  The only reason I still have this recording is because I gave a copy on CD to my brother!

This band no longer exists.  A quick search around the net produced almost no results.  No phantom myspace page, no band website in disrepair.  This is the only link I could find for the band: Pegasus News (Dallas, TX) Please forgive the mix and the rough edges and try to enjoy the performance for what it was. The Alexnader was an airy indierock band with beautiful melodies and well-thought-out lyrics. This is prime example of ‘that band you never heard’.  Head over to the Audio Download section to grab the recording.

In other news, the Haiti benefit recording is going through the final approval stages before being made available officially to the public. It will launch later this week and 100% of the proceeds will benefit Go Ministries! We apologize for the delay in getting it out but it is necessary to make sure everyone approves before putting it out there!

Our studio is under construction! Every day more work is accomplished. Insulation, drywall, lighting, so forth… Everything is really coming together! All of the gear is ready to go! We will be posting photos of the space very soon!

This is part two of the 08-03-07 show and it features John Whitaker playing a unique set with soft percussion and some occasional stomping.  For part 1 see the previous post!

You can download both sets in the Audio Download section or you can stream the individual performances in your browser via the player below.  (Direct streaming is only available for flash-based browsers.) We are also making the concerts available on itunes.  Click here to subscribe to our podcast!

I have been digging through the back catalog over the past few weeks and found a unique show…  Ryan Anderson played an acoustic set with John Whitaker back in 2007.  Any show in 2007 was a small show, and this one was bare bones.  Very small captive audience, stripped down acoustic sets for both artists, and the recording is a raw soundboard tap and it shows.  If you can get past the rugged un-polished recording then you might enjoy the transparent singer-songwriter performances of the show.

You can download the show in the Audio Download section or you can stream it via the player below.  (Direct streaming is only available for flash-based browsers.) We are also making the concerts available on itunes.  Click here to subscribe to our podcast!

My Brightest Diamond

We’ve been saving this one for a rainy day…  2 years late, but better late than never.  Ladies and gentlemen, My Brightest Diamond!  If you’ve never heard this group you are in for a treat.  If Nora Jones sang is a knarly rockn’roll band, this would be it. The complete show is available for free download in the audio section.

Part of the reason for the delay is all the work that needed to be done due to audio source dropouts… This problem is most evident on the encore ‘Freakout!’ but for the majority of the recording is not noticeable due to extensive editing. The place was packed and somehow the power supply on my old MOTU got a bit jolted.. Thankfully the unit stuck it out til the bitter end, and we now have a beautiful souveneer of the show!  I recorded bands for 6 years prior to that problem, and it was the last gig done on that unit.

The recording balances out about 2 minutes into the first song. From then on it is very consistent. Be sure to thank My Brightest Diamond for allowing us to release this for free to the public!