Have you been waiting to record your CD? Bet you’ve already selected the songs, done the arrangements, and hired the players (at least in your mind) - but haven’t moved forward.

Have you been putting off doing a demo reel or recording the VOs that would showcase your talent and get more gigs for you - but haven’t done it.

Have you been wanting to put together an Electronic Press Kit (EPK)  - but aren’t even sure what that is and why you’d need it.

Have you been waiting for just the right time, the right studio, the right price - but haven’t found that magic combination yet.

Well, procrastinators of the music world unite!!  Good things come to those who wait.

Umbrella Media wants to help you turn your dreams into reality.

Here’s the deal for projects booked from April 1 through June 30, 2010:

For every 10 hrs. Booked - we’ll give you 2 free Studio Hours  - value $250.00

*redeemable at session or can be used at a later time

For every 5 hrs. Booked - we’ll give you 1 free Studio Hour -value $125.00

*redeemable at session or can be used at a later time

Free piano tuning for 10 hr. sessions  -  value $140.00

Free mastering for projects recorded & mixed at Umbrella Studio - value $1250.00

*mastering will be unsupervised with one client review and one round of changes.  Additional artistic changes will be at usual studio rate.

Free parking - and we’ll validate you as well

*if you’re insecure and need it, that is

Good coffee, warm & friendly environment, lots of hospitality - value priceless

Time Flies … Spring is just around the corner.  There will never be a better tim to stop waiting and dreaming.

At Umbrella Media, we take our tag line Great Projects Happen Under Our Umbrella very seriously.  We invite you to take advantage of our Spring Promotion.  Let us show you how great your project will be.

“Mom, is my blue tuxedo clean?”

This is not a question you’d expect to hear from a 14 year- old boy (unless, of course, prom night was on the horizon). But Andy Waterman was not your average teenager. Ferociously, precociously, musically talented, Andy was playing professional gigs when others his age were earning extra money with paper routes. Every weekend Andy and his fellow underaged band-mates performed at various venues; their parents performed as the drivers and reluctant “roadies.”

At the ripe “old age” of 30, after16 years of gigs and engagements and one -night stands, Andy played his last set. “I loved making music” he said “But after a while, I started envying the people on the other side of the bandstand. I wanted to be out there, swaying to the rhythm of the music with a pretty girl in my arms.”

So, fast-forward to the present: Andy has enjoyed (and still is) a long, rich and varied career in the music business.

But music was much more than a career choice for Andy. The fact is, there was no choice involved - not really. Because Andy lives and breathes and personifies music. And the biggest part of his charm and charisma is in how he expresses himself verbally. Les Hooper, a longtime friend and collaborator, said “ Andy is not only musically talented, he is rhetorically gifted.”

AndySpeak is, in fact, quite similar to a classical composition. Andy doesn’t just tell a story – he creates an opus. There is an opening theme; variations on the motif which might leave you wondering where the conversation is going; tempo changes moving from staccato fragments to legato passages, conductor-like hand gestures adding emphasis to his verbal score. And, as fast as Andy talks, his agile mind moves even faster, causing the demise of complete sentences. But what follows is a delightful jumble and collision of run-ons and incompletes.

Imagine this: If Bach wrote lyrics to his fugues, that would preciously describe how Andy speaks.

Good friend Lauren Price (okay, busted …. and author of this piece and proud wife) explains, “At first it was confusing. Andy would be all over the place conversationally.” But as do all good musical composers, Andy eventually ties it together in a last movement-like, brilliant flourish.

So,here’s what I’ve observed: listening to Andy is like listening to classical music. I sit back and enjoy the beauty of the melodies, the richness of the textures and the variety of nuances. Because, in the end, the finale will be completely satisfying and entirely worth the wait.”

Okay, call it “self-centeredness” - but building a new studio totally dedicated to Umbrella Media clients was a dream come true for me.  For the first time since I started working in professional studios, I didn’t have to make other producers, engineers, mixers or soundtrack designers happy so they would bring their clients to the studio.  Umbrella Studio is all about my way of doing production.

See - I told you it was all about me!

My production clients included long standing corporate accounts, independent jazz musicians and singers, cabaret and theatre artists as well as some Very Important People … the studio musicians, singers, voice talent that we work with almost on a daily basis.  So many of the innovations that we created at Umbrella Studio were designed with these talented partners in mind.

Can someone change the temperature?

Over the years, I’ve worked in hundreds of studios all over the world.  And there is one element that is the same in all of them … someone is too hot and someone else is too cold.  Rudi Skedel and I decided that Umbrella Studio would use an innovative air conditioning technique. Though this is popular in Europe and Japan, it’s not used much in the US.  We installed small remote controlled individual room HAVC units that the talent can individually control in their iso booths.

The VIP’s love it!  The only problem is that fights have broken out amongst the guys over who controls the remote.

I can’t hear!

In every studio I’ve ever worked at headphones are always an issue.  The piano player says he can’t hear himself in the cue mix; the guitar player says that all he hears is the piano; the bass player says, “You’re killing me with the drums.”  And there is never, ever agreement about the clicks.

So technical designer Matt Delvecchio and I designed a private cue style headphone system that allows each member of a rhythm section, vocal group or overdub group to create their own unique cue mix.  Although this style of cue mixer is popular all over the world, this is the first private studio that I’ve been part of that has made the commitment for a “private cue” system.

The players love it! And already the time spent not debating headphone mixes is about 2000 studio hours.  You know, studio hours … kinda the same ratio as dog years are to human years.

Wiring - Schmiring

Then there’s the wire in the wall.  I’d always been suspicious about studio designers who tout expensive cabling for equipment interface. After all, how much difference can a piece of cable make?  Matt and wiring guru Mike Freas thought differently.  They suggested, recommended and finally insisted that it would make all the difference.

Miles and miles of Mogami cable later, I was a convert. Hallelujah!  I can absolutely hear the difference.  And I see the clarity on our flat screen TV which is an important tool in our video post work and DVD authoring business.

Watch out for the mic stands!

And let’s don’t forget about mic stands.  What singer or musician who has spent five minutes in a studio hasn’t used four of those minutes sidestepping and tiptoeing through coils of cable clutter?  Umbrella Studio is the only studio I know that has many of the mic stands on the ceiling … not on the floor.

The talent seems to love it, too!  They say they can get to the hospitality area faster on breaks.

For me, turning Umbrella Studio into a reality wasn’t just about design, technology or creative use of space.  It was all those things, of course … and so much more.   I would only consider the endeavor successful if I managed to create  space where our clients, musicians and singers enjoyed working.

I believe that space is Umbrella Studio.

Andy Waterman

Picture this … David Foster produces a session at Umbrella Studio with Andy Waterman engineering. Donna Summer sings lead with Britney Spears doing backup vocals. John Mayall comes in to lay down guitar tracks and later Snoop Dog and Dr. Dre add hip-hop overdubs.

If you’re thinking, “nope, no way, too bizarre, never happened,” you’re right. It didn’t happen. But in a strange-convoluted-Kevin Bacon-kinda-way … it could have.

In fact, all these seemingly disparate folks do share a studio. Well, not exactly the same studio - but the same master studio construction maestro. Rudi Skedel built all these private studios. But wait! There’s more! Rudi built studios and audio/video rooms for such “minor” players as MGM, Twentieth Century Fox, Dreamworks, Todd AO Studios, Westlake Audio … and many, many more all over the world. And did I mention - Umbrella Studio as well.

AS LUCK WOULD HAVE IT!

One day in March, 2006 when every star (lucky or otherwise) was in alignment, when studio karma paid up for all those “Mercury-in-Retrograde” days, when the finger of fate briefly de-fickled, our path and Rudi’s crossed …. and the dream of Umbrella Studio was born.

After 15 long years serving time as a pharmaceutical sales rep, I was happy (understatement) to stop schlepping from office to office and retire my sample bag in favor of a new career.  And what could be more different from calling on doctors than working with musicians and singers?  At least that’s what I thought.

Ah, but I was wrong!

As a rep - you know, those annoying people who breeze right into the doctor’s office while you’re cooling your heels in the waiting room reading magazines from the last century - I called on all kinds of specialists.  And I observed that within each specialty, the practitioners had very similar personality traits.  Not only similar - but consistently , predictably and unerringly the same.

Turns out, it’s the same with musical people.

For example, take a typical rhythm section.  Not only are these guys fun and easygoing, but they are terrific problem solvers.  They’re way cool, hip and dialed into all the latest trends too.  Tell them, “I’m looking for an ethnic Mongolian groove with Afro-funk influence for a Tuvan throat singer”  -  they’ll nail it by the second take.

Want to hear the latest jokes?  Hire horn players!  Aside from being funny and boisterous, they exude an aura of macho self-confidence.  Who hasn’t heard the horn player mantra of, “Ok, lets make it.”  And if it’s not perfect by the second take, it’s probably the copyist’s fault.

String players.  These folks are very particular, precise and focused.  They have an empathetic relationship with their environment - it has to be just right.  But too often in the studio, the music stands are too high or too low, the chairs too hard, too soft or too non-ergonomic.  And as for the A/C - well, it’s never, ever right.

Singers are charming, dramatic and not surprisingly … very verbal.  They love talking about music.  In fact, talking about singing is almost a prerequisite to actually singing.  And are they ever versatile! This is a typical singer comment: “Let me show you what it would sound like if I was born in Finland, studied in South Africa and I was currently living in Tokyo.”  And it actually does sound exactly like that.  Hilarious!

Here’s what I’ve observed is the biggest difference between doctors and musicians:

When I was calling on doctors, one of their favorite expressions was, “Sounds good!”  Of course, this is what they said as they were inching away from me in an attempt to end the conversation.  (Even as I was delivering a brilliant discourse on why my drug was the safest, the most efficacious, the most blah, blah, blahest drug on the market … go figure.)

But when a musician says, “Sounds good,” it has an entirely different meaning.  And, to me, that makes all the difference in the world.

Spring has sprung..? Well, not exactly - not yet! But it will before you know it. So the time is now to start planning for our Spring Promotion.

Here’s all the info  ….

Have you been waiting to record your CD? Maybe you’ve already selected the songs, done the arrangements and hired the players (at least in your mind) But you haven’t moved forward!

Have you been putting off doing a demo reel or recording the VOs that would showcase your talent and get more gigs for you? But you haven’t done it!

Have you been waiting to put together an Electronic Press Kit (EPK)? But you aren’t even sure what this is and why you’d need it!

Have you been waiting for just the right time, the right studio, the right price? But you haven’t found that magic combination yet!

Procrastinators of the music world unite!!

Good things come to those who wait.

Umbrella Media wants to help you turn your dreams into reality.

Here’s the deal for projects booked

April 1, 2010 - June 30, 2010 … no fooling!!

For every 10 hrs. booked … get 2 free Studio Hours
(redeemable at session or can be used at a later time)

Value - $250.00

For every 5 hrs. booked … get 1 free Studio Hour
(redeemable at session or can be used at a later time)

Value - $125.00

Free piano tuning with minimum 8 hr. session
Value - $140.00

Free Mastering for projects recorded & mixed at Umbrella Studio *
Value - $1250.00

Free Parking … we’ll validate you as well
(if you’re insecure and need it, that is)

Good coffee, warm & friendly environment, lots of hospitality
Value - priceless

*mastering will be unsupervised with one client review & one round of changes (additional artistic changes will be at usual studio rate)

Time flies … Spring will be here before you know it. There will never be a better time to stop waiting and dreaming.

At Umbrella Media, we take our tag line … Great Projects Happen Under Our Umbrella … very seriously. We invite you to take advantage of our Spring Promotion. Let us show you how great your project will be.

Free Studio Tour

You’re thinking about recording your project and this sounds like a good deal … but you’ve never been to Umbrella Studio.

Please come and “tour” the facility. Let us show you why Great Projects Happen Under Our Umbrella.

Can be used at any time … just call for an appointment

Tip 10 Creativity. Last but never least … don’t forget to be creative.  Too often, “new” musical ideas sound much like songs we’ve heard before.  Remember the most important element of good song production and arrangement is to let yourself go … follow your creativity and let inspiration be your muse.

FROM THE STUDIOPHILES: Following these 10 tips will help you to improve your songs and get  them “recording ready.” Your songs and productions will be polished and will stand out from the crowd so that your unique voice will be heard in a competitive music marketplace.

Bonus Tip. Now that you are finally ready to record your songs, make sure that you find a good recording studio … one that combines the best of the available technology with experienced, professional humans.  Although this may sound like shameless self-promotion (well, it kinda is..) at Umbrella Studio, I will do everything possible to make your project a success.  When you book our studio for your project, we offer generous free consultation time so you can get it right the first time.  And that’s why, “Great Projects Happen Under Our Umbrella.”   Andy Waterman

Tip 9 Consistency.  Along with variety there should be a certain consistency that keeps the song glued together.  Consistency is equal parts the form of the song, the right lyrics and good musical concepts.  All three tie the song together.  Within each of these areas you can have some variation.  Just make sure that the framework allows the listener to follow what you are doing.

FROM THE STUDIOPHILES: Here’s a bit of wisdom I’ve learned from all my years of working in the studio ..  don’t introduce too many feature instruments in a production.  Even with a full orchestra, “cast” a perfect instrument to be the second “voice” that makes the song come to life.  Josh Groban does this perfectly.  Of course, David Foster is his producer; Yes, that David Foster- probably the most successful music producer of our time.  Listen to how a violin or an acoustic guitar or a cello will interact with Josh even though the overall accompaniment is a full orchestra.

The Tenth Tip you can use to construct your arrangement will be about CREATIVITY. Stay tuned for my next blog.

At Umbrella Studio, I will do everything possible to make your project a success.  When you book our studio for your project, we offer generous free consultation time so you can get it right the first time.  And that’s why, “Great Projects Happen Under Our Umbrella.”   Andy Waterman

Tip 8: Movement. The movement of a song goes beyond the tempo - into the extra details that make a brilliant recording.  And these details can make or break a song.  Things such as dynamics - the loud and soft ornamentations and new orchestration elements that keep the listener from sensing predictability and can create excitement even on a soft or sensitive piece.

FROM THE STUDIOPHILES: Last year I recorded a fantastic album with jazz vocalist Denise Donetelli here at Umbrella Studio.  Her arranger and music producer, Geoff Keezer, often used moving bass lines doubled with the lower piano range and sometimes other instruments to create undulating textures of movement below the melody.  I believe this technique is applicable to many styles of music … think California Girls by Brian Wilson.  Ostinottos can be a great way to create movement without using fast harmonic rhythm or overly subdivided rhythms.

The Ninth Tip you can use to construct your arrangement will be about CONSISTENCY. Stay tuned for my next blog.

At Umbrella Studio, I will do everything possible to make your project a success.  When you book our studio for your project, we offer generous free consultation time so you can get it right the first time.  And that’s why, “Great Projects Happen Under Our Umbrella.”   Andy Waterman

Tip 7: VARIETY. One overlooked aspect of arranging is developing variety in the song.  This means that even if you are repeating choruses or verses, make sure that you have some diferent movement or instrumentation in your recording.  I call this texturizing.  For example: try talking out all the instruments behind the vocals except drums on a chorus and bring them all back just as you create a modulation in the final out chorus.

FROM THE STUDIOPHILES: When I was still living in Chicago I had the great opportunity to work on some great Chicago style R & B projects.  At that moment in time, R & B was being influenced by Disco and the first draft of what we now call “remixing.”  The Chicago studio pros were always searching for ways to surprise the listeners - and, of course, the dancers.  One evening as we were close to finishing the mix, the producer asked me to make a cassette (younger readers can Google “cassette” to learn about this antique 20th century technology) of our work in progress.  We all got in his car and drove to a club where he knew the DJ … that friendship plus $20 got our mix played.  After observing how the dancers reacted, we returned to the studio and finished the mix with a new set of musical surprises by adding variety to the repeating final choruses.

The eighth tip you can use to construct your arrangement will be about MOVEMENT. Stay tuned for my next blog.

At Umbrella Studio, I will do everything possible to make your project a success.  When you book our studio for your project, we offer generous free consultation time so you can get it right the first time.  And that’s why, “Great Projects Happen Under Our Umbrella.”   Andy Waterman