Top Ten Albums of 2009 According to Mark Jaeschke.

10)manchester orchestra - mean everything to nothing
having followed manchester since about 2006, the release of their sophomore album was one of my more anticipated album releases of the year. needless to say, andy hull and company delivered fantastic record. bolstering a much more full and produced sound than ‘i’m like a virgin loosing a child’, the album also has lyrics that are up to par with past songs, such as golden ticket or colly strings. though there is some filler on the album (who’s idea was 100 dollars, anyway?), the vast majority of the album is strong and to the point.

9)japandroids - post-nothing
i had originally dismissed this band as just being another lo-fi act thrown into the indie rock hype machine; all scene and no substance, if you will. HOWEVER, ‘post-nothing’ is actually a fantastic and almost danceable debut. the album is chock full of wonderfully distorted guitars, energetic drums and the songs seem to be made with the soul purpose of seeing how many hooks can be thrown in a single song.

8)silversun pickups - swoon
if i didn't know better, i'd think it's 1992. the band harkens back to the lush sounds of my bloody valentine’s opus, ‘loveless’ and revisits the smashing pumpkins classic ‘siamese dream’ to put together a pretty solid release. although there are a few tracks that leave room for improvement, the best tracks on the album pick up any slack left by the lesser tracks. if the band continues on their pumpkins-esque musical journey, hopefully their next album will be comparable to ‘mellon collie and the infinite sadness’.

7)russian circles – geneva
russian circles is one of the bands that have been on my radar for some time, but for one reason or another, i’ve never gotten around to listening to them until more recently. after experiencing their live show, which was at the newer chicago venue lincoln hall, located (quite obviously) at 2424 lincoln avenue, i immediately obtained their newest effort ‘geneva’. the title track ends up tearing the listener to shreds at a little before the two minute mark, where guitars lift you higher than any city skyscraper enter the previously sparse song and a mere minute later a crushing bass riff (the studio version doesn’t do justice to what they do live) hurtles the listener back down to a cold pavement. the band continues this pattern for the rest of the album, but they reach perfection during the closing track philos, a somewhat slower and more serene piece which eventually takes off into explosions in the sky-esque territory and finishes with a reflective guitar melody and eventually white noise. the album definitely an exhausting musical journey, but it’s well worth it.

6)the paper chase - someday this could all be yours, vol. 1
there’s an old saying i’ve heard on many an occasion that states: ‘everything is bigger in texas’. the paper chase, hailing from dallas, prove this to be true; ‘someday this could all be yours’ is a schizophrenic experimental album that tells tales of natural disasters and the people who get caught in them. beginning with if nobody moves, a hypnotic track which features what sounds like a marching band from hell and vividly paints a picture of human extinction, the listener is instantly entrapped. the rest of the album tackles forest fires, mass hysteria, floods, blizzards and ends with the human condition itself and even though the majority of the album is an a major key, i can’t think of many albums that are as menacing as this one.

5)the decemberists - the hazards of love
the people at pitchfork media, as they seem to be almost trying to do these days, have left a sour taste in my mouth after rating this album a 5.7 on their animal collective-centered rating scale. will they ever learn? the answer is probably not, but that’s why we have blogs. the hazards of love sees the decemberists exploring even more territory than they have with their past release ‘the crane wife’. though not as good as the picture perfect ‘picaresque’, i don’t think that colin and company were really trying to make a great ‘pop’ album. so, instead of focusing on great individual songs, the band proves here that the sum is greater than the parts; ‘hazards’ is a sprawling 17 song epic about love, transformation, and death. oh, and heavy metal.

4)cursive - mama, i’m swollen
a saddle creek flagship; cursive proves that art isn’t as hard as they had once claimed, or at least the very least, they sure make it seem easy. ‘mama, i’m swollen’ is a monstrous improvement from the lackluster happy hollow and bolstering songs such as the first single from the hips, the poppy i couldn't love you, and the epic closer what have i done?, cursive shows the doubters that they’re still

3)m. ward-hold time
2009 has, it seems, brought my love of straight forward pop music to a close and has brought a newfound love of folk music into my life of all the folk artists i’ve been listening to since in my time, there are very few that i enjoy more than matt ward; and with the release of both the adorable she & him album last year and this year’s offering ‘hold time’ he shows that his craft is truly one of a kind. there’s a certain rustic feel to all of his music that no one else has been able to replicate, and even when the production is pristine, that sound still shines through. his guitar work (as if anyone doubted) is second to none.

2)the antlers-hospice
i'm not too original for having this one near the top of my list, i suppose; many others already have and many more will be ranking ‘hospice’ near the top of their lists, but the album deserves as much recognition as possible. That being said, there's not much i can really say that hasn't already been said about this album already; it’s epic, beautiful, and heartbreaking. the album hasn't gotten any less desolate sounding or any less stunning since i first listened to it, and i doubt it will.

1)califone-all my friends are funeral singers
i came across califone after a recommendation from a good friend of mine. she told me that i needed to hear their 2001 effort ‘roomsound’, and after checking it out i was blown away; the band finds a way to harness classic folk sounds with some post-rock and other experimental sounds. fast forward a few weeks and i had acquired their most recent album ‘all my friends are funeral singers’ and, after hearing just the first track, giving away the bride, which features a drum machine and folk guitar riffs, i knew this was something special. the album highlight is funeral singers, which features an amazing film to go with the song (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJh2JPotmAs), which is by far one of the most moving songs i’ve heard in a long while. thank god for recommendations.

-mark.

Introducing a new writer: Mark Jaeschke

my name is mark and i’m not the kid of guy who is known for having a fantastic memory. i’m not dumb by any means, i just sometimes have trouble remembering little things on occasion. be it those silly one month anniversary celebrations with a girlfriend (i mean, celebrating those are dumb anyway…right?), math equations...during my first year in middle school, i had grades that were on a constant descent throughout the entire year. starting off with a b the first quarter, i dropped to a b- the second, and a c+ to a c- for the third and fourth quarters, respectively. and even after my dismal performance throughout the year, the math department decided it would be a spectacular idea to throw me into the honors program. you can imagine how well that went. hell, i even have trouble remembering birthdays. i recently was at a hospital for some blood work and when asked by a worker for the date of my father’s birth, i furiously racked my brain for about thirty seconds trying to remember the date, but it was to no avail…some son i am. needless to say, i could continue to list off examples of when hippocampus has failed me, but i would end up writing a novel.

and yet for all of the important dates, facts, and ideas that i should have memorized, there are an abundance of life happenings that i shouldn’t remember which have somehow all impressively lodged themselves inside the walls of my brain. a prime example of this enigma includes when a young mark placed a toy camel outside by a tree in my backyard, only to wake up the next morning and find that my little plastic dromedary had ran off. the poor thing was probably picked up by a bird, ripped to shreds, put into a birds nest and then shat upon by baby birds. what a miserable existence. another, more fitting, of my memories was a when a young, and apparently quite narcissistic, me was watching videos my parents had taped of my baby years (don’t laugh, i’m sure most of you have those videos too) where i saw myself to elvis presley in my basement. there were also many youthful memories of mine revolve around listening to oldies 104.3 in my mother’s soccer mom van. sadly, oldies 104.3 is no longer in existence and has since been reformatted into jack fm where they ‘play what they want’, meaning they play the same four or five def leppard or ccr songs on a constant loop. the bastards. growing up with groups like the beatles, the who and yes constantly being played throughout my house as a kid added a strange quirk to my already hyperactive personality. that also reads as ‘i was a weird little motherfucker when i was growing up’.

it is needless to say that not many kids growing up in suburbia circa 1994-1999 were big into classics like baba o’riley or strawberry fields forever. no; instead most of my peers were sporting their limp bizkit hoodies, baggy pants and spiky hair (feat. blonde highlights) or were wearing sweats with terms such as ‘juicy’ on the rear while singing the latest spice girls single. oddly enough, since starting at columbia, i think i’ve heard the song 2 become 1 at least five times or so. strange. so, completely unable to relate to my classmates, i would wander the halls of patton elementary in shirts i had gotten with my family while on vacation (my favorite being a tee-shirt of a shark about to feast upon a school of innocent fish, perpetually stuck in a moment of terror, as they are about to be made into the shark’s next meal, which my parents had purchased for me while we were vacationing in florida), old navy jeans and ratty sneakers, looking for some other outsider to talk about why revolver is far superior to sgt. pepper’s lonely hearts club band (it still is) or debate whether or not the who’s keith moon could beat zep’s bonzo in a drum off (i’d have my money behind keith, for the record). luckily enough, i found a few people who i could talk shop with. though i was far from being ‘cool’ in elementary school, my small group of friends enjoyed each others company. by the time i arrived in middle school, the number of peers i could talk to about the oldies grew exponentially. while i was there, i learned about egypt (the only thing i still remember from that class is that making paper mâché mummy coffins is the best possible way spend class time), how to practice safe sex in health class and most importantly about bands like weezer and the mighty smashing pumpkins. outside of school, i ventured into the world of blogging, via xanga.com, and attended many very very very bad emocore shows at local venues. i was in my prime during these adolescent years.

in high school, i flirted with heavy metal acts ranging from the bay area thrash group, testament, to hollywood’s finest sleazeballs, guns n’ roses, and all the while, still listening to my favorite alt/classic rock groups. however, this greatly confused many of my metalhead cronies, who would give me strange looks when i’d sport a nirvana shirt to their shows. in fact, many would be quickly grow engraged and scream at me for supporting the man who single-handedly killed off hair/thrash/prog metal in one fell swoop with a song called smells like teen spirit. needless to say, by my senior year, i had begun to lose interest in the genre; my neck has suffered permanent and irreversible damage from going to many a metal show and i lost interest as to whether or not axl rose’s magnum opus, chinese democracy, would ever see the light of day (it finally was released to a less than stellar fanfare and mediocre sales. that being said, the album is really pretty good.) and started to dive further into what most people define as ‘indie rock’. having already been familiar with a few of the saddle creek bands, as well as the decemberists (whom i initially despised), i spent lots of time listening to new bands who i was less than familiar with. this trend continued into my freshman year at depaul when i began to start writing reviews for shows i’d attend or albums i’d listen to. i eventually became a regular writer in the depaulia magazine and met many wonderful people while writing said articles.

so now, a year and a few, four to be exact, months after i sent in the first album review of many in to my editor at the depaulia, i sit in my room pounding the keys of my computer, a task that seems almost foreign now, to complete a biography of sorts which is to go along with my ‘best of 2009’ list. and although writing again seemed strange at first, there’s something about writing something that isn’t a twenty-one page paper on the decline of the music industry for my art and business of recording technology class that is very refreshing. not only is it refreshing, but it’s also odd to see that old habits (read: writing too way too much) seem to diehard. i had intended on originally writing a mere paragraph or two long synopsis as to who i am and why i am re-entering the blogosphere. but that would have been too easy! so i end up spewing out what seems more like the beginning of a tedious / boring memoir that probably only three people (two of them would be my parents) on planet earth would be interested in reading than the two paragraphs i had intended to write.

oh well.

anyway, despite my self proclaimed mediocre memory, i plan to keep writing music related blurbs on a semi-regular basis and hopefully branch into movie / art / whatever writings as well. now, whether or not i can think of anything interesting enough to say that isn’t show / album related is a totally different story, but there will hopefully be at least something to read every so often. so, in attempts to refrain from any more rambling, i will end with a lyric:

brosandi / hendumst í hringi / höldumst í hendur / allur heimurinn óskýr / nema þú stendur.

uhhh…yeah. right.

-mark.

Top moments, downfalls, and people of 2009 according to: Courtney

10. Karen O and the Kids / Where the Wild Things Are
Few things get me out of my house in the middle of the night where there are hoards of people. Taco Bell is one of them, and this past semester it was a midnight screening on the opening night of Where the Wild Things Are. A Text From Last Night pretty much sums up the night: “It looks like a Radiohead concert had sex with Hot Topic”- or something like that. The entire theater was full of college kids like myself and I had actually had my ticket for a full two weeks before the screening. It was all quite worth it though. The movie was fantastic, and Karen O was just recently, and rightfully, nominated for an award for her work on the soundtrack that perfectly captures the pains and joys of being young.


9. Lady Gaga
I’m not the hugest Gaga fan, and I still haven’t even gotten my hands on her most recent album. As a student at an art school, though, I’ve learned to develop a great appreciation for what she does. Sure, she looked like a giant bloody tampon at the VMA’s, and sometimes those lacy veils she wears are creepy as hell. But isn’t that what art and fashion is about? Pushing it to places where none have gone before? I’d say so, and she does exactly that. Gaga is more than just a pop tart. Beyond her bizarre sense of style, she has become a huge advocate for gay marriage, and continues to raise the bar with her music videos - which are actually more of a short film than anything else. So even though I am not “gaga for Gaga,” I still became a supporter of what she does.

8. Kanye stealin’ the mic.
Okay, so everyone knows that Kanye West is kind of an asshole. Which was why it wasn’t THAT surprising when he stole the mic from little Taylor Swift at the VMA’s when she won video of the year. Maybe I’ll get some flack from this, but I thought it was hilarious. My jaw did drop in disbelief, and I did feel a little bad for Taylor (mostly because she plays that innocent role so damn well...). But then...it was hilarious. There were countless jokes made out of it and seeing them even today cracks me up. “Yo Neil, I’m really happy for you and I’mma let you finish, but Michael Jackson had the best moonwalk of all time! Of all time!” Things like that.

7. Adam Lambert losing American Idol
I don’t think anyone saw this one coming. I’m not the biggest American Idol fan in the world, but I did follow this season, especially because I thought Lambert was one of the most exciting people I had ever seen on the show. His voice was dynamic, outfits always put together well, and from the start, he blew everyone out of the water. Yet, little Jason Mraz-esque Kris Allen beat him out. WTF?

6. Fall Out Boy breaking up.
Not going to lie, I’m a Fall Out Boy fan. I’ve been stuck on them since 7th grade or so, and no one can deny their smart lyrics. They’re almost too catchy and poppy to resist, and without a doubt they were one of the biggest pop-punk bands of the last half of the decade. When they broke up, I will admit to being a little sad.

5. The Amazing Concerts I went to.
When I was living in Michigan, I was lucky to make it to one or two concerts a year. I live in a tiny town with zero concert venues, and the closest ones are hours away. In the Spring, I saw Margot and the Nuclear So & So’s with Cloud Cult and Ice Palace in Grand Rapids. It was incredible. Since I’ve moved to Chicago, though, I have been to four amazing shows. Empires with the Felix Culpa and the Dear Hunter, Lightning Love with Pet Lions, Brand New with Manchester Orchestra, and Nico Vega with Neon Trees. Incredible shows, and I can’t wait to add more to the list.

4. Single Ladies by Beyonce.
This is another thing that I’m not a huge fan of. The dance in the video though has been recreated so many times that it’s practically viral. From plus sized ladies, to babies, to Joe Jonas and Justin Timberlake, everyone was rocking the black leotard and getting fierce with it. Also, thanks to the videos that are always playing in the Columbia College cafeteria, I know the song word for word and can probably do most of the dance since the damn thing is played at least three times a meal.

3. Michael Jackson’s Death
I’m not sure anyone really saw this coming. Without a doubt, Michael Jackson has made one of the largest influences in the music world. With his dance moves and all of those hit singles, he had rightfully earned his title as the King of Pop. But Michael wasn’t the only star to leave us, and this ear was definitely the year of unexpected deaths. Farrah Fawcett, Patrick Swayze, Ted Kennedy, Brittany Murphy, Jimmy ‘the Rev’ Sullivan, David Carradine, Billy Mays, DJ AM, and loads more. RIP all of you bright souls.

2. Barack Obama being sworn into office
This was an amazing moment for me. I did tons of campaigning for Barack Obama in the fall, and had to deal with racist and republican asshole’s from my town while I went door to door trying to spread the word on this brilliant man. Now his first year in office is coming to an end, and I have no regrets for rooting so hard for our new president.


1. Moving to Chicago.
Since eighth grade I have wanted to live in the Windy City, and now I am finally living here and going to the school I’ve always wanted. It’s opened up so many doors for me, I’m getting a great education, and I’ve been having the time of my life. Sure, I will probably be in debt up to my eyeballs by the time I graduate, but it’s all one hundred percent worth it. I’ve made great friends and great memories and I’m in love with my life.

Happy New Year, everyone!

Top 5 Albums of 2009 According to : Sara Garcia

5. John Mayer – Battle Studies
I already know I’m going to get tons and tons of shit for this. I’m normally one of those “anti-commercial” people who hates mainstream media and can’t bear the thought of listening to such an album. However, Mayer has honestly put one of the greatest “chill out” albums of our time. I will go as far as saying “Who Says” is our generation’s “I Want You” by Third Eye Blind (does anyone remember that song? SO GOOD.).

4. Thursday – Common Existence
Again, another example of a band that has been around for a long time and has been able to keep up with the times and not fall short of themselves. This album reminds me of Full Collapse and War All the Time which are two of my favorite albums. If you like old Thursday material, you’ll like Common Existence.

3. Endless Hallway – Autonomy Games
For approximately three and a half years, I’ve been waiting for Endless Hallway to come out with an album. This band has been one of my favorites all through high school and never fails to bring back some of the greatest memories. A full-length from this band was so long awaited that when I found out they’d come out with it, I had to have it immediately. This albums is one of those albums that sits in your car all the time, due to the fact that it’s such a great-sounding album and so nice to drive to.

2. The Color of Violence – Youthanize
This album sums up everything you think about society in a nutshell and it’s pretty amazing how quickly they do it. I don’t think any band aside from Daughters or Outbreak has come as close to “For the morally well-endowed. Let the "Body of Christ" bless our bank accounts!!” The lyrics on this album just blow my mind and after seeing them live, I still can’t find everything. Their cover of “Rock Music” by the Pixies is spot on and I will never be able to get over how great it is.

1. Portugal. The Man – The Satanic Satanist
Number one album of the year. This album invokes every calm cell in your body and it just puts you in so much of a better place. I can’t think of anything else in the past decade besides Sigur Ros’ material that puts you in such a calm place. Everything about this album says “put on a pair of headphones and go sit down in your recliner because you’re going to chill out for the entire duration of this album.” I really haven’t been able to stop listening to it.

Honorable Mentions for 2009:
The Color Morale – We All Have Demons (Congratulations boys, you’ve put out a full-length that so many people enjoy, couldn’t be more proud of you.)
Animals as Leaders – Self-Titled
The Appleseed Cast – Sagarmatha
Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest
Metric - Fantasies
Russian Circles – Geneva
Thrice - Beggars

Show Experience: Neon Trees and Nico Vega

I'm starting to get to know my way around Chicago venues. First it was the Beat Kitchen, then the Aragon Ballroom, and my most recent concert on Tuesday the 15th took me to Schuba's for Neon Trees and Nico Vega. I only just got into Nico Vega a few weeks ago, but I will still excited to see this band. Their press release said their shows are 'quite possibly the most explosive live show you will ever see,' and of course, I had to see if they would live up to that kind of reputation.

Pictures are taken by me....as you can tell, I'm not a photographer.



The first band was a four-piece from Utah, Neon Trees. The bar was not yet crowded for this band, and I had only listened to a few songs of theirs when I saw they were on the bill with Nico Vega. They put an a great set. The drums and bass were heavy, which made their songs easy to move to, and the electronics provided by the lead vocalist gave their sometimes melancholy lyrics a dancey quality. Not going to lie, I also couldn't help but notice how the lead singer continued to become unbuttoned. After starting out with a tight suit coat, vest, button up shirt, and tie, he ended up with the coat gone, the tie off, the vest unbuttoned, and some chest was definitely revealed. I actually felt a little bad that the crowd was not that big, because they are definitely ones to look out for in the world of rock music.





Once Neon Trees was done tearing down their equipment, the crowd tripled in size and we waited in anticipation for Nico Vega. The guitarist and drummer got everything on stage set up, and then left us to wait for a full half an hour. Once they took the stage though, it was easy to see that we were in for a show. The guitarist, who set up the stage in a black pea coat and pants, had changed into a fur vest and glittery jeans. The lead singer, Aja, was clothed in a floor length black vintage gown with gold and silver shiny stripes on it. She was also wearing a big, black cape. A fucking cape.

This band is practically un-human. After their first song, Aja looked out at the crowd and posed the question: "what did we do to deserve all of you?" They answered the question for us. With only a two people in the band providing music, they had a full bodied rock-n-roll sound. And with a vocalist like Aja, they definitely have to work. One of the most powerful voices I have ever heard live, and the woman is all over the place. On the floor, against the guitarist, on top of the drums, from one side of the stage to the next, and then to the center where she practically leers over the audience as she howls out the lyrics. If one was standing still for some reason, they would've been able to feel the distressed wooden floors of Schuba's shaking under their feet the entire time from everyone jumping and dancing and singing along. Aja owns the stage with her interpretive dance moves and gestures. The guitarist and drummer back her up perfectly with a hard rock sound. They lived up to their press release and so much more. Definitely one of the best bands I have ever seen live.

Nico Vega is still on tour with Neon Trees, so be sure to check their myspace and see if they are coming to a venue near you. You won't want to miss it.

DIY Mondays: Sam Pura of The Panda Studios

Sam Pura owns and runs a recording business in San Jose, CA called The Panda Studios. He grew up in California and graduated from Ex’pression College of the Digital Arts in Emeryville, CA. Since then, he has been successful at producing albums for bands like Heavy Heavy Low Low and North.

What experiences most prepared you for recording bands?
I always try and defend myself to that question and say "building my studio and running my own gigs was how I learned. I did go to ECDA in Emeryville CA for audio production, but I don't like to give them much credit for my experience. Really the way I learned was talking to my friend's bands and whoring myself out to them trying to record the best people I could for literally free. The HHLL - Fuck It album was made by paying me $70 for example... I knew that offering my services for free to bands with a larger following would help my recording services. I figured that if a lot of people are listening to my records, a lot of people would positively respond to it and want to bring their musical projects to record with me.

What was the "driving factor" in entering music?
I'm not sure what you exactly mean but I'll approach it like this. I'm genetically made to record music. I never did well in school, I was kicked out of my catholic college prep high school for a 2.1 GPA. I never applied myself in areas I didn't enjoy. Instead I would sit in class thinking about music all the time, wanting to be playing my guitar or something rather than sit in chemistry. Thankfully I had a reliable upbringing and my mom was very understanding to my feelings about school and she instead pushed me to go to ECDA. My Dad on the other hand was a little disappointed at the time and basically stopped giving a shit about what I do, and my sister was an honor student at my high school, graduated in the top 5 of her class and went to UCLA. There has always been a lot of example on what true success is to me, and it's always pushed me to take my involvement with music to the next level.

I always kind of viewed myself as a loser, but when I'm involved with producing music, I can feel that thats where I belong.

How did you start The Panda Studios?
Great question. I used to dodge it all the time and I'll explain. My family got divorced when I was a junior in high school. My sister went away to college and my dad moved to Finland. So pretty much it was just me and my mom during my final days of high school. When I started ECDA, I said to my mom "Mom, if I want to go make this a career, I need to start right now. There are so many classes in that school and only 3 are dedicated to recording bands... and thats all I want to do." So my mom agreed and pretty much started The Panda Studios. She bought me my originals microphones and Pro Tools. Over the years while going to school, I found a live-in recording studio. Thankfully she paid my rent while I went to school, and I literally never went to school (got suspended by the way from ECDA for consistent absences hahaha) and recorded every day. Spent literally every dollar I had on more and more gear until I graduated.

People always ask me how I started and it always makes me feel so lucky to be in the position I am. "How do I start a studio man?" ...umm you need like $10,000 and then you need to dedicate the rest of your life to upgrading that gear and staying current. It sucks... it's a very hard world to get into.

What are the trends you see in your current business? Do you record more during a certain time of the year, certain bands, etc.
Not really unfortunately. The biggest trend is that everyone is broke, and I had to redesign my rates and expenses to answer that demand. Everyone wants to make records, but no one wants to spend a lot of money on it. It's tough.

What has been the hardest part about owning and running The Panda Studios? The most rewarding?
The hardest part is feeling like a loser. I live at my girlfriend's for free, and I can't afford health insurance. It's a hard career with a lot of low points, but the most rewarding experiences would have to be when people contact me to tell me how much they enjoy the music I've been apart of. That's the entire reason for the studio, is to bring better music to the world.

What advice would you give to someone who wants to enter the music business in recording?
I always tell them not to go to school. ;) It's really expensive and all of my friends who went to ECDA with me and had student loans to pay for it, are all in careers not related to audio. You basically put yourself into $90k of debt to go to a school to learn to record bands, and then once you are in the world the only available positions are in other states, and they are unpaid internships. It's just not a logical choice. Go knock on studio doors today and get an unpaid internship before you commit to school, or just start recording bands yourself at your house. It's not hard to get great sounds with very little & cheap gear. It's all about your mind. If you can think smart, you can figure out a way to be involved with recording artists.

How do you find the artists you record / How do they find you?
It's pretty much all word of mouth. Bands discovering bands with good recordings and then look at the linear notes to find my information. That's the usual way, I've never attempted to advertise. The new studio will definitely have some new advertising ideas to unveil, but mainly it's all word of mouth for the past 6 years.

When it comes to music and listening to other songs not recorded or mixed by yourself, what's the first thing that comes to mind? Do you critique it?
All the time. The best engineers are always "critically listening". The best education is using your ears to identify why things sound good or bad.

Have you ever encountered a situation while recording that made you uncomfortable?
Every day I record! There are always awkward moments, and the majority of times I don't really handle them too well. I'm really succinct with my statements and sometimes that comes across as rude to new individuals. It's hard to balance an awkward situation... like a female vocalist crying because she's frustrated with the bad quality of her voice, or educating a frustrated artist on why what they are doing doesn't sound good and how to improve that. It's very hard and definitely really puts people on the spot when they are paying me hourly for my time. No one wants to pay someone to identify all the weak points in you, but thats exactly what my job is.

What's the next project you're about to start on?
The new studio build. Once that's done, we're going to launch a new website with 24/7 video streaming in the studio for viewers to follow along with their favorite bands recording process. Also starting a podcast and interview TV show with artists on tour that stop by the studio. Hopefully those new projects will bring more curiosity to the studio and bring better bands. As far as musical projects, I am going to finish the new HHLL full length, and start on a STZ 5-inch. Nothing really too big planned besides making the space that should ideally bring more artists through.

When you get a career in doing something you love, is it really all just one huge party? Or do you actually have to be responsible with what you do?
It's a very hard career, but I love it. Everyone thinks it's a party because I smoke weed all the time (legally of course) and post pretty awesome pictures and video occasionally. But it's a hard life. If I could go back and do it all over again, I wouldn't be recording bands. I'd be a doctor making the Benjamin's. ;) Starting your own business costs so much money. Taxes rape me from my potential earnings, and the economy and home recording industry forces me to compete with lower prices. It's a hard things, and that's why most people don't do it.

I love what I do though, and the challenge is finding a way to support my life with recording bands. Everyone says the hardest work is the most rewarding and maybe someday I'll hit it huge and be mainstream. But until then, I'm just trying to bring better music to the world and work with bands that inspire me to push myself and deliver recordings that continue to raise the bar for me.

For more information on Panda Studios, check out thepandastudios.com

Scrambler Seequill : Free music!

It's always fun finding little hardly-discovered gems on the internet. But like most good things in life, sometimes you just have to wait for those gems to find you. The gem that I am currently talking about is the lovely duo depicted above, Scrambler Seequill. The two of them, Michael Gamble and Devin Febroriello, have banded together to create a group with an incredibly unique sound. The drum-heavy band comes complete with the occasional electronic blurb and the ghostly (aka: haunting) vocals of Febroriello, giving them the sound of modern day thrashers that had a meeting with a band from the '70's.

Scrambler Seequill is currently gearing up to release their album 'Secret Passageway.' To celebrate that, they are offering a free download of four of their tracks. To download these songs and preview the album, click HERE. You shall not be disappointed.

Scrambler Seequill's myspace.

Show Experience: Twin Tigers, As Tall As Lions, Minus the Bear

After a super long week of work (Thrice, The Academy Is..., The Devil Wears Prada), I got to enjoy myself at a wonderful show down in Dekalb at Otto's bar. I've been waiting years to see Minus the Bear and seeing As Tall as Lions was just the icing on the cake for me.


The first band up was Twin Tigers, a band from Athens, GA. This band was so incredibly great to watch and had such a great stage presence. I honestly can't get over how great of a choice they were to bring on tour with Minus the Bear and ATAL.



As Tall As Lions was up next and this band has been such an inspiration to me over the past few months. They played material off of their new(ish) album, You Can't Take It With You, as well as some of their older stuff. If you ever in your life get the chance, you have to see this band. It's one of those bands that's in the top 50 bands to see before you die. The stage was fairly crowded with all of their instruments, but it was awesome to watch them get around to playing the trumpet or keyboard or steel drums because when you have that many people on stage and a small amount of room, you have to get creative.





Last up, but most definitely not least -- Minus the Bear. The Seattle-based quintet has been one of those bands that won't ever get old for me. I've been listening to them since high school and I don't think I'll ever stop listening to them because the music they make is so unique compared to what's out there. You won't hear songs like this on the radio at all. They played one of my favorite songs first, "Knights" off of their "Planet of Ice" album. Some new stuff was tossed in there and then some songs off of their EP, "Beer Commercials." The funny thing was, I kept getting e-mails or texts and each time I would go to check them, their guitarist was about three inches from my face when I went to look back up. ...and of course they played an encore. That's just how good the band is. Minus the Bear is another one of those top 50 bands to see before you die.
*All photos taken by Sara Garcia*

PacTour : Photos and Review by Alice Xiao

This past Thursday I had the chance to shoot the PacSun Tour at the House of Blues in Chicago, IL (Huge thanks goes out to Big Picture Media). I’ve been looking forward to this day for about a month and I ended up getting pretty sick the week of, but I wasn’t about to cancel. I take what I do seriously, therefore rain or shine, sick or not, I dragged my butt out of bed and walked to the venue.

In case some of you didn’t know the line up for the tour consisted of Eye Alaska, InnerPartySystem, POS, and Soasin. I started my journey by checking in with will call for my photo pass, which I ended up losing my pass sometime in the middle of the night.

The Fireship kicked off the show, this is the band that won the PacTour battle of the bands for Chicago. I was pretty upset I walked in during the middle of the set because they’re a pretty solid band and they’re singer was dressed very well, just thought I’d add that in there. You can checked them out at: http://www.myspace.com/thefireship I promise you will not regret it.




Eye Alaska is a multi genre band that formed in 2006 from Orange County, CA. They signed to Fearless Records in 2008 and recently released their debut full length album, “Genesis Underground” in July 2009. Starting off their set with Brandon Wronski casually walking onto stage rocking rain boots, a backpack, a fancy sweater while eating an apple. Before this year I knew nothing about Eye Alaska, I decided to check them out a few months ago and they easily became one of my favorite bands. Eye Alaska has adopted a unique sound; with intricate sounds that mesh with harder beats, it’s hard to put a finger on what genre they really are. Not only has this band developed their own signature sound, but their performance was very unique as well. Everything from their wardrobe to the tiniest movements separated them from man of the bands I’ve seen live. It’s safe to say
that these boys have swag and that’s something you guys will have to go check out for yourself. They performed two of my favorites that night (American Landslide and Walk like a Gentleman) and their stage presence was great. With Brandon’s balancing act and their unique style, Eye Alaska is definitely worth checking out live.


RADIO LIVE TRANSMISSION! InnerPartySystem, a synth rock band formed in Pennsylvania, came to the town with a light show! I met these guys back in July at The Vans Warped Tour and they are definitely some of the coolest guys around! They started off their set with a cover of Joy Division’s “Transmission,” which happens to be one of my favorites. Usually I’m not a fan of cover songs, but IPS definitely took this song and made it their own. Their talent and understanding of their equipment/instruments definitely show through their music, they are a blast to watch and of course, dance to. The crowd livened up as IPS hit the stage bringing their electronic sound and the light show. If you have never heard or seen IPS live, you are in for a treat.



Moving on into the night. I think that most people would agree with me when I say, POS is the man! Stef (Stefon Alexander or P.O.S.) is a rapper and insanely talented musician from Minneapolis, Minnesota. I first witnessed one of his many great performances at the Vans Warped Tour this past July, where he performed not on stage, but in the middle of the pit. Don’t think this guy knows nothing of the rock n’ roll culture, chances are he probably knows more about it than most musicians. He brought the energy level way up on the PacTour. People who didn’t know who POS was definitely was not expecting a rapper to be on the tour. The great thing about Stef’s music is that he isn’t afraid to break boundaries, he says what’s on his mind and isn’t afraid to call out the issues with pop culture or politics. When the crowd appeared to be “tired” he wouldn’t continue with his performance until they “woke up” and sung along with him. He kept his optimism alive throughout the set and it’s clear that By the end of his set, he had the entire room demanding for another song.





Finally, the night ends with a wonderful performance by Soasin, an alternative rock band from Newport Beach, CA. I’ve been listening to these guys since way back in the day, it was sad to see Anthony Green go, but Cove has been a great asset to the band. As each member took their positions on stage, the crowd cheered in excitement. The band kicked off their set with “Secrets” as kids jumped and sang along. A couple more security guards came in five minutes into the set, because things started to get a bit rough. The night continued with the band cracking a few jokes. Being a huge fan of Anthony Green, I was
hesitant to see Saosin at first. Although it’s been a few years since Anthony’s depart, I find that some people still feel that he made the band. However, seeing Saosin perform with Cove Reber it finally made me realize that Cove is a great choice for a front man, an amazing vocalist, and well, he made me laugh with a few jokes.

Well, that was my experience at the 2009 PacSun Tour. If it hasn’t hit your city yet, I recommend you purchase a ticket and attend the show. It was a blast to shoot the show, although there were probably eight people in the photo pit (talk about crowded!) the bands did amazing and each one had their own unique performance. I hope you enjoyed my babbles and photos, remember more photos can be found on www.flickr.com/photos/alicelolz.

Show Experience: Anberlin, Scarlett, and Action Madison

All photo credit goes to Sara Garcia
About a week ago, I got the awesome chance to see Anberlin. They played a few minutes north of my house at this venue called Chubby Rain. The openers, Scarlett and Action Madison were both local bands and I have to say Action Madison, you are definitely growing on me like mold on bread.

Anberlin opened up with Godspeed and holy crap, their set was so amazing. They had this awesome light show going and you really just had to be there to appreciate everything. Really, the winning point was when they covered "True Faith" by New Order. Come on, guys, 80's music, win

If you're from the Northern Illinois area, definitely check out Chubby Rain. Thrice is playing there next Tuesday and if you can, get tickets, ASAP. From what I've heard, they're going fast, if they haven't sold out yet. Also, The Academy Is... will be there next Thursday and yours truly will be working. This is a small hint of what's to come. ;)