Still Bill

I watched this trailer like 8 times already. I cant wait to see this.

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I promise

Love vs. Money is the shit. The best mixes and production so far this year. Dave and Jaycen definately did their thing on this album. Heres a vid I totally swagger jacked form the homie Apollo and his blog again lol. Dream works on two of the joints in less than 2 hours. Craziness.

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Have You Ever...

Wondered what made certain pieces of gear more desirable than others? Or what was the distinction between an 1176 siver face model as oppossed to the black face model? Well while searching the net for info like this back in my intern days I came across a dope article first published in Mix Magazine in 1996 on the Mercenary Audio Site all about vintage recording equipment and why some models are highly sought after more so than others. I usually dont nerd out on such facts but I have to admit a bit of this knowledge goes along way when choosing what outboard gear to use for certain sessions or clients. I was lucky enough to intern a major facility with a nice collection of outboard gear to try out when i wanted to experiment. But as anything in audio i suggest trying out what sounds good to YOU, to hell with what you read until you can decide for yourself if it sounds good or not. Peep the link and enjoy!

http://www.mercenary.com/readguidtovi.html

Learn All About It

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Happy Bday

Its Mile's born day today, and in honor of this glorious occasion, Ive decided to post a super random picture of him that coincidentally doubles as my iphone backdrop for when he calls. Happy B Day pimp!

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Studio Story 3

Jesse is a fool

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In The A

So I wanna aim more posts towards production tips and video's atleast every now and again for all the producers that are into the blog. I appreciate the work you all put in and I really admire the process that goes in for making beats. I would sit and watch Jlack make beats all the time cause he was so sick, its inspiring. Heres some more video's from the good ole folks at youtube with Atlanta's finest Shawty Redd and Zaytoven. If I did make beats they would probably come out like this.

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Tricks of The Trade: Quantizing Audio In Protools

So me and some engineer friends were talking about how some producers arrange their drum parts all live with no sequencing. This may be a lil weird to some of us who are used to the producer programing his drums all in a drum machine, DAW, or using a keyboard. One of the engineers in session at the studio didnt know it was possible, so I decided to share a technique I found. So here's a cool article on how to do so using beat detective and elastic audio.

Learn All About It

At for those who hate to read, I admit the article is a little hard to follow, I found a video straight from digi on quantizing.

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Video Footage: London @ PWR

A cool vid I found with London working on a joint called "She's Gone" with the homie Ryan Toby and produced by the legendary Rodney J. As you all know I love seeing how other engineers work, and Tito is one of the best. I love his mixes and even though the quality of the audio from a youtube video is suspect,it sounds quite good. I see another dope engineer Mike Mill aka Snotty in the background chilling, if your ever at Patchwerk ask for him, he's dope. Rodney also drops some gems on working with MJ and capturing a classic performance.

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In The Mix

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The making of Love vs. Hate

Studio at The Palms. The Dream. Tricky. Dave Pensado. Nuff Said, enjoy. Shouts out to B Luv, I see u.

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BAAAAAAAD BOOOOOOY! : Diddy and Casie "mixing"

Diddy at it once again, dropping some studio footage of him and Cassie in the studio "Mixing", Must Be Love, which sounds incredible, like those Bad Boy singles of old. Im sure Sean C and LV had their hands on this, Im actually excited to see Puff back on it again in the studio doing what he does best, stunting and making hit records. Im not sure how much "mixing" is being done but Im sure he wanted to blast this new song off on the net first and from first listen, the songs jammin.

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IICRLT Part 7: John Mayer At The Crib

So yet another IICRLT post inspired in part by my fellow blogger Apollo, (check out his blog to the right) about John Mayer. I saw that he had some really cool youtube videos posted in the last few weeks and it resparked my love for his music. His last album Continuum was my shit. He's our Eric Clapton, just an amazing musician and songwriter. His music translates so well, its no wonder why so many Hip Hop and R&B acts colaborate with the dude. Looks like he has a pretty decent home setup, I like that he's using an LE
setup to demo out some ideas and work on music that will later get recut im sure at a major facility. Make sure to check out some of his other vids.

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Music University

Hey guys, just getting back in from the Music University seminar were Miles Leslie and myself spoke on engineering and mixing. It was really cool coming back for a second time to speak, the first time as a intern, and now as an established freelance engineer. Miles and Les were great sports, they were up from the previous night working, and just stayed thru this morning to speak. I know they had to be tired, but they still answered the questions and put on a show lol. Some of the other panelists were producers and executives so it was cool seeing all those guys in the same building chopping it up. Got a couple of offers to track and mix some stuff so it was pretty productive.

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Get To Patchwerk...

And peep gridlock live... J, myself, and leslie are speaking on the panel for music university RIGHT NOW ! Offical post to follow im sure... Holler

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HOW I GOT STARTED AND CHASED MY DREAM........

In response to quite a few emails and posts asking the same GENERAL question, here goes.....

I left St.Thomas when I was 18 years old in 1991. ….I enjoyed growing up in St.Thomas….BUT I was so ready to leave.
Immediately after graduation I was on a plane to Orlando where I attended FULL SAIL CENTER FOR THE RECORDING ARTS. My dad got me started by paying my rent for a few months, paying for school, and helping me get my first BUCKET of a car….(I am VERY thankful though). – I was determined not to ask him for ANY more help. During the year I spent at FULL SAIL, I worked in a blockbuster video store part time to pay for my apt and car.

I decided that I was going to move to Atlanta the day I graduated and I did just that. I chose Atlanta because at the time New York and Los Angeles seemed too saturated with people looking for similar work. I had read an article while living in Orlando, about a young up and coming producer named DALLAS AUSTIN, and how he was opening a new studio in Atlanta. I made it my mission in life to find him and work at his studio.
2 weeks after graduation…….MISSION ACCOMPLISHED.

In august 1992, I started out at the lowest possible level in the music industry. I was an intern at the studio. I didn’t make ANY money. I went on food runs, I cleaned the bathrooms, I made coffee, I packed up equipment and just about anything else they needed done at the studio.....FOR FREE. .....IN EXCHANGE, I got the opportunity to be around, observe, learn, and every now and then ask questions. It was an awesome exchange. Besides my part time job (to pay for my car and rent), I would spend every waking hour at the studio. Eventually I moved my way up the ranks and by summertime, 1993, I had became an ASSISTANT ENGINEER. I hadn’t quite started working with Dallas directly. Instead I was working with a handful of engineers and some producers he had signed to him in production deals. I would also work steadily with a host of outside clients that would book studio time there.

As things rolled on, more and more producers noticed that I was pretty good and had potential. Eventually Dallas himself started to take notice and that’s when things really got rolling. I would go on to record and mix my first hit record…Monica’s “DON’T TAKE IT PERSONAL” in 1995.

After that, I continued to work with Dallas closely and consistently as a RECORDING and MIX ENGINEER for the next 6 years. My career REALLY blossomed in that time period because my discography started to get full with names like MADONNA, BOYS II MEN, MICHAEL JACKSON, ARETHA FRANKLIN, TLC, DEBORAH COX, TONI BRAXTON, OUTKAST, BUSTA RHYMES, NOTORIUS B.I.G., 2 PAC, WILL SMITH, and many more big names.

During that time I also started producing records as well. I managed to produce records for 112, ICE CUBE, MACK 10, MONICA, SHANICE, SCARFACE, NIVEA and a few others. Production wasn’t really my focus though. I did it because It was fun, I was good at it, and I made some good money…………..BUT I was PASSIONATE about MIXING records.

In 2001, it was time for me to grow into my own and focus on becoming a MIX ENGINEER. I parted ways with Dallas and made my home over at PATCHWERK STUDIOS (right down the street) where I continue to work to this day. Patchwerk had (and still HAS in my opinion) the best mix room in Atlanta, so it was an easy choice for me……….I ONLY mess with the best.
Since then, I’ve mixed records for so many including JEEZY, CASH MONEY MILLIONAIRES, LIL WAYNE, JAY-Z, EMINEM, 2 PAC, RICK ROSS, LUDACRIS, CHER, SANTANA, MARY J. BLIGE, P. DIDDY, and so on.

I worked VERY hard to get to where I am. I stayed very focused all these years. I HARDLY EVER go out. I don’t goto nightclubs, stripclubs, etc. I don’t smoke or do ANY types of drugs. I rarely drink, AND ONLY when I’m not working. I’m never in the streets chasing women or attention. I take vacations, We goto Disney, Aspen, and Lake Lanier REGULARLY. Other than that…………..I wake up EVERY day goto the studio, work, have fun…………… and EVERY NIGHT, I go home to DORIS (and my unborn child).

This WAS……IS…..AND CONTINUES TO BE…….the story of my success.

I'm glad my story has inspired some in the past and hope it continues to do so for others in the future.

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IICRLT Part 6: Linkin Park and Hov: Collision Course

Hey there guys and gals, another post in my series "If I Could Record Like This". Silly I know but I tend to nerd out on this kind of stuff and really its how I came to love what I do. I definitely admire my peer's work and I stay reading credits on who does what. Anyone who knows me is hip to the fact that Jay-z is like me favorite rapper of all time. I know Brooke can relate, being a fellow Jigga fan, it's one of my goals to record him. I know that shit sounds crazy but it's true, I actually came super close to last year, but thats another story lol. I have all of Linkin Park's albums, probably my 2nd all time favorite band. Their music is just a mash up of all my favorite genre's of music. When MTV decided to do the Mash Up's album, I was stoked that these 2 titans of their respective genre's were chosen to be the first, and only I might add, of the series. It's scary how well the songs, configured from various mix stems and multitracked sessions, merged together almost seamlessly. Only a couple of vocal tracks were actually rerecorded for the album. Here's a clip from the airing taped for MTV. Watching this is crazy, Hov one taking his verses and Mike recording his vocals is amazing. If you dont listen to Linkin Park you should, Im not into their newer stuff, but the first 2 albums are classics. They record alot at one of my favorite studios in La, NRG located in North Hollywood. Cool place check out the site and make sure to peep the studio's, they have an awesome B room with a Moroccan motif thats amazing.

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WAAAAAY over due....

First off, shame on me for taking so long to post. J did an AMAZING job of freaking the blog with a new look, and I can't thank him enough for finally letting me get shine in the headline pic. Ha! I'm glad you guys have been feeling the new look too...I know it sounds lame, but J and I really check out all your comments and ideas so we can have future post about stuff you wanna see.

Anyways...




....this is the reason I"ve been so behind on my posting, I've been on SUPER lock down up at silent...16 plus hour sessions for the past 2 weeks. Its been a great run, but really taxing...plus I was holding out to get some decent pics for you guys! Additional shout out to J for letting me hold the D90 and blessing my pics with tags.

Been Grinding it out with my dude Bangladesh....



He is really chill and great to work with. We always have fun.....

We've been working on a new artist on Def Jam named Unique....



We've done 3 great songs on him, very proud of how that stuff turned out....

Kory's been a contender for most grind hours...hanging in there!



Still going with no sings of slowing down....



But I'm happy it's going well, and after a brief stint with the D90, I can see there is no turning back to iphone antics...I swear I won't disrespect the blog in that way again....API's aside, I'm already setting up a budget for the proper camera. Holler

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