So Much Business About Business

Hello internet. This is Travis. I haven’t written an update on this page since March so as has become my custom, I will update you on all that has been going here at 73 Spring St, #607.

Days and nights have filled up with great music as we’ve begun welcoming BreakThruRadio’s LiveStudio show, hosted by Maia MacDonald. I’ll list the acts below that we’ve hosted. Many of the shows have not aired or gone up on the internet yet but if you follow me on twitter I’ll let you know about them when they emerge.
JOHN BRODEUR
BRASSTRONAUT
BOCA CHICA
OCTOBERMAN
UNDERSEA POEM
THE TWO MAN GENTLEMEN BAND
SHARK?
PATRICK PARK
IVANA XL
STEEL PHANTOMS
SEBASTIAN BLANCK
QUADRON
A MILLION YEARS
QUILTY
THE SEA LIONS
HAVE GUN WILL TRAVEL
THE PAPARAZZI
PET GHOST PROJECT

I’ve also been hosting Ms Drama’s hip hop interview shows for BreakThruRadio as well. So far we’ve welcomed DAS RACIST, PHRESHY DUZIT (Atlantic), HOMEBOY SANDMAN, DRAG-ON, MARKUAAN SMITH, J THE S, TREZURE EMPIRE, MALA REIGNZ, 4EVA, SHANELLE (Cash Money), ERIN CHRISTINE, DAVE VEGAS, JAY BURNA, G.I. JOE, ERIC SOSA, BABY BOI NATE, j.WRIGHT and more.

I’m also still helping to make the Maximum Music Hour hosted by Mr. DJ MOJO, an NYC legend and a champion of all things good and underground. I’m also helping DJ Tinatin make her show on Russian dance music.

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In April I engineered some sessions for a new group calling themselves the NEW YORK COSMOS but good luck Googling that because these guys aren’t a late 70s pro soccer franchise. They do like soccer though and half of them call it “football” because they are Scotish. The NEW YORK COSMOS (and who knows if that name will stick—this project is very new!!!) is made up a nice fellow named Louis, ex/ REMY ZERO belter CINJUN TATE and DOUGIE PAYNE and ANDY DUNLOP from multiplatinum Scotish megaband TRAVIS. We made two songs together.

I recently recorded the sixth TWO MAN GENTLEMEN BAND record which is officially titled Dos Amigos Una Fiesta. ANDY BEAN played 4 string tenor guitar exclusively on this record. THE COUNCILMAN maintained his awesomeness. BRIAN KANTOR drummed. We did the whole thing in five days and it felt luxurious. RICHARD MORRIS and I mixed it and he mastered it. JARED ENGEL lent his highly tuned man-ears to the efforts. Song titles include “Me, I Get High on Reefer,” “Put It In My Ear,” “There’s Something in My Trousers,” “Going Into Business,” “Franklin Pierce,” and “I Like to Party With Girls.” Woah.

My band the UNSACRED HEARTS continued the ridiculously protracted process of making what has turned out to be a sweet record called The Honor Bar. We recently did a session where Serious Business all-stars BRIAN KANTOR and JOSH KAUFMAN joined us.

And speaking of JOSH KAUFMAN we’re very very close to being done with the ROCKETSHIP PARK record which features playing from the usual cast of characters, including DAWN LANDES and BRYAN DEVENDORF of the NATIONAL.

BENJI COSSA’S record is going to have 35 songs on it.

DAN CHEN and his STUHR RECORDS crew has been working with IVANA XL, COLOUR OF CLOUDS, and friend of Bruce Springsteen the lovely Ms. NICOLE ATKINS.

SHANNON FERGUSON finished Mischief Maker with A MILLION YEARS. There’s a big long very informative write up of the process here at Sonic Scoop.

DAMON WHITTEMORE did some good work in here with KRISTEN MUELLER.

CHARLES NEWMAN who makes all MAGNETIC FIELDS’ records was also in here recording some drums.

Then there’s Chief and Bigguy from OHIO but more on that next time…………………………..

Latest very exciting business

Serious Business remains crammed full of music. Here’s a quick run down of what we’ve been up to since my last check-in.

Recently a great imaginary supergroup formed at the studio. I played drums with bassman Mike Dossantos (Apache Beat, the Realistics, the Homosexuals), and guitarman Sean Bones (Sam Champion) on Octagonfrontman Zachary Mexico’s newly conceived solo music. Very inspiring!

Also on the front of my mind is the work I’ve been doing with NYC’s most famous faux-French rock band LES SANS CULOTTES. So far we’ve tracked and mixed 8 songs. A recent mixing session was graced by the wonderfully imposing presence of one Mr. JP Bowersock who you might know as the Strokes’ guru, Julian’s guitar-man or Ryan Adams’ Cardinal-in-chief. Great times.
Here’s a shot of LSC listening to playbacks off of tape:

I spent a day in the studio with HIGGINS‘ Brian Kantor and Kevin Fish (two of my favorite musicians and humans) as they contributed some drums and beautiful miscellany to a very special upcoming project from beloved Elephant 6 underdog MARSHMALLOW COAST (aka M Coast, Andy From Denver). This was great fun and Andy was pleased. Higgins and Andy From Denver have a split 7″ out on SBR.

I recently finished a sweet Serious Business remix for a song from OK GO’s new Dave Fridmann-produced record. No word on when it can be heard but I think it turned out deliciously Gary Glitter-esque.

I’ve begun working on a great handful of tunes with George Pasle’s longtime pop project OVERLORD and that has been an absolute blast. The band sounded great on 2″ tape and George continues to refine the recordings in his own very distinctive and very compelling style.

I’m entering into the final revisions stage of mixing TWO SECONDS TO MIDNIGHT’s full length debut. Big, lush strings ALL THE TIME!

A record I made with MATHEW SNOW & the Way It Was was recently completed and sent off for mastering from our friend Alan Douches at West West Side.

I’ve been doing a lot of work for BreakThru Radio over the past couple of years, helping DJ Mojo and Tinatin craft their shows. Recently I’ve taken on the task of helping BTR record their live in the studio sessions show hosted by Maia McDonald. This project, as well as hosting Ms. Drama’s very entertaining hiphop interview programs, are just getting started at press time. Three cheers for BTR.

Keyboardist / producer Dan Chen has been spending a lot of time here working on great projects with IVANA XL and NICOLE ATKINS (Columbia Records — the big time!). He’s a man’s man.

Shannon Ferguson has been helming the producer’s chair with local NYC hook merchants A MILLION YEARS who are completing their debut full length. Matt Pinfield recently came in for a listen and I felt old when SB first-mate Ben Heller and our new intern Chief Danny had no idea who he was. Shannon’s also been finishing up work on his band FALCON’s new record and it is sounding great!

Serious Business Records projects that continue are:
-BENJI COSSA’s double album charges ahead. Expect the biggest, brightest and weirdest pop record ever.
-THE UNSACRED HEARTS‘ have about 7 years worth of musical shrapnel I’m slowly pushing through and making right. Aside from the long delayed Honor Bar record which is going to be our best (and mellowest by far) record yet there is also going to be a little digi-EP we drop soon which I think is going to be called Night Shift at the Hawk Refinery and features a track with Jordan from Antibalas playing trumpet which I’ll embed for you here. I’ll probably wind up tweaking this mix some more but hear Jordan’s hot lips playing an arrangement written by Josh Kaufman.
THE UNSACRED HEARTS: Don’t Treat Me Like a Stranger by seriousbusiness
-And speaking of Josh Kaufman, ROCKETSHIP PARK’s 2nd album is coming along nicely. Halsey and I spent a few days mixing with Josh upon his return from a season on the road and in Paris. We got amazing work done. It is getting better and better and we’re not settling. I recently hosted a rehearsal for the Garden Grows, Josh’s joint residency with Nate Martinex (Thieving Irons, ex/ Pela) which was a beautiful electricity-free night. Dawn Landes, Lauren Balthrop, Karen Waltuch, Annie Nero, Eric Jackson, Kevin Fish and Brian Kantor joined Nate and Josh to practice as I covertly recorded the proceedings with my AEA R88 stereo ribbon mic. I haven’t listened back to the results yet but one day I will and will remember that jam fondly.
-I started in on a new dancehall flavored magical jam piece with SAADI called “Dodecahedron” and hosted a fully multi-tracked rehearsal that wound up sounding pretty nice.
Here’s a shot of Josh n Benji listening to each other’s emerging records.

Many thanks to new interns Hans, Michelle and Danny.

Love, Travis

So much business

So much business to talk about…

I recorded guitars with ex-Guided By Voices guitar-man Doug Gillard for a tune called C’mon Baby Grace which will appear on a forthcoming Boston Spaceships record, the Spaceships being one of GBV auteur Robert Pollard’s many very active “side” projects. The song sounds like badass Cheap Trick and this was great fun.

I recently did two days of tracking with Yellowbirds, the new project from Apollo Sunshine’s Sam Cohen who as of late has been working a lot as session ace with mega stars like Norah Jones and Shakira. This band is excellent and the non-Cohen players, all asskickers, are George Lewis Jr., Brian Geltner, Wynne Bennett, and Max Koepke.

I spent a couple of great days with Les Sans Culottes, NYC’s favorite fake-French band. It was a real honor to work with these folks who have been at it for over a decade and just keep getting better and better.

I’ve been immersed in remix projects as well, banging out ornate rhythm fests for Hurricane Bells (Steve from Longwave excellent solo jams [Vagrant]) and Serious Business’ own Saadi. Listen here: Saadi - Bad City (Serious Business Remix) by seriousbusiness

Old pal John Biz came in here for a week of sessions in October. The producer of the project was John Carbonella of the Budos Band. Our own Brian Kantor did most of the drumming (and I even sat in for a couple tunes). Dave and Claude from Ween also spent a day as the rhythm section for that project.

Through my good friends in El Jezel (who I recently recorded a bunch of songs with), I’ve had the pleasure of working with Zig Payton’s Two Seconds to Midnight (Sigur Ros-y dreamrock with a string section) and Mathew Snow and the Way it Was (greasy bluesrock bangers).

I recently recorded the first Casual Business session which you’ll be hearing a lot more about in the future. Higgins broke the cherry. It was great. They did a cover of a Turtles song from Turtle Soup.

I’ve also been all up inside of making another record with Benji Cossa for the entirety of 2009. This will most certainly be a Serious Business Records jam and as of now its called II and Benji’s conceptualized it as a double album so who knows when we’ll finish it but god help me it will be a mega-jam.

The Unsacred Hearts wrote a new song here last week but I don’t know what the title is.

Halsey and are going to finish mixing Rocketship Park’s album once and for all very soon.

Shannon is in the studio as I type this putting together the first full length from A Million Years led by Keith Madden (who filled in for Shannon as Longwave’s guitarist on tour this year).

Shannon’s also been working diligently on finishing a full length with his band Falcon.

Dan Chen, purveyor of Stuhr Music has recently moved his operations up in here and has become a much loved member of the extended family.

Also, we recently acquired an LA-2A so we’re very excited about this. It sounds like the heavens.

Love
Travis

P.S. if you wanna follow whats going on in the studio on a more day to day basis follow me on Twitter: