End of an era. . . .

Do you remember the original L-7 Studios in Deerfield Beach? Great place. Great acoustics (though no indoor plumbing + the memorable Robert next door) Ah. . those were great times. Well another era is coming to a close. L-7 Studios will be closing (yes there was indoor plumbing but the leaky roof) But don’t despair– L-7 Studios will be re-opening in a more ‘modern facility complete with indoor plumbing and working A/C’.
And for all you analog lovers- the original Otari tape machine along with the original Soundcraft board will be making a comeback with the much upgraded Pro-Tools. I’m pretty excited about combining the old with the new. So now you can have either all analog/ all digital or a hybrid of the two. Pretty cool.
More info coming soon!

Steel session featuring Me

Just putting down some steel last night in the studio for Morgan Wallace’s new tune “Breathe” produced by Paul Trust.

My Infamous Hagstrom 12 String

Another Saturday in the studio

Working on a new Ross Reuning song for his upcoming album.
With Del strumming on my infamous Hagstrom 12 String (you can love a guitar) and Mike Vullo on my Telecaster (grown men do not – I repeat- do not outgrow their toys) And me at the helm.
I must say a very productive day. Album coming along. Guitar tracks sounding groovy. Feeling groovy!

My Continuing Fascination with Neil Young

He even paints.

From the Wall Street Journal (they appreciate him too)
Neil Young on life on the road, his car collection and the problem with digital music
http://on.wsj.com/1zfgyrX

Bluegrass in Sorrento Italy

While strolling the narrow streets of Sorrento on vacation I thought I heard bluegrass. Maybe. I mean we were in Italy and I expected Italian love songs (which I was humming all day) But I was right, there on a small street on a hot summer day was an Italian Bluegrass Band. And to top it off, they were getting ready to embark on a tour of America. Well, not really a tour. They had a radio station booked. More of a journey to document the roots of bluegrass and country music. And to make a video of their journey through Tennessee, North Carolina and many mountain towns. I predict: It will not be like Italy though we suspect they’ll have a great time in Nashville. (And they sounded pretty good!)

The Summer of Jim Wurster

We’ve always known Jim Wurster had a way with a song. He has a very unique ‘Jim’ quality. It’s hard to put into words so we call it: Jim. (+ we like it a lot) And this summer Jim has been garnering world wide  acclaim with his album ‘Raw’. Who would have known they love modern country so much in Germany?

Here’s the review (first in German) + then the translation for all of you who don’t speak German.

http://www.countryjukebox.de/pages/flash.htm

JIM WURSTER

Der CD-Titel sagt alles: Raw steht für Musik, die befreit von jedem unnötigen Firlefanz, erdig, handgemacht daherkommt und versehen mit knackigen Riffs und Soli zu einer unwiderstehlichen Einheit aus Americana, Roots und Folk-Rock verschmilzt. Unter der Regie des Produzenten Bob Wlos verliert der Sänger und Songschreiber JIM WURSTER aus Miami, Florida nie das Wesentliche, die Songs, aus den Augen, legt Schicht für Schicht über Schicht zu einem faszinierenden Soundgebilde zusammen. Neben fünf eigenen Liedschöpfungen wie dem wunderschönen „A Little Bit Of Room“ und dem tief bewegenden „Ojus“ setzt Wurster auch mit den fünf Cover-Songs, darunter Werke von Neil Young, Sonny Bono und Jim Morrison, ein echtes Ausrufezeichen. Eine spannende CD mit Herzblut und viel Traditionsbewusstsein. Schön!
TITEL:
Raw
LABEL: BLACK JANET MUSIC (HEMIFRAN)
PRODUZENT: Bob Wlos
TRACKS:
Southern Pacific * A Little Bit Of Room * Bang Bang * Loping Vampire Blues * Riders On The Storm * Big Surprise * Ojus * She Was * Dade County Jail * Sunshine Medley: You Are My Sunshine/Ain’t No Sunshine
AIRPLAY: Ojus
WEB:
http://www.jimwurster.com
http://www.hemifran.com

AND IN ENGLISH:

The CD title says it all: Raw stands for music that freed from any unnecessary frills, earthy, handmade and comes equipped with crunchy riffs and solos melts into a compelling unit of Americana, Roots and Folk-Rock. Under the direction of producer Bob WLOS the singer and songwriter JIM WURSTER from Miami, Florida never loses the essence of the songs, from the eyes, puts layer upon layer upon layer to a fascinating soundscapes together. In addition to five own song creations such as the beautiful “A Little Bit Of Room” and the deeply moving “Ojus” Wurster is also with the five cover songs, including works by Neil Young, Sonny Bono and Jim Morrison, a real exclamation point. An exciting CD with passion and a lot of tradition. Nice one!

Saturday in The Studio with Ross

A very productive session with Ross!

When it rains in Florida. It pours. And Saturday in The Studio was no exception. Ross Reuning laid down a bunch of tasty vocals on his  latest Dragon Rose project but then (curses!) as I was about to leave to head down to Coral Gables- the torrential rain began. I jumped puddles (pretty nimble) + made it down south to join the 18 Wheelers in a sort of Elvis tribute. Luckily the 18 Wheelers + Elvis were not rained out.

Here’s some photos of Ross hard at work.