Tag Archives: Frank Reber

MFT#008: Cowboy Angels

Listen to MFT#008 w/ Cowboy Angels while you read!!!

The studio has been incredibly busy this past week and I feel like I’ve been running around like a chicken with no head. Despite being slammed with sessions, I still managed to find time to record another session for all of you fine people to enjoy. This week I invited Dan Schepper to come in and perform a few Cowboy Angels tunes. I’ve known Dan for a number of years now and I consider him to be a pretty swell guy. Dan is probably known to most people as the drummer for Everything, NOW!, but over the past couple of years his solo project, Cowboy Angels, has been turning some heads. Unlike the psychedelic space folk music that he plays in E,N!, Cowboy Angels can be pretty diverse. At times it sounds like a crunchy old school rock and at others it borderlines some sort of back-country shoe-gaze. Regardless of the styles and genres being utilized, every element has some strange vintage feel to it. The timeless tones that remind me of countless old records.

Since Dan writes and plays EVERYTHING it was a bit of a challenge to record a multi-tracked session in such a way that it would sound like a live performance. To pull this off we opted for single takes. Essentially we froze a piece of time with our technology so that Dan could go back and rock out with his past selves. Is your mind blown yet? I bet you never thought of a recording engineer as manipulator of time! No big whoop.

Back to Dan… He recorded 5 songs. 3 of these 5 are NEW. I could tell you which songs are new but that would take all of the fun out of the hunt. Do yourself a favor and head CLICK HERE to listen to MFT#008 featuring a multi-tracked performance by Dan Schepper. Try not to tap your foot. I dare you.

Now if you’re longing for something to look at while your ears are being stimulated, take a gander at some of these amazing photographs taken by Lauren Bultman Photography. She always does an amazing job and I’m not just saying that because she’s my fiance.


Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.

Last but not least… You can find Cowboy Angels on the internet in the following places.
1. http://cowboyangels.bandcamp.com/
2. http://www.facebook.com/cowboyangels
3. http://www.myspace.com/wearecowboyangels

Strand of Oaks – Mixed by Frank Reber

Artist: Strand of Oaks
Song: Spacestation
Mixed by: Frank Reber

This song was provided by Shaking Through and Weathervane Music. This is my first Shaking Through mix and I couldn’t have been more pleased with the whole process. This company is providing an amazing resource for people that are interested in trying out their skills with properly recorded instruments… Oh, and the tracks sound good too.

MFT#002: The Bears of Blue River

[Gavin, Brian, Maggie, Justin]

Listen to MFT#002 w/ The Bears of Blue River while you read!

This week we were fortunate enough to hook up with The Bears of Blue River on the last leg of their Dastardly Tour. Our session took place on a Tuesday morning before they were scheduled to drive up to Michigan for their last two shows. We were scheduled to start at 10AM but The Bears had played a show the night before so I had expected them to be a little late. It was a good thing I did because they didn’t end up arriving until 10:30. The band loaded in around 10:45AM while I made up a big pot of coffee. Early morning sessions are usually pretty rough. It just isn’t natural to make music early in the morning unless you stayed up all night and haven’t gone to bed yet. Nonetheless, we marched on in the hopes that the morning bummers would pass (and they did). We hashed out a few early takes to get everyone warmed up and feeling good as the fatigue fled our bodies. I can hear the early morning hour retreating throughout the session.

The weather was exceptionally warm for February which made the outdoor photo shoot nice and comfortable. The Bears picked a few hats, glasses, and props from around the studio and trudged out into the forest to have their likenesses captured by Lauren of Lauren Bultman Photography. The photo session was pretty fun. The Bears made sure to include my dog Cleo in the shoot… oh, and a grill. Yeah, it was one of those mornings.


Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.

We didn’t have a whole lot of time to spend on the interview process because the band needed to hit the road if they were going to make it to Michigan in time for their load-in. Despite our limited amount of time, we were able to get a quick interview with The Bears of Blue River. Hopefully it will make you crack a smile.

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MFT#001: When, Not If

[From left to right… Zach, Grady, Travis, and Stephen]

 

Listen to MFT#001 while you read! 

Alright, I am going to have to give you a bit of warning up front… I’m a musician and a recording engineer first and foremost. Not a writer. However, I’m going to try not to let this get in the way of things. This post marks the first of many exclusive recording sessions for Musical Family Tree to be booked and tracked at Reber Recording! This week I got to work with a goofy bunch of rockers from the good ol’ Muncie of Indiana known as “When, Not If.” These fine gentlemen were kind enough to be guinea pigs for MFT Session #001. We couldn’t have asked for a better group to work through the various issues that seem to materialize whenever try something new. Nonetheless, there was a good time to be had and many laughs by all.

The following photos were taken by Lauren Bultman Photography
 


Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.

Now, in addition to the recording session and photo shoot, we are also conducting video interviews with our selected bands. Let it be known that I am a recording studio and that video is not my normal medium. I am hoping to improve my video making skills with each new session so I hope that you stay tuned and grow with us. This first interview was made with a canon FS100. It’s pretty decent, but we are already talking about upgrading to a new camera in addition to bringing in some lights so that we can deliver a much more professional product.

So there you have it… This concludes MFT#001 by Reber Recording. If any of you writers/contributors out there are interested in helping me improve the written aspect of this package I would very much enjoy hearing/reading your thoughts.