Tag Archives: Musical Family Tree

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.

Musical Family Tree Sessions

Starting this month, I will be selecting bands to come into the studio to perform five original compositions to be recorded free of charge. I will be posting these recordings to the Musical Family Tree archive so that they may be enjoyed by all. Selected bands will also be subject to a photo shoot and interview session as part of the promotional package.

The overall goal, of course, is a cross promotional campaign that benefits everyone involved. Bands will be given a chance to utilize free studio time to record new material that will be shared with the thousands of people that visit Musical Family Tree every month. Musical Family Tree will benefit by having a steady stream of exclusive and new content to offer its viewers. The studio will benefit by the exposure that comes with performing such tasks. Everybody wins!

So why would I be willing to offer up my services free-of-charge to selected bands? I have been in bands and I know how hard it can be to get your name out there. I guess you could say that I’m attempting to pay it forward in a sense. I like to think that by trying to help everyone, it will create a better musical community and that my hard work will be enjoyed by countless ears. I am hoping to bring some well-deserved attention to some of the finest musical acts that Indiana has to offer. If you are interested in being considered for selection, please feel free to contact me through the website.