A Room Within a Room

Blog has moved!

2011-01-08T15:48:00.000-05:00

A Room Within A Room has moved to my website:

http://www.bengoldsteinmusic.com

Thank you all for reading. I hope you enjoy the website. See you there!

Sincerely,
Ben Goldstein

Russ Barrnett: Mix Notes

2010-06-03T22:11:00.000-04:00

Almost done...
This post is pretty self-explanatory. I'm too worn out and hot and dehydrated to get into it. All I can say is, expect a very excited Ben Goldstein to be writing the next blog post...

Michael
-brush drumming down a bit in first verse...so it sounds a bit gentler
-last line before "never in my world"....mouth noise
-drums at very very end down. (namely kick and rim)
-voice a bit louder in first verse before chorus
-"And I wonder what you'd say" a bit louder
-Second verse vocals a bit louder, and second verse drums a BIT quieter, until "never in my world"
-Floor tom into "and it's been the same old rain" stronger. EQ issue? steal from Thought I Was

Heatseeker
-feels dead...
-vocals louder? brighter?make it pop.
-guitar brighter?
-AC Gtr hits compressor too hard in reintro
-Cajon down/back
-cut out shit at ending

It Just Takes Time
-A bit less kick

Johnny Cash
-Vocals up a BIT? Pop. BIT less low mids?
-Automate beginnings and ends of vocal lines
-Guitar interlude...delay effect similar to Heat seeker?
-Automate reverb or something at end to make less abrupt

Really Too Late
-Bit less low mids in voice if you can get away with it
-Go through and check for all lip/mouth noise
-Vocals down a bit in FIRST verse
-Try automating gtr out of the way of vocal
-"All the songs that you play" - digital pop?
-Vocals down a BIT in verse after chorus, then up at "Well you get red"
-Get rid of swallow after "sleeps in his veins"
-Vocals louder at ending! Should overtake listener

1934
-Great aesthetic, but vocals down a BIT, particularly in first verse. Same space as gtr.
-Lip noise before "Grandpa's highest drawer" then digital pop?
-Make vocal sound more expensive.
-Throat noise before "taxman's still around"

Russ Barrnett: Tracking complete!

2010-04-10T12:47:00.003-04:00

And now, for some very exciting news; Russ' album is completely tracked! For our final recording session, Russ and I felt it best to fill White Lightning (my minivan) with as much recording and musical equipment as possible, drive two hours to his home in Granby, Connecticut, and finish the album in the company of his dog, Gibson.

Every moment of the 36 hour recording session, from recording vocals, to eating lunch, to sleeping, to picking the most appropriate shaker, was streamed live, online. It was really exciting, and something I plan to do again for future projects. Recording in Russ' home reminded me of how hampering it can be to record in school; by the time a studio is booked, equipment is booked, equipment is delivered (or not), instruments are set up, microphones are set up, and lunch break is over, no one has the energy to actually be creative or spontaneous. Not to mention, the next student is undoubtedly coming in two or three hours earlier than one would like.

Guess I have some repressed frustration... But back to the favorable side of things: what comes next...

Russ and I just launched a campaign on Kickstarter.com to raise money for the mastering and duplication of the record. I would divulge the compelling and action-packed details, but wouldn't you rather just see the movie...

Spring Break: Day One

2010-03-27T20:03:00.014-04:00

According to JetBlue’s LiveMap channel (channel 013), I am currently flying at a speed of 439 miles per hour, and at an altitude of 33,673 feet. And according to prior research, I should be landing at LAX airport in about four hours.
I’m hoping this Spring Break gives me the opportunity to catch up on some blog posts. I’ve really been yearning to write. Let’s start with The Dandy Lions.

This is the second time I’ve written about The Dandy Lions in my blog. The first was documenting what would end up being The Dandy Lions’ 3rd failed attempt at recording an album (which you can find here.) I really can’t imagine why; brother/sister frontmen Dante and Lena Deleo are two of the most genuine people I know, a quality which often seems like a rarity in the music world.

It’s difficult to write a blog post about music without music, but I suppose this one, (like most of them) will have to suffice with writing and photographs. I’ll give them a talking to, and see if they’ll let me post a sound clip…

***WARNING***You are now entering “The Gearhead Portion” of this blog post.***

Since the first time I saw The Dandy Lions perform Freshman year, (this was before I had a beard,) there has always been a live, spontaneous quality to their music that I love. I knew from the start that I wanted to be involved; I wanted to capture it in the studio.

The first step in doing so was ensuring we all played live. And so before we set foot in the studio, we rehearsed. A lot. Once we felt the performances were ready, we had to make sure the sound of the actual recording was going to be fitting.

In order to keep this blog post from being a novel (it’s already absurdly long) I’d like to stick to the recording of the drums, as everything else was approached more or less the same as usual. In keeping with the live, spontaneous quality of The Dandy Lions that caught my attention to begin with, I used a variation of the Glyn Johns technique, using only four microphones, and relying on the sound of the drumset as a whole.

The first microphone used was a 1950s RCA 77DX ribbon microphone, placed about six feet in front of the drumset, at roughly the height of the snare drum. Ribbon microphones, by nature, have a dark, gritty sound to them that can be quite fantastic.

However, this microphone alone sounded too unfocused, and so a second room microphone was used for clarity's sake. This microphone was a GrooveTube 66 tube microphone, and was placed behind/to the right of the drummer, equidistant from the snare drum as the ribbon microphone in front of the drumset.

Contrary to the ribbon microphone, this microphone is bright and crystal clear; mixed with the ribbon microphone, the drums sounded glorious. As an insurance policy (in case the balance or tone of the drums needed tweaking) I placed a microphone (Shure SM57) on the snare drum, and another microphone (Sennheiser MD421) about a foot and a half away from the bass drum, facing it.

Success!

A Room Within A Room: Volume 2

2010-03-04T23:02:00.003-05:00

It's been exactly ten months since my last blog post. My bad. Long story short, summer got very busy, and my pursuit for blog-success shifted to my band, Baba Jaga. (That blog can be found here.) But let's not live in the past; what's done is done, and I'm here now, aren't I?

So now for the good stuff: Russ Barrnett and the New City Mission Bell Band.

I'm back in the studio, working alongside a very good, very talented, aforementioned friend of mine, Russ Barrnett. With the help of Clay Wilson on the bass, and additional guest musicians to be announced, Russ and I are working on his first ever full length album. There's no doubt that I make the best music when I'm with friends, and Russ just so happens to be one of the greatest people I've met since getting to college.

I've been hoping to collaborate with Russ since the first time I heard him perform freshman year. The kid's a triple threat: fantastic songwriter, beautiful lyricist, and a killing musician - a true groovester. I'll soon be uploading video from our sessions; each session we have is so much fun, and so different.

"It's good to be back.

Dandy Lions in the Doll House

2009-05-04T20:01:00.003-04:00

Playing with Dandy Lions in the Doll House (but more commonly known as The Dandy Lions) has been one of the most fun projects I’ve been a part of since getting to SUNY Purchase College. It all started up on Bear Mountain, when Dante Deleo turned to his sister, Lena Deleo, and said “Lena we should make a band together.”

Lena thought it was a good idea, and so Dante and Lena did the most important thing a band can do: picked outfits. After agreeing on the aesthetic of a pocket watch, a vintage wedding dress, and an old vintage sombrero, Dante and Lena moved on to their next most important decision; their band name. They were soon known by the mountain folk as Dandy Lions in the Doll House.

Clad in 1920s garb, roaming Bear Mountain under the nick name “Dandy Lions,” Dante and Lena took the last step in creating their band. They wrote a song.

This past weekend, we got into my white minivan, drove into Connecticut, walked into Sammy’s basement, and recorded some songs. John Feliciano was the man on bass. Enjoy the pictures!

A Viral Marketing Assignment

2009-05-04T19:02:00.004-04:00

I'm sorry to have to disrespect the perfection that is A Room Within a Room, but my Viral Marketing professors are insisting that I use this blog to advertise a podcast I made for a homework assignment.

I invite you to take a listen. I also invite you not to. It focuses on a band called Baba Jaga that I wrote about below.

L'Chaim!

Click Here for the podcast

Please give a warm welcome to Baba Jaga. Please.

2009-04-12T21:57:00.008-04:00

Of all four blog posts I've written thus far, this one is presenting me with the most difficulty. After much exploration and deliberation, I've decided the best course of action is to take my clothes off, put on my blue striped green robe, throw on my recording of Rob Hokamp's senior recital, and relax in my common room. Consequently, that is what I am now doing.

In 2006, while living in Baltimore, Maryland, I joined a band called August. We played many shows locally, and put out a record titled The Migration (which can be found here.) In 2007, we graduated high school, and went to college.

Time passed. We stayed in touch. I grew a beard.

Today, we are called Baba Jaga. We have a new sound, and with it, a new love and excitement for the music we've been making. We'll be moving into a sublet in Brooklyn, New York this summer with the hopes of exploring the depth of what we're capable of when put in the same with nothing more than a guitar, our voices, and a microphone.

Below is one of our songs, Half Moons & Bar Stools. It was recorded in my Baltimore basement, and mixed/mastered here at SUNY Purchase College. Stay tuned, as we update our myspace, post additional recordings and videos, and start a blog of our own, Bloga Jaga.

Thanks for reading! Enjoy the pictures.

The Saga of Andrew Fox: Chapter 2

2009-04-03T18:20:00.011-04:00

The other day, I ran into a Mr. Andrew Fox in the lobby of the SUNY Purchase Music Conservatory. He urgently summoned me to his side, pointing excitedly at the screen of his Macbook Pro.

This kind of insistent, innocently intrusive behavior is normal for Andrew Fox, so I happily obliged him by putting a pair of headphones over my head, and on to my ears. "Get ready" he said with a grin not unlike the grin pictured above, and then double clicked. My ears were confronted with an onslaught of soaring trumpets and trombones, shimmering strings, and the heartbeat of Spencer Murphy's and my bass and drums. It was Disco Institute: half recorded, unmixed, and without final vocal takes. Considerably incomplete.

but WOW!

Ladies and Gentlemen, Andrew Fox has done it again! Or at least, he's doing it again. Throughout the course of this 5 minute 43 second song, I received enough weird looks to count on both hands, due to my outbursts of laughter and "Oh my God!"s.

I've since begged him to let me upload a 30 second sample of the song. He kindly agreed.

And so, friends, Romans, and countrymen, lend me your ears. This is Disco Institute.

***Editor's Note***
Upon my request for a copy of Disco Institute, Andrew kindly sent me a super compressed, low quality version of the recording. Enjoy!

The Saga of Andrew Fox

2009-03-30T12:29:00.025-04:00

My first memory of Andrew Fox takes place in my Freshman year Songwriting I class. It was one of my very first classes in college, and the idea of a college education was still fresh and new to me . The class was an open forum, where students could present their songs-in-progress to the class, and receive feedback. Andrew Fox stood up, walked to the piano, informed us that his song-in-progress was titled Londonistan, and proceeded to play a song that got to the heart of just about every musical genre stereotype there is, including Klezmer, broadway showtunes, Arabic Pop, 1970's Punk, and some good old fashioned Rock and Roll.

One year later, Andrew is in the studio recording his album. Tom Rosato, SUNY Purchase alum, is engineering the record. Spencer Murphy (earlier mentioned for Madeleine McMillan's record) is playing bass, and I am lucky enough to be playing drums.

Andrew's recordings, track by track, are becoming epic, and Andrew is becoming known to regularly run out of available audio tracks in Pro Tools. One of his more popular songs, Disco Institute, will be rooted in drums, bass, electric guitar, and Andrew's voice, but will be augmented by tubular bells, latin hand drums, fourteen cellos, ten violins, trombone, trumpet, tenor saxaphone, distorted guitar, and french horn.

Go Andrew!

In Studio with Madeleine McMillan

2009-03-02T21:53:00.014-05:00

My good friend, Madeleine McMillan, is a singer, songwriter, and pianist in the SUNY Purchase Studio Composition program. I met her Freshman year in my required Songwriting I class. I was intimidated by her for a long time. She was from the Upper West Side, had long black hair with bangs, wore Doc Marten boots, and sat alone. However, our conservatory is only so big, and before I knew it, she was helping me order Doc Martens of my own from Zappos

I've been lucky enough to play drums for her since Spring 2008. She's also enlisted the services of two of the best groovesters at Purchase, Spencer Murphy on bass, and Rob Hokamp on guitar. I couldn't ask for more.

The following video is my first ever attempt at making a movie. I'm sure this will be somewhat obvious. The documented session was "drum day" which explains the relentless focus on me. Pictures to come.

By the way, I should mention that the recordings of Madeleine's voice and keyboard in the following video are temporary scratch takes, meant only to give the drummer (me) a road map of the song.

An Introduction

2009-02-11T02:09:00.032-05:00

I've been thinking about the work I do here at SUNY Purchase, and how it compares to the recordings I used to make. When i was first discovering the magic of capturing sound, it was within the stone walls of my basement, in the company of friends, and in the safety of my parents home. We were creating to fulfill childish curiosities, and recording music to later be examined, questioned, and often laughed at.

It seems that the days of recording in my basement are gone. I am now a student in the SUNY Purchase Conservatory of Music, surrounded by students who take their craft seriously enough to move away from home, move into a state-school dorm, and dedicate the next four years of their lives to their selected musical niche. This environment is powerful and dangerous. While I feel that a conservatory environment provides countless opportunities and benefits, I feel that it brings with it the constant temptation, or constant trap, of competition.

But the urge to compete...it's not our fault! How can we not compete when our work is constantly being submitted to professors to judge and critique--when the toils of each semester are represented by nothing more than a silly little GPA?

If we're not going to compete, we have two choices: disregard each others' existence, or collaborate. My hopes in writing this blog are to make it as natural and as easy as possible for those working alone in a recording studio at 3:00am to know that they're really not alone at all.

Below, I've uploaded the first music recording I ever made, and the most recent recording I've made. The former was recorded by me and my friend Tamas Szalay in 10th grade under the name Groundhog Revolution, after he had a compositional and lyrical epiphany in the shower. If you don't find this funny, I really can't blame you, but we sure got a kick out of it. I should mention, though, that my dad sung the vocals.

The latter is a klezmer band from Baltimore, Maryland, appropriately titled Klezzazz. I imagine that I'll always have a special place in my heart for klezmer music after this project. When done well, it encapsulates a culture so rich that it makes you want to cry and dance at the same time.* I hope you enjoy.

Cheers!

*I'd like to invite any and all readers of this blog to submit a video of them crying while dancing. Were I famous, my selecting a winner might be enough initiative for you to upload such a video, but in this case, I'm relying on your desire to create something beautiful and eternal.