The Toy Box Studio Show: Recent Episodes
Lij Shaw
thetoyboxstudioshow.com The Toy Box Studio Show with Lij Shaw brings you inside the recording studio for interviews with artists and bands to talk about making records and the business of music. This show will bring you inside The Toy Box Studio and share with you the stories of the bands that we work with.
TheToyBoxStudioShow.com
TheHayBaleStudio.com
StereoSessions.com
Welcome to The Toy Box Studio Show!
Lij Shaw takes you inside the Hay Bale Studio backstage at the Bonnaroo festival for 2015. Lij gives you a walkthrough of the studio, and series of honest interviews with the staff and friends. This episode is like Bonnaroo… raw, fun, awesome, and also explicit. So put on some headphones if you’ve got kids around :-)
Each year The Toy Box Studio packs up for the road to Bonnaroo. We build a recording studio on site behind the main stage and wrap it in a hundred bales of hay for soundproofing. We team up with an amazing staff to invite incredible artists playing Bonnaroo to record in our Hay Bale Studio. The recordings then get shared with all the radio stations at Bonnaroo.
In one recording session each artist is able to hit 40 radio markets around the country at once and be viewed by the gazillions (well a lot anyway). We have recorded hundreds of bands and over a thousand songs since we began in 2005. And now we invite you to be right there in the studio with us recording with these amazing artists!
So sit back and enjoy the only Bonnaroo experience more intimate than sharing a tent!
Thanks to all our guests on the show!
Cara and Adia
Michael Hardesty (24HR records)
Joe Hutchinson (Garage Mastering)
Stephen Turney (24HR records)
Seiji Inouye
Tyler Schaefer
Nick Lobel
Alena Moran
David Gehrke
Thanks also to our awesome interns seeing us off from The Toy Box Studio!
Matt Friend
Benjamin Benekos
And a deep thanks to our Studio Support Squad, the great companies that help provide equipment and support for The Toy Box Studio and The Hay Bale Studio. With your help we have brought hundreds of great bands to their fans!
Miktek Audio - Lewitt Audio - Daddario - Gibson - KRK Systems - Evans - Planet Waves - Kurzweil - Artist Relations - Quilter Labs - Best Drum Rental
And here is a list of the amazing bands we got to record this year at The Hay Bale Studio 2015:
Jungle Houndmouth Courtney Barnett Moon Taxi Rubblebucket Fruition Strand of Oaks BenFolds The Districts Elle King Guster SOJA Bear’s Den Sylvan Esso UnknownMortalOrchestra Catfish and the Bottlemen X Ambassadors Bahamas Dawes Rhiannon Giddens Songhoy Blues Corey Feldman & The Angels Shakey Graves Gary Clark Jr The War On Drugs Spoon
Madisen Ward and the Mama Bear The Very Best Punch Brothers Trampled by Turtles
My guest today is bree, an East Nashville rock-n-roller, a chick with a dirty guitar. Bree writes songs from the heart about her real life coming of age stories. Everything from love to shoplifting to getting kicked out of a family cult gets the troubadour treatment as she bounces across the USA from California to East Nashville.
Finally bree lands right here in our backyard rocking a flying V while surfing on top of an upright bass looking out over the crowd and the future.
I hope you enjoy the show!
Email Lij Shaw or Call The Studio with your comments or leave a review
To learn more about bree:
- bree website and email list
- Stereo Sessions with bree
- Happier Place
- Broken
-
Do What You Wanna Do
-
Reverbnation.com/breesongs
- facebook.com/breemusic
- Twitter & Instagram handle: @breesongs
- Email list signup is here at the bottom of the page for info on upcoming shows and fun stuff!
Some of the cool things we talked about on the show:
- Southern Word
- Notes For Notes
- Band Members
- David Castello
-
Mayrk McNeely
-
Producers
- Michael Gigante
- Tyler Touhy
Shout out to Miktek for helping make this podcast happen with their awesome gear! I use the Miktek Procast SST podcasting microphone and Miktek PM 9 and love them!
(These are affiliate links and helps to bring you free content. So thanks for checking them out!)
Cheers!
Lij
TheToyBoxStudioShow.com/20
Email Lij Shaw or Call The Studio with your comments or leave a review
My guest on today's show is none other than my own daughter, Sarayah Shaw. She tells us all about being a kid on stage and growing up acting and singing in East Nashville. I also unveil plans for a new podcast that will bring forth your inner rockstar!
For more info you can see the full show notes at
TheToyBoxStudioShow.com/20
I hope you enjoy the show!
Lij
TheToyBoxStudioShow.com/19
Email Lij Shaw or Call The Studio with your comments or leave a review
My guest on today’s show, Manny Nieto, has been working with some of the coolest punk rock bands from Los Angeles to Beijing. Manny has been recording in LA since he caught the recording bug in 1997 from Steve Albini. He describes his trip to Beijing seeking awesome bands to cut records with his mobile recording setup. In this 2-part podcast, Manny’s story takes us on a trip through Beijing’s underground punk scene with stories of killer bands, great engineers, and fantastic studios.
For more info you can see the full show notes at
TheToyBoxStudioShow.com/19
I hope you enjoy the show!
Lij
TheToyBoxStudioShow.com/18
Email Lij Shaw or Call The Studio with your comments or leave a review
My guest on today’s show, Manny Nieto, has been working with some of the coolest punk rock bands from Los Angeles to Beijing. Manny has been recording in LA since he caught the recording bug in 1997 from Steve Albini. He describes his trip to Beijing seeking awesome bands to cut records with his mobile recording setup. In this 2-part podcast, Manny’s story takes us on a trip through Beijing’s underground punk scene with stories of killer bands, great engineers, and fantastic studios.
For more info you can see the full show notes at
TheToyBoxStudioShow.com/18
I hope you enjoy the show!
Lij
TheToyBoxStudioShow.com
Audio Issues.com
Email Lij Shaw or Call The Studio with your comments or leave a review
Our guest on today’s show is Björgvin Benediktsson, an audio engineer and writer. He is an Alumni from the SAE Institute and has been writing about music production since 2008. He is also the marketing director for Crowd Audio, a site helping home studio musicians find a mixer for their record.
You can check out his blog Audio Issues where he has written guides on EQ, building a home studio and recording vocals. He is a published author, and he also provides great tutorial videos and interviews on his Youtube Channel which we will have links to in the show notes.
Audio Issues supplies easy to use, practical production tips about music production and audio recording. Björgvin gives you a solid understanding of everything you need to know to produce your own music in your home recording studio.
Here are links to the resources from the podcast:
Audio-Issues.com
Audio Issues Youtube Channel
Crowdaudio.com
Resources from the Jam Session:
Recommended Books
Must Read Books On Music Production and Audio Production:
- Modern Recording Techniques
- Instrument and Vocal Recording
- The Mixing Engineer’s Handbook
- The Art of Mixing: A Visual Guide Recording, Engineering, and Production
- Master handbooks of Acoustics
- Behind the Glass: Top Record Producers Tell How They Craft the Hits
- Recording & Mixing Strategies
- Mixing Secrets
- All You Need is Ears
Recording Gear
- Breedlove
- Cloudlifter
- Focusrite Saffire
Recording Software
- Logic Pro X
- Fab Filter EQ
- Waves Tape Saturation (Eddie Kramer plugin)
- LA-2A (color without reducing the gain)
These are affiliate links and help fund the show. So thanks for checking them out!
Cheers!
Lij
TheToyBoxStudioShow.com
Email Lij Shaw or Call The Studio
On Todays show I explain the meaning of phase when you are recording and importance of getting it right. I share in detail my process of checking phase on all the drum mics to help you get your drum recordings sounding awesome!
I explain absolute phase, relative phase, and stereo phase, the ways they can affect your recordings, and how to set phase for all the mics just right for your drums.
To learn more about reocrding Drums you can check out some of these helpful resources:
Recording Drums The Complete Guide
The Drum Recording Handbook
Both available as Kindle books from Amazon. These are affiliate links and help fund the show. So I think you in advance if you decide to check them out!
Cheers!
Lij
TheToyBoxStudioShow.com
Email Lij Shaw (email lij@thetoyboxstudioshow.com if you would like to be part of the launch team) or Call The Studio (615-697-9545 and Leave a message with your goals for 2015)
Its New Years Day 2015 and time to take a look at setting goals for the year. I am podcasting from a cabin deep in the woods. The turkey is on the wood stove, and the kids are playing like crazy.
Whats the difference between a goal and a wish? I talk about creating a road map for reaching your goals whether personal, making music, or with your business. I decided to put myself up for your accountability by sharing some of my goals for 2015. Including a surprise for April 25th double whammy.
I hope you all had a wonderful holiday and are feeling ready to rock in the new year!
Cheers,
Lij
Some of topics I discussed for reaching a larger audience for your podcast, music, or business:
-
Create a launch team
- Make a Facebook group for your team
- Google Hangouts for online meetings
- Trello & Google Calendar
- Youtube transcripts
-
Podcast places for listening
-
iTunes
- Stitcher
- Zune
- Spreaker
- iHeart Radio
- Blubrry
Here is the video program from The Toy Box Studio
- StereoSessions.com
And from Bonnaroo
- The Hay Bale Studio
And here are some of the tools I use to create my podcast:
- Mac Book Pro
- Protools DAW Software
- Miktek SST Procast podcasting microphone
- Beyerdynamic DT 770 headphones (I highly recommed these! Get the 80ohm)
And my personal goal to run the Nashville marathon barefoot!
- Nashville Marathon map and route
- Barefoot running
- Wim Hof who inspired me to get into cold running
Here is a killer community you can join to learn more about podcasting for your band, studio, or business (this my affiliate link so thank you kindly if you take a look!)
- Podcasters Paradise
TheToyBoxStudioShow.com
Happy Holidays everyone! I am totally psyched to bring you Steve Albini’s keynote address from Face The Music 2014, where he inspires independent artists with hope for the present state of the music biz. But In the same manner that Steve wouldn’t censor his music, some of the language here is not censored either. So if you’ve got kids in the car you may want to listen to this episode in headphones. Stay tuned for a really cool look at the Face Of Music in 2014.
Steve Albini is one of the most respected figures in the international independent music scene. As an artist, music journalist, industry commentator and recording engineer, Steve is a champion of the independent music business. He is regularly quoted by music media for his views on topics ranging from piracy to crowd funding to royalties and recording.
As an Engineer, his unique philosophical and technical approach is affirming for independent artists – his preference for analogue over digital recording and a “punk-rock” attitude has ensured him a lasting sonic signature across the industry. He has nearly 2000 albums recorded (yes you heard that correctly this guy records a lot!), working with some of the world’s most seminal and pioneering rock acts such as Nirvana, the Pixies, PJ Harvey, The Breeders, Robert Plant & Jimmy Page (of Led Zeppelin) and The Stooges.
Links:
Face The Music Keynote : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lz_CPzuwSk4
Face The Music Summit: www.facethemusic.com.au
Electrical Audio Studios: http://www.electricalaudio.com/
The Problem With Music: http://www.negativland.com/news/?page_id=17
Steve Albini Discography: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Albini_discography
TheToyBoxStudioShow.com
The Sound Of East Nashville
Today I am excited to welcome David Glenn, a professional mix engineer from Orlando, FL, who has worked with many great artists including Pablo Villatoro, Blanca Callahan (Group 1 Crew), LaRue Howard, Jeremy Rosado (the American Idol Finalist), Aimee Allen (Warner) and many more. David generously offers his knowledge and advice through an extensive collection of video tutorials which you can find at DavidGlennRecording.com. He has also launched an audio podcast and shares some super cool video interviews with audio professionals to bring mixing insight to all of us. Of course the real gold mine that David created for us is TheMixAcademy.com, a membership site where David shares the complete mixing process from start to finish while members virtually watch over his shoulder to learn tricks of the trade.
Click here to visit David Glenn Recording LLC..https://www.e-junkie.com/ecom/gb.php?cl=275101&c=ib&aff=287789">David Glenn Recording
The Mix Academy
The Pro Audio Files
Some of the folks and resources David and I talked about:
Jeris Cole
Harry Gettings
Stark Lake Studios
Pensado's Place
The Pomadoro Technique
Beyerdynamic DT 770 Headphones for mixing
Behringer X Touch Controller
thetoyboxstudioshow.com
theproaudiofiles.com
Our guest today is Dan Comerchero, a musician, producer, blogger, online businessman, and creator of the Quiztones app for Mac, and iOS. Dan has a successful blog called The Pro Audio Files, a curation of excellent and concise articles and videos on mixing, recording, producing, and mastering. Dan has created an indispensable resource for helpful articles on the whole process of recording. I am very excited to have Dan Comerchero with us today on the The Toy Box Studio Show!
The Pro Audio Files
Some of the great products available from the Pro Audio Files:
Quiztones.com
Mixing Hip Hop
Learn Compression
Resources Dan Comerchero shared with us on the show:
- Lettuce (http://instagram.com/joelhamilton_ — in studio recording with Joel Hamilton, great use of instagram for a studio and band)
- Dustin Mystery Room Mastering PDF - http://theproaudiofiles.com/audio-mastering-format-and-delivery-guide-2014/
- 45 Marketing Tips for Audio Professionals - http://theproaudiofiles.com/marketing/
Please connect with us with your questions or comments:
Dan Comerchero on Twitter
Email Lij Shaw
thetoyboxstudioshow.com
Isaac Bolduc, president of Synergy Consulting, joins me for a Q&A about Health insurance for the musician and Audio Professional.
Isaac has 14 years experience providing health insurance as one of Tennessee's top rated Blue Cross Blue Shield brokers and is an expert at helping musicians find the right health insurance policy. He has been my insurance provider for years, and has been a huge help!
Isaac Bolduc can get you signed up in no time and help you get peace of mind fast. And best of all it won’t cost you a penny extra for his free help. So call Isaac, the Insurance Sherpa, today!
Email: Isaac Bolduc
bolducis@comcast.net
615 415 5755 (Tell him Lij Sent you!)
Or
Email: Lij Shaw
lij@thetoyboxstudio.com
TheToyBoxStudioShow.com
Peertracks.com
Our guests today are two ground breaking visionaries that join us from both the music world and the cryptographic digital currency world. Eddie Corral and Cédrik Cobban came across my radar when I was doing a Bitcoin podcast called Bitcoins and Gravy with John Barrett. Eddie and Cédrik are taking the technology that powers Bitcoin and applying it to marketing music using a new platform called Peertracks which is built on the Bitshares network.
Eddie has over 25 years in the music business working with major label artists and establishing independent talent. From radio promotion to national touring, Eddie brings his vast knowledge of the industry and integrates it with the crypto world. Cédrik got into Bitcoin in 2011, then discovered BitShares and decided to spearhead BitShares Music in february 2014.
Understanding the new technology behind block chains, Bitshares, Peertracks and creating new digital currencies can be a lot to grasp all at once. So hang on tight as Eddie and Cédrik help shed some light on this amazing new platform and the potential to reinvent the music market in a way that gives new meaning to being part of a fan club.
Please feel free to share your thoughts and comments about Peertracks and what you would like to see included in a new platform for music:
lij@thetoyboxstudio.com
ecorral@peertracks.com
You can learn more about what we discussed here:
Peertracks and follow them on Twitter or Facebook
If you want to get started and to buy Notes go here
To get Bitcoin you can use my affiliate link thorugh Coinbase the most trusted Bitcoin provider I know.
And finally here are more helpful links
Bitshares Music Foundation
Bit Shares
Bitcoins And Gravy a podcast about Bitcoin
What is Bitcoin?
I want to get some Bitcoin!
Discover Redditand learn more about Peertracks. See how the voting mechanism could work for bands and music charts on Peertracks
How do you go from Bullshit to brilliant businessman? Lij Shaw interviews Anders Elfström about his musical journey and radio production career. We learn how Anders started out as a kid punk rocker (in the band Bullshit) to become a very successful radio producer making podcasts for mega furniture retailer Ikea to help them sell rockers (and other stuff).
Who knew that talking about how long we spend in the bathroom could be the key to success in audio production and ultimately music?
Show Note Links:
Five years
Filt (Anders radio production company. Means “blanket” in English)
IKEA podcast
The fine musicians on Anders 3.0 record:
Lex Price bass
Ian Fitchuck drums
John Deaderick keys
Jason Lehning keys
Jen Gunderman keys
Joe McMahan guitar
Zach Casebolt violins
Lera Lynn bv
Thanks to Miktek Audio for the Procast SST podasting mics!
A few of our favorite places for food from the studio!
Mas Tacos
Koi Sushi
The Hop Stop
Fat bottom Brewery
BagelFace
The Toy Box Studio
Nick Lobel
Lex Price
Nick Lobel, Secretary & Treasurer of the Belmont University AES chapter, interviews Lex Price (k.d. Lang, Mindy Smith) and myself, Lij Shaw (Living Things, Spinto Band) in the studio as we talk about musical influences and share advice for having great tracking sessions. We talk about working with great artists like Emmylou Harris, Daniel Lanois, and Mindy Smith, and share some of the lessons and mistakes we have learned along the way.
More Show Note links:
Audio Engineering Society
Belmont University
Email Lij Shaw
thetoyboxstudio.com
What do Dave Grohl and Wynonna Judd have in common? Find out as I talk with Peter King about listening with the heart to music. Peter shares insight into fear, failure, and repeated success while making records whether tracking or mixing.
Peter King has many gold records to his name as a producer, songwriter, keyboardist, and engineer. He moved to Nashville from Australia to create the studio Tone Cafe in Berry Hill. Through his eclectic career he has made many records in the Christian Contemporary Music genre most notably with Hillsong. However his work spans a wide spectrum of artists from the country music of Wynonna Judd, to the the heavy heavy sound of The Valley, to the art rock of Mute Math and pop sound of The Newsboys. He creates big mixes that beautifully highlight the singer while leaving space and detail for the band whether acoustic and folky or electric and funky.
Learn more about Peter at: Tone Cafe
Some of the tools that Peter talked about:
Chandler Limited Little Devil Comressor
Purple MC77
Univeral Audio LA2A
What happens when you back up all your belongings, leave not only your secure job, but your own business and pursue your musical dreams? I talk with Nick Bullock to about his musical journey and landing on his feet in Nashville. Nick shares insight into writing daily, keeping a band together, and staying on his musical path through many obsatcles.
Nick had a successful band and even built a booming music school in Ithaca NY before deciding to leave it all to move to Nashville TN to focus on songwriting and nuturing his musical career. Through discipline, routine, and positive thinking Nick inspires us all to follow our dreams and have a great time doing it!
Show Note Links:
Nick Bullock
Recommended reading
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change
Crowdfunding for your next record
kickstarter.com
idigogo.com
patreon.com
Email list building platforms and services
mailchimp.com
aweber.com
reverbnation.com
fanbridge.com
Vinyl recources
United Record Pressing
Tools for recording
Universal Audio Apollo 16 FireWire Audio Interface, with Free Thunderbolt Option Card
Miktek CV3
For more info about Lij - thetoyboxstudio.com
For more info about Roger - belltonerecording.com
In Ep 05 Roger Alan Nichols joins Lij at The Toy Box Studio for an in depth interview about music, recording, and how to make it as a band. Roger is an incredibly talented musician with a long track record in rock, pop, and country production. A member of Nashville's own Dreaming In English, Roger shares his insight into creating success as a band or artist and songwriter.
recorded by Noah Eichler aka "Catfish"
editted by Lij Shaw
Intro music. "Amercan Winter" from Skadoosh by Lij Shaw & Corey Seigle
Thanks to Miktek for the fabulous CV3 mics and Procast SST
The Toy Box Studio Show 004 Lij Shaw interviews Jacob Lawson about his musical career and performing and production experiences. Jacob also shares some great tips for recording in the studio and how to get the most out of a violin or string session. Jacob has 20+ years performing and producing. Among his discography are singer/songwriter rock/pop albums for Jennifer Knapp, Mary Allen and Leslie Mendelson, art-song meets-Coney Island records for Carol Lipnik, acoustic instrumental records for Noah Hoffeld, John Johns, and Richard Smith and many more. Jacob also produces spacey or groovy or dancey electronic remixes for Venus Hum, Nada Surf,David Poe, Dave’s True Story, Josh Rouse and others.
In The Toy Box Studio Show #3 Lij Shaw focuses on the creative work flow and getting the most out of your mix.
In The Toy Box Studio Show #2 Lij Shaw talks about setting up a template for mixing and mix workflow. Lij shares tips for eq, compressoin, and console mixing with Protools and finishes with some important tools for the studio.
The Toy Box Studio Show #1 - Lij Shaw takes you through the basics of getting a song ready for mixing. Whether you are working in Protools or some other DAW there are a few basic principles and techniques that work well when preparing a mix.