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Prairie Sun News
- Spring in the Prairie Sun -
May 2007 - Vol 2, Issue 2
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Greetings!

Spring is here, and the weather in Sonoma County has been spectacular. With the change in seasons we've had an influx of an incredible variety of very cool and exciting projects making their way through our three studios, and so here we are with another news update. Read on for the details:

Recently, Prairie Sun was happy to host Paris-based artist Phoebe Killdeer, who mixed her new ablum in Studio A with in-demand engineer Oz Fritz at the board. With an adventurous mix of genres and a decidedly avant-guarde bent, Phoebe's music was able to benefit from Oz's years of experience, his familiarity with the Studio A mix environment, and some of his favorite Prairie Sun resources, including our live echo chambers. Oz is currently back at Prairie Sun tracking Think Zik! aritst Grace in Studio B.

Visiting Studio C in recent weeks was renowned former Moody Blues keyboardist Mike Pinder, who was producing the tracking of the new record for his sons' band, The Pinder Brothers. Mr. Pinder was joined in his production role by his old friend, and producer of the Moody Blues from 1966-1979, Tony Clarke. Engineered by longtime Bay Area engineer Tom Size, the sessions featured Pinder Brothers Matt and Mike (the younger), both graduates of the local Sonoma State University, as well as Bay Area session musicians guitarist Stef Burns and drummer Paul Rivelli.
Following the Pinder Brothers in Studio C was the band Howlin' Rain, tracking their new record with engineer Tim Green for Birdman Records. Green was visting Studio C for the third time, having tracked last year's Comets on Fire and Red Sparowes releases there. Howlin' Rain also features Comets' founding member Ethan Miller, who already knew how he wanted to proceed: get the whole band together in the cozy vibe of the Waits' Room for the basic tracks. With these tracks and a number of overdubs all tracked to our Studer A80 2" machine, Green and the band retired with the tapes to his Louder Studios in SF.

The same brand of all-live recording was also recently exploited in the Prairie Room in Studio C by artist Marissa Mendenhall and co-producers Mark "Mooka" Rennick and Marc Ford. Mooka, founder and co-owner of Prairie Sun, and Marc, former lead guitarist for the Black Crowes, last collaborated in December when Mooka and Jason D'Ottavio mixed Marc's solo album. For Marissa's EP of classic R&B and soul tunes (and a Marc Ford original), Marc and Mooka produced and Mooka and Jason engineered, while the band featured Marc on guitar, Mooka on bass, Prairie Prince on drums, and Mike on keys. The resulting tracks were mixed in Studio A by Mooka and Jason and mastered by Tim Gennert for Eugene Productions.
Also stopping by Studio C was the band Secret Chiefs 3 for a few days of tracking with esteemed metalhead Billy Andersen at the board. Led by Mr. Bungle guitarist Trey Spruance, Secret Chiefs 3 is a rotating membership band bringing together an incredible diversity of genres and ethnomusical styles with eclectic instrumentation. Producer/engineer Anderson last visited Prairie Sun in 2005 to record and mix the unique metal duo Om, and has in the past engineered records for Mr. Bungle, the Melvins, High on Fire, and a host of others.

We were proud to host this month another album project for our friends at Shrapnel Records, this time for rippin' Strat-slinger Chris Duarte. Featuring Chris's regular band with Dustin Sargent on bass and Damien Lewis on drums, the record was produced by Shrapnel founder Mike Varney and engineered by Mark "Mooka" Rennick and Jason D'Ottavio. Tracked in Studios B and C, the album was mixed last week in Studio A and will be mastered by Tim Gennert for Eugene Productions.

To round out the variety of projects working in Studio C, jazz bassoonist Paul Hanson spent a day tracking with bassist Victor Little, keyboardist Eric Levy, and acclaimed drummer Dennis Chambers. Producer/engineer Haroun Serang tracked the session to Studio C's Pro Tools HD system via the vintage Neve console and the superior analog to digital converters found in our RADAR 24 digital multitrack. This incredible variety in session work extended to Studio B, where regular Prairie Sun client Dr. Nolan Gasser conducted a string quartet overdub he arranged for the ongoing Linda Ferro project. Tracked by producer/engineer Mark "Mooka" Rennick in Studios B and C, Linda's project has now moved to Studio A for a mix by Mooka and assistant Matt Wright. The album is due to be mastered by Tim Gennert for an August release.

Mooka's notes:

Those who have spoken with our front office recently have already acquainted or re-acquainted themselves with Studio Manager Rich Tereshinski. Rich has served as both Studio Manager and Operations Manager here at Prairie Sun in the past, and he looks forward to reconnecting with old friends and clients. You can reach him at the office at (707) 795-7011, or by emailing Rich@PrairieSun.com.

On the subject of getting acquainted, I've decided that our newsletter, more than anything, is an excellent opportunity for our readers to get to know us better as a company. In that spirit, I would like to use this section of the newsletter, starting with this month's issue, to introduce you to members of the Prairie Sun staff. I take great pride in having these folks as members of the Prairie Sun team, and in knowing that many of them learned their craft right here in our studios.

Prairie Sun Staff Profile: Wainwright Hewlett, Staff Engineer

Sonoma County native Wainwright Hewlett came to Prairie Sun in 2001 when his audio school, the California Recording Institute, closed mid-term. After exemplary service as an intern, Wain went on to do considerable second engineering work, working with artists such as the Red Sparowes, Exodus, Comets on Fire, and The Apes, and assisting such talented engineers as Oz Fritz, Tim Green, and Thom Canova.

Wain has also developed into an outstanding first engineer, with credits that include work with artists Lulu & the Guitar Fish, Emily Jane White, Rob Wasserman, John Courage, and Chow Nasty. Wain did superior work as the lead engineer on our NOMC benefit last year, and having heard his recent work with La Fin du Monde I can safely say his work is on par with any engineer working in the alt-rock/indie-rock genre. In addition to his session work, Wain has also served as our main in-house maintenance person, showing a talent not only for communicating with quirky vintage analog gear, but also for keeping three Pro Tools HD systems up-to-date, stable, and running efficiently. Wain's free time is spent surfing, painting, and constructing/composing his own music.

Sincerely,
Mark "Mooka" Rennick
Prairie Sun Recording

phone: (707) 795-7011

  

P.O. Box 7084 
Cotati, CA  94931
tel: 707-795-7011
fax: 707-795-1259
email: info@prairiesun.com