Recording Bass: Giving Back To Musicians This Year

Sorry for the delayed column! We have been very busy in the studio the past few months. What we have been up to also happens to be what I’d like to share with you this month: I have been a part of of a project the last few months that is very special to me. So hopefully, you can bear with me for one month and read through this plug for this album.

We’re putting out a 10 song compilation with artists from across the country. Artists from 8 different states have jumped on board. The music ranges from blues to jazz to rock. All of the funds from the album will go to benefit The Artist Relief Project out of Texas. They’ve been giving $200 to about every artist that reaches out to them. If they had shows canceled because of Covid or other hardships, they were there to help musicians when they needed it most! I think they’ve helped out almost 3000 musicians now. In addition, they put on free webinars for musicians needing help on many things from social media, video editing, finance, etc, etc. Anything that may help their skills moving forward. So pretty cool of them. Musicians really had a tough time last year, as many of you know. There weren’t any shows anywhere. For a working musician, that is very tough. A Lot of musicians had to hang it up.

The Artist Relief Project and I were talking quite a bit last fall. Those conversations led to this album.

We’ve titled the album, “Silver Lining”. About half of the album has either been recorded or mixed by me, here at Catamount Recording. On top of the albums I’m producing currently, this has made me quite busy. That’s why this column is coming late. But, with artists helping out from Los Angeles to Mississippi and everywhere in between, sometimes the logistics didn’t work out. That’s where some other talented producers and engineers stepped in to help out on the project. There have been a lot of great people involved in this. I really hope we’re able to achieve our goals and raise a lot of money and awareness for The Artist Relief Project.

The list of artists on this is pretty great. Here are a few of them:

Ariel Bellvalaire (California): Many of you are probably aware of her. She has a fantastic following online, with almost 100k followers on Facebook alone. She’s toured the world, been on Broadway, and has been prominent in many television commercials and shows. She was featured in GuitarWorld not too long ago as a rising female guitarist. Well deserved, because she can definitely shred!

Avey Grouws Band (Iowa): They reached #10 on the Billboard Blues charts just last year. They have won numerous awards with their debut blues album “The Devil May Care”

Austin Walkin Cane (Ohio): 2015 Blues Music Award Nominee – “Best New Artist Album”

Zechariah Lloyd (Mississippi): If you are not familiar with him yet, you will be. He is a remarkable talent. In fact, he just won 1st Place in this years Unsigned Only Awards

Bonne Finken (Iowa): received nominations for both Best Pop Album and Best Electronic Song (Down Down) by the 2020 Independent Music Awards.

Fuzzrd (Minnesota): This is another band that is gaining a lot of traction. They are out of Minneapolis but have just released their first single only a few months ago. Their second single featured the one and only, Mark Slaughter. Go check that out if you haven’t. Mesa Boogie has been sharing a lot of their music lately, because it is some fresh rock, finally!

GraveCorps (Iowa): A rock band that has become a fan favorite on many local midwest rock stations as of late
Gerald Stephens (Tennessee), Kris Lager (Nebraska) Aaron Parks Project (Texas)

Gerald Stephens (Tennessee)

Kris Lager (Nebraska)

Aaron Parks Project (Texas)

I know all of us musicians and producers have had a tough year, but if you can or are willing to spare a few bucks to pre-order the album that would be awesome! It goes directly back to musicians that may be needing it a little more. Be sure to check out the album site, as well as the charity site.

Thanks again for always reading my column! I’ll have some good recording and mixing articles coming back very soon.