In the midst of mixing the new record, we took a few hours out to rehearse with the new crew. Not too shabby I must say - very excited to take it on the road. Although between these rehearsals and our other band there’s barely enough room to walk in our studio. I guess there’s worse problems to have.
Back to the board….nobs….faders…frequencies…….

When the out-board gear doesn’t do the trick, it’s nice to have lil’ toys like these. Chandler audio makes the EMI “Abbey Road Plugins”, and they deliver the goods. It’s an emulator of the EMI limiters that we’re familiar with on the Beatles recordings, like the piano squash at the end of “Day In The Life”. That sort of thing. Very, very cool.
I enjoyed the piano squash today.

I’m completely infatuated with the Crumar. Here is a pic of an emulator you can get free online at easytoolz.de. Pretty cool sounds - instant duran duran. Bonus points if you connect the post title with the keyboard name!
Back to mixing.

We’re knee deep in mixing the new record - whose name I shall not yet mention. So far so good. It’s nice to have songs that don’t have working titles like “Nu Shooz”, “Crusher” and “The Fall Guy”.

One rule I gave the record is that we were to have no cymbals at all. Not a crash, ride, nothing. The idea being that they compete with the same sonic space that guitars do, and we wanted to have as much room for guitars as possible. And oh, are there guitars. I don’t know if this rule will make the final cut or not….but it was fun to track with that in mind.

Oh yeah…the drunk above is Larry. He is the secret to our records. Larry has to approve all mixes before they’re done and his creative insight is genius.

Happy O’bama Day! What an amazing guy - we’re routing for you mister! So now I’m wholeheartedly going to give myself over to this “blogging” - I’ve accepted it into my heart & heard it has a wonderful plan for my life.
So while we wrap up the new record and gear up for the road…thought I’d share my current bass set-up. I’ve been having fun with it, check it out:

So this is one for the nerdz!
If your wondering why it’s labeled like I have the vision of a Mole, it’s for several reasons:

a) We play some places that are darker than Mordor.

b) Occasionally we play shows that are “union run” which means that little monkeys with flashlights and utility belts have to set your equipment up, or you don’t play. It’s times like that when you thank your lucky stars for big-neon labels.

c) Occasionally a sound-person may send some wattage through a DI line…in which case when singing, my lips are fried like a wet cat on an electric fence. Again, another moment when a big easy arrow pointing to the ground-lift makes less pee come out than necessary.

The true nerds may notice the clone theory - perhaps a subtle hint of the sounds to follow??? For some reason, lately I can’t get enough of old school Peter Hook, Adam Clayton…that sort of thing.
I just bought an amp the other day,…which I’m having a great time getting farts sounds out of.

Hi there,

Kevin here, writing the 1st blog entry of the year. Welcome to the newness! New year, new prez, new everything. It’s been a while hasn’t it? Well, we’re rising like a pheonix in ‘09 and have much to catch up on. First thing:

1) Viva Voce has a new record on the way in 2009. It’s a doozie! We’re putting the final bits on it now and are excited to let it be heard. Its definitely a heavy mover and a bit more angular than “Get Yr Blood Sucked Out”. I dunno, you be the judge. Will post release info when we get it.

2) Viva Voce has a tour in March! We’ve spent the better part of last year writing and recording, and we’ve been busting to hit the road again. So we shall do so with a vengeance! We’re heading down to SXSW with our friend Rafter en tow, then make our way back to Portland.
We’re playing the Alladin Theatre in Portland on March 28th, and is our “sort of homecoming”, as we haven’t played in town in over a year! This will be a special night for us as the Alladin holds a special place in our hearts. It’s the first place Viva Voce performed in Portland and we’re excited to unveil our new sound there this year.

3)….the big one…Viva Voce has just doubled in size! That’s right, we’re a 4 peice band. Say hello to Corrina Repp & Evan Railton.

Viva Voce (L to R): Corrina Repp, Evan Railton, Anita Robinson, Kevin Robinson

We found Corrina tuning a piano by humming in perfect pitch. Evan beat me in a game of poker and won the publishing rights to our last record. Anita and I are excited to have them with us!

Signing off for now. The website is still a bit under construction…so mind the mess as you walk around. Still figuring out why the comments are a little jacked up.
Hope you and yours are healthy, happy and well.
Take care- Kevin