Some of you that follow me on Facebook and Twitter know that I’ve been working like a dog on renovating my studio for the past month. It has been misery seeing my workspace covered in drywall dust, and unfortunately I’ve spent more time of late as an electrician/painter/contractor than writing music. And the SSG show schedule throughout the month of December was just brutal. When I haven’t been working on construction, we’ve been on the road. I can’t remember what it feels like to get a full night of sleep, and as I type this I’m pulling another all-nighter finalizing last minute details before the band leaves for the NAMM show in sunny Anaheim, California. At least I can sleep on the plane!

But the payoff is finally here. MediaBrain Studios officially reopened one week ago.  Steve Sizemore was gracious enough to help me test some of the new equipment. It couldn’t have been any more successful.

Here are just a few highlights resulting from the remodel:

• Two new ~800 sq. ft. each isolated tracking rooms
• Brand new control room
• Renovated lounge area
• New preamps, outboard processing, and plugin accelerators by Universal Audio

You can see more by visiting www.mediabrainrecords.com. The new website will continue to develop in the next several weeks. There you will be able to find photos, equipment manifest, rates, studio news, artist spotlights, discount offers, and more.

And this also means work resumes on SSG’s new album… as soon as we return!

So thanks for being patient with me. I’ll immediately get back to work on all the goodies that we owe you: new songs, new photos and videos, SSG newsletter, and more regular blog updates.

In the meantime, be sure to follow my social network feed, the SSG website, and this blog for updates from the NAMM show. I’ll be updating from my iPhone, so they’ll be short and sweet but you’ll be in the loop!

Work on the new record continues… We’ve been throwing around a lot of ideas, and we’d like your thoughts. It’s always been Steve’s dream to release a record on vinyl, and I have to concur. There’s just some magical mojo in those grooves. So what do you think SSG fans? Do you still spin records? If we released a special collector’s edition on vinyl, would you have to have it? And if so, what would be a fair price considering these niche products cost more to manufacture than CDs? We’re just dreaming at the moment, but it is a very pleasant thought.

For my last birthday, my aunt and uncle gave me their original copies of “Introducing the Beatles (VJLP 1062)” and “The Beatles (the White Album)”. Now those were fantastic gifts! My collection is modest, but I enjoy it nonetheless. And I’d love to add a copy of the Foo Fighters’ “Wasting Light.” What is in your vinyl collection? Care to add some SSG?

Steve and I had a very long and productive day in the studio. And we have some goodies for you. It may be a little dangerous announcing this so soon, but we’re feeling adventurous. So here goes! As an early celebration for the Washington, D.C. edition of Abbey Road on the River, we’ll be posting a free double download soon which will include a live version of “She’s So Contagious” and a studio cover of “Oh! Darling.” I’ve just got some mixing to do on “She’s So Contagious” so it will be ready to go in no time. Steve put down some slamming drum and bass tracks for “Oh! Darling” while I covered the piano part. I’ve got some guitar work ahead of me this week. And I can’t wait to replace the vocal guide tracks. This song is so fun to sing. We’ve worked hard to give this classic the SSG treatment. I have no idea how it is going to turn out, but I really like the way it has started. And now that we’ve let the cat out of the bag, there is no turning back now. It better be good!

While we had drums miked, we did some experimenting for the new album. I have to say that I’m really loving the drum tones we are getting. The kit is sounding very natural and roomy which gives me a lot of options when mixing. And I was able to record my new Vox AC30 for the first time today. Granted it was only used for guide tracks to help Steve keep his place for the drum parts. That means we’ll eventually scrap all of those guitar parts, but it was nice to hear the amp perform. Between the Mesa Road King and the Vox AC30, my guitar tones should be huge!

The new songs are already taking on character all their own. I can tell you that this album is going to scream Power Pop. If you liked Beautiful Dust, you won’t be disappointed. But don’t expect a repeat by any means. By contrast, these songs have more of an edge, and I think they are going to be a blast to play live. Of course we’ll need artwork and a title. I’m toying with the idea of a fan contest for album artwork and/or title. What do you think? Leave comments below.

So we’re on our way folks. I’ll have more updates as work continues. And I’ll try to do a better job documenting with photos and videos next time. It’s hard to remember that sort of thing when you’re on a creative tear. And maybe we’ll live blog a session. Would that be something that would interest you?

Until next time, over and out!

~MB

Thanks for checking out my new website. I’m really excited to share some of the latest news and give you all the details of my many projects. I’ve already had an incredibly busy year and things just keep getting better! So stay tuned as I add new features, behind the scenes content, new media from the studio and the road, and much more. And I want to hear from all of you as well. Please share your stories, photos, videos, and more. If this is going to be my new cyberspace hangout, we’re going to have to make it a pretty cool place! See you crazy rock n’ rollers soon!

~MB