January Update

Hello folks,

Recently I’ve begun to add recording time to my guitar and bass lessons, and not only has it been a blast for students it’s also been fun for me to see how great the recordings turned out.  Last month we had a recording project where I wrote a cheesy chorus called “The Holidays Are Here”, and each student had to come up with their own rendition of it.  Not only did they get to play guitar, but they also got to play producer as well and have input on what else to add to their version.  Check out the link below to hear some of the students; it’s amazing how many different songs came out of one idea.

http://www.cedarboxstudio.com/holidays%20are%20here.html

In recording news my good friend Cameron Matthews has been up to quite a bit with his band Bear Ceuse.  They’re currently doing a lot of promotion for their upcoming album that’s going to be released in the spring through Medical Records.  Download a new tune called “Entertain Me” at Spinner.   I’ve also been working with Ryan Spearman again on a more purist folk album, recorded live in my living room.  Even local folk hero Pokey LaFarge jumped in on a few cuts.  Look for that in the near future.  The vocal group Add9 from Mizzou came in to record their new album, “Acapoclapse” during December.  Having 13 college men at the place was great fun, despite the smell .  Many heated movie / music / videogame debates.

November Happenings

Jude is now getting towards 3 months, and boy is he great / exauting.  Anywho, I’ve changed my lesson program to include recording time at the end of each month.  This allows students to record their own songs or the tunes that they enjoy playing.  Check each month since I’ll be highlighting one particular student’s song each go-around.  

In recording news Bear Ceuse hasn’t quite released their album yet, but you can download one preview song for free as Spinner’s MP3 of the day.  It’s a nice one called “Entertain Me”.

 

http://www.spinner.com/2012/10/18/bear-ceuse-entertain-me-free-download/

Ryan Spearman  (The Folk School, KDHX) is back in the studio recording a few different projects at the same time.  He’s also all over St. Louis playing by himself, with his wife Kelly (singer of The Lulus), or with other great local musicians.

For pics of our son Jude look no further than my wife Susan’s facebook page, where my son will find his entire life documented when he’s old enough to use the computer.  Welcome to facebook Jude, you have 40,000 tags!

Jude is Born! Plus September Update

With a wife in her third trimester and a heavy work load things got a little hairy the last few months and I haven’t had a chance to post any news.  I’m happy to announce that we have a son now, Jude Crecelius!  He’s only 2 weeks old now but it’s never too early to get him into music .  He’s already used to the loud noises that come out during lessons and sessions so I think we’re off to a good start.  For pics head right over to my wife Susan’s Facebook page.  There’s probably at least 50 pics up now and surely by the end of the month she’ll have about 1,000.

In other news I’ve wrapped up my end of the Bear Ceuse project, so the album should be out late this year/early next year in limited vinyl as well as digital formats.  When the label allows I’ll post a clip on the website.  I’m also in the process of putting finishing touches in for Les Gruff and the Billy Goat (Billy Croghan).  He’s a singer songwriter with a mix of folk, bluegrass, serious, and silly.  He’ll be releasing the album sometime probably late this year or early next year.  With all the players that were on the record the CD release party should be a hoot.  Heck, I might even be playing some bass!

Lessons are back in full swing this fall, but there’s still some openings for weekday spots.  If you or anyone you know is interested in guitar/bass/songwriting/theory lessons with someone who’s knowledgeable, patient, and is experienced with both children and adults then give me a ring (314 303 2847) or email me (pcrecelius@gmail.com).

NYC Trip Coming Up!

I’ll be in NYC this weekend to record Bear Ceuse, fronted by old friend and recording client Cameron Matthews.  He was recently signed to Medical Records, a record label out of the UK.  They want to make a new record for their label debut, and Cameron was kind of enough to push for me to fly to NY and record them.  If you want to check them out here’s a link to their facebook page.  I’d describe them as indie rock, although nowadays that’s a very large and vague category.  Dig.

http://www.facebook.com/bearceusemusic

My Dog Toby Singing

It’s hard to capture sometimes without him sounding distorted or drowned out by the piano, but finally I caught a good take of Toby singing along to my wife playing piano.  Anyone who does voice lessons with Susan surely has heard him sing along during warm ups, but I figured I’d let everyone else hear it as well.  He does this for the first minute or two every single time we play piano.  Not guitar mind you, only piano.  Even fake piano on the electric keyboard.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdJ_5frJVnc

“Somebody That I Used To Know” Parody

Wow…this is a pretty good parody.  I’m usually not a big fan of this kind of stuff, but this one is kinda funny.  I like the second verse especially.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wj5kz5umtpo

Spring Update 2012

Time for an update on the happenings of Cedar Box Studio.  First off, I’m going to be a daddy!  My wife Susan is due August 18th, and we found out we’re having a boy.  Hope he’s ready for some serious pressure from his parents to be a musician .  Kidding aside, we’re very excited for this next stage in our lives.

I recently finished a new EP project with Hymn River Suite, and am now playing bass on some of their gigs.  You can check out their music and schedule at their facebook page.  The new songs aren’t quite up yet, but you can get a sneak peek by checking out the recording section of my website and listening to the samples.  My old buddy Cameron Matthews has been busy up in New York and just finished an album as well with his band Bear Ceuse.  If you’re a fan of folk and bluegrass you may want to check out The Lulus, and all lady band whose members include Ryan Spearman’s wife Kelly Wells.  Ryan recorded an all organic instrument album with me a year ago called Get Along Home.  Lastly, but not leastly, past client and friend Bobby Brinker has been playing in St. Louis a lot recently.  He is a Washington MO native so it’s great to see him out of his natural habitat, letting St. Louis in on his pop stylings.  Check out his schedule to see when and where he’s playing.

Group guitar lessons will be starting back up this Summer, so if you or anyone you know is interested in taking a relaxed beginner course with other students at a discounted rate call or shoot me an email and I’d be happy to assist.  Be on the lookout late summer for a book and video series by yours truly.  I’ve been working an instructional guide designed to get beginner guitar players who may have taught themselves the basics to the next level of playing.  It will cover barre chords, finger picking, soloing, as well as a section of basic music theory and its applications for songwriting.  All in an easy to understand format.  It will be available in both digital and physical format.

Autotune Live and Local…….?

I was at Quintessential, a restaurant/bar located in downtown St. Charles for a b-day dinner when I heard a performer playing acoustic guitar and singing typical top 40 from the last two decades.  I was surprised at how good he was with his voice, until my engineering ear kicked in.  It hit me like a ton of bricks……he’s using Autotune on his vocals live!  Not at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater, at a restaurant in St. Charles!

They make a rack unit that is usually used on backup singers at big shows, but rarely the lead vocalist.  There are exceptions for live television, like Billy Joel at the Superbowl:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8smRRyoYGc 

Listen for when the note jumps around like Cher in that “Believe in Love After Love” song, and when he hits a note and it sounds like a bell ringing its so perfectly on.

I know recordings have Autotune all over them; I use it at the clients discretion at my studio, but live?  That’s the one last place where you can see an artist for what they are, not what they’ve been tailored to sound like.  Spend that money on some voice lessons instead of buying a pitch corrector.

New Original “Paper Thin”

….been reading a lot of Tolkien and Game of Thrones lately…

listen to “Paper Thin” at Bandcamp

For those recording demos at home….check this out

I found this on the net and thought it was really neat and laid out well.  It’s an interactive frequency chart.  For those learning to use EQ and wanting to know some typical places to cut/boost, this is a great resource.

click here to check it out