Canal Irreal Session

This Spring I had the privilege of working with Canal Irreal on a new LP. Being a huge fan of their first record, and since they're all longtime friends, it was a treat to be in on the process of making this one. Scott Plant will be mixing the record, and Jonah Falco is on board to master. On the main day of tracking, ComEd decided to shut down power to our neighborhood for six hours! Luckily the band took it in stride and we played a few hands of rummy while waiting for the game on signal.

Riesgo LP now out on Extinction Burst

 Happy to report that the Riesgo LP, Remolino De Muertos I recorded two years ago is finally seeing its official vinyl release. It's great to have this see the light of day. I love Arturo Fresan's cover art for this one!

Another Permanent Residue Tape

 One of my 2022 sessions just came out on cassette. Permanent Residue's second tape, "S/T Tape #2", is out on Dead Broke Rekerds. Enjoy!

Riesgo LP Session

 In December 2021 I had the first session in a long time at Secret Chamber. Riesgo, whom I'd selfishly hoped would put out an LP for a long time, reached out to see if we could work together. We sorted out the protocols, and came up with a plan. Tracking all instruments and vocals took place on one day. As of this writing, the mixes are being finalized. Can't wait for this one to come out!

Permanent Residue Tape

Keeping up with recent releases coming out of Secret Chamber: As described in a previous post we got together to record last fall with these guys, and now the songs are seeing the light of day. Vince Miller, now also of EXEDO, plays drums.

New band EXEDO

My new band with Christine, carrying forward from where Daylight Robbery left off. With our friends Vince Miller on drums and Milo Mendoza on bass. All recorded and mixed here by yours truly at Secret Chamber! Mastering by Kris Poulin.

hashtag Warrior Tribes

Thanks to the band for the mentions. We recorded this 17-song LP several years ago together and I am glad that it will finally see the light of day in 2020. Mastered by Daniel Husayn.

https://idioteq.com/introducing-chicago-rowdy-punks-warrior-tribes/?fbclid=IwAR1v8CnYYn22Zv6pHteoRY6JCJ-mGHSqJnWV2SPo2M3_PiOb06wx5-tqeSM

Jarochicanos

I got to do something a little different yesterday, as far as recording goes. Jarochicanos reached out to get a song recorded that has lyrics written in response to the Chicago Teachers' Union strike which is still ongoing as of this writing. The play a style called Son Jarocho, and performed as an ensemble, arranging themselves around the mics for the best balance between instruments and voices. I don't usually get to use stereo techniques like this coincident pair setup. A refreshing change of pace.

Archive Project: Condenada Demo

This tape is one of the first things I ever recorded for a band I wasn't in. Circa 2004 or 2005, I was working a student job in grad school, doing production setups and sound board operating for events in a large campus auditorium. Condenada was new on the scene and I was a huge fan from the get go. I had just acquired my first digital interface (a Presonus Firepod) and was eager to try it out. My boss let me use the facility on a dark day to do the recording. The band set up on stage at the auditorium, and we quickly discovered we had to close the main stage curtains because without them, the reverberance of the hall was way too intense.

This tape is very rare, since shortly after it came out the band decided to re-record these songs for a new demo, as they felt these performances were slower than their evolving sound was going. That aside, this tape contains early versions of a bunch of tunes that would become classics and part of their live set throughout the life of the band.

Two classic Condenada songs, circa 2007:

Archive Project: Heated Demo

I played drums in Heated for a while - the band was moderately active but never managed to find its groove with regular shows. We did this demo tape in the spring of '17, and also recorded a lot more songs for an LP a year later that remain unreleased, and to my knowledge never even finished getting mixed. The demo recording was another practice space affair, on the third floor at Superior Street. It's hard to track a band when you're also playing drums.

Archive Project: Distract/Warrior Tribes Split CS

This tape feels like a marker of a specific heyday in Chicago DIY. Both bands were doing tons of fun shows and the project of putting them on the same tape made perfect sense. We did this in one day in 2013 at my place, with one setup for both bands (there might have been some switching of guitar amps, but that's about it).

Archive Project: Kontaminat Demo

I am not sure if this 2011 recording ever had a proper physical release. I can't find a copy in my collection. This was a great band and revisiting this recording, I think it does a good job of capturing their sound and energy. Also, someone (not sure who) mastered this before they put it online and it definitely improved things.

Archive Project: Split Feet - Shame Parade CS

I enjoyed working on this recording - a bit more sonic space between the instruments than the typical band I've had the opportunity to work with. This let me play around with textures a lot more in the mix. Mastered by Kris Poulin.

Archive Project: Sospechosos Demo Cassette

This tape is something I worked on relatively early on, and it looks like information about this tape is pretty scarce on the internet. I believe the band stopped being active around 2012.

Here is a rad review by Robert Collins for his blog Terminal Escape, which is an amazing trove of information on punk and hardcore released on cassette format in the past decade.

Recent Project: Udusic, Long in the Tooth

This session was a lot of fun- I've loved this band since they first got going and it was great to be asked to work with them. We did 4 covers for this release, and a few demos of new material that haven't had a formal release yet although I think one is available on their bandcamp page. We tracked the instruments in their practice space, and did vocals and mix at my place. Sara set up in the bathroom down the hall from the control room, which if nothing else was convenient. The liner notes in this tape are a fun read. Mastered by Will Killingsworth.

Recent Project: Eephus Demo

This demo, like many of my projects, was recorded in the band's practice space and mixed at my place. RIP Eephus...

Archive Project: Warrior Tribes S/T EP

I recorded and mixed this EP in 2015. Mastering by Daniel Husayn.

Recent Project: S/T EP, by Primitive Teeth

I recorded and mixed these 5 songs in the winter of 2017/18 and the tape was released in 2019.
Mastered by Daniel Husayn. 

A nice mention from Bandcamp: https://daily.bandcamp.com/2019/05/28/best-punk-on-bandcamp-may-2019/