Little Bird fledging, Blurb Lyric-book

As I'm in finish-up-the-CD mode and getting Indiegogo backer rewards out, I set to collecting all the lyrics from my recorded songs into one place. I chose to make a Blurb book which was pretty fun and mostly easy (a more graphics-arts-minded person might have had a better time with some of the spacing). In any case, I got the first iteration in the mail this week, the same day I was going over artwork for the CD, which will be released Nov. 5.  Yes, I'm excited!

Song Lyrics Recordings 2008-2013 by Deborah Crooks  

preliminary disc cover design ideas

Full moon, New tune, Guru Purnima

It's the Full Moon! And another Supermoon at that.

According to the Farmer's Almanac: "July is the month of the Full Buck Moon. Bucks begin to grow new antlers at this time. This full Moon was also known as the Thunder Moon, because thunderstorms are so frequent during this month"

It's also Guru Purnima is an Indian festival dedicated to spiritual and academic teachers. It's a day to give thank to your teachers and mentors. Thank you Pattabhi Jois. Thank you Daisaku Ikeda. Thank you nature.

And why not add, a New tune? I've been playing 'Bittersweet Valentine' at live shows, here's the recording version from the upcoming CD! Enjoy. 

Artist Interview: The Pete Ahonen Experience

Energetic, funny and passionate about making music, Oakland songwriter Pete Ahonen has been captivating audiences throughout the San Francisco Bay Area with his own brand of outlaw country/folk rock. Upon the completion his debut CD “In the Blood” (Lost Monkey Records), the East Bay native is poised to take his music to a wider audience. Ahonen recently answered a few questions about his influences, writing process and the making of “In the Blood.”

Q Who do you count as major influences?

PA: Mason Jennings, Tom Waits, Townes Van Zandt, [and] Shane Macgowen.

Q When did you write your first song? What's your writing process like?

PA: I learned to play guitar when I was 10. My neighbor was a church music leader and he taught me some stuff. Before I knew it, I was just spending a lot of time sitting in my room alone playing guitar and messing around with stuff to see what I could do. Around the age of 13, my musical cherry got popped, I guess you could say. I started listening to Freddy King and got really into it. I ended up writing a little blues shuffle about a girl who didn’t exist — and that was it.  I was hooked.  I was pretty self conscious about my voice at first, and then one day someone showed me Jimmy Hendrix. I learned that he was self conscious about his voice too, but I was so blown away, not only by his guitar playing — he was a killer songwriter, too.

Pete Ahonen and bassist Andrew Gibson.

I always enjoyed being creative and writing short stories and stuff. I could play guitar pretty well so I started turning those short stories into little ditties. My writing process is kind of like... I sit down, try and cultivate a mood... I’ll pull out a snippet of a line I wrote down while I was walking around somewhere, and try to channel a vibe or a feeling about it. If I sit down with the intention of writing a song, it’s bullshit. Nothing comes out. My muse is really about keeping myself fed with information and experience in order for something to come out. I spend a lot of time just sitting on my porch, and my neighborhood is kind of crazy so I get a lot of inspiration just from that. It could be a couple having a fight, or a drunk guy having a good ol time, or this a lady whose always looking for change in the gutters. At that point I’ll kind of hear the guitar or notes in my head, so I’ll try to hum a line and then it just sort of happens from there. And then other times, I’ll be trying to write a song for like two years and I just can’t get it.  It never gets finished. You kind of just have to let it come naturally.

Q How did you go about selecting the songs for this CD?

PA: Kind of like the song writing process, it’s in the song itself. The song will tell me that it’s the one for the album. Before going into the studio, I had a lot of songs in the hole, or at least parts of songs. And I think a theme kind of presented itself during the recording process. We recorded the first song, for example, and we were all like, wow,  this is a really special tune. And going in... I had no idea it would turn out like that.  I really think the musicians I play with are a huge part of that too. Every song we recorded had a different theme and the content wasn’t really the same, but in the end the ones we picked felt like they were from the same tribe and they were meant to be together on the album.

Q Describe the recording process for you? Did songs take on different directions in the studio?

PA: I think the songs took on a bit of a different direction, especially musically. The lyrics, and the tone was basically pretty dialed in already, but musically we would sharpen different things to kind of add to that mood. But I think that’s what happens when you work on something creative, everyone has an idea of what something should look like in their head...and your songs can be shitty if you go into it with that approach. You have a general idea, but it doesn’t mean anything until you put your hands on it and start working on it, and the smallest thing can change everything. You have to be flexible and open to where it can take you. I think it depends on what you value, and what you’re after. When you’re singing with intent and emotion and you say ‘I want to play my song well’, and you do it with feeling - maybe there’s a squeak, or something’s out of tune, but it doesn’t really matter. To me, songs are more about the experience and not about it being perfect.

To buy "In the Blood" and find out about Ahonen's upcoming live shows, visit: http://peteahonen.com/

Artist Interview: Roberta Donnay's Got Sugar

I met jazz singer Roberta Donnay more than 10 years ago through West Coast Songwriters, discovering one of the Bay Area's most multi-talented singers, songwriters and producers in the process.  Soon after meeting, I sought out the Washington, DC native's help producing an EP and received an education in musicianship, studio work and Buddhism as well as a finished project. Having written for film, TV and the UN, Roberta has an abundance of songwriting and vocal chops, working as a music supervisor for film and singing with Dan Hicks and the Hot Licks when she's not fronting her Prohibition Mob Band. However, Roberta's first musical love was jazz, and for the past five years she's been focusing her energies on the genre. On November 13, Motéma Music officially releases her latest CD, "A Little Sugar," a showcase of vintage jazz, blues and swing. Roberta discussed her latest project as she got ready for her CD release and tour with her Prohibition Mob Band.
Q How was the process of making your new CD different from your other productions? What can listeners expect?
RD: "A Little Sugar " is meant to transport the listener back in time, to educate, to inspire. Back to a time in music which is the roots of almost all of what we now listen to.  Born out of the blues, this was the music of the people, reflecting a time of great creativity, new inventions, the breaking away from stagnant thoughts and rituals of the past, the beginning of a certain freedom for women... and, of course, a time of great struggle, not unlike now.

Q What led to your decision to go back to focusing on jazz? How did your Prohibition Mob Band come together?  

RD: I grew up listening to Louis Armstrong, George Gershwin and Broadway shows as a young child.  But when I discovered Billie Holiday and the early women of jazz, this had my full and complete attention.  I've based my own sound and my own place of study on this era of music since the beginning of my musical life. I was always a huge jazz fan.  I was singing and studying jazz when I first moved out west.  My goal was always to become a great jazz musician.

My vision with this band came together organically. This music just made me feel happy. And I wanted to work with my friends, and with those whose style and ideas I admired.  I searched high and low to find some songs which weren't as well known, and picked the songs on this record from that perspective.  But the band itself was years in the making.  We experimented with the music in our live shows for two years before recording anything, and I based much of what we ended up recording on the reactions of the audience.  This project was literally focused on our audience more than anything else.  And being able to create a project with a great musical partner and bassist Sam Bevan, well, that made the whole thing easy.

Q How do approach balancing life touring with Dan Hicks and Hot Licks with doing your own material and shows?

RD: Carefully.  And I work long hours!

Q You’ve truly spent a life in music. Who and what keeps you inspired?

RD: Studying Buddhism, philosophy, history, the writings of Nichiren Daishonin (a 13th century monk) and the writings of Daisaku Ikeda has been a major inspiration for me for many many years.  I have always had a seeking spirit to discover the truth.  I would not have lasted this long in music if I hadn't found a way to grow as a human being and to be able to focus on the inside as my primary goal. 

To raise my life condition and to become the person I wanted to become and fulfill my true potential, well, that is a struggle against my weaknesses, my doubts, my fears, and the eternal struggle of good against evil.  I finally found that I had all this unlimited potential but when my major focus was on external things, I grew more dissatisfied with my life.

I believe that when we grow closer to our core existence, when we focus our energies on this relationship first, then the superficial existences have a tendency to melt away and what we find is an energy of pure light which is at the core of our being. If I feel joyful, hopeful and inspired, then maybe I can help another just by being there, to help make this feeling possible for another person.  But one has to be willing to dig deep, to throw off the transient outer layer of ego, and focus on (possibly) a higher purpose and create who we truly want to be.

If one can do this, then that is absolute freedom.  And so that is my goal for myself and others.  I wish  freedom for every living being equally in this world.  

Music which saved my life and inspired me to go forward.  Other great musicians inspire me and I'm thankful to all of them...  I believe that my musical ancestors—Billie, Ma Rainey, Bessie, Louis, etc —  are the ones who truly raised me, [and] I feel I owe a huge debt of gratitude to them.   

The great, great musicians who I've had the honor of working with, cause me to listen, [and] add to the joy I already feel.  Imagine being able to perform in an environment such as this!  I am very grateful for this life in music.  I actually can't imagine a more wondrous existence here on planet earth.  And, of course, having a wonderful partner to share this life with, that makes everything a million times sweeter.  

For more information about Roberta and "A Little Sugar" go to http://robertadonnay.com/

I'm recording a new project...

...and I'd love your help with completing it!   I'm partway through recording my latest release and am asking your help in taking it to completion. Make a donation and you'll be the first to receive the new tunes as well as special benefits, including pre-release specials and other perks. The songs I'm currently recording were written over the last three years of playing, writing, performing and traveling (including two several-month-long forays to India to study yoga and Carnatic voice). Exploring faith, relationship, lineage and legacy, I'm enthused both for the project's lyrical content and the chance it's giving me to fill in my Americana palette that much more: I'm working with noted jazz artist and composer Art Khu — whose played on previous recordings — in the producer chair.
I'm halfway there....but your donations are crucial to covering the next half of my basic recording. Please take a look and listen to see how to help me finish my project. Many thanks! Deborah

Listening for the muse

where does it come from?

guitar inspection at Off the Grid

new works in progress....

Several children were extremely interested in my guitar during set-up for a gig the other day. I love how these little girls where drawn to the guitar, amazed at the sound that was produced, even before the show got going. They knew something was in there. Something might happen. Getting that 'something' is the trick of course. At the same time I've been playing a lot of shows this summer, I've been going through writing done in the near 3 years since I last recorded. It's always interesting to see what accrues over the months and now years (how did that happen?). What new themes arise, what recurs again and again. While not everything that was produced from strumming on my Martin (mostly, though the Desio is getting in on the writing action) is going on record, I'm excited to have a new project coming together.  In the meantime, most of my previous CDs are available at CD Baby. And this week, if you buy any of my MP3s at CD Baby  between 7/30 & 8/3 & I’ll get 100% of sales. Check it out: Deborah Crooks Music Store

ASCAP, Souls & Sessions

Silverlake mural

Last week was a packed few days of yoga practice and the ASCAP EXPO in Southern California. Encinitas and LA were sunny and happy in all respects. ASCAP was, as in prior experiences, a great mix of networking, know-how and inspiration. I caught up with songwriter friends, received some nice feedback and even heard a fabulous talk by Carly Simon. I had not fully appreciated Simon's career until hearing this recap of all her hits and overview of her rich and varied career in music. Slim, composed and still in full voice, she spoke candidly about the auspicious beginnings of her career, the stammer that plagued her confidence and ultimately helped her find her singing voice and her writing process. She's a true artist!

Oakland Symphony premier of Art Khu's Symphony of Souls

I flew home with just enough time to get to the Paramount Theater to witness the premier performance of Ark Khu's Symphony of Souls by the Oakland East Bay Symphony. It's no secret in the Bay Area and in jazz circles that Art is an amazing musician. I've been extremely fortunate to know him as well as have some of his piano and guitar playing on several of my CDs. Seeing this premier just confirmed to the world how great he really is. There were two premiers during the program, "Notes from the Philippines," one by Khu and another by Victor Noriega, and both were met with standing ovations as well as enthusiasm from conductor and musical director Michael Morgan. Along with a Cello Concerto by Dvorak and an overture taken from Mendelssohn, it truly was a great night of music for East Bay symphony goers.

Being surrounded by other songwriters and composers for three days is motivating to say the least. I was glad to have a session scheduled Saturday after all this musical richness. Half of a very beautiful sunny day Saturday was spent in the studio recording basic tracks for a couple of new songs. The next project has begun!

Bass, drums & coffee

Interview: Producer/Musician/Studio Owner Mike Stevens Talks (Recording) Shop

Several years ago, while in search of a new drummer, I was given Mike Stevens' name by both a band mate and a producer. It took some time to reach him because he was busy playing so many other sessions and gigs. After playing one show together I understood why: he's both a rock solid and versatile drummer and easy to work with. I've since worked with Mike on a number of recordings and he's since opened his own recording studio, Lost Monkey, in Hayward, CA. In between his sessions, he answered some questions about his approach to recording.
   Q: What makes a great recording session? What ingredients have gone into your favorite and/or more successful sessions?

MS: What I've noticed is that it's all about the performer getting out of their own way. It seems like I'm always hearing from people [how] they love so much about their iPhone rehearsal recordings, and when they step into the studio to record things more cleanly, they don't like it. I know it's not because the equipment in the studio makes them sound worse. What I've learned from my own experience and from working with other artists is that there's this mental switch that happens when you step into the studio. There's a lot riding on it. We put expectations on our performance and the outcome... often times an artist is thinking about trying to recreate that magical rehearsal session. To me, that breaks the performance because that's the opposite of the mindset you were in when that magical rehearsal happened. You were just there... doing your thing... no expectations... no pressure. I honestly believe that when you can step into the studio with that attitude, you are closer to where you need to be to get that magical take. When you can't, you just push yourself farther from it.


Q: How important is gear? Do you have any preference or thoughts on vintage vs. modern gear? As you set up Lost Monkey, what were must-haves and why?
MS: Gear is important to the point that you need something to record with and on to. Aside from that, there have been many great recordings made with gear that most audiophiles and engineers would laugh at. It kind of goes back to the performance attitude I mentioned before. That is far more important to me than gear. [It's] important to remember that most music listeners aren't musicians or even hard-core audiophiles. They want an emotional connection to a song ... and they often can't even say specifically why they do or don't like a particular track. I believe the delivery and songwriting is what pulls them in ... not the tones. After all that, different gear just gives you different colors to paint the music ... and those colors range from vintage to modern to lo-fi to pristine. For example, with all the nice mics I have to put on drums, sometimes I reach for the old rotary phone handset I have wired up as a microphone. It sounds like total lo-fi shit when you listen to it alone, but when you blend that with the other drum tracks it can give the drums the right amount of edge they need for a particular song. I really like having variety. I often pick up things as I come across them. My main must have for Lost Monkey was as many input tracks as possible so I could record bands live... to get that nice, tight energy. I'm running 16 simultaneous inputs using a Digi002 with an ADAT expansion. I have an 8-channel Tascam board that I use for preamps going to the ADAT and a few nice tube preamps I can use as well. I like the set up. It does well... would it be different if I had an unlimited budget? Absolutely. I’d probably have a 24 track tape machine and a vintage analogue console and preamps coming out my ears, because I personally like the colors that kind of gear brings... but I'd also keep my current stuff on hand. I like options.

Q: What producers and/or studio owners have particularly inspired you?
MS: I’ve been on a lot of sessions... on both sides of the mixing console. Through that I’ve seen it go down so many ways. I’ve found that there's something to take away from every experience, whether it's a new way to do something or a how not to do something.
Honestly, every single producer, engineer, studio and artist has taught me something. I observe and absorb a lot. I try to take everything in and incorporate it into what I’m doing. I find most of my inspiration [from] producers and studios that lean a little more towards that old school approach to recording. You know, getting a track down before you beat it to death and strip any and everything human out of if. I like it when a producer let's the recording breathe instead of beating it into submission. A song is a living thing after all, and always serves you best when you let it be what it's trying to be.

Q: Other than artists you're recording and/or playing with, what/whose music are you listening too? Could you name three of your favorite albums of the past decade and why?
MS: I listen to everything... almost. And I listen to different things in different ways. I like that 10 people hearing the same song can hear 10 completely different things. Sometimes I listen to albums for the production. Sometimes I'm studying the drummer and sometimes I actually just like the song. I really like Wilco's production style and the chances they take in that respect. Glenn Kotche is an incredibly creative and tasteful drummer. Their latest album "The Whole Love" is great and I enjoyed listening to it from all those different angles. Also, I’ve been checking out Adele recently. She's obviously an amazing singer and I find some of her less standard arrangements really refreshing. Again, I pull inspiration from all sorts of places. I can learn a lot from a song I don't even really like.
Find more information about Mike Stevens and Lost Monkey Studio at http://lostmonkeystudio.com/

New EP 'Other Halves'

While clearing the slate for the coming months overseas, I gathered together a handful of unfinished recordings and— with the help of producer/engineer/musicians Ben Bernstein, Mike Stevens and my band—completed several of these AND recorded a brand new tune. The result is a 4-song EP "Other Halves." I'll have copies of the disc at the November shows and it’s now available on Cd Baby. I hope you enjoy it!

National Co-op Month: A Collective Project

co·op·er·a·tive (k - p r- -t v, - -r t v, - p r -). adj. 1. Done in cooperation with others: a cooperative effort. 2. Marked by willingness to cooperatee.

I'm not officially a member of a co-op but given the number of co-operative ventures that populate my life: the SF Bike Coalition, City CarShare, the Bay Area Songwriter Collective, eating at Cheeseboard, or shopping @ Rainbow Grocery, it's clear how much I'm drawn to that model. And as I described the process of recording and assembling my latest EP, the about-to-be "Other Halves," to an engineer, it became clear that it was hardly MY Cd. Not much happens if you don't communicate and collaborate clearly toward a common goal, aka cooperatively, and while yes, the recording is of songs I penned, it has not been solo endeavor. From my band mates, to the handful of local studios both seasoned and newly-minted in which I recorded, to the artwork & duplication , it's been a seriously collective, and local, experience. I couldn't have planned a better way to commemorate National Co-Op month . The EP is just getting pressed this week. If you're at my November shows, you'll be able to pick up a copy. In the meantime, you can listen to the lead-off track "Off Sides."

Off Sides by Deborah Crooks

Artist Interview: Festizio's Keane Li

I met Keane Li when I interviewed him for a job. Impressed as much by his resume as his artistic vision, I hired him with the added benefit of getting to watch as his band Festizio refined its sound....post office-sharing, I'm still watching as Festizio has produced two Cds, including the new Hot City, to be released Sunday at Cafe Du Nord.

Keane spoke for the band about Festizio's inspiration and its latest CD.
Q How this new recording different than the last? Both in terms of material and your recording process.

We recorded at Tiny Telephone this time, rather than Hyde Street Studio C. We recorded onto tape and transferred it for mixing in ProTools HD. Last time we went straight into ProTools. We used tape in the mastering process as well, something we didn't do last time, so the overall sound is a lot more robust and warm. On the previous album, we were more traditional alt-rock (two guitars, a bassist, and a drummer). On our new album, our lead guitarist performs on keyboards, synth, and Rhodes, so the overall sound is more ambient and open. We aimed to be a bit more atmospheric and cinematic with our songs.

Q Festizio--how did you name it? How long have you guys been playing together?

Hot City is the name of the first song, about spending a night out. The overall album starts from aggressive and dance to something darker and then finally something more bright and uplifting (sort of like the course of a night). We've been playing about four years. Our bassist recently left so there are just three of us now. We're starting to move into a more electronic, orchestrated sound.

Q Describe your writing process? Do all band members bring material in or do you bring all the songs?

I write all the songs and we come together and arrange it. In the future, since we will be doing more sampling and using electronic sounds, we may change our songwriting process a bit, in that our synth player might bring in a groove and we'll arrange with something that inspires.

Q Who are you currently listening too? Any artist/song obsessing you?

We've always been big Radiohead fans. We're also influenced by Muse and 90s alt-rock like the Smashing Pumpkins. We're also heavily influenced by non-rock genres like hip hop, jazz, and classical music.

Q Where will Festizio go in the next 6 months

We hope to share our new album with as many people as possible, which is why we're giving it away for free. We'll keep touring in support of it while writing some exciting, new songs.

Festizio releases its new album, Hot City, at Café Du Nord on Sunday, 10/17. Also performing are Johnny Hi-Fi and Lion Riding Horses. The concert is a benefit for Recovering Irma, a documentary film about domestic violence.

Artist Interview: Producer Ben Bernstein

Given his deep affinity for roots, Americana, blues and indie music, there's been no question for me to keep working with Oakland musician, producer and bass teacher Ben Bernstein on my latest recording projects. During the several years I've known him, he's developed his own Petting Zoo studios into a thriving hive of activity for local and touring acts interested in committing their work to recording. As another wave of artists prepare to release Cd's with production and engineering credits to Ben, I asked him some questions about his music and recording aesthetic.

Q: You've been a producing madman this past year—what producers do you look up to? Could you name 3 albums that you look to models of excellence and perhaps exemplify the aesthetic you're going for?
BB: I really like the work Daniel Lanois and Malcolm Burn have done, especially with Emmylou Harris' work. Also, George Martin, of course. Three albums that exemplify my aesthetic goal? Blood on the Tracks, Goats Head Soup, and The Fleet Foxes self-titled debut. It has a really great space on the whole album but sounds clear as a bell. I recommend listening on vinyl. They recorded it all over the place, largely in bedrooms, but it sounds awesome. I went to see them at the Palace of Fine arts and it sounded the same as the recording. How many bands can do that!?

Q: You work out of your home studio and are now working part-time out of 1340 Mission—what do you think makes for a great studio?
BB: Vibe, and great gear, of course. My studio, the Petting Zoo, has an awesome garden right out the door. Artists dig that. 1340 has nice custom burlap acoustical treatments. It's like being inside a warm cup of coffee. In either local, the world melts away, which is very important to the creative mind space. Also, a decent, if not awesome pair of monitors. A separate control room is nice, but I've learned to live without one. A nice couch and a Herman Miller chair adds to the vibe factor. Having a tuned control room is veeeerrryyy important.

Q: What do you think are the necessary ingredients for a good recording session?
BB:Preparation. Communication. Experience. And performance. You can record decent audio ANYWHERE, but if the performance sucks, you've got nothing.

Q: What have you been listening to in your free time? Anything obsessing you?
BB: Again, the Fleet Foxes sound is haunting. Also, some Iron & Wine, and Calexico. I like the semi-dark sound [that] a lot of indie producers and engineers are going for. I think it's the back to analog and vinyl Renaissance movement. Digital recording made things artificially clean. The world doesn't sound like that. There is dirt everywhere. It's part of the aesthetic. You don't want your album to sound like it was recorded in a hospital, do you?

Q: I know you've got a bunch of your own material under your sleeve. How do you know it's time to record your own work and what's ahead for Ben Bernstein, artist and musician, as well as producer?
BB:When there's time. It's all extremely back burner right now. I typically work on my own material when there's downtime, which is a commodity these days, thankfully. Usually it's late at night, but with two kids I am more apt to go to bed given the choice, but that will change over time.
For more information recording at Petting Zoo studio, write pettingzoostudio@gmail.com