Weathervane Music

[bdmctear]

Hi Gearslutz,

I just wanted to start this thread as a place for updates about Weathervane Music.

For those who don't remember me, my name is Brian McTear. I'm a musician, record producer and studio owner from Philadelphia. I used to post here all the time, but in the past year, I've been immersed in working to establish a non-profit organization called Weathervane Music.

Weathervane exists to support and advance the work of great independent musicians. We are a member-supported group that produces a series of audio and video recordings called the Weathervane Music Project Series. In this our humble first year we've produced four single-song projects, three of which are up on line. The fourth will be released in late October.

We hope the Project Series will grow in the years to come to include the production of full length albums, and that the opportunities and exposure that will come with an artists' participation in the series will be career changing. That's our vision. We also hope to continually develop other programs to achieve our mission, as well.

So please check in here from time to time, and of course, throw me your questions! There's nothing I want more than for Weathervane to achieve its potential, and to be model for positive change to the music industry.

Thanks!

[bdmctear]

This is a link to our occasional newsletter. We try not to oversaturate the e-waves, but instead put it all in one announcement. Just sent one out today!

http://bit.ly/WVOccasional9_09

In any event, would love to talk to some Gearslutz about WV. Our projects are very studio-centric.

[bdmctear]

Recent projects to show you folks:
Danielson profile Video -
WV Project Series 2009: Danielson on Vimeo

Danielson technical profle
WV Project Series 2009: Danielson Technical Profile on Vimeo

BC Camplight profile video -
WV Project Series 2009: BC Camplight on Vimeo

BC Camplight technical video -
WV Project Series 2009: BC Camplight technical profile on Vimeo

[LaLaFaV]

Cool stuff. Great HD footage, also. I watched them all.

[Clueless]

Brian, I have an update for you:

YOU WERE PROFILED ON NPR!!!

That's huge!

[bdmctear]

Ha! That WAS me on NPR... wow!

So here's what's been going on. We spent the last two weeks recording the first three projects that will be featured in 2010. We got amazing equipment demos from Studio Logic Sound and Ecstatic Electric, ie. my very good true friends, George and Joel respectively. We'll be announcing the artists as well as some other great news in the weeks to come.

For all the above we must thank the recording engineers (Devin Greenwood, Amy Morrissey, Jon Low and Gregory Scott), the camera crew (Phil Bradshaw, Andrew David Watson, Jen Schneider, Tom Quinn, BJ Downs, David Hartly, Peter English, Bryan Baker), our editor Bryan Baker, as well as Andy Williams at The Dive/Shooters in Philadelphia, and anyone else who volunteered. Without all the above and then some, this wouldn't have happened!

Stay tuned!

[bdmctear]

We've partnered up with a major radio station, WXPN, radio and promotional support.

See what you think of the Technical video. The artist is Sharon Van Etten.

Weathervane Music - Shaking Through blog - Shaking Through: Recording Sharon Van Etten's "Love More"*(video)

If you like that, there's more at
Weathervane Music - Sharon Van Etten Videos

Let me know what you think!

B

[Kris]

Nice. You didn't mention what you used the ubk fatso on though...

[bdmctear]

Originally Posted by Kris

Nice. You didn't mention what you used the ubk fatso on though...

Good call! We're hoping to make complete track sheets available soon, though I think we may not have had the UBK running in the final mix. (I had a fear that showing the lights blinking from earlier in the session would imply it was in the final mix... now I know.). Well, we've certainly used it elsewhere in other upcoming projects, though. That's a nice unit and UBK certainly knows how to use it!

[Kris]

Cool. Good on UBK for producing a track and NOT using the UBK fatso just for the sake of using it!

[bdmctear]

Originally Posted by Kris

Cool. Good on UBK for producing a track and NOT using the UBK fatso just for the sake of using it!

Absolutely. I can assure he'd be the last person to do that!

B

[u b k]

Are we talkin' about Sharon's tune? If so, the UBK Fatso is the sound of the sandpaper block on that song.

We creamed it with the warmth to remove the grit and leave nothin' but the smooth. As inconsequential as it may seem, that element is actually key to the song's texture, along with the harmonium it's the one constant throughout the piece.

Nevertheless, it was a slightly surreal experience to put a $2800 compressor on a $4 block of wood wrapped with a 50¢ piece of sandpaper.


Gregory Scott - ubk

[bdmctear]

Gregory's right. I went and checked the track sheets. I plan to eventually make track sheets and other goodies available in a "producer's package". I don't know when we'll be able to get to it, but it these will make a really nice complement to the video.

[Storyville]

Great meeting you today Brian (this is Matt)! Great studio, and brilliant project. I hope to see you this weekend.

And yeah, UBK is far more invested in the music than the gear when it comes to tracking and mixing. If he doesn't feel the fatso is right for the job he won't use it. What's the word.... integrity?

Hope to see you (UBK) this weekend to. Shoot, bring a fatso while we're demoing stuff.

[elmolemon]

I just wanted to bump this thread, as i just watched the new episode.

I absolutely love this project even though this is absolutely NOT (and i repeat NOT) my type of music!

I like the vibe of the videos, the positive and creative energy with all those bands involved and i really wish you the best to achieve a larger audience for you, the studio and all the featured bands.

Concerning the technical videos i'd love them to be longer and more geeky, but hey that's just the gearslut in me..

[bdmctear]

Originally Posted by elmolemon

I just wanted to bump this thread, as i just watched the new episode.

I absolutely love this project even though this is absolutely NOT (and i repeat NOT) my type of music!

I like the vibe of the videos, the positive and creative energy with all those bands involved and i really wish you the best to achieve a larger audience for you, the studio and all the featured bands.

Concerning the technical videos i'd love them to be longer and more geeky, but hey that's just the gearslut in me..

Thanks so much! You know, we always suspected that people could like the videos, the community spirit, etc., without liking the music.

Longer and more geeky... we're working on it! We need to hone in on the message of the tech stuff. So far we haven't had as much luck with determining who the audience is for the tech stuff, but I always suspected it'd be here on GS and on Tape Op. Not a huge response yet, though. I appreciate you helping to spread the word!

We have a couple really great ideas in mind for 2011, including sharing the raw tracks and/or stems. It will take some development and, of course "FUNDING" (the extremely hard part, I assure you), but I am hoping that early Spring or so we have some fun stuff for you!

[elmolemon]

Sounds great!

I was also wondering why there wasn't more feedback over here, as i REALLY love the spirit of this project and i'm a sucker for studio-footage.

I'm following your project since the "2009 PROJECT SERIES" and i think you're laying groundwork for future music-production-funding / artist-development / band-promotion. And the videos ARE interesting even for people who are not into this kind of music.

Furthermore i love the concept of following the process of record-making with a camera and i think the footage you shoot makes it a lot easier to relate to a certain band. Eventhough i'm into the productionside myself i absolutely believe that "normal" () people will like these too, as it's interesting for everybody to see how the music - which is the soundtrack to our lives - is produced. This is even more true for fans of independent artists, which have a strong bond to both the music AND the artist.

Last year, watching the development of the Blakroc-LP (The Black Keys with different rappers) made me a junkie for the "webisodes" and i just COULDN'T wait until the LP dropped, which was a feeling i didn't have for a long time. For me this was the most exciting record-promotion i experienced in years and i bought both CD and vinyl the day it was released. This is the way to promote a record in the days of a dying music industry and web 2.0!

As you can see, i get really enthused about this stuff. I wish you the best for your project and I'm looking forward to see more great videos on your page.

[bdmctear]

We're also learning that the Weathervane / Shaking Through recording process actually has an enormously positive effect on the performances. We didn't expect this. We thought the opposite would happen. At this point I push people to use the WV/ST process for any record I work on (minus video cameras, of course). It's become my preferred way to work!

[Baz]

I just love your videos and the music you're producing, Brian and have been subscribed since you first started this endeavor.

I've also exposed Weathervane to a lot of friends of mine up here in BC

And man, I just love your studio. What a vibey place.Especially Love all the natural light! thumbsup

[bdmctear]

Thanks so much, Baz! It means the world to us, and your message comes at an anxious time: fundraising season! So much on the line! If you want to spread the word, the project video at our Kickstarter Campaign really says it all: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects...rough-volume-2

Have you signed up for the newsletter? If you download from the Music Page of ShakingThrough, it signs you up! And the downloads are free! That's at Shaking Through : Music .

Lots of good ways for people to be involved are coming along in 2011!

Thanks again, Baz!

[bdmctear]

Hey Folks,

Just posted stems from our most recent Weathervane Shaking Through release. The band is A Classic Education. I put up a thread here:

Weathervane Stems

I want to see if people are interested in playing with these, dicing them up, etc.

Head over there and let me know what you think!