The GrassCast - Episode #2

Published by Brance on November 11th, 2005
Filed under Studio News

I just published the 2nd episode of The GrassCast over at The Bluegrass Blog. This one features excerpts from a number of interviews. The topic is IBMA 2005 reactions. John and I interviewed a bunch of bluegrass personalities and asked them all for their opinions about the first year of the event being held in Nashville. It’s pretty interesting.

Link: The GrassCast - episode #2

The GrassCast

Published by Brance on November 3rd, 2005
Filed under Studio News

IBMA was a great event this year, but it wore me out! I’ve been trying to catch up all week. Lots of stuff to do here.

One of the things I’ve been working on this week is a new podcast over at The Bluegrass Blog. It’s called The GrassCast and will be published weekly. Most of the episodes were recorded last week at IBMA. I’ve just been editing, recording introductions, and setting up the web delivery.

Go check it out.

Live at IBMA!

Published by Brance on October 26th, 2005
Filed under Bluegrass News

Well, I’m in Nashville this week for the IBMA Business Conference and Fan Fest. I’m recording a lot of podcast interviews for use on The Bluegrass Blog. I’m also blogging live from the event with my co-author John Lawless. You can find all our IBMA related posts here.

Huber Banjos CD - Cuppa ‘Jo

Published by Brance on October 20th, 2005
Filed under CD and DVD releases

The new Huber Banjos CD Cuppa ‘Jo is about to be released. Produced by John Lawless, this CD was recorded and mixed here at Clear Blue Productions, earlier this year.

This is from The Bluegrass Blog:

The official release date is set for October 24, to coincide with the start of the IBMA World Of Bluegrass convention in Nashville, TN. Copies will be available on site from Huber Banjos, or pre-release orders can be placed with AcuTab to be shipped that week.

Audio samples are available on the Acutab site as well.

Previous:
Team Flathead Follow Up CD - contains photos
Team Flathead - Mix Update
Huber Banjos CD (Team Flathead Follow Up)

Preparing for IBMA 2005

Published by Brance on October 19th, 2005
Filed under Studio News

I’m really busy this week.

I’m finishing the edits on Live In Kansas City, the concert DVD that features Cody Kilby, Brad Davis, and Tim May.

I’m finishing the DVD authoring on Flatpicking The Blues, a DVD featuring Brad Davis.

The IBMA World of Bluegrass starts on monday. I’ll be there all week. Right now I’m working on some cool stuff for The Bluegrass Blog that is part of what we’ll be doing next week. I’m working on the database and front end application for a searchable Event Calendar. I’m working out details for podcasting and vidcasting from the event. I’m also making preparations for live blogging the entire event, including the Awards Show on Thursday night.

Concert DVD with Brad Davis

Published by Brance on October 14th, 2005
Filed under Studio News

Still working on the KC Concert DVD. Brad was here yesterday and we worked on mixing the audio for the DVD. Brad just got in from Nashville where he’s been recording on an interesting album. You can read about it over on The Bluegrass Blog.

Now I’m just putting the finishing touches on the edits and then it’s on to DVD authoring.

Live Concert DVD

Published by Brance on October 11th, 2005
Filed under Studio News

This week I’m working on editing a live concert DVD that I recorded in December of 2004. We recorded it at Jim Curley’s Mountain Music Shoppe in Shawnee, KS. The DVD features Cody Kilby, Brad Davis, and Tim May. It’s full of some very fine flatpicking, banjo and mandolin playing, and singing. These guys are great players and great entertainers. This is a really fun project to work on, it almost edits itself!

DVD: Amazing Grace: Gospel Favorites For Banjo

Published by Brance on October 3rd, 2005
Filed under CD and DVD releases, Studio News

This week I’m putting the finishing touches on a DVD for The Murphy Method. This is a product that was previously available on VHS. I am transferring it to DVD for them. What this involves is first capturing the analog master tape into a digital format. Once that is done I do a little editing, basically just updating intro and credit screens, etc. Then I set the chapter markers for the DVD. Next I do some color correction and other enhancements to the footage. Then I work with the audio. It’s really just a matter of cleaning up the noise that is inherent in analog tape. This is often called tape hiss. Then maybe a little mastering EQ/compression. The next step is encoding the video and audio assets for DVD.

Now I can start building a DVD. I use only original photos, taken by either myself or Dave Carney, as menu background images. Then I design menus to match the theme of the DVD. In this case the product is a gospel banjo DVD so I used stained glass windows as the background. Once the menu design is complete, I link all the buttons to the appropriate chapter markers, write any necessary scripts for functionality, and then build the disc.

The last project I did for Murphy was a beginning fiddle DVD. It’s available online here.

Keel Brothers Vol. 2

Published by Brance on October 2nd, 2005
Filed under Studio News

I was in the studio a couple weeks ago with Larry Keel and his brother Gary. We’re working on a new Keel Brothers CD. This is going to be a great project. It is centered around Larry and Gary with their guitars and voices. Many of the tunes will just be the two of them, while others will feature guest appearances by their wives, Jenny and Pat. The ladies both play bass and Jenny sings some tenor harmony. If you are a fan of Larry’s guitar playing and singing, you will want this CD. It’s so intimate and personal feeling. It’s like the two brothers are sitting in your living room picking after dinner. Larry and I both have quite busy schedules but we should complete mixing sometime before the end of this month.

Power Pickin’ Volume 3

Published by Brance on September 27th, 2005
Filed under CD and DVD releases

Power Pickin’ Volume 3 - Playing Banjo Backup In A Bluegrass Band has just been released by AcuTab. This project was taped, tracked, mixed, edited, and authored here at Clear Blue Productions. It was produced by John Lawless. I posted about it over on the The Bluegrass Blog.