Update on "Reality Check Please"

On April 17, 2006, i posted this blog titled REALITY CHECK PLEASE.doc

I was pleasantly surprised at the number of emails and responses i got from it. You kind of need to read at least some of the "Reality Check Please" blog for all of this to make sense. I got another email about that blog post last week, over a year later..... Here are excerpts of that email reprinted with the senders permission.....
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Greetings Ken,
What can I say, I'm Driven....beyond belief...I even co-authored a 450pg. BOOK on being driven to reinforce the concept of drive itself.

I'm in the top 1%. I just moved from Virginia in my car to New York in mid-July. I found a roommate in Queens who's a producer and interned with D&D Studios so I'm at least staying around artists and music! I'm touching base with you because some time last year I came across your Monday, April 17, 2006 "reality check please" blog. I had been planning a move to NY since 2006 and your blog really helped me get things in perspective........

.......So now I'm doing what any sane man would do. I'm presenting my skill to people like you who value what I do lyrically. Even if I could write for you, help you clean your studio, or be a value for your network, or ghostwrite, I'm willing to work for no fee to start.
Other than that if you know anyone or anywhere I could work for a basic hourly wage and be myself, that would be cool too. Let me know and I'll come for an interview immediately and be able to start immediately. Attached is my cover letter, resume, value offered, and references. Feel free to forward my resume on to your colleagues. Thanks for keeping it real.

Sincerely,
Bobby A.
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So, long story short. I emailed Bobby back. Anyone willing to exibit this level of commitment to career advancement, I would be foolish to not at least talk to him. I told Bobby that i had no jobs available at my studio, and i hope to God my staff never leaves me, they are tremendous. However, as I'm always seeking out talented and dedicated co-songwriters, I asked him if he'd like to try writing together. A few days later (yesterday) he came out to the studio for a long day of writing, the culmination of which is some really great stuff. So, while i'm not hiring any staff, if you are in the NYC area and want a great employee, i think this is your guy. And on that note, i must get back to making records.

-Ken Lewis

Linkin Park - Hands Held High

I think i have a new favorite song. Only favorite in the sense that it elicited a very strong emotional reaction from me the first time i heard it. "Hands Held High" from Linkin Park's new album "Minutes to Midnight". Maybe one of the most poignant war protest songs I've heard in recent memory. By the way, I have been against this Iraq War since before the war started. I thought it was right to go into Afganistan, and very wrong to go into Iraq. So i'm not anti war per se, just anti senseless war for oil, power and imperialism. I don't like reading the news about Iraqi 500 people killed in one day by bombs, or 4,000 coalition soldiers now dead and tens of thousands wounded. I don't like talk of invading Iran, as if our military could even take on such a mission. I don't like our government wiretapping US citizens with no warrant or oversight, and now US Spy satellites have been repositioned to spy on US soil. Our Attorney General can't even keep his own lies straight. China now owns 1 Trillion dollars of our National Debt and they could bankrupt this country tomorrow if they choose to liquidate that debt, which they can do. The money spent on this war is borrowed from China. I could go on and on. I don't like the media and news being controlled by a few multi-billion dollar corporations. CNN no longer reports real news. Go here if you'd like unfiltered news. Digg.com

If you disagree with me, thats fine and i'm sure many do, thats freedom of speech, one of our liberties thats been eroded under this administration. I'd only ask you to ask yourself what sacrifices you've had to endure personally while hundreds of thousands of Iraqi's and thousands of US soldiers have made the ultimate sacrifice. The only "hardship" I've endured is higher gas prices while the oil companies consistently post the highest quarterly profits of any company in history. Has anyone seen the Dick Cheney interview from 1994, when he was in Bush Senior's Administration. His words are shocking and accurate, he should have listened to himself, he used to give great advice.

Now go listen to "Hands Held High" and i will get off this high horse and get back to mixing.

-Ken Lewis

Sullee and Billy Squire

Who's old enough to remember Billy Squire? The 80's, (1981 to be exact) songs like "Emotions in Motion", "The Stroke", "In the Dark". I think i was in 6th grade when his "Don't Day No" album came out. I learned all the guitar riffs, all the lyrics, played a few of the songs in a band, heck i even remember being at the skating rink skating to some of those songs. crazy stuff being in the 6th grade, i don't miss it, but i did love that album!

Anyway, "Sullee", who i've blogged about many times before, one of my clients and an artist on the VH1 - THE WHITE RAPPER SHOW. Sullee and Billy Squire are doing a song together and I'm producing it, and IMHO it is hot hot hot hot hot. OK, so i'm biased, but i do believe it. And what a thrill to be working with someone who's music i loved so much as a kid!

Wish i could tell you more, I'll post it when i can.

and a side note for the day..... I was doing a super cleaning of the studio and found several old notepads from when i first got to NYC (May 1993!!!) and i was working as an assistant at Soundtrack Recording Studios in Manhattan. I needed to learn all of the gear in a 9 room facility, as well as the general work flow, session protocol, etc... I have notepads filled page after page top to bottom with notes. I also found lots of notes from when i would assist engineers who came into the studio. Anything cool they did that i wanted to remember, i wrote down in heavy detail. I would pull these notepads out on the half hour train ride home every night and read over the days notes several times to keep what i was learning in my mind. Those were good times and i got to assist for some great engineers, Tony Maserati, Paul Logas, Angela Piva, Jon Fousty, Troy Hightower and a ton of others. I really learned alot from them. Just reminiscing.

-Ken Lewis

Nice Client Letter

I got a very nice letter in the mail today with some CD's from a recent and hopefully future client of mine. I havent asked them if i can reprint it, so i'll keep it anonymous and hope they all dont mind. I was very flattered by the letter and I am exceptionally proud of the album we made. Here's the letter...
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Dear Ken,
If it hasn't been said a million times already, we just wanted to write you and let you know how much we enjoyed working with you. It's so relieving to have a recording that we are proud and honored to show our friends and families. We hear compliments from fans at every show about the recordings and wanted you to know how appreciative we are for your dedication and belief in us.

So, thank you for everything that you've done for us; for letting us invade your studio, for putting up with us for so long, and for all the hard work you put in, for the patience to work with us... from the bottom of our hearts thank you.
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Well, that letter just totally made my week. Hopefully this album will find a worldwide audience soon. They are first class people with an amazing album.

-Ken Lewis

Cassie Said "Yes"

I just had the BEST day!!!! I went to the Family Values Tour concert today featuring one of my very favorite bands, Flyleaf, as well as headliners, Korn, and Evanescense. Thanks to a connect thru mutual friends, i went and hung out with Flyleaf on their tour bus before their show. What a super nice, down to Earth band!! Lacey (lead singer) walked right up and introduced herself. That girl cant be taller than about 4'6" and i dont know how that voice comes out of that body, but she's got i think one of the best voices in rock, and is one of the genuinely nicest people as well. The lead guitar player, Samir, and I ended up talking for about 45 minutes. Super cool guy and and heck of a guitar player.

One of my favorite songs on the Flyleaf album is called "Cassie". The chorus goes "Do you believe in god, Written on a bullet, say yes and pull the trigger".

I never knew what it meant but figured it had to have a story behind it so i asked Samir. I didnt expect the answer. Samir went on to tell me that Cassie Bernall was a student at Columbine High School. She was also a Christian and when Dylan Klebold starting shooting up the library she was in, she was under a table praying. Klebold walked over and asked her if she believed in God. When she said "Yes", Dylan pulled the trigger and ended her life.

Needless to say i will never listen to that song in the same way again, actually it will be pretty hard to listen to that song again as i vividly remember exactly where i was when the images of Columbine began streaming across the TV.

Now, while i'm often a fan of songs with very disposable song topics, it is nice to know that there are bands out there writing very deep, very powerful songs, and performing them with equal conviction. this is Flyleaf. If you havent heard them yet, you should definitely check them out here... Myspace.com/Flyleaf

Oh yeah, almost forgot..... Flyleaf is also friends with Texas rockers "Glass Intrepid" who i recently produced. The new Glass Intrepid album rocks! check that out too!

-Ken Lewis

A Great Song

Trey Mills is a very talented producer who's been a client of mine for a while now. Recently he decided to step into the artist spotlight himself. I mixed the first single from his album, a beautiful song called "Saving Me". You should definitely take 4 minutes and listen to it, what a great song! Listen here....

TREY MILLS

If you like it enough to buy it, Trey has it on sale right on the site for 99 cents! Just scroll down a bit, you'll see it.

Enjoy!

-Ken Lewis

"Man On Earth" indie rock Sampler

Earlier this year i wrapped up production and mixing on a 6 song EP for NYC indie rockers "Man On Earth". This week i jumped back into the studio with them to record two more songs towards a full length release. We spent 2 nights in a rehearsal room doing pre production on the songs, getting arrangements tight, changing up parts, and generally polishing and preparing for tracking. Wednesday we hit my studio for a marathon session in which we tracked drums, bass, and most of the guitars. Session began around 10am and ended around 4am. You can get alot done in 16 hours :-)

Anyway, i'm sure i'll blog more as vocals get recorded and i mix the songs, but for now, i thought i might let you hear a sampler from the self titled EP. click here....

Man_On_Earth_Sampler.mp3

Enjoy!

-Ken Lewis

I was happy with Top Ten

OK, so i've been blogging about John Legend too much. I realize this. But every week that song keeps climbing and well, i gotta mention it right? So, I was ecstatic when "Another Again" hit Top Ten on the Billboard Adult R&B Airplay charts, but its been past that for 4 weeks now. This week its knocking on the door of top 5. This week "Another Again" which i produced with John, is currently #6 on that Billboard chart! Go John Go!

-Ken Lewis