11.26.02 — Johnny Socko climbs again

Rock band Johnny Socko, signed to my production company, continues to make great strides at radio. This week Socko jumps from #115 to #102 on the CMJ Top 200 Albums charts. We are so close to cracking the Top 100 we can taste it. The album has gotten great responses so far. If you haven't heard it yet, check out clips at JohnnySocko.com and if you dig it, BUY THE ALBUM!!!

 

11.21.02 — Jay Z receives the Gift of #1

Great news. The new Jay Z album The Blueprint 2, The Gift & The Curse debuted at #1 on the Billboard Top 200 Album Charts this week and sold 545,000 copies in the first seven days!

I worked on track one, "Dream" featuring the Notorious BIG and Faith Evans. This is my 7th #1 album and my 22nd Gold record. I'm also hoping it will garner another Grammy nominated album for my resume—I'll have to wait a couple months to find out. Speaking of big releases, I have two mixes on the Mariah Carey album Charm Bracelet coming out on Tuesday, December 3, and a mix on the new Snoop Dogg album Paid the Cost to be the Boss coming out this month as well. I think Santa is going to bring me a lot of Gold and Platinum for Christmas this year. Happy Holidays.

 

11.18.02 — July For Kings hits the Singles Charts

Modern Rock artist July For Kings new single "Normal Life" just hit the Billboard AC Top 40 Singles Charts. I produced and recorded the song, as well as discovered and developed the band, getting them their record deal with MCA. Their album Swim also just hit stores. I spent most of last year developing and producing this project. Check it out.

 

11.16.02 — Jaheim Debuts Top 10

Jaheim's new album Still Ghetto debuted this week at #8 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums Chart and at #3 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums Charts. Congrats to Jaheim. I mixed two songs on the album, "Special Day" and "Beauty & Thug" featuring Mary J. Blige, both produced by talented producer Malik Pendleton.

 

11.14.02 — Was it all a "Dream"?

Was it all a Dream? Did I actually work on the brand new Jay-Z album, The Blueprint 2? I bought the album today. Track 1, "Dream" featuring Notorious BIG and Faith Evans. Those are my guitars in the intro and throughout the song, that's me singing that vocal sample in the intro and throughout the song. They even used the bass part I played and did I mention that I even programmed some of the drums in there? (Kanye West did most of the really cool drum programming).

Now don't get me wrong, a guy named E-Bass definitely did play on the song as well. He had some really cool parts and he's a super talented musician. But at least he also got his credit.

I'm back. Betcha didn't even know that I was gone. So I just got confirmation that the credit was already fixed even before I lost my mind over it. Rockafella assures me that the next pressing of the album (released in 2 or 3 weeks) will have my correct credits included. Just in time for Christmas. Better late than never. Thank you to my friends at Rockafella for getting this taken care of and fixed.

For all you die hard hip hop heads out there, check the next pressing. My name should be on it. Is this all just a bad dream? I'm gonna go sleep this one off.

-Ken

P.S. this song will become a part of hip hop legend, I love the song and it's truly a classic. I am honored to have worked on it, and will be smiling from ear to ear when I see my name on a song with Jay Z, Notorious BIG and Faith Evans all together.

 

10.31.02 — Johnny Socko and the Triple R Witching Hour

My latest production project, Johnny Socko on Triple R Records (also signed to my own production company) scored big on the CMJ Radio Charts today. They are the #18 most added album in the country on CMJ Reporting stations with 75 stations nationwide placing the new album in rotation. We hope to at least double the number of stations spinning the brand new record within a couple weeks. I'll keep you posted.

Johnny Socko's album hits stores today and you can listen to excerpts from it (and buy it if you dig it) at JohnnySocko.com. They also embark on a Fall tour in support of the record today.

I've also recently been hired by Benchmark Records to produce their newly signed act Loretta. I love this band and I think I can make an exceptional record with them. I won't be recording it until January, but it will be a great way to start the new year. In the mean time I am working hard on many other projects. A lot of wonderful songs in so many musical styles have come my way lately to mix. I just mixed a dance record for a client in Paris, a hip hop album for an independent label in Atlantic City, and an acoustic rock record for an artist from Texas. Have I ever mentioned I love mixing records? I'm a lucky man to have this career.

6am, time for bed. Another night of mixing is complete. See you all tomorrow.

-Ken

 

10.16.02 — Beauty & Thug

I recently mixed two songs by an artist named Jaheim for his album to be released November 5. I mixed a song called "Special Day" as well as a song featuring Mary J. Blige called "Beauty and Thug." Here's what MTV had to say about it.

 

10.14.02 — Mariah Strikes Again

Wow, what a great couple weeks I've had. I mixed a really cool independent hip hop album last week, and I have another indie acoustic rock album to mix starting today.

Last week was owned by two different label projects. First was a remix for Mariah Carey's first single "Through The Rain." Thursday I recorded a full string section (12 violins, 4 viola's, 4 cello, 2 double bass) for the song, and Friday through Sunday was spent mixing it. It gets mastered Wednesday and straight off to Europe and Japan before making its way to the States. Keep an ear out for it, the remix features Kelly Price and Joe making guest appearances with Mariah.

This week also marked another gig with Jay Z. This one I was hired strictly as a musician. They hired me to recreate a sample for a song on Jay Z's upcoming album Blueprint, Part II. The song is called "Dream" and features Faith Evans and the late, great Biggie Smalls. I played guitar, bass, and drums on it, and I even sang (yeah, my vocals suck, but Pro Tools made me sound good). It was a really fun project to do.

Last night I went to see the movie Transporter (I know what you're thinking, shouldn't I have been mixing something? Well, I should have, but...). It featured another song that I replaced the sample on called "Muzik" by an artist named Knocturnal on Elektra. I played guitar, bass, drums and keys on that one. It's pretty cool to hear something you played on blasting out of the big screen in full surround as a car blows up.

 

09.29.02 — MidPoint Music Festival, Cincinnati, Ohio

Wow, what a weekend! I flew out to Cincinnati to be a panelist on three panels for the festival (go to their website to check it all out). I had a great time and felt highly honored to share panels with the likes of Michael Meisel (manager of the Foo Fighters), John Curly of the Afgan Whigs, Reggie Calloway of Midnight Star fame, and John Babbitt (co-manager of Bon Jovi).

Nighttime brought 150 bands performing over three days. I caught as many as I could, and everybody sounded great. A truly first class music festival, I sincerely hope they ask me back next year.

 

09.27.02 — Erick Sermon

Today I recorded and mixed the second single from Erick Sermon's upcoming J Records album release. The song is called "We Don't Care" and features Redman. It was exhausting but it came out hot. Last month I mixed his current single featuring Redman called "React."

 

09.26.02 — Johnny Socko

My latest production endeavor is a band from Indianapolis called Johnny Socko. They are an amazing rock band with an eclectic sound and unbelievable live show. A friend turned me onto Socko last year and after I caught a show, I knew that I had to work with this band. I've been working with them all year on preproduction and we began recording their album in June. Today I put the finishing touches on it and sent it out to the pressing plant. Release date is November 1. This album flat out rocks. Go to their site to pre-order it now, you'll be very glad you did.

 

09.17.02 — July For Kings

I found July For Kings in 1998 (when they were known as Swim) and signed them to my production company. After 3 years of hard work (sometimes these things take a while) I got them signed to MCA Records. I produced the album and the first single, "Normal Life" went to radio this week. Expect to see the album on November 5. It's been a long time coming, hopefully they'll make it. Check out "Normal Life" on their website and spread the word.

 

09.16.02 — What a week!

My mixing schedule has been unrelenting. On top of my indie and unsigned artist mixing schedule, in the last two weeks I've mixed for Snoop Dogg featuring Jay Z, Shaggy, Jaheim featuring Mary J. Blige, and Xzibit featuring Busta Rhymes. I seem to be leading quite the dual life lately. Producing and mixing Rock N Roll, mixing a ton of R&B and Hip Hop and sleeping very little. I'm closing in on completion of the Johnny Socko album, my current production project and it's rocking my world right now.

 

08.30.02 — Twice Almost Lucky

Wow. Four days at Emerald Studios in Nashville recording the newest band signed to my production company, Twice Almost Lucky. We spent two days in The Tracking Room at Emerald, this studio must be seen to be believed, and two days in a smaller overdub room. We recorded ten songs and the band performed and sounded great. I'm taking the recordings back to my studio to finish overdubs and mixing. This band really knows how to write great songs. It'll be a long process, I hope to have a completed album by Christmas.

 

08.16.02 — Memphis Bleek

I spent all night in the studio recreating a sample for the new Memphis Bleek single and album. You'll just have to wait 'til the album drops to know what the sample was, but I had to play guitar, bass, and keyboards. Lots of fun.

 

08.14.02 — Erick Sermon and Redman

"React" single mix.

 

08.13.02 — Mariah Carey Featuring Jay Z

I need sleep! A last minute call on August 8 had me on a plane the next morning to mix for Mariah Carey. We sent her the finished mixes for approval over the internet. She's currently in Italy finishing vocals for her new album. Rumor has it this song might be the first or second single. I don't wanna hold my breath but man that would be nice. I'm back at my own studio now attempting to recuperate before my Erick Sermon mix tomorrow.

 

08.05.02 — Welcome

Well, it's taken a while to get my News page up and running, but I finally have some great stuff to talk about. July For Kings is a band I developed and signed to my production company then got them a deal at MCA Records. Their first single goes to radio next month. Keep your fingers crossed and your ears open.

I'm currently working with two more bands signed to my production company. They are Johnny Socko, from Indianapolis, and Twice Almost Lucky, from Urbana, Ohio. The Johnny Socko album is currently being recorded and we hope to have it out by early Fall. Twice Almost Lucky hits the studio with me at the end of August, expect their album early next year.

My mixing schedule has been great. Steady major label work and lots of website mixes as well. I couldn't be happier. Keep 'em coming.

-Ken