Excitement runs high in The Madisons camp as we approach 
our much anticipated Valentine’s Day CD release of Greener.
Even more exciting, we’re busy rehearsing for our Saturday, February 11, 2012 CD Release Party for Greener.
We’ll be headlining the show which begins 8 p.m. at the wonderful roots music club and restaurant, the Down Home 300 W. Main St. Johnson City, TN 37604.
As more details become available we’ll post them here. We hope to see you there.
The Madisons began in Texas seventeen years ago with original members Teri Greene, Lizzie Harrah, “Little” Stevie Wilson, and Denny “Cletus” Blakely, together on the live recording DRIVE. Ruel Russell, Lee Hamilton, and Rusty Stone later joined Teri and Lizzie, and the five-piece recorded GOODTIME AND MONEY and DO YOU LOVE ME. We made weekly appearances and headlined at major venues in Texas such as Balinese Room, Dan Electro’s Guitar Bar, Cosmos and Helios. Our song “Sleepin’” was featured in an independent film and video.
1. You Gotta Know Your Song Before You Sing it
Too many folks rely on charts and lyric sheets. Unless you’re a “work for hire” musician and have never played the song before, then learn it. Learn the lyrics, learn the notes you will be playing. Then, put the charts away.
2. Rehearse, Practice, Perform
It’s a common mistake for some musicians to enter the recording process thinking that the band will “work out” arrangements in the studio. Rehearse your new material, and then play it live. Live performance will help shape a song’s structure. Keep rehearsing and playing the material live in order to refine the song and its arrangement.
3. Record the Songs Yourself First
Use a simple 2-channel recorder, mp3 recorder, a computer or anything that can capture your band playing the new material in rehearsal and at live performances. Listen to it, and make adjustments. If you hear parts of a song that don’t work, change them. If you hear something that does work, do that every time.
4. Play Live in the Studio
When you do make it into the studio, track the band together as much as possible. Overdubs are great, but nothing can replace the beauty of tracks that capture a great performance by all the players at the same time. If you have any equipment failure, work around it and keep going. Big deal, your pedal is dead. Track anyway, however you can. Some of the most beautiful recordings have started as happy mistakes.
5. Do it Again
Record at least three usable takes of each song. Don’t waste time evaluating your work during the recording process. Your engineer is busy recording your music – he or she is not your producer – so asking their opinion on your tracks in real-time isn’t usually appropriate. Later you can listen to them and decide which take is the best overall. Most bands need a producer, an objective set of ears, to help them with this stage of the process. A producer is anyone who can envision the overall presentation of your music. They don’t always have to be there in the recording process, but their input is valuable in selecting of the best takes and how to showcase them in a final product.