Daniel Kobialka’s unlikely paring with Lancey Foux

People close to me often hear about my friend and mentor, Daniel Kobialka. Daniel passed away in 2021, and at the time, we had been discussing rebranding and reorganizing his company, LiSem Enterprises, Inc. (LiSem Recordings). While not a household name, Daniel is a world renown violinist. Having spent 33 years in the San Francisco Symphony as their Principle 2nd Violinist, as well a leader in healing and new age music, Daniel’s impact and influence is vast.

I worked with Daniel on-and-off for the better part of 12 years. During that time, I got to know and work on his extensive catalog - old and new. A great deal of it was in disarray, so one of my missions has been to inventory and catalog his entire output, master recordings, and other media. During the course of this ongoing journey, various opportunities have arisen, with the most recent being a clearance for a sample. His current catalog is well over 100 compositions and unique arrangements; it’s a major task.

I was approached by Sony/RCA about clearing the sample for the latest Lancey Foux single, “Daylight”. After roughly a month of discussing details, the deal was sealed, and the output is the single/video below. If Daniel were alive today, he would be thrilled to know that his music has found this unique vehicle in which to be shared.

The Society of Rockets - Tough Trip Through Paradise

The latest from the Rockets is finally here, and I’m pretty late in posting this. Maybe that’s a good thing? Press has been fantastic, and as the band just celebrated the release last night, why not post now?

We recorded this album at the legendary Hyde Street Studios in San Francisco, CA. Maybe some of you are familiar with the space? If not, teleport here. Roughly 80% of this LP was recorded live in the studio; horns and strings came at a later date. This one was particularly special as I got to record the lush sounds of the Agarita strings in San Antonio, and tracked them at my good dude Brant Sankey’s spot, Studio E. We eventually returned to Hyde Street to mix the LP, and did so with no automation - all hands on deck for this one! Not too common these days, and it felt incredible to fall back into my formative 2” tape days during the mix session. We mixed 10 songs in 4 days, and were able to get a couple of extra passes in at times.

Reviews have been incredibly positive right out of the gates. Rob Hughes had this to say about the LP in Uncut Magazine, “At heart they’re an unfailingly melodic pop band, employing horns, strings, mandolin, lap steel and Hammond organ to realise frontman Joshua Babcock’s Elysian visions”. I Don’t Hear A Single also mentioned the arrangements saying, “After the pacer listen that was Unearthed, Tough Trip On Paradise reveals the band's mellower side a bit more. The arrangements are superb and reveal them to be at ease with any direction. They master all that they do easily.”, and in another mention placed the LP on their shortlist for album of the year!

That’s it for this one. I’ll be posting more reviews as they pop up. Click on the review link in the sidebar if you have some time.

We Is Shore Dedicated is still dedicated

I’ve worked with Sam Tsitrin for almost 20 years. I first heard Sam perform shortly after I moved to San Francisco. the ebb and flow was his project at that time, and it was the first band that I saw in the Bay Area that made a mark on me. I knew that I wanted to work with them in some capacity, and my label at the time, Three Ring Records, signed them in 2004 as they were finishing their LP, Time To Echolocate. I ended up mastering that album which charted on CMJ.

Roughly three years later, Sam approached me about playing drums in and engineering an LP for his current project, We Is Shore Dedicated. The first LP was a rough hewn affair, with no rehearsals before the recording date. This initial set of tunes was recored to tape, which was a real challenge when also trying to get behind the kit, but we made it happen; and the project is still going strong today.

Jump to 2023 and I was approached to mix Sam’s latest effort, Missing Marks Amazing Dans. Stoked as ever to be working on another WISD release , this LP once again invited the listener back into Sam’s world of bizarre arrangements with pop-music sensibilities combined with oblique turns. Take a listen below.

Off to San Francisco with the Society of Rockets!

Well we’re finally heading back into the studio! It’s been two years since we’ve been together in the same place creating and making memories, and this week that changes! The gang and myself will find ourselves at the historic Hyde Street Studios once again for an entire week of sonic manipulations. More to come later!

Andy & Chris Giving Back to San Antonio Artists During COVID

I’m going to skip repeating the obvious about the current times and get to business here. Me and my good friend Andy McWilliams put together an EP of ambient tunes during COVID shelter-in-place orders in Texas. What began as Andy’s guitar loops evolved into four-track EP that added analog synths, Rhodes, and healthy doses of reverb and delay. “It Was Not Supposed to Happen Like This: Incidental Music Volume One” was the result of our efforts.

All revenue generated through July will be donated to the Corona Arts Relief fund in an effort to help offset the lost revenue to San Antonio’s arts community. If you find us online, please share.

More to come!

Mitch Webb and the Swindles latest release

Well I can finally share this bit of news! Fantastico, the latest from Mitch Webb and the Swindles has finally hit airwaves! The Swindles have been not only a favorite of San Antonio and the region for years, but have also seen success on the Americana charts. I had the pleasure of mixing this album after Mitch approached me with the project, well, two years ago. Featuring a who’s who of San Antonio musicians which include: Joe Reyes, Augie Meyers, Paul Fauerso, and many more. Take it for a spin right here!