August started off with a bang with Glory Fountain's latest effort, produced by Mitch Easter at the Fidelitorium in Kernersville, NC. After a short hiatus, (guitarist/vocalist Lynn Blakey took time out to perform and record with Tres Chicas) the dynamic (literally) duo are back with their strongest effort yet. Next up was retro- funksters Junk In The Trunk with their first CD which was mixed by John Plymale. A special thanks to Aaron Oliver for all of his extra effort on this project. Lamont Heath, Guitar hero Gibb Droll brought in his latest CD featuring an all-star cast of characters. The band Everything was the rythm section, Edwin McCain lends his vocal chords to a couple tracks, and Cracker front man David Lowery does the same. Produced and engineered by regional producing superstar John Morand (Cracker, Sparklehorse, Joan Ozborne, Hanson) the album really reflects not only Gibb's fine guitar work but his engaging vocal stylings and strong song writing. The Kitchen staff was won over by Gibb and his project, what a great guy, buy his record. South Carolina rockers Thomas Reed Band came in with their latest effort produced by Columbia, SC native Rodney Wallace at Gothic Recording. Rodney really is one of SC's best up-and-coming producer/engineers and a great guy to boot. NCSU's all male a' capella group Grains of Time brought in their ninth(!) full length CD. The group features several new members and sounded better than ever. Alabaster Suitcase, a relatively new local Chapel Hill band brought in their first CD that was produced by Kurt Mueller at Studioworks. The album showed promise for the young band. Siler City natives Four Heart Harmony, a group comprised of four sisters, came in with their latest contemporary southern gospel project that featured a fine Nashville rhythm section. The month closed out with Rodney Wallace of Gothic Recording back in with SC jam band Moonshine.
September started out with a fine album by Asheville retro jazz-popsters Scrappy Hamilton. Their new CD, recorded and mixed entirely at 96kHz/24-bit, features some beautiful tunes and some fine room tones from Asheville recording studios. Don Keith, former Tommy Boy artist Ramell Gee, brought in his latest project and showed his strength as both a producer and engineer. Expect to hear more from Ramell. Virginia rockers Brother of Sid, formally known as Fuze, sent in their latest CD recorded and mixed entirely at Richmond's In Your Ear Studios. The studio recently switched over to ATC monitoring and the difference in the mixes is noticeable over their previous KRK setup. Chapel Hill artist Bill Dechand brought in his latest Bill Dechand Band project, recorded and mixed in NYC. The album was a complete joy to work on, reminiscent of XTC, Bill is a fine song-smith. If you are a fan of this style of pop, you should check this record out. Next up was Cliff Mann with his label's Demon Beach Compilation. Producer/engineer Tom Mohbat worked wonders with the ethereal CD by regional artist Jenny Knoop. The record features some beautiful Enya-esque soundscapes, and, as usual, Tom's fine engineering. Virginia rockers Carroway sent in their latest which was produced, engineered and mixed by Mitch Easter. If you listen closely, one track features the unmistakable fretwork of Mitch. What can't Mitch do? NYC retro-popsters The Baskervilles flew down with their latest album recorded at NYC's Dubway. Look for their release this coming winter. Local jazz guitarist Lou Padro blew us away with his entirely self arranged, composed, produced and engineered CD. Once again, if you have the time and aptitude, you can make a record at home! Lou should consider leaving his day job. Jazz vocalist and Durham native Lois Deloach Dawson, came in with her latest CD project that was produced and engineered by Noah Evens (Jars of Clay, Adrian Belew, King Crimson). Noah, always threatening to hang up his engineering hat, proves once again that he is one of the areas finest engineers. It would be a shame if Noah stops recording at his Chapel Hill, Chronic Studios. If any of you out there are considering making an hi-fidelity acoustic record give him a call. Former Awakening Records artist Mark Williams, came in with his self-produced CD "Becoming the Moon". The CD not only features Mark's fine song writing, vocal stylings and guitar playing but also the guest appearance of Athenaeum guitarist Mark Cano. Mixed by tthe great John Plymale, the album is a stellar example of acoutic/electric singer/songwriter pop. Virginia super group Modern Groove Syndicate (featuring members of Buzby and other notable VA bands), drove down with their latest CD. The album fits the name, it is groove-atious (think Meters). Recorded and mixed entirely at Sound of Music in Richmond, VA by personal favorite John Morand, the CD shows off John's versatility as an engineer and of course shows off the wonderful room tones that S.O.M. possesses.Butthole Surfer and Meat Puppet member Kyle Ellison, sent in his latest production effort by Austin, TX band The Wake. The EP features the groups female vocalist over both heavy and ambient soundscapes with a slight nod to Goth influences. Solo artist Joe Williams was back in with an additional a' capella track to add to his CD that we worked on a few months back. Look for his release this winter. Gospel heavy hitter Keith Childress, now residing in Maryland, sent in his latest effort. Quite possibly the finest large gospel group that we've heard, Keith's record features some really unique and beautiful arrangements, and was mixed entirely in Kingston, Jamaica. Making this the most jazz heavy month at the Kitchen in a while (please bring us more), SC artist and educator Dick Goodwin, brought in his latest full-length CD. Recorded at high resolution on the new Tascam hard-disk recorder and featuring Earthworks microphones the album just sounds gorgeous. The CD features Dick on trumpet and an all-star cast of SC's finest jazz instrumentalists. Closing out the month were jazz guitarist Ben Powell and DC popsters Juniper Lane. Ben's really unique record was recorded at Here to Hear in Greensboro, NC by Steve Graham.Ben is a fine jazz guitarist and shows a real aptitude for composition and arranging. Keep your ears out for Ben in the future. Juniper Lane drove down with their latest EP which was produced by Ted Comeford (Lucky Town, The Evoka Project, and member of Ebo) and mixed by veteran Nashville engineer Jim Ebert. If the success of their last full-length CD is any indication, we will all be hearing a lot more from this group.
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