OLD HOUSE NEWS:

Old House is currently in the process of installing a beautiful 1991-model Amek Angela mixing console at the studio. Engineer Chris Garges and studio tech Rob Preston recently finished some custom modifications on this lovely 18 year-old British recording desk. One of the last Amek Angela consoles built, this 36-channel desk is situated in a 51-channel frame and was originally commisioned on June 29th, 1991 in Laredo, Texas. Old House Studio is the second owner of this fine console, which was lovingly cared-for by the folks at Roli Music in Laredo. It features discrete mic preamp design, P&G 3000-series faders, a robust power supply, remote talkback capabilities, a built in phase correlation meter, and several other goodies that will make sessions at Old House even more efficient and sonically pleasing. Documentation of the console installation can be seen here on the TapeOp Message Board. Extra special thanks goes to some of these fine folks for their help with the installation of the new console:

Mark Williams, Joe Kuhlmann, The Sex Tapes, Quart-A-Shine, and most importantly, to both Rob Preston, for his hard work in making sure everything is as it should be and to Mitch Easter, for making the 3000-mile drive to help transport the console to its new home. Thanks, guys!




Congratulations to Florida-based jazz guitarist/vocalist Karl Louis Weismantel on the release of his new album, In Hand. Karl recently sent a handful of self-recorded songs to Old House for engineer Chris Garges to mix. The album consisted of twelve songs, mostly jazz standards, but included several originals as well. In addition to his singing, the album showcases both Karl's electric and acoustic guitar playing. Brent Lambert at The Kitchen mastered the record, which also features drummers Von Barlow and Peter Miles and bassists Jason Davis and Paul Creel.


Singer/Songwriter Megan Peeler recently brought her very able band to Old House to record a new demo.
The band recorded five songs live to 2" analog tape and Megan recorded an additional three duo pieces with both keyboards and guitar accompaniment.


Singer/songwriter Bill Noonan is currently working on a new album at Old House. Noonan is recording new original material with producer Mark Lynch and engineer Chris Garges. The album features drummers Ray Mitchell, David "D.K." Kim, and Chris Garges, as well as bassist Tom Kuhn, banjo-guru Randy Saxon, pedal steel guitar whiz Bob Barone, and keyboardist Jason Atkins.


Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter Benji Hughes is nearing completion of an album of new material at Old House with producer Mark Lynch and engineer Chris Garges. The project also features some of Benji's former Goldenrods bandmates, including Justin Faircloth on keyboards and bass, Matt Faircloth on guitar, Randolph Lewis on guitar and vocals, Brent Dunn on bass, and David "D.K." Kim on drums. The new album is being mixed by Chris and Brian Paulson (Beck, Son Volt, Slint). Congratulations to Benji, whose song "Let's Duet" is featured in the recent John C. Riley film, Walk Hard.


Charlotte-area bluegrass group Southern Express recently completed an album of new material at Old House. The quartet recorded basic tracks live in the studio and overdubbed vocals. The group mixed eleven songs with engineer Chris Garges for the upcoming release, which is due out in Summer of 2008.


Americana/punk band Trouble Walkers recently completed a new album at Old House. The four-piece band, formerly known as Hot Rod Grease Lighting, features new drummer Robert Childers, guitarists Gabe Hinceman and Daylon Brumfield, and bassist Mark Lynch. Special guest Randy Saxon appears on several cuts, playing guitar, banjo, and mandolin. The group recorded 12 original songs for the upcoming release.


Charlotte-area rock band Still Life Static recently recorded a new single. The four-piece band recorded live basic tracks with lead and background vocal overdubs at Old House with engineer Chris Garges.


Wisconsin-based singer-songwriter and Dammitheads frontman, David Tomaloff is working on a new solo album and tracking for the project has begun at Old House. Chris Garges is playing drums and percussion on the record. David sent CDRs with Broadcast WAV files of click tracks and guide tracks and notes on the particulars of each song to Chris, who played on the songs and mailed the tracks back to David, where he will continue work on them at his home studio.


Charlotte area a rock band Quart-A-Shine is also currently working on a new release with engineer Chris Garges. While at Old House, the band is recording several new cuts and completeing overdubs and mixing songs recorded at Jamie Hoover's Hooverama Studio in Charlotte.


Stanley Pentecostal Holiness Church once again called on Old House to assemble audio for their annual Easter service. Music director Chris Lynch brought tracks for engineer Chris Garges to work on. Voice-over narrations were added and the material was organized onto a single CD for use during the performance.


Singer/songwriter Bruce Hazel recently began work on a new album with at Old House. The project features new original music from Hazel performed with drummer David "D.K." Kim, keyboardist Justin Faircloth, bassist and guitarist Shawn Lynch, and saxophonist Brent Bagwell. Mark Lynch is producing the project and Chris Garges is engineering.


Columbia recording artist Nicole Atkins was in NC in 2007 and stopped in at Old House Studio. Nicole was recording a few B-sides and promotional cuts to accompany the release of her major label debut album. Randolph Lewis co-wrote material for, played guitar on, and co-produced the sessions. Chris Garges engineered. Congratulations to Nicole on the release of her new album, Neptune City.


Congratulations to Sunshone Still, who has released his second album, an ambitious 17-song concept album/character study of 19th-century American frontiersman Kit Carson entitled Ten Cent American Novels. Also known as Chris Smith, the Columbia, SC-based singer-songwriter returned to Old House to work on his fourth recording project with mix engineer Chris Garges. The album was recorded by David Sleigh at his home studio in Charlotte, Houstons keyboard player/singer Justin Faircloth at his home studio in Charlotte, and engineer Bill Baird at his home studio in Austin, Texas and was mixed by Chris at Old House. The album features nearly twenty guest musicians (including live strings and brass) and is currently available on Potato Eater Records.


Congratulations to Charlotte's own Contagious Blues Band on the release of their new album, Ride. Chris Garges engineered the self-produced record at Old House Studio. The record features drummer/vocalist Jr. Howell, bassist/vocalist Jim Bolt, and guitar players Joey Recchio and Hank Shell and was mastered by Dave Harris at Studio B Mastering. Ride has also been nominated for "Best Self-Produced CD" at The International Blues Festival in Memphis, TN in February of 2008. Congratulations and best of luck to the guys!


Congratulations to blues/R&B artist and Louisiana native Bayou Butch Lucas on the release of his new album and DVD set, Come On Over. Butch recorded fourteen songs, both originals and covers, with Chris Garges at Old House for Platypus Productions. Butch performed all the music on the album himself.


Charlotte-area rock band Chocha Loca recently brought their unique brand of riff-rock to Old House. The four-piece group recorded an EP of three original songs over two days with producer Mark Lynch and engineer Chris Garges.


Congratulations to singer/guitarist Bobby Smith on the release of his new album, 8 Songs, $8. Engineer Mark Williams (Southern Culture On The Skids, Kirk Franklin) recorded and mixed the album at Old House. Chris Garges assisted and played drums on the project, while Bobby, along with bassist Flavio Mangione and additional drummer/vocalist Calvin Thompson recorded eight original songs. Organist Richard Putnum and vocalist Jamie Hoover also lended talents to the Romo Records project. The album was mastered by Dave Harris at Studio B Mastering in Charlotte.


Charlotte area rock star Scoot Pittman has been working at Old House recently. Scoot and his fine band (featuring Scott Pope on bass, Brent Couch on drums, and Joe Lindsey on guitar) recorded two EPs with engineer Chris Garges. One featured some of Scoot's new original material and one featured snippets of the band's large repertoire of cover songs.


Jazz vocalist Tenya Coleman recorded a new vocal demo at Old House in fall of 2007. Tenya enlisted the help of keyboardist/arranger Alan Kaufman, bassist Ron Brendle, and drummer Jakubu Griffin for the sessions.


Southern rock band Cottonmouth were back at Old House working on a new studio project. The band, which consists of guitarist/vocalist Rodney Burnett, guitarist/bassist Dale Shoemaker, and drummer Sam Harwell, recorded a collection of cover songs with engineer Chris Garges (who also mixed the band's 2006 release, Rusty Monte Carlo). This collection of material includes several full-band cuts and several acoustic pieces with guest dobro and banjo player Alan Jolley.


Instrumental improvisation band Go There recently released their long-awaited debut album, which was recorded and mixed at Old House. The super-group of sorts features guitarist Scott Sawyer, keyboardist/flautist Kofi Burbridge (Derek Trucks Band, Jeff Coffin), drummer Kenny Soule (Nantucket, DAG), and bassists Oteil Burbridge (The Allman Brothers Band, Aquarium Rescue Unit) and Ron Brendle. The album was engineered by Chris Garges and mastered by Brent Lambert at The Kitchen in Raleigh, NC. The group recorded 11 songs for the release, which was produced by Sawyer and Chris Garges and is available on Doll Records.


Guitarist/songwriter Mike Strauss released his third album in early summer of 2007, crafted at Old House with producer Randolph Lewis and engineer Chris Garges. The basic recording included entirely live takes (vocals included!) with Mike, Randolph Lewis on guitar, Ron Brendle on upright and electric bass, and David "D.K." Kim on drums. Additional guests include Jason Atkins on keyboards, Bob Barone and Rodney Lanier on pedal steel guitar, Chris Garges on percussion, and vocalists Shana Blake, Reeve Coobs, the Stragglers, and Lenny Federal.


California-based singer-songwriter Stacey Ericsson was out at Old House working on a new recording in early 2007. Stacey recorded several of his own compositions as well as some jazz standards. Chris Garges engineered and played drums on the session, which also featured saxophonist John Alexander, guitarist Troy Conn, and upright bassist Elisa Pruett.


Congratulations to David Childers and The Modern Don Juans on the release of their latest album, Burnin' In Hell. The group recorded fourteen songs (including an Eric Anderson cover) at Old House with Chris Garges engineering. The group features Childers, his son Robert on drums, guitarist/string whiz Randy Saxon, and bassist Mark Lynch, who also produced the record. The record was mixed by engineering whiz Brian Paulson (Son Volt, Beck, Wilco, Slint) at his home studio in Carrborro, NC and was mastered by Dave Harris at Studio B Mastering in Charlotte.


Charlotte area rock band Hunter's Travesty completed an EP at Old House in early 2007. Chris Garges engineered the four-song demo of all-original material.


Grey Seal Puppets recently enlisted the help of Latin-Jazz band Fuego Lento and Old House Studio to record music for their production, Salsa Cinderella. The group recorded several short pieces and full length original compositions by saxophonist John Alexander with Chris Garges engineering. The show ran in January 2007.


Greensboro-area rock/blues band Thacker Dairy Road was at Old House in late 2006 working on original material. The six-piece band recorded ten songs entirely live in the studio. Chris Garges recorded and mixed the material.


Charlotte rock band Hot Rod Grease Lightning recorded a demo at Old House with Chris Garges in late 2006. The high-energy group recorded four new songs and have plans to add more in the near future for a full-length release.


Bloomington, Indiana rock band Griffy Rhodes released their latest album, entitled Something Like The Truth in Spring of 2007. The group recorded basic tracks with Chris Garges at Air Time Studio in Bloomington and traveled to Charlotte for overdubs at Old House. The twelve-song record was mixed by Chris at Steve Albini's Electrical Audio in Chicago and mastered by Hoyt Dooley at Open Door Productions in Nashville.


Singer/songwriter Jeff Hartman released his long-awaited new CD, entitled For David, after late Old House owner and engineer David Black in Fall of 2006. Jeff and David began the project in 2004 (their third together) and recorded 11 original songs. David mixed three of the songs before his unfortunate passing and Chris Garges finished mixing the album. For David was mastered by Dave Harris at Studio B in Charlotte and is currently available through Jeff's website. Congratulations to Jeff on all his hard work making this project happen!


Charlotte-area southern rock band Swamdawamp was at Old House in Fall of 2006. The band was rehearsing with producer Joe Boyland (Lynyrd Skynyrd, Nazareth) for the filming of an upcoming television show called "City Sessions Live," which features several up-and-coming acts from around the country.


Pop/R&B band The Barnettes recorded at Old House with Chris in fall of 2006. The band (consisting of sisters Elesha Renee, Adrienne, Kristen, and brother Rufus) have tracked eight original songs and one cover for the upcoming release. Check out the recent article on the band in Creative Loafing magazine.


Metal band Straight Drive completed work on a new EP at Old House in spring of 2006. Chris Garges engineered the four-song project for the band, which features vocalist Kliph, guitarist Brad Splawn, drummer Chad Landman, bassist Flounder. Guest vocalists Cassie Sipe and Lauren Pettigren also appear on the EP. The group is currently at Old House working on a new project as well.


The Morris Family traveled from Lexington, NC to Old House to mix their new album with Chris Garges in July of 2006. The group's collection of traditional Irish and original compositions comprise the twelve-song record, which was recorded at Josh Morris' home studio in Kingston, NY. The album was mastered by Hoyt Dooley at Open Door Productions in Nashville.


Congratuations to singer/songwriter Rick Spreitzer on the release of his third album, From The Bottom. From The Bottom was recorded and mixed by Chris Garges at Old House in 2005/2006 and features a host of local talent. Guests on the record include multi-instrumentalist Kevin Edwards, drummer Scoot Pittman, bassist John Schigoda, guitarist Mike Strauss, mandolin players Mike Orlando and J.D. Wilson, fiddle player Jane Hart-Brendle, keyboardist Jason Atkins, percussionist Chris Garges, and vocalists Shana Blake, Leah Howard, Jill Lurie, Salem MacKenzie, Maddie Howard, and David Childers. Scott Applegate assisted the sessions and the album was mastered by Hoyt Dooley at Open Door Productions in Nashville.


Congratulations to southern rock band Cottonmouth on the release of their latest CD, Rusty Monte-Carlo. The ten-song album was recorded by the late David Black at Old House and was mixed by Chris Garges. The album features guitarist/vocalist Rodney Burnett, guitarist Dale Shoemaker, and drummer Sam Harwell, with special guests Alan Jolley on dobro, Joel Van Tassell on bass and vocals, Jennifer Erwin on vocals, and Grubb on organ. The album was mastered by Hoyt Dooley at Open Door Productions in Nashville.


Old House wishes to extend deep sympathy to metal band Straight Drive and the family of their bassist Flounder. Flounder passed away recently due to health complications. In addition to being an incredibly appropriate bass player, Flounder was a very entertaining guy to be around--always a catalyst for humour and keeping the mood light. We'll miss your jokes and your rock, Flounder.


Old House would like to express sympathies to the family and co-workers of brilliant mastering engineer Chris Blair, who passed away due to a rare form of leukemia. Chris was a long-standing staff engineer at Abbey Road Studios (since 1969!) and worked with a HUGE list of amazing artists during his tenure. Chris was a very talented engineer and a very, very pleasant gentleman, to boot.


Old House would like to acknowledge the passing of its owner, builder, and engineer David Black. In addition to building one of the finest recording studios in North Carolina, David was a great recording engineer, a talented builder of great-sounding gear, and a terrific guy to be around. We miss you, Dave.