Harmony Central Publishes Series from Haines

Harmony Central has published the first article in a series written by Treelady's Garrett Haines. In The Recording Life Cycle, Haines outlines the six key phases of record production. The first article, posted on 29 March 2009 provides an overview of each phase. Future articles will provide in-depth examinations of each Life Cycle phase. Harmony-central.com is the leading Internet resource for musicians, supplying valuable information from news and product reviews, to classified ads and chat rooms. The all-in-one Web site gives musicians benefits not available through traditional physical retail channels and provides extensive product information.

Harmony Central Editor Craig Anderton plans to run a new article each month. The first installment can be found here.

Treelady Mastering Quoted in EQ Magazine

The April 2009 issue of EQ Magazine quotes Treelady Mastering Chief Engineer Garrett Haines. In an article 'Masters on Mastering' by Craig Anderton, Haines is questioned about which mastering tools he finds indispensable in his daily work. A photo of Treelady Studios' Studio G Mastering Suite also appears in the piece.

EQ Magazine is published by New Bay Media and can be found at news stands and booksellers everywhere.

Treelady Owner One of 36 Chosen for Global Study

Dave Viney, a post-graduate student from London College of Music, has published research on the effects of over-compressed music in a report called ‘The Obsession With Compression’. Dr. Viney was looking into the correlation between compression (the dynamics-processing type) and commercial success in popular music, which has been widely discussed in recent months and years in the music press and the wider media.

To conduct his research, he’s polled a select group consisting of 36 producers and engineers from around the world, including Treelady Studios' Chief Mastering Engineer, Garrett Haines. Dr. Viney analyzed music sales records, and made detailed measurements of the loudness of commercial material using a meter provided by DK Technologies.

"When I received the request from Maureen Droney, the President of the Grammy Foundation's Producer & Engineering Wing, I was honored and excited about the project," said Haines. "In mastering circles we often talk about the ill effects of over compression, but until now there has been limited quantitative research on the subject." Haines is no stranger to statistical research. His master's thesis written at Carnegie Mellon University's Heinz College combined econometrics, census data, and geographical information systems to analyze the concentration of municipal governments in the Southwestern Pennsylvania region.

Meanwhile, in London, Dr. Viney is using his 77-page post-doctorate paper as a catalysts for discussion on over-compression, such as the reaction to the release of Metallica’s Death Magnetic album in 2008, and goes on to display the research in graphical form; there are over 300 charts.

Louder is NOT better

Summarizing the report, Dr. Viney comments, “there is no evidence of any significant correlation between actual loudness (and thus overall compression) and commercial success. Furthermore, assessments suggest that less-compressed material is more pleasant-sounding”. He concludes, “the obsession with compression tends to limit commercial success!”.

Having completed this report, Viney is hoping to establish himself as a part-time researcher for the music business. He can be contacted at dave-viney [AT] btconnect.com.

Treelady Mastering Client Charts in Rolling Stone

Audio Eagle recording artist and Treelady Mastering client Houseguest made national headlines in the January 8, 2009 print issue of Rolling Stone Magazine in the Chart Section. A top-favorite at Akron, OH Square Records, the new CD, 'Welcome, all that's Difficult.' was number 2 behind the new Deerhunter CD.  The album was recorded and mixed by Ben Vehorn at Tangerine Sound Studios in Akron. Congrats to Houseguest, and make sure to check out our favorite track 'Carla' by purchasing their new release or visiting Houseguest's MYSPACE page.

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Treelady Sponsors Hard Rock Challenge 2009

Treelady Studios is proud to return as a sponsor of the WXDX Winter Rock Challenge. Held at Pittsburgh's Hard Rock Café twenty of the region's best bands will compete for thousands of dollars in prizes, including a grand prize from Treelady Studios. The award includes a full 3 song EP package that covers recording, mixing, editing, and mastering. For more details check out www.wxdx.com

Treelady Client Somerhill Releases New Pair

‘Free Your Mind (Tara Na)’ and ‘Today or Tomorrow’ now available. On December 14, 2008, Core Media House L.L.C. released Free Your Mind (Tara Na), a new song performed by Somerhill . Core Media House released a second new Somerhill song, Today or Tomorrow, on December 28, 2008. Free Your Mind (Tara Na) and Today or Tomorrow are available on the Internet at Amazon.com.

Click here to listen to a low-fidelity clip of Free Your Mind (Tara Na). Click here to listen to a low-fidelity clip of Today or Tomorrow.

Somerhill is

• Chad Gontkovic: lead vocal; backing vocals; electric guitar

• Greg Kehl: backing vocals; electric rhythm guitar; electric guitar solo; synthesizer strings; synthesizer electric grand piano

• Bill Rose: backing vocals; six-string and twelve-string acoustic steel guitars

With Somerhill were:

Charles Constantino: electric bass guitar; acoustic nylon guitar; acoustic drum kit; synthesizer piano solo; synthesizer electric pianos; synthesizer shaker/triangle and other performers.

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About Somerhill: Winner of the 2006 Rockin’ in the Valley original music contest held by Our Town, Somerhill was the closing act for American Idol finalist Chris Daughtry in March 2007 in Pittsburgh.   Greg Kehl noted that Charles Constantino, “showed us how to turn our basic riffs and melodies into layers and layers of beautiful sounds. It was fun to see someone with so much knowledge of music in his element while we were in pre-production and in the studio.” “He’s just a musical genius,” Bill Rose said of Constantino in an interview for Our Town. According to Rose, Constantino added “multiple harmonies, different back-up vocals, different types of singing, and different instruments that we hadn’t even considered.” “The determination of Somerhill to evolve as musicians and songwriters impressed me. I enjoyed my time with the group,” Constantino stated.

Treelady Records Discovery Channel Segment

On Monday, November 10, 2008, Treelady Studios engineer Kyle Smith recorded noted author John Ventre for an upcoming Discovery Channel special. The show, scheduled to debut in 2008, is titled: UFO's OVER EARTH, and focuses on the UFO phenomenon, as well as hoaxes and the unexplained . Ventre, a native of Greensburg, PA is the author of 2/21/2012: A Prophecy, available on Amazon. Treelady was retained by Creative Differences, a Los Angeles-based television production company responsible for the program.

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Treelady Mastering Client #1 on Sirius

Sirius Satellite Radio Lobo

Kids Place Live Logo

Treelady Mastering Client the Sugar Free Allstars hit the #1 position on Sirius SatelliteRadio's Kids Place Live channel for the second week in a row. The band's hit song, 'Bathtub Boy' has been on the charts for over 3 months, receiving as many as 8 plays per day. The Sugar Free Allstars all-children's CD, Dos Ninos, was recorded in 2007 at Bell Labs Studios in Norman, OK. But with constant touring, the CD began to pick up momentum the following year.

The Sugar Free Allstars

About the Sugar Free Allstars Imagine that Deep Purple and Sly and the Family Stone had a love child that grew up in New Orleans listening to Ray Charles, Black Sabbath and Booker T. That love child would be the Sugar Free Allstars . Due to their various musical influences and unusual instrumentation, this funky organ/drum duo is tricky to classify. The music is a unique blend of New Orleans funk, Memphis soul and Hammond organ-drenched gospel all wrapped up in a rock and roll package. Add to the mix a touch of pop songwriting sensibilities and a high-energy live show and you've got the Sugar Free Allstars. Sugar Free Allstars have hit the road hard and are expanding their fan base with every show. Calling Oklahoma City home, the band frequents the Central states including the Rocky Mountains. Music from Sugar Free Allstars' second and third studio releases, Dos Machos and Return of Dos Machos , has appeared in episodes of PBS' "Roadtrip Nation" and both albums have spent time on the Jambands.com top 30 radio charts. SFA's most recent release and first kid's album, Dos Ninos , has received favorable reviews by national children's music reviewers such as Warren Truitt of the New York Public Library, Stefan Shepherd of "Zooglobble", and Fred Koch of "Chicago Parent" magazine. The album has also made it into Fids and Kamily's top 15 "Best Music of 2007 for Kids and Families" awards list.

Dressy Bessy masters new CD at Treelady Studios

Colorado indie rock band Dressy Bessy mastered their new CD, entitled 'HOLLERandSTOMP' at Treelady Studios with chief mastering engineer Garrett Haines. The band recently finished mixing with Trent Bell, of Bell Labs Studios in Norman, OK. Dressy Bessy is headed by front woman Tammy Ealom and guitarist John Hill (who also plays with The Apples in Stereo). Dressy Bessy plans a North American tour to support the CD. In addition to an appearance on Late Night with Conan O'Brian, Dressy Bessy made a national splash when two of their songs "If You Should Try to Kiss Her" and "Just Like Henry" were featured in the 1999 indie film But I'm A Cheerleader.

HOLLERandSTOMP is presented by Transdreamer Records, and hits stores on September 16, 2008.