Nimbit Artist of the Week: Ellis Paul!
In the film “Lemmy,” a wonderful biopic of Motörhead’s iconic frontman, Slash (of Guns’n’Roses fame) paints an abrupt picture of reverence when describing the film’s namesake. It goes something like this:
“I’ve known a lot of ‘rock ‘n’ roll’ personalities, and the ones that I admire, and the ones that I’m drawn towards, are the guys that are… f***in’… the real deal. People who live, sleep, and breathe rock ‘n’ roll.”
Compare that to this quote from a guy who’s not in Motörhead or Guns’n’Roses, and doesn’t play rock ‘n’ roll so much as folk: Ellis Paul.
“I’ve got a car with over 475,000 miles on it, and it’s my third road vehicle,” Paul declares. “I’ve been doing 200 shows a year for over twenty years. There isn’t a town in the country where I won’t find a friend. I’m a nomad. And I’m gonna write and play until I’m gone.”
Real-deal? Well, if that doesn’t sound like the real-deal lifestyle of someone who puts the “true” in “troubadour,” than I don’t know what to tell you. While Ellis claims to live in Charlottesville, VA., it seems pretty clear to me that he lives on the road.
Ellis was rather inadvertently introduced to the guitar when a sports injury knocked him out of commission and he needed something else to do. He took to songwriting almost immediately, and was soon playing Boston-area gigs, and turning Boston-area heads. Over time his songwriting matured through a healthy twin-obsession with both Woody Guthrie and musical narrative, garnering a couple of local songwriting contest wins, releasing his first record, Say Something, in 1993. And somehow, when not on the road (and when is that again?) Paul finds the time to record, and at the time of this writing has released EIGHTEEN more albums—including two volumes of his childrens’ album series, The Hero in You—and culminating in his latest, Chasing Beauty. He’s also landed placements in some A-list Hollywood films, including some Farrelly brothers hits.
If you appreciate the earnestness of Cash and like your guitar served up with a side order of great story, you owe it to yourself to listen to Ellis Paul.
Closely.
Click here to visit Ellis Paul’s Nimbit profile and get his latest, NINETEENTH album, Chasing Beauty.
PreSonus AudioBox iOne / iTwo Quick Start Guides [Video]
Ready to get rolling with your new iOne / iTwo interface? Learn everything you need to know in this six-part video Quick Start Guide!
Unboxing and Registering Online:
Interface Overview:
Mac Computers:
Windows Computers:
iPad Connectivity:
Introduction to Studio One Artist:
Interested in learning more about the iOne and iTwo? Click here.
iOne and iTwo Interface Video
They’re here! the iOne / iTwo interfaces allow you to record multi-track audio to your iPad, and then WIRELESSLY beam your tracks over to your laptop or workstation directly into Studio One via Wifi! How cool is that?
For more on iOne / iTwo, click here.
Nimbit Artists of the Month, July 2014
Jen Foster:
To call Jen Foster a singer/songwriter and leave it at that would be doing one of Houston’s finest a gross disservice. A complete solo artist in the truest sense of the term, Jen writes and performs her own award-winning music, runs her own record label, provides music for film and TV, and somehow manages to tour to packed houses and festivals all over the country. So far, she’s shared the stage with Melissa Etheridge, Brandi Carlisle, Edwin McCain, and many more. Oh, and she’s also on the Board of Directors for the Nashville Songwriter’s Association International.
Jen’s also a proud believer in music as a force for change, and is the architect behind songwriter series The Writer’s Share, which brought together Richard Marx, Keb’ Mo, Mike Reid, and Chuck Cannon to benefit the TJ Martell Foundation for Cancer, Leukemia, and AIDS. She followed up with the Christmas Time is Here video collaboration project and She4Marriage Equality.
A model Nimbit user as well, Jen’s slinging no fewer than four full-length albums, 11 singles, and a veritable summer collection of fashionable Foster-branded wearables, including beanies, rings, tank tops, t-shirts, bracelets, and—in perhaps a Nimbit merch first—CUSTOM DOG TAGS!
Click here to visit Jen Foster’s Nimbit profile and get her latest EP, You Stayed. Or dog tags.
Johnny A. is the torchbearer instrumental guitar rock needs in 2014. One doesn’t have to listen too far into his discography to hear echoes of Duane Eddy and Link Wray alongside his intimidating blues chops—some admittedly big shoes to fill. But with a Blues Artist of the Year Award (2010) and a namesake signature guitar available from some company called “Gibson,” it’s safe to say that Johnny A. is the right guy for the job.
His latest record, the appropriately-titled Driven, might just be the perfect soundtrack for a road trip through the American desert southwest. A solo album in the truest sense, Johnny played all the instruments himself, produced, and mixed! His gritty tones are suitably mixed front-and-center, of course, dialed in with just the right amount of gut and reverb to evoke both danger and beauty in equal measure. Throughout the record, his guitars are balanced with a tastefully diverse array of percussion and horns. And hell, a little pedal steel never hurt anybody.
Johnny’s got one of the slicker Nimbit store designs we’ve featured of late, opting for a more jukeboxy vertical layout instead of the more typical horizontal scroll, wrapped in a palette evocative of Driven‘s cover art. In it, you’ll find no less than five full-length recordings, a handful of singles (including some yuletide classics) T-shirts, autographed posters, and more.
Click here to visit Johnny A’s Nimbit profile and get his latest record, Driven.
dUg Pinnick:
While dUg Pinnick is probably best known for his long-running (fifteen-album) streak with legendary American hard rock/progressive metal band King’s X, he’s also knocked out four solo records and numerous side projects during his sonic career. Equally accomplished as both a bassist and vocalist, dUg’s unmistakeable style explores the arresting contrast of his “gospel-like” voice soaring over the heaviest bass tones around.
The result is an incredibly satisfying contradiction, at least somewhat comparable to salted caramel. Sounds kinda weird on first mention, but then you had some kettle corn one day, and there’s really no going back, is there?Confectionary metaphor aside, what I’m getting at here is that words don’t really do justice to the man or his art. It’s better to just click the link below and give the Pinnick sound a taste for yourself.dUg’s latest solo effort, Naked, is available on his Nimbit store alongside some of his more recent singles. Click here to visit dUg Pinnick’s Nimbit profile.
And when you’re done with that, check out how King’s X has been taking advantage of the StudioLive mixers in this blog post right over here.
Interested in Nimbit? Sign up for free here.
Thisbe Vos:
Jazz vocalist/songwriter Thisbe Vos landed in Los Angeles in 2008, following a whirlwind musical career in her native Netherlands that began when she was a mere 17 years of age. L.A. brought Thisbe access to a broader array of jazz musicians suitable to her creative vision, and by 2011 she had assembled a solid band and released Sophistication, a wonderfully restrained slab of old-school cool that adroitly draws from the past without spiraling headlong into nostalgia. “Vintage” audio “quality” of yesteryear is notably, wisely absent, and in its place we find a contemporary sheen that does Thisbe’s voice justice.
A true believer in fan engagement, her 2013 full-length Under Your Spell is a fan-funded endeavor that sees a more broadly diversified array of instrumentation backing her velvet voice. Worth noting is that said instrumentation is both performed and mixed with great discipline, and never distracts from the real star of the show here—voice. While a bigger band is a welcome and natural progression for a sophomore effort, fact is Thisbe’s voice could confidently carry a record a cappella, if asked.
While her namesake dot com name-drops Fitzgerald more than once, one would be remiss to single out Ella as Thisbe’s sole influence—this writer hears a healthy dose of Julie London in there somewhere—an observation I trust Thisbe would be comfortable with.
“Nimbit is the best integrated services platform for musicians that I have found. Having your emails, webstore, promo widgets and fulfillment all working together is invaluable. It is also very reasonably priced,”Thisbe says.
Thisbe’s Nimbit profile keeps things classy and to the point. You can get her recordings as digital downloads or on CD—autographed or vanilla. Wisely, there is no branded apparel to be found, as folks who are into Thisbe Vos are generally too cool to advertise.
Get Under Your Spell and Sophistication on Thisbe Vos’ Nimbit profile by clicking here.
Nimbit Artist of the Week: Thisbe Vos!
Jazz vocalist/songwriter Thisbe Vos landed in Los Angeles in 2008, following a whirlwind musical career in her native Netherlands that began when she was a mere 17 years of age. L.A. brought Thisbe access to a broader array of jazz musicians suitable to her creative vision, and by 2011 she had assembled a solid band and released Sophistication, a wonderfully restrained slab of old-school cool that adroitly draws from the past without spiraling headlong into nostalgia. “Vintage” audio “quality” of yesteryear is notably, wisely absent, and in its place we find a contemporary sheen that does Thisbe’s voice justice.
A true believer in fan engagement, her 2013 full-length Under Your Spell is a fan-funded endeavor that sees a more broadly diversified array of instrumentation backing her velvet voice. Worth noting is that said instrumentation is both performed and mixed with great discipline, and never distracts from the real star of the show here—voice. While a bigger band is a welcome and natural progression for a sophomore effort, fact is Thisbe’s voice could confidently carry a record a cappella, if asked.
While her namesake dot com name-drops Fitzgerald more than once, one would be remiss to single out Ella as Thisbe’s sole influence—this writer hears a healthy dose of Julie London in there somewhere—an observation I trust Thisbe would be comfortable with.
“Nimbit is the best integrated services platform for musicians that I have found. Having your emails, webstore, promo widgets and fulfillment all working together is invaluable. It is also very reasonably priced,”Thisbe says.
Thisbe’s Nimbit profile keeps things classy and to the point. You can get her recordings as digital downloads or on CD—autographed or vanilla. Wisely, there is no branded apparel to be found, as folks who are into Thisbe Vos are generally too cool to advertise.
Get Under Your Spell and Sophistication on Thisbe Vos’ Nimbit profile by clicking here.
Temblor T10 Active Studio Subwoofer Gets a 5/5 from Sounds and Gear!
Big big thanks to these guys for their kind words about the Temblor T10. Watch the video below for the whole enchilada, but here’s a taste:
“I love the sound of it, it’s got a really deep, tight sound, and even if you turn it up loud, it doesn’t sound flabby. It sounds like the cabinet is built well.
Head on over to Sounds and Gear’s YouTube channel for more great reviews and tutorials!
Steve Ferrone & Friends Invoke the PreSonus Solution on new Record
[This just in from Antony Bedez, Audio Engineer!]
Hey PreSonus! My name is Antony BEDEZ and I’m a French studio and live sound engineer. Recently, my bassist brother and I made a
CD from a concert given in France with drummer Steve Ferrone, who has worked with Michael Jackson, Average White Band, Eric Clapton, Slash, and others. I’ve taken care of all
the audio process from the live sound to the mastering.
After his participation on my brother’s last album, Investigations, we decided to invite him to France and
play with him live. With many friends of ours…
FOH and monitors were all recorded via the StudioLive 24.4.2, and the multi-track recording via Capture.
You can hear sounds and learn about the project, musicians here:
http://www.franckbedez.com/
We’re very proud of the sound and quality of the music, considering the time we had to organize the project!
Best regards,
Antony BEDEZ
LOS ANGELES: Come on out to PreSonus Exchange Live!
[This just in from Byron Gaither, our very own consummate audio expert and Studio One know-it-all!]
Nimbit Artist of the Week: Johnny A!
Johnny A. is the torchbearer instrumental guitar rock needs in 2014. One doesn’t have to listen too far into his discography to hear echoes of Duane Eddy and Link Wray alongside his intimidating blues chops—some admittedly big shoes to fill. But with a Blues Artist of the Year Award (2010) and a namesake signature guitar available from some company called “Gibson,” it’s safe to say that Johnny A. is the right guy for the job.
His latest record, the appropriately-titled Driven, might just be the perfect soundtrack for a road trip through the American desert southwest. A solo album in the truest sense, Johnny played all the instruments himself, produced, and mixed! His gritty tones are suitably mixed front-and-center, of course, dialed in with just the right amount of gut and reverb to evoke both danger and beauty in equal measure. Throughout the record, his guitars are balanced with a tastefully diverse array of percussion and horns. And hell, a little pedal steel never hurt anybody.
Johnny’s got one of the slicker Nimbit store designs we’ve featured of late, opting for a more jukeboxy vertical layout instead of the more typical horizontal scroll, wrapped in a palette evocative of Driven‘s cover art. In it, you’ll find no less than five full-length recordings, a handful of singles (including some yuletide classics) T-shirts, autographed posters, and more.
Click here to visit Johnny A’s Nimbit profile and get his latest record, Driven.
Interested in Nimbit? Sign up for free here.
Deloraine High School Battle of the Bands Rocks PreSonus Gear
[This just in from Vince Walker, Music Teacher at Tasmania’s Deloraine High School!]
Last week Deloraine High School (Tasmania, Australia) held our 4th annual Battle of the Bands, and once again our PreSonus StudioLive didn’t miss a beat! We use our desk for live performances as well as recording our CD each year—thanks to you guys for supporting our school!
The desk was fully tricked out this year, running all six Aux channels (six foldbacks) and the two effects channels, all Fat Channels were being used on effects, auxes, busses, main outs and the normal channels. It is the best desk ever! We use iPad integration to assist tune the foldbacks, and use the Smaart Wizards to tune the whole PA system. Thanks, PreSonus, for building a great desk as well as great software.
We love using Studio One 2 Professional for recording and mastering our own music. The native plugins are very useful, the DAW is so easy to use, and we get a great sound from the software every time. My students have learned to use PreSonus gear and software, and they can take the knowledge they learn to other outboard gear or DAWs… but why would they change?
Thanks!
Vince Walker
Music Teacher
Deloraine High School