by Les Pearson
Does CD Stand for Career Dreams?

It seems only yesterday that the Folk Music Club celebrated Ron Mason’s first CD release. The local folk singer is still unsure how far he wants to take his musical career. But one thing is for sure! The CD has opened prospects that were not there before. The Climb has aired on CKUA and eastern radio as well. And Ron could well appear on festival stages this summer. If he wants.

Locally, there are oodles of local musicians taking this serious recording plunge. In our Club alone there are at least two other CDs in the offing. Abbigail Johnson plans to record her amazing and moving roots numbers.

And Phyllis Sinclair, a polished folk performer, is considering her recording options. Phyllis is opening for our concert season’s first performer, Ray Bonneville. After hearing Phyllis, many will want to place a pre-order.

Two other talented friends have fresh experience with the recording business. They offered to share their different experiences.

Brian Bowery is a long-time fixture on the Medicine Hat music scene. He often appears with the Live Music Club’s House Band. His CD, Flatlander, is a unique recording for a host of reasons.

It was recorded in Brian’s basement studio, track by track, with help from 19 musician friends. Among their number are pros like Billy Jones on steel guitar, Bill DesBarres on keyboards, and Ron Larson on guitar. The production value is great! This should not surprise. Brian gains a century or more of musical experience by adding these seasoned musicians to his recording.

Bowery’s songs are potentially commercial. Although he says, “It was a thing I wanted to do for myself and my family,” he admits that selling a few on the side would be nice!

The final product has 12 songs with total playtime spanning south of thirty minutes. Songs range from the rock-a-billy tune, Love Dog, to Buddy Holly redux jive numbers like Buckets of Fun. There is also a generous helping of ballads and dance tunes.

When he was finished recording, Brian sent his CD to Touchwood Studios in Regina for re-mastering. The final product bears the all-Canadian content MAPL label and is shrink-wrapped. That was the bonus in re-mastering.

Calvin Berg took time from a hectic career in housing construction to record a ten cut, sixty plus minute, CD he calls “Missed Me Too!” All ten songs were recorded at Absynthe Studio in little more than five hours. Considering that some of Cal’s songs run over seven minutes, this was an iron man recording feat.

The recording is Calvin live! It is his original blues vocals, his harmonica, guitar, and foot tambourine. Although he did not set out to emulate anyone, there is that Dylan feel to this disc.

Why record? Because Calvin wanted to do this since boyhood in Oyen. His words are clear. “I’m fifty years old and I have something left to say.” And maybe that’s good enough for me.

Interlocking Solutions - website manager
http://www.interlockingsolutions.com