Hi,

Happy New Year and here’s hoping that 2008 is the best year of your musical career...so far. In an attempt to remain intriguing and unpredictable, I’ve added a brand new “Featured Album” column to the newsletter. In it, I’ll be highlighting the release of an album that’s come through one of my studios. There’s so much talent that’s just beneath the surface of public recognition that I’m hoping this feature will bring a few of these artists some much-deserved recognition.

Also, thanks to Editor, Matt Harper, I’ll be contributing engineering and production articles to EQ Magazine this year. Finally, Shure microphones has come up big again by continuing to sponsor the newsletter with a free microphone to one lucky studio client. Speaking of which, congratulations to Ben Sbar, the 2007 winner of the Shure KSM9. Good luck and I’ll look forward to our paths crossing in either New York or Nashville sometime this year.

-Cliff

THE ADVANTAGES OF USING SESSION MUSICIANS ON YOUR SONGWRITING DEMOS

Why do professional recordings sound, well...professional? There are a number of reasons including high quality microphones, pre-amps, an experienced engineer and a well-designed studio space. But one of the single most important elements in a great-sounding, professional recording is the performance of the session musicians. There is a reason that the job of the session musician exists. It’s these musicians whose talent and studio experience contribute in a major way to the polished sound of a recording. Because there are different rules that apply when you’re recording an artist demo, I'm going to limit the scope of this article to songwriting demos specifically.

Shouldn’t I Be Able To Do This Myself?

While I am a big proponent of wearing as many hats as you can in your musical career, there are certain areas where it makes much better sense to rely on experts. First of all, it’s extremely important that you take ego out of the equation. There is no shame in having someone else play on your demo. Remember that a songwriting demo is supposed to put your song in the best possible light in order to “sell” it to prospective artists or place it in films and TV shows.  It is not supposed to be proof of your studio musicianship.  Recording your instrument in the studio requires an entirely different skill set

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HEATHER RIGDON: Young & Naive
This month I have the pleasure of announcing the release of Young & NaÔve, the debut jazz album by vocalist and songwriter Heather Rigdon. It has been my privilege to work with Heather on this project and seeing it come to fruition is truly one of the proudest moments of my career. The song "Table For Two" has already reached movie audiences in Trust the Man, a film featuring Julianne Moore and David Duchovny. More recently, the album’s first song, “My Mother Would Like You,” was selected as a Top 5 pick by Tunecore, a terrific new online music company that is well worth your attention. Click here to hear more samples of the album and receive a free song download.

CHARLIE DEGENHART

Charlie Degenhart is what you get when you cross a gifted, contemporary singer-songwriter with the soul of the sixties and seventies. In 2000, Charlie left his native Phoenixville, Pennsylvania for Nashville bringing with him a strong collection of songs which was to become his first album, Bridge Street Main, released on Tiki God records. After 

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