Another perfect day in Cape Town - weather-wise, of course.
We had the joy of spending the day with our good friend, Matt Allison. (Karla and I first met him in July 2004 on our first visit.) Matt is a multi-talented individual - artist, songwriter, music business guy, studio owner, and quite the recording engineer. (He just finished engineering a project involving some of the biggest names in music here in CT - all coming together to honor Nelson Mandella. The project will be mixed in NY this week - evidently will be quite a big deal when released here in the next few months.)
He owns a very "vibey" recording studio called Dockyard Studios in the heart of Cape Town. It is nestled on the 3rd floor of what is evidently a very well known building in CT called Old Castle Brewery. Matt is such an entrepreneur, and he did great finding this location and making his studio a wonderful place to work.
We spent the day recording the (3) CCFm Music Makers Workshops "Winners". We chose these (3) from the (36) people we critiqued on Saturday at the workshop. (This whole "recording the winners" is an important element of our mission and purpose for bringing music teams to CT to help develop local talent so that hopefully these artists can have their songs played on Radio CCFm sometime in the future.)
Our first guest was Lana Fredericks - an 11th grade girl - precious, innocent, and what a voice! She sang "On My Knees" - recorded by various artists including Jaci Velasquez. We recorded her to a pre-existing track. We will bring it back to America and replace the pre-existing track with a brand new track. She was so thrilled to get to sing in the studio - her first time. Her mom was with her, and I pray this was an experience she will never forget.
Our second guest was Mxolisi (Kolisi) - a 29-year old singer, songwriter, guitarist who recorded his original song, "Always". The basic guide track that Shane and Boggs created was amazing. After Mxolisi recorded his vocal, we recorded him playing Boggs' guitar. Already we have a great track upon which to build. Mxolisi was also so thrilled to be in the studio - a first-time experience for him as well.
Our final guests were a 5-voice group from a church about 90 minutes from CT. The name of the church and the group is "Tabernacle Of Love". They sang a beautiful worship song entitled, "God Is Here". The song is one of those ballads with a "Brooklyn Tabernacle" feel to it. The group was there with their worship pastor and a few friends - again, a first-time experience for them. (Based on this group and the fact that our drummers workshops this weekend were led by a "kid" from their church, I think I need to visit this church sometime in the future!)
At the conclusion of each session, we took pictures, and we will be sending them back to these folks (via Matt Allison) in the weeks to come.
Once we return to America, we will get to work on completing these tracks and making them "presentable" for radio use here in CT.
I have always loved the "studio experience" because at the end of the day, you almost always come away with a great feeling of accomplishment. You have something to show for the hours spent, and usually it is something creative, something that did not exist that same morning - at least not in the form that it is by the end of the day.
I know this - there are (7) people living in the surrounding communities of CT tonight who had the experience of a lifetime today - an experience that brought them joy, a sense of purpose and accomplishment, and a genuine sense of hope.
That may be a perfect day in CT after all........
