Studio D Productions

Blues n’ Greens (2008)

Acoustic guitars/Production - Feltes; electric guitars/bass/drums - Newell

Simply stated - A 12 bar blues shuffle and a lot of improv caught on tape. Dan Newell came out to reinstall my corrupted studio software, so I took the opportunity to show him my idea. I did an acoustic rhythm, then handed him the beautiful Gretsch Tennessee Rose (she’s named “Greta”), Bogner designed tube amp, and line 6 modeling rack to record three electric guitar tracks. Dan also recorded the bass line and used his drumming, keyboard, and software sampling expertise to get control over an authentic drum kit. Dan's a fantastic drummer, but we don't have enough microphones (yet). The next day I added acoustic guitar (she’s named “Taylor”) improv cuts to both battle and compliment the electric leads, edited the MIDI drums, and mixed/mastered the session. The result was a pretty cool Chicago style blues jammy jam. I only wished I had a harmonica in the key of Amaj (I take donations).

Chocolate (2007); Metrofried Remix

Acoustic guitar/Keyboard/Production - Feltes

The percussion is sampled, played via a keyboard, and sounds extremely realistic - I must give that credit to the Digidesign / IK Multimedia partnership. The brass horn on the chorus is also a sample (not as realistic, but it works well). The point of the mix was to emphasize, not overpower, the acoustic guitar. This is clearly my best work as a sound engineer. I finally made my beautiful Taylor guitar sound as good on a digital medium as it does in G_d's medium. Special thanks to my sound girl, Lynn Donmoyer, who made it a lot easier for me to "listen and react" and not have to play with the knobs and guitar separately.

Do You Remember (2007)

Music by Jack Johson; Lyrics by Adam Feltes; rhythm acoustic/vocals - Feltes; lead acoustic - Newell; harmonica - Ryan Meyer

A partial cover of Jack Johnson. I re-wrote the lyrics and recorded this one in at the Green Room Recording Studio for my girlfriend's birthday. I had only about 2 weeks to write and practice , and less than 4 hours in the studio (in the middle of the night) to rehearse, record, edit, and mix. The instrumentals are great, but the vocals could've used a bit more time to practice (and some more creative engineering), but we were on the clock. I'm certainly not a gifted singer, but once you get past the first few lines of the first verse, I at least hit the notes. Happy Birthday, Robin!

Lessons (2004)

Rhtythm acoustic - Feltes; Lead acoustic/Production - Newell Newell)

The overwhelming fan favorite. Dan Newell, plays a very classical lead over a melodic hybrid of a rhythm I stole from the mandolin player in R.E.M.’s "Losing My Religion.” It sounds like a Spanish love song… maybe Santana-esque. It's really just two guys with a case of beer, some instruments, recording gear, and creativity.

M1D1 (2004)

Acoustic guitar - Newell; Production - Feltes

M1D1 is pretty darn catchy, making me want to move my hips (something I call dancing, most people disagree). It was written and played by Dan Newell. This was my first experience with engineering, editing, and mixing a song. The song got its name because some guy walked in Dan's store and asked to if he had any M1D1 (em-one-dee-one) controllers. We think he meant MIDI (acronym for "musical instrument digital interface"), which is what we used to create the drum and bass sounds (they're sampled, not real). Trust me. It was a funny story after a few cocktails. It deserved a song.

Shitatigans (2006)

Acoustic guitar - Feltes; lead guitar/Production - Newell; bass guitar - Jon Crognali

Shitatigans was deliberately misspelled, as it goes back to the "two drunk frat guys" theme from "Lessons"... only it was three drunk frat guys and we replaced the Spanish classical guitar with a rock-style electric guitar for the leads and gave the whole song more of a gloomy, distressed air.

On fan said - “So, Shitatigans... It’s like audible crack. It takes me to another place and I really like it there :)”

R n’ Beat (2004)

Acoustic guitar/Production - Feltes

How do I say it? R n’ Beat... well, it stinks. However, the unfortunately repetitive guitar licks are the basis for a new song I am working on, containing far more variety. I think I'll call it "Folkaddilac." This will be replaced at some point. This was my first completely solo project - writing, playing, engineering, editing, mixing, and incorporating MIDI.

Metrofried (2005)

Acoustic guitar/Production - Feltes

A pretty catchy, very methodical, almost industrial progression.

See the remix - Chocolate (very different, same roots)

Novocain (2005)

Click here to for an illustration of this project.

With No Voice (2008)

Acoustic guitars/Vocals/Production - Feltes

While a very original sounding folk tune, this one begs memories of Dylan, Donovan, and the like. A classic I IV V folk guitar progression with a few turnaround variations keeping it interesting - e.g. I I IV I; I I I V; IV IV I I; I I V I. For once the vocals are decent and the guitar engineering was B- at best. I’ll probably re-record this someday to get a cleaner guitar cut.

Special thanks to Rick Babcock, Cherryville Studio, NJ for the vocal mastering ideas.

Deep Ellum (2008)

Acoustic and electric guitars/Production - Feltes; Vocals - Feltes; Back-up Vocals - Hartung

Lupercalia (2008)

Acoustic guitars/Vocals/Production - Feltes

A songwriters craft is both a blessing and a curse in the gift giving arena. What seems like an idea for an easy gift usually becomes a commitment of many days! Inspired by Dylan’s Subterranean Homesick Blues, this is a relatively simple song I used as an opportunity to practice playing and recording a harmonica. The main problem was I didn’t have a harp in the right key so I used two “wrong keys”, inherently changing a I IV V cadence into a very bluesy IV bVII I. Problem #2 - my singing. Happy Valentines Day, Robin!

A classic... inspired by the lead guitar of Jerry Garcia’s version , I decided to record this song as practice using a metronome, layering tracks, and recording/editing vocals (including a female back-up - thanks RawBan). After the instrumentals, I researched the song history, including downloading or streaming every version I could find, so I could re-write lyrics and keep the initial energy and theme - the red light district down deep Elm Street, Dallas TX, with hookers, thieves, winos, and God (or lack thereof). I also wanted to incorporate the ideas of segregation, it’s pending collapse, and the associated music of the time.

I fell in love with alternate tunings. It’s been like learning a new instrument. I have also tried to both stretch my genre boundaries and tackle fingerstyle guitar.

This is the first of many songs I have been working on. I played it so many times, so many ways... only my Grandma could stand listening to it anymore. Even she stood up and left the porch from time to time. I like to think it was her bladder, not my song.

A time honored progression - I Imaj7 I7 IV IVm I - played in open E with classical-like fingerpicking and an unexpected, up-tempo rock twist of a bridge/outro.