Jim Gaines Receives Note on Historic Beale Street

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MEMPHIS, TN  – 25 October 2010 – Brass Notes on Beale for Jim Gaines, Sandy Carroll

Notes in the Beale Street Brass Note Walk of Fame were dedicated on Thursday, October 28, at 5:30 pm inside the Hard Rock Café for record producer Jim Gaines and singer Sandy Carroll. The husband and wife team have each had successful separate careers. John Fry of Ardent Studios spoke at the event.

Sandy Carroll was “one of the first entertainers on Beale Street” after the redevelopment, according to John Elkington. Carroll was a house band singer at Lafayette’s Corner, the site of the present Wet Willie’s. In addition to singing and playing piano, she also is a songwriter.  She has co-written songs for blues guitarist Albert King and Luther Allison.

Gaines recorded Huey Lewis & the News’ demo that resulted in his first album and produced the group’s first four albums. Since then, GRAMMY-winning Gaines has recorded an diverse array of artists including Santana, Ana Popovic, Stevie Ray Vaughn,  and Luther Allison. Their note ceremony took place at the Hard Rock, the site of a former recording studio where Gaines produced a number of albums.

The Beale Street Brass Note Walk of Fame was established in 1986 by Performa Entertainment Real Estate to tie the traditions of historic Beale Street to the new Beale Street Entertainment District. Biographies of the honorees may be found at www.bealestreet.com.

In the picture, L to R: Ralph Arista, drummer Bill Gibson, guitarist/saxophonist Johnny Colla, engineer Jim Gaines, 2nd assistant Lydia Gilman (seated), Huey Lewis, assistant Curry Weber, and keyboardist Sean Hopper.

Big Head Todd in Studio A with Chris Goldsmith, Jimmy Hoyson

We were more than elated to see producer Chris Goldsmith and engineer Jimmy Hoyson travel from California back to Ardent this month to make a new record with Big Head Todd and the Monsters. You may remember their names from their work on last year’s GRAMMY-nominated Ruthie Foster record, The Truth According to Ruthie Foster, which was also cut here at Ardent in Studio A.

But for the three days that they were here this time, what they made does not amount to what you might call the usual Big Head Todd record. What started as a concept tour – Big Head Todd and the Monsters, David “Honeyboy” Edwards, Hubert Sumlin, Cedric Burnside and Lightnin’ Malcolm playing the music of legendary bluesman Robert Johnson – morphed into a record, and what a record it’s going to be. Add in guests Charlie Musselwhite and Ruthie herself, and you’ve got the formula for something very special for blues and rock fans around the world. Jason Gillespie was the assistant on the session.

Chris had this to say about the studio: “Jason was amazing. He is extremely capable and has a fantastic attitude. He is on our all-star team for sure. I first came to Ardent with the Ruthie Foster project because we wanted to make a record that leaned on Memphis soul and Memphis musicians and I had heard that Ardent was the best in town. Not only was that true, but Ardent is one of the best studios I’ve ever worked in… The crew, the gear, and the sound of the tracking rooms are all world class. We came back for this record because I love working at Ardent and the band wanted to be close to Robert Johnson’s stomping grounds for this record.”

Big Head Todd consists of Todd Park Mohr (guitars/vocals), Rob Squires (bass/vocals), Brian Nevin (drums/vocals) and Jeremy Lawton (keys/steel guitar/vocals).

In the picture, L to R: Lightnin’ Malcolm (guest), Rob Squires (bass), Todd Park Mohr (guitar/vocals), Jimmy Hoyson (engineer), Jason Gillespie (assistant), Ruthie Foster (guest), Chris Goldsmith (producer), Cedric Burnside (guest), Jeremy Lawton (keys/lap steel), and Brian Nevin (drums).

Below are some in studio shots taken by assistant Jason Gillespie.

Mikey Jukebox & The Demos mix with John Hampton in Studio B

Producer Mikey Jukebox, Jay Milton of The Demos and engineer John Hampton all convened to mix the band’s new record in Ardent’s Studio B. The Demos (the power pop duo of Jay and Callan Sanders) and Mikey all live in Rochester, NY, but Mikey thought it made musical sense to bring the record to Ardent and Hampton.

The full length record will follow 2 EP’s released in 2007 (Alone With You) and 2008 (Your Girl Has Fun Without You).

Jay met Mikey playing shows around Rochester and they became fast friends when Mikey asked The Demos to record backing vocals for his own record. Mikey recommended Hampton and Ardent, and it was a great fit. At the time, Jay was listening almost exclusively to Big Star records.

Says Jay of his experience here: “We had an incredible time mixing at Ardent. We were treated like family there. Ardent is hands down the best studio I’ve worked in and I can’t wait to return in the future. It was a blast to wake up every day and head to the studio to work!”

The record is yet to be titled and the current plan is to self release. The band will hit the road shortly thereafter, so keep up with The Demos at their Myspace or Facebook to catch a show near you!

(In the photo: Assistant Adam Hill, engineer John Hampton, Jay Milton, and producer Mikey Jukebox.)

“Trams, Jams, and Elvis” Premiers at Indie Memphis Film Festival

Famed independent singer/songwriter Robyn Hitchcock made his way across the pond from his native England last year to attend the Indie Memphis Film Festival, which is held every year right down the street from Ardent Studios. While in the neighborhood, Hitchcock came by Ardent to do some recording.

Hitchcock’s stop at Ardent was originally intended to be a very quick trip, including very basic tracking and mixing of a couple songs which were then going to be immediately mastered to vinyl and were to become the first release under Indie Memphis Records. The whole process was to be documented by filmmaker Peter Gilbert. When they arrived at the studio and began tracking, the help of studio manager and Big Star dummer Jody Stephens was enlisted, and the project ended up being extended into a full day in the studio. Hitchcock recorded a simple acoustic version of Johnny Cash’s “I Walk the Line,” and then a song that he wrote called “Thank You, Time Girl” to which Stephens lent his talents in the way of drums, background vocals, and additional percussion. Jeff Powell engineered the tracking and mixing with Lucas Peterson assisting. The tracks were mastered to vinyl the next day by Larry Nix of L. Nix mastering, inside Ardent.

Indie Memphis will be pressing a limited run of 500 vinyls of the recording. A mockup was available for viewing at the premier.

The documentary focusing on the entire experience is called “Trams, Jams, and Elvis,” and was presented by The Memphis Chapter of the Recording Academy and Indie Memphis at this year’s festival.

The screening was at the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art on October 23rd. Directly following was a Q&A with filmmaker Peter Gilbert and Recording Academy Board Members Jody Stephens and Jeff Powell.

(In the photo above, L to R: Robyn Hitchcock, Jeff Powell, Jody Stephens, and filmmaker Peter Gilbert.)

Robyn Hitchcock: Trams, Jams & Elvis (34 min.) follows singer / songwriter Robyn Hitchcock on his exploration of Memphis during the 2009 Indie Memphis Film Festival. The film gives a fly-on-the-wall perspective of Robyn’s creative process as he records new songs at Ardent Studios, and culminates with his live acoustic performance, which closed the 2009 festival.

Burning Ice (86 min.) follows a group of 45 world-renowned artists, musicians and scientists as they travel to the High Arctic to witness the effects of climate change. Traveling on a Russian ice-breaker up the west coast of Greenland are musicians Robin Hitchcock, KT Tunstall, Martha Wainright, Lesley Feist, Jarvis Cocker and Ryuichi Sakamoto; performance artist Laurie Anderson; photographer Chris Wainwright and poet Lemn Sissay. As scientists study the glaciers and ocean currents, the sheer beauty of the landscape inspires an extraordinary outpouring of art projects, music and song. The formula is simple yet unique; put a group of musicians, artists and scientists and communicators aboard a boat. Give them a common goal: to learn from each other, influence each other and to stimulate ideas and the production of art founded in scientific research. Using creativity to innovate artists are involved to communicate on a human scale the urgency of engaging with climate change.

Memphis Means Music Week Kick-Off: Ardent Studios Open House & Tours

Join us this Friday, October 22nd at Ardent Studios for an open house kick-off celebration of Memphis Means Music Week. We’ll be giving tours from 4:00 – 6:30 PM with food and drinks from 5:0 – 7:00 PM.

Please RSVP to elizabeth@memphismeansmusic.com and we hope to see you this Friday!

Check out the event on Facebook!

http://www.memphismeansmusic.com/programs/m3week/

Stax Museum Honors Huey Lewis and the News

The Stax Museum of American Soul Music in Memphis, TN honored GRAMMY winners Huey Lewis and the News on Thursday, October 28th with a public reception celebrating the release of their new album ‘Soulsville.” Huey Lewis was in attendance! The album was recorded, mixed and mastered at historic Ardent Studios.

The event was open to the public. Guests had an opportunity to purchase personalized autographed CDs as well as being the first to hear cuts from the new album. All proceeds went to benefit the Stax Music Academy.

There was also a special VIP event from 6:00 – 7:00 PM. Guests had an opportunity to get a photo, personalized autographed CD, and the opportunity to hear students of the Stax Music Academy.

‘Soulsville’ is Huey Lewis and the News’ first album in nine years and will be released on W.O.W. Records. Recorded at historic Ardent Studios in Memphis, the album features 14 classic songs from the vault of Stax Records, including “Respect Yourself” and “Got to Get You Off My Mind.” Considered to be the preeminent soul music label in America, Stax was home to artists like Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, Booker T & The MG’s, and Isaac Hayes, and produced an astounding number of hit records throughout the 1960′s & 70′s. Ably paying tribute to the rich Stax legacy, Huey Lewis and the News, joined by their long time horn section, capture the energy and excitement of this important era.

‘Soulsville’ re-unites Huey Lewis and the News with co-producer Jim Ganes (‘Sports,’ ‘Fore!’) who worked at the Stax and Ardent Studios as a young man and was involved in many of the label’s original recordings.

“We’re especially proud of the collection” says Lewis, who has been previewing material from the album while on a critically acclaimed summer tour. “There should be a number of surprises for everyone.”

For the cover of ‘Soulsville’ (pictures above), acclaimed Memphis folk artist Lamar Sorrento has created a striking, affectionate caricature of a Memphis street corner. Complete with musicians, rib joints, and of course, WDIA, the country’s first black radio station, Sorrento captures the spirit and energy of Memphis just as vibrantly as Lewis and the News do on their new album.

The event on Facebook

http://www.soulsvilleusa.com

Check out a clip of Huey talking about the new record (and Ardent!) on MSNBC.

For more information or to discuss media opportunities, please contact:

Doug Carpenter

Doug Carpenter and Associates, LLC

(901) 372-5100

doug@doug-carpenter.com