No matter where you are, you probably heard about the bus which plummeted off the Aurora Bridge here is Seattle because of a maniacal gunman. What you may not have known (or cared about, you callous meanies!) is that it landed one block away from the studio, which means that had it driven 2-3 more seconds along the bridge before tearing through the beariers it would have landed on my head... and I was at the studio when the accident occurred! Yes, I have learned much from this brush with death: to be grateful just to be alive, to remember to smell the roses along the way, and - mostly - that my control room is so damned perfectly soundproof that I didn't hear two tons-worth of accordion bus landing on a two-story building and tearing half of said building away before crashing to the ground below it!

During the bus crash I was recording Solar Federation, a rock/psychedellic/ Zappa-esque/prog-rock type of band. Interesting stuff, these guys, whom finshed their three-song EP with a mastering at Masterworks here in Seattle. And let me say this - if you think you can't afford mastering, you can't afford NOT to... mastering really is an important step! Let's talk more privately. -- Solar Federation is planning on releasing this recording in the next year, and is already working on another CD, the basic tracks of which we finished just today.

We used the Shure KSM32 on these latest tracks - you will see a review of this new mic in an upcoming MIX review. (I also reviewed an auto pitch corrector which truly horrified me; it worked so well that no one needs to know how to sing anymore - you just fart into this box and it comes out smelling like roses {which you should smell along the way because busses haven't landed on your head}!)

Climax Golden Twins have finished the basic tracks for their new CD, which will come out on the meme label from Tokyo. This CD is more electronic-based and utilizes the the triple DAT editing system as an instrument. The latest experiment we conducted included cutting the attack off of different instruments. Did you know that an acoustic guitar sounds like a piano when the attack is stripped off? Neither did we!

First Hand has finshed tracking their CD, which is due for release this summer. A few minor percussion tracks and a good mix will finish off this duo's collection of harmony-vocal based folk-music. Well, maybe it's not folk, maybe it's sort of stripped-down rock. Then again, I hear a little bit of jazz... who knows?

Things have settled down in the studio with the purchase of some decadent green velvet drapes (oooooooo!). As a result, the studio has a more subdued, warm sound and feeling. The KSM32's are a welcomed addition to the mic cabinet, and, in celebration of these fine mics, I threw up a stereo pair with a PZM supplement to record a rehersal of the Young Composers Collective. It amazes me how much detail there is in this "alternative orchestra"! Their CD soundtrack of Metropolis will be about within a month - look for it!
Many of you have already swept my list of LP's and EP's that I have for sale. For those of you who missed my original announcement, here is a second chance: I just put another 150 LP's up for sale that were not in the original list. Feast your eyes!

I mentioned it last time, but I'll mention it again: There are several RealAudio files available on my website now (and I would be happy to have you peruse them all!), the least of which are two samplers of recent Residents albums! I'm in the middle of coding all of their available albums to RealAudio, so keep in touch for more will be revealed. The samples which are presently available can be accessed via www.scottcolburn.com. You will also find several other RealAudio files on this site, including Leotard Geeks and Pint Sized Spartacus. If you've ever wondered what these two releases sounded like, now is your chance - go to
www.scottcolburn.com/catalog/geeks.html and
www.scottcolburn.com/sessions/sparta.html, respectively.

More RealAudio stuff to come in the next months!

That's all for now. Have a great holiday - we'll see you on the other side.