Yet Another Last Minute Gig

In order to launch the band's website little update, today's blog will be directed to the website. There's still plenty of things for us to work on the website. There is a bunch of new pictures posted. Let's get this website somewhere!

www.feuband.com

Cupcakes and Music

Hello everyone,

it's been a long while I haven't updated the blog.

Feu's back in business with a gig this Saturday May 29th at Chris' house. It starts at 8:30 and Among Sheep and Wolves will be with us as well. 12853 Finchley St, Baldwin Park, CA 91706; that's the address.

We will be selling cupcakes that night in order to raise money for a possible San Fransisco tour/trip in a couple weeks. They will be $1 for one, or a 'feu' for $2 [$2 for 3]. Anyone who buys an album [$12] will get two free cupcakes. Even if you're not planning on going for the cupcakes, do come and support our fellow musicians; besides we will have a couple surprises for you.



What has Feu been up to? Believe it or not, we got contacted by an A&R agency earlier this month. I will explain and get into more detail as what A&R is later. Though I don't personally we will go anywhere with this agency, it made us realize how much we love doing what we're doing and how far we'd be willing to go to make this all happen.

Playing for Relay For Life last Saturday at BPHS was such an awesome feeling. For those who don't know, Relay For Life is an event where people walk for 24 hrs to raise money and awareness to fight cancer. Taking part of such event means a lot to us. In the end, it's never about us, it's about touching other people's lives; that's what it's all about.

We will be working on the website, which we haven't touched since a good two months now [shame on us] and we'll be looking into gigging around the summer. We'll keep you updated.

Official Album Release

An album release? You're not misreading. It's official. Finally.

It's been a good 6 months we worked on the album, "Unstoppable" and we are now excited to see and hear the final product. It took us longer than expected, but we are glad to have taken our time and to have made it as best as we could. This self-produced album wouldn't have happened if it weren't for the support, time and talent of the amazing people we're surrounded by; many thanks to you all.

The album has 14 tracks; plenty ear candy. We will be selling it for $12.

How can you get a hold of it? When is the album release?

We got lucky enough to get a last minute slot at Pasadena's The Terrace, a bar/restaurant/venue, for a show on Tuesday April 6th 2010. We decided to take that opportunity to release the album.

Where? The Terrace, in Pasadena. 443 E Colorado Blvd, Pasadena, CA 91101

When? Tuesday, April 6th 2010 at 8pm. We will be the second band up, chances are we will be up on stage around 8:30.

How much? $5 to get in.

Show up, get your CD and we'll sign it.

What if you can't make it? We will have a release party some time in the near future. You can also attend it and we'll be signing those as well.

After that, you can either contact us or go to any of our other gigs.

Announcing: Website

We've had a website of our own for about a year now. Thing is, we are no web designer.

So our good friend Jet has been really kind and offered his talent to design it for us. Over the summer, he set us up with a layout and a very nice looking website. But since the summer, a lot of things have changed; new members, new music and an album on its way.

But this no longer is a problem. Jet has a setup a simple system so that we can run easily the website ourselves as far as posting news and events in blogs, pictures, videos, music, and much more.

For now, the layout is unfinished, but you can visit the website for we will post up news and events, such as this Thursday's gig.

Check it out: www.feuband.com

Announcing: Album Tracks

I'm very glad and relieved to say that we're done with the album! After five long months of intense songwriting, recording, editing, mixing and mastering... We've finished the album.

All there is left is having a CD cover and artwork done, taking care of the copyrights, and sending a master CD to be duplicated, hence the actual albums we're going to be selling.

There is no set date on when it would be released, and we have not yet decided how much we will be selling them for. We are handing free 3-song demos out.

You can listen to half of the album on our MySpace page [www.myspace.com/feuband] or our facebook page [just type "Feu" in search box]. There are a couple that can only be found on either profile, so I highly recommend you go check out both.

In the meanwhile, here is the track list of the album, along with a preview or a teaser if there is any, for those who haven't had the chance to see them. 14 tracks, as promised:
P.S. To stop the music, go on the bottom of the page and press pause on the music player

1. On S'en Va [Song title was changed]

2. Believe

3. All That I Can Do
4. Desire
5. Another World
6. Beautiful Lullaby
7. Right Here
8. Poetic Journal
9. Pictures And Goodbyes

10. The Crave

11. In Multi Colors

12. The Last Thought
13. Unstoppable
14. No Worries

Mastering

It's been quite a week in the studio. Squeezing time to record, mix, master the album, and have rehearsal can be a taunting task; yet it never gets tiring.

We're officially days away from sending a master CD to be copyrighted. We're definitely done recording, and pretty much about the same for mixing. All there is left is mastering.

What is mastering?

Let me use an analogy first before getting technical. Let's use cooking for example. Before you cook a meal, you have to buy all the ingredients on the recipe list. [We could compare that step to recording the songs.] Then, you need to cut and prepare each ingredient to make sure there's the right amount of each. [Mixing the songs.] The final step would be putting all those ingredients in the pan and cook everything and make sure they all blend in together to make a delicious meal. That final step would be mastering when it comes to making an album.

In engineering terms, each songs was recorded and mixed in different ways, one by one, with sometimes different instruments and elements, which lead to songs having different levels and sounding different. The purpose of mastering is making the album sound as a whole; to make something consistent from track to track. It also brings up the overall volume of the album, making it as loud as it can be and making it sound better as a whole.

Little did I know this step would be much harder than I thought. I personally feel it's the hardest step of them all. It's a very delicate process that can make it or break. A perfect example would be Metallica's last album, in which the mastering killed the album after the mastering engineer followed the producer's demands.

I'm wasting one CD after another to make sure I don't do that same mistake. I go in the car, play it on the computer, play it on the PS3, ... anything I could get my hands on. You have no idea how much difference there is going from one place to another.

Hopefully, sooner that later, we'll find the perfect balance.

In the meanwhile, we have a gig this Sunday in Eagle Rock. More info later. We also might have another gig in Baldwin Park on the 20th of this month, but that one has yet to be confirmed.

Much love,
Jeremy

"Pictures And Goodbyes" Teaser

We spent most of the day and night today to work on all the songs. We're practically done with a few exceptions.

By Friday, after the band meets up to listen to the whole album, hopefully one last time, and after we approve of what we've heard, we should be officially done with it. Let's cross fingers!

I am not sure how long it will take for an actual CD to come out, since we have to take care of copyrights, CD covers and the duplication of the CD's. Let's hope that won't take too long.

In the meanwhile, I'll leave you with a last teaser. This song is one of our newest song and you get to hear the full version. This might not be the album version quite yet; it all depends on Friday's verdict.

Enjoy!



P.S. Sound is terrible on YouTube... I don't know what to do to improve. The actual CD will make up for it.

Album Listening Party

The month of January is coming to an end, and I'm glad to firmly say that the album will come out as planned in February.

After these past couple weeks of working our butts off, we finally came very close to finishing up the album.

As of now, only one song still requires minor recordings. The rest just need adjustments here and there to make it CD ready.

So, on Thursday night, feeling quite satisfied of what we had accomplished, I spontaneously put together a little listening party an hour before it would happen; literally. To my own surprise, a good dozen dedicated people showed up and had the chance to listen to the whole album, before anyone else. It was good to hear what people had to say and to hear their thoughts. And well... they did get my mother's good crepes [which are French pancakes] out of coming over.

Thanks to all those who came out that night.

Looking forward to releasing the album soon!

January 2010

Hello everyone!

It's been a while I haven't blogged.

The album is coming along. We're already in the last stages of the album making, which is mastering. Yes. Mastering. We do everything ourselves!

Well, it's 2010 and it's going great for us. We just had a show on the 9th of January and it was a good turnout. It was fun as always and we're looking forward to more.

So far, we've got a gig scheduled in Eagle Rock on Feb. 14th, but we're not sure if it's going to go through 100% because of Eddie's work. We'll let you know as soon as we can.

For those who missed the gig on the 9th, here are videos that Bianca Betito took. Thanks Bia!

All That I Can Do:


Believe:

Long Car Rides

Chris and I spent a good hour or so tonight, driving around wherever the road led us to, while paying close attention to a rough mix of most songs from the album.

It's nice and cozy having a nice sound system to work on... But in the end CD's get played in cars, on earphones or headphones, transformed into MP3 on iPods and other MP3 players, and they sound nothing like what comes out of speakers in the studio.

So, I felt since we're getting close to being done with recording, that taking a step ahead and already checking how the songs sound in the car was a good idea. It was not my surprise to hear major differences to what I was accustomed at home.

In the end, that hour spent driving around anywhere was not so much a waste of gas afterall.

Please, don't forget to vote on unsigned-talent to help us reach the Top 5! It would mean the world to us.

And also please vote on the poll regarding the listening party [at the bottom of the blog]. It will determine whether we'll have one or not. If you don't know what I'm talking about, go here

Thanks again!

Listening Party?

As of today, only a few last recordings have to be done and we shall be done with recording.

It's been quite a long ride and the songs are coming along very quickly. We're getting feedback and it's exciting.



We're currently considering doing a Listening Party.

What's a Listening Party? It's an event where people are invited to come in and get to listen to, in this case, the album before anyone else and before it is released. It's almost like a movie trailer, except you get to mingle with the band and friends while grubbing on some food and drinks.

We'd love to host one, but only if people are interested in one, and only if they will show up.

In order for us to figure if it's worth hosting one, we're asking you to go answer our poll at the bottom of the blog. Even if you're absolutely not interested in it, we want to know. If we get convincing numbers, we shall host one. Mark my words.

Thanks to all!

Vote For Us!

To our own surprise, a devoted fan of ours set up an account for the band on unsigned-talent.com and we somehow made it to the top 40.

Last time I checked, we made it to top 8.

Help us out reach the top 5 by going on the link below. Click on the "+1" [the +5 and +10 aren't free] and you can do so as often as once every half hour.

http://unsigned-talent.webs.com/vote.htm

Many thanks in advance and thanks for the support!

An Early, Very Early, Christmas Treat

I'm quite pleased to say that all the songs are coming along and we're very close to having all the songs fully recorded and ready to be mixed and mastered. Exciting stuff.

Since it has been a while that not a single teaser has been released, I felt posting a full song would be a nice treat, though Christmas is still quite a long way.

We experimented a lot with this song. It was quite a blast. And somehow... someone convinced me to sing this one in French. Oooh la la!

Recording Violin

It's been quite an adventure.

Never had I recorded anything else than a guitar, a piano, a bass, a drumset, or a vocalist.

Reyna did us the honor of coming in and laying down some violin parts. We have a song that is a bit more instrumental than others, and she'll make the song more interesting, I can guarantee that.

It came out better than I thought it would. I really wanted to make sure she took part in the songwriting and came with her own part for the melodies.

Maybe I'll give you all a preview. If you're willing to be a bit patient, it'll be all worth it.

Feu's First Show of 2010

I can't believe how fast this year has gone by.

In less than a month, we'll already be in the year 2010. And we already have set up our first show of the year.

It will be on January 9th, at Chris' house.

12853 Finchley St, Baldwin Park CA 91706 is the address.

More details once the date draws closer.

Euphonix MC Mix

Today I had to setup the Euphonix MC Mix in my composer's studio.

What does it do? It controls softwares, such as Pro Tools, Logic Pro, and Ableton Live. What it is pretty much is a big mouse. Instead of using the mouse use put up and down nobs, the Euphonix MC Mix allows you to do that at the touch of you fingertips. Of course, it goes in more depth than just putting up and down faders.

It is one of the most affordable of its kind, though still quite expensive to my taste.

All it takes is ethernet, and it sinks up with all the softwares you need it to work with.

I'm looking forward to working with it.

Mt San Antonio College Wassail

It all begins on the 3rd of December, this Thursday.

What is the Mt SAC Wassail?

It's an event organized by the Mt SAC Choir Department. People buy tickets for dinner, where they will be served hors d'oeuvres, salad, entrees, dessert and wassail. While feasting on amazing food, they will be provided with musical entertainment, such as a harp player, a piano player, a quartet, and carolers going from table to table singing to everyone. At the end of the night, the Concert Choir, the Fermata Nowhere and the Chamber Singers perform a Christmas set of music.

I believe all tickets are sold out.

It'll be a good experience for all of us. There's nothing better but spreading the Christmas spirit to everyone.

Foley, ADR, Walla

Do any of those word seem unfamiliar to you?

Since Eddie needed some help with some of those for school, I figured I'd explain to everyone a little bit about those.

When you watch movies, the sounds you hear, whether it's the dialog, the noise in the background, people talking in the background, and the sound effects, are usually not the sounds that have been recording on the set. Why? Sounds in the open are uncontrollable, which may lead to a lot of unwanted noise you cannot get rid of once everything is taped.

So what needs to be done?

Things have to be recorded in a studio.

Foley is all the sound effects in the movies recreated in studios, or foley stages. Footsteps, glass breaking, doors closing, and laser beams sounds are all example of those.

ADR stands for Automated Dialog Replacement. Sometimes when actors are on set, what they said on tape did not come out clearly. Maybe the wind blew on the mics present on the set, or their clothes brushed against the lavalier [mic placed on clothes] and created noise that ruined part of the dialog. They have to go in a studio and have to re-speak the lines that need to fixed. Imagine looking at you talking and having to dub over yourself. Not an easy task for everyone.

Walla is all the background talking. For scenes where a lot of people are present, it is usually in studios that the background talking is created. It is way too risky to record out in the open people talking and chit chat. The studio provides a controlled environment and everything comes out much cleaner.

Hope you learned something today!

The Studio Has Moved

Since my mother is now gone for two weeks in the Philippines, I decided to move all the recording equipment inside the house. The garage is way too cold at this point to consider staying in there when the house is free.

I also am taking advantage of the big TV screen. I hooked up the MacBook Pro to it, and I can now use two screens and look all fancy.

Something tells me things are going to get done now.

When you have your own little studio at home, you do what you can to make things work best. It's not always the most ideal place to have a studio, but I'm pretty happy of how things are turning out for us. Everything is working hard and putting their time in to make this album as best as it can be.

More updates in the future.

Yet Another Show

It's confirmed. Feu is having another show. This time it will be in San Dimas. We'll be playing with headliners Zeraga.

Here is the info:

Friday December 11 @ 7:30PM
661 Arrow Highway
San Dimas, CA 91773
Home Brew Cafe
Free

Hope to see you there!