The Commercial Appeal Story

Wes Leyshon sees a musical revival in Memphis' future.

"I think Memphis music will make a professional comeback," said Leyshon, owner of Avowal Music Production. "Right now it's all underground. A lot of people do music as a hobby here, but very few people are doing it full-time compared to Nashville or Los Angeles. I want to be a part of bringing it back like it was in the '60s and '70s."

PHOTO BY DAVE DARNELL
BUY THIS PHOTO »

Wes Leyshon at the mixing board in his production studio, Avowal Music Production.

In 2006 Leyshon invested several thousand dollars in equipment and renovations to his backyard garage, turning it into an all-digital recording studio, where he records, mixes and produces music of all genres.

Now his engineering skills have seeped into the repertoires of reality-TV icons and a popular MTV series.

The trick to being successful in an entertainment-obsessed market, said Leyshon, is making grassroots connections.

"It's mainly about who you know," said Leyshon.

Originally from rural Maryland, Leyshon got his start in music playing violin, guitar, piano and drums.

"I wanted to be able to record myself," said Leyshon. "A guy told me I needed to buy a four-track, a simple recorder for $600. I thought, 'I'm never going to get that much money.' "

In 2004, he moved to Memphis to attend Visible School, a private school focusing on music production for ministry. He graduated in 2006 with a bachelor's degree in media production ministries with a concentration in audio production.

"I liked what was going on here in Memphis, so I stuck around," said Leyshon.

While in school, Leyshon got to record new bands each week, and the experience has paid off since he started Avowal.

"I had a huge portfolio of music that I had produced and recorded before I went out into the marketplace," said Leyshon.

One school connection got him a gig mixing the song "Avalanche" by songwriter Kevin Griffin of the band Better Than Ezra, for David Cook, winner of the seventh season of "American Idol."

"That was a really cool experience for me because I can compare my work to industry- standard stuff that gets radio play," Leyshon said.

Another connection got Leyshon a similar gig with an "Idol" finalist, Katherine McPhee.

And his mix of "I'll Be Better When You're Gone" by the band 16 Frames was used in the season finale of MTV's "The Hills" in July.

"There are certain frequencies that we hear that can trigger certain emotions," Leyshon said. "For a fast, aggressive song, it needs to have a lot of midrange frequencies that will bring out the attitude. For a slow ballad, you want a lot of high-end frequencies that make it sound softer and more pleasant."

In 2006 Leyshon spent time traveling to Costa Rica and Nicaragua to record the music of poor churches, many of which had never been recorded before. He produced a CD of the music called Mision Hispana.

While he works in all genres of music, the acoustic, unadulterated nature of Mision Hispana

has a special place in his heart.

"'Avowal' means asserting the affirmation of the truth," Leyshon said. "There are so many tricks you can do with modern recording to make an average person sound like a million dollars. I would really like to find the truth of a musician."

Nick Williard Demo

Check out what I did to Nick Williard's song "A Little Like You" on Live From Memphis's "60 Seconds" program. Nick is a songwriter from Baltimore, Maryland who came down to Memphis for the weekend this past Spring to have me produce 2 songs for him.

New mix on iTunes

16 Frames just released a new single that I mixed, "I'll be Better When You're Gone" on iTunes today. Make sure you go buy it here. and leave a review! Also check out their full length "Where it Ends". I mixed the song "Daylight" on the album.

Mision Hispana

Get your copy of Mision Hispana Here!

We are very excited about the new Mision Hispana CD. The CD is composed of 19 original and traditional songs from Nicaragua and Costa Rica. Mision Hispana is available for a suggested minimum donation of $15. All of the proceeds from the project go to missionaries and musicians in Central America.

Thanks to all the people who made this project possible: Ardent Studios, Peak Audio, Disciple Design, Visible School and many others!

My mix on MTV

I just watched part of the Season Finale of "The Hills".  I don't normally watch the show, but my mix of 16 Frame's song "I'll be Better When You're Gone" was played as Heidi's sister walked out of the rehearsal dinner.  Check it out here.

I think it's in the middle of the episode. 

Spring 09 Music

I've had a great Spring so far. I've been working on a couple projects for songwriters. Nick Williard came down from Maryland and had me produce a couple songs for him. I am also working on a 5 song EP for songwriter Jerome Sheldon's band Era Borough. 
I've been doing a good bit of mixing. I got to mix a song for Katherine McPhee recently and my mix of "Daylight" just got released on 16 Frames' new CD, Where it Ends, a couple weeks ago. Go buy a copy!

Avalanche by Kevin Griffin

A few months ago, I mixed a song for Kevin Griffin (Better than Ezra) called "Avalanche." That was cool. I didn't realize at the time that I had heard his songs on the radio forever. 

I was walking through Target today and picked up David Cook's new self titled release and looked at the song list and saw "Avalanche." You can't listen to CDs at Target, so I went home and checked it out on iTunes and was like "Hey, I mixed that" sort of. They had some guy named Chris Lord Alge mix the cut for the CD after the song was re-recorded. Anyway it was encouraging and exciting for me. The demo I mixed for Kevin was actually David Cook singing. I just realized that.  

You can pick up David Cook's latest cd on amazon here

What do you want me to do? My definitions of an audio engineer and producer

These roles are often confused and sometimes overlooked. Every recording project needs an engineer and producer/s.    Roles: An engineer's job is to capture and recreate the musical performance through the speakers. He must take into consideration the sound that the producer is looking for. Mic choice and placement, and the creative use of technical gear are primary jobs of the engineer to deliver a good signal to the recording medium and out of the speakers. A producer on the other hand, is a leader who drives the session and shapes the artist's performance with a specific end goal in mind (like the director of a film). A producer brings experience to the project. He is sometimes found within the band or is the band as a unit but often times an outside producer is hired to manage the time and performances in the studio. Someone steps into the role as a producer as soon as he mentions that a musician is out of tune. A producer must have an understanding of the musicians to know how far to push them in order to get the best performance out of them. As well, the musician must be willing to listen and try the producer's ideas (that is why they pay him). He may suggest bringing in guest musicians to record on a son, depending on the project. A producer must also be knowledgeable of the recording process in order to communicate with the engineer about the desired goals of the sound. If an artist is lucky enough he/she will have an executive producer who manages the artist's money and makes sure deadlines are met. Pay: An engineer gets paid by the hour or project. A producer may get paid hourly or on the front side of a project, but he usually enjoys a residual percentage of the total earnings of the project.

10 Steps to creating great music

People often ask me to recommend them the best gear to buy so that they can start their own studio and make great music.  I wonder if their money and efforts could be spent in a wiser way.   Here is what I focus on to create music that will last.  

1. The business/work (gotta have material to work with)
2. The song (crappy recordings of a great song are much better than great recordings of crap.)
3. The arrangement (the producer will help here and make a good song great by knowing what instrumentation is needed and where)
4. The performance (the musicians should be good - a good producer will know how to get the best performances out of the musicians)
5. The mix (whoever mixes and masters the project is highly responsible for the outcome of the sound and the producer will make sure it is acceptable)
6. The instruments and amps (these play the biggest role in the recorded sound) followed by…
7. The microphone placement (recording engineers land here)
8. The room
9. The microphone
10.The preamps, compressors, EQs and converters

Joe Matheus in the studio

Recently Joe Matheus flew down from Maryland to have me engineer and co-produce his 3 song demo. Joe has a smooth neo-soul/pop style that I believe appeals to a wide range of musical cultures. 

The first song, "My Type," in an upbeat pop tune with some funky lines and jazz chords. The 2nd, "Down Chick" is smooth and chill all the way. The last song "Never Knew the Ways" is a warm jazzy pop tune. 

Special thanks goes out to the accompanying musicians that glued this project together. David Mason on drums, Rick on bass, Kirk Smith on some keys, Brittany Betts on trumpet and Brandon Armbruster on trombone. These guys shaped the songs incredibly. 

So go listen to Joe at www.myspace.com/joematheus and you will be glad you did.

The Music Making Process according to Wes

Some of the terms and stages of the recording process are often misunderstood. Please make time to read through all of this if you are planning on recording in the future. Feel free to leave a comment and fill in if I am leaving something out.  Plan/Vision –  What kind of project will be best for you? Maybe a 3 song demo to send to record labels, possibly a 5 song EP to have something to sell at shows, or a full length CD that has all the songs your fans have been wanting to hear.  Research where and how to get your project done. Develop a budget. Have a marketing plan to get your stuff out to people. Be intentional and professional.  Pre-Production –  Narrow down your songs to the appropriate number. Experiment and find out the best key and exact tempo for each song. Look at the song as a whole. Does it say what you are feeling? Does it build? Is there tension and resolution? Rewrite it if you need to. (The recording studio is not the place to make these changes.) Look at each verse and chorus and the transitions. Are they cluttered? Does your drummer know what fills he will play and when to play them? Do the guitarists know the best rhythm to play so that they open up room for the vocals? Are the bass and kick drum tight together? If you are anal like me, dig into each and every single beat of the song and know how you want to play it. Then learn how to play it perfectly. This is where a producer can step into the scene and really take a band or songwriter to the next level.  Songs by very nature provoke much feeling. Therefore, it's easy for the song creation process to create deadly bombs inside of band members when opinions start to be thrown around and those receiving them have an emotional attachment to their work. Make sure you pick and choose your comments wisely and have an open mind to receive constructive criticisms and/or try new ideas. Remember at this point it should not be about what you like the best – it's about what the song needs.  Recording/tracking –  Your songs should be ready to be recorded. You already know what studio you're going to use. (Sometimes people record drums at one studio and the rest of the band at another less expensive studio.) Most studios these days record onto a computer hard drive. Some top of the line facilities still use 2-inch analog tape (which is quite expensive but sounds really good.)  The flow of the recording process depends on the type of music. Typically the drums and bass record first with a scratch (quickly put together, not the final recording) rhythm guitar and vocal track. Drums usually take a lot of time. They are the foundation of the song. They have to be perfect. Then rhythm guitar is put down (recorded). Next could be vocals or lead guitar. It depends on the song but most of the time I want to have a good vocal track recorded before I add lead guitar and auxiliary percussion. However, sometimes those instruments change how the vocalist sings, so if you think that might be the case - they could be recorded first. Sometimes everyone in the band likes to experience the whole process, other times some of the members may not have to be at all the recording sessions. There can be a lot of pressure on a band member when he is recording and the rest of the band is glaring at him wanting him to get the part right so that they aren't wasting time and money. Sometimes, the less people in the studio, the less pressure there is on the recording musicians. In some cases bands prefer to set up the whole band and record everyone at once. There seems to be less pressure that way and people may flow off of each other and feel the energy of the band that they are used to in a live setting. However, the details of each instrument can easily be overlooked when there is so much to be listening for at once. This also limits the potential of the editing process a great deal.  Editing –  Most recording engineers can do a little magic when no one is looking. (Fix timing and tuning). But it's ALWAYS better to play/sing it perfect than for the engineer to make it perfect. Sometimes people don't expect or want any editing (the kind of people I like a lot). Other times people want you to fix everything and make an orchestra play in the background. Believe it or not – there are some limitations so don't count on the engineer being able to fix a bad performance during the editing process.  Mixing –  Once all of the parts are recorded, the mixing engineer starts the process of mixing. Typically he will hear the recording of the song one time and then envision how the song could sound. Then his job is to take the song to that place.  He can use a mixing board (console) or a computer program that simulates a board. The engineer will listen to each track individually and use effects such as EQ, compression and reverb and find the perfect volume and panoramic space. Other than the artist, the mixing engineer plays the biggest role in the quality of a project. He should be very familiar with the genre of music.  Sometimes bands like to watch the engineer mix but this often causes the process to go much slower. When I mix a project I like to be alone until I get it where I think it should be – then show it to the artist and make whatever adjustments we deem necessary.  Mastering –  Once all of the tracks from the different instruments are mixed together to one stereo track (mix), the mastering engineer has the final chance to alter what people will hear. In the past the mastering engineer was the one who transferred the song off the recording tape and put it onto the record. Today, he is the one – often overlooked – who listens to each mix then does what he can using EQ, compression and other effects to make every song sound consistent no matter what type of speakers you are listening on. On a well-mastered CD the volume of each song is close to the same and it sounds fatter and clearer than the raw mixes. Mastering is also where the transitions from song to song are adjusted using fade ins and outs.  Replication/Duplication – During this process the mastered CD is printed on a large number of CDs. Duplication is like taking a 1000 blank CDs and burning your music on each one. Replication is the creation of 1000 new CDs with your songs on them (a little more expensive than duplication but less likely of a chance that they will get ruined by scratches or won't work in certain types of CD players).  I hope this helps prepare you to accomplish your next project.