• We've just completed a new Live EP for Grace Potter and the Nocturnals. Our 4th project with the band, we handled the post-production chores of a live concert the band did in Skowhegan, Maine. It was an excellent night for the group and has some really great live energy. Look for news about it on the band's website: www.gracepotter.com
The stunningly talented blues artist, Eric Bibb, came in to record tracks for a song written by Barbara Blaisdell and Tim Utt, of Uttmost Music. Barbara and Tim are longtime friends that have worked at C.E.S. over the years recording songs that have been featured in hit movies, such as "The Manchurian Candidate," and "Philadelphia." Eric lives in England and is currently on tour performing his own fabulous style of acoustic blues. He is definitely one of THE guys to check out on the acoustic blues scene today! Eric, who raved about the studio, plans to return to Charlotte this summer to continue the recording project with Barbara and Tim. An earlier collaboration between the three, entitled "Petty Crimes," can be heard at www.yellowhousemedia.com..
2008 was a great year for us! Not only did we get to do new projects with some of our old friends, but we also got to work with several bands that we have been itching to record for quite some time. One of the bands on our "must do" list would have to be The Starline Rhythm Boys. These guys are an amazing group that has been making big noise all around the country and we're expecting their new release, "Live at Charley O's" to do the same! Chas Eller recorded the band for two nights from a remote truck set up behind the infamous Vermont roadhouse in Montpelier. As they say, "the rest is history!"
Another band on our wishlist, has been the Grippo Funk Band. Over the years, we have worked with Pure Pressure, as well as the Sklar-Grippo Sextet, but it gives us great pleasure to get the boy's latest incarnation into the studio. Keep your ears open for them this summer!
The property in Mexico is moving ahead, and final plans for the studio are now in the works. We currently have completed two guest casitas to house musicians, and hope to have the studio up and running by this time next year. Please visit our website for more photos.
Chas was busy at the end of February performing at the San Pancho Music Festival, a small but charming, intimate festival, on the Pacific Coast of Mexico. He performed for the second year with trumpet great, Jeff Oster of San Francisco, CA. whose latest CD "True" , produced by fellow Vermonter, Will Ackerman, is topping the New Age radio airplay charts. Check it out!
