JOIN THE PORTLAND MUSIC FOUNDATION TODAY!

Membership with the Portland Music Foundation brings with it not only educational programs & services, but many perks, including local business discounts and free admission to all PMF events. Most importantly, it connects you to the music community of the greater Portland area, and shows your support for local music. Membership costs only $20 annually, and proceeds of all membership dues are used to fund all PMF activities and events.

Click here to become a PMF member.

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MIXER SERIES CONTINUES JUNE 30 >>>>>The Portland Music Foundation this month continues its Mixer series, whereby musicians and others affiliated with the local music industry can get together to talk shop, swap music, and make connections in a casual setting. The next stop is at Port City Music Hall, at 504 Congress in Portland, on June 30, from 6 to 8p.m. The event is free and open to the 21+ public.

Because the Port City Music Hall is still relatively new, having just opened in January, the PMF has joined with the PCMH to offer an open house during the event, where musicians can get a tour of the stage, the sound board, the various nooks and crannies that live down below the performance space, and also have an opportunity to speak with the venue’s ownership and management.

Oh, and cocktails will be just $3. Did we mention that part?

These events are open to everyone, not just PMF members. This is a networking event, so attendees are encouraged to bring flyers, CDs, business cards, etc., and be ready to trade them with like-minded musicians and other industry members looking to build a stronger Portland-area music scene.

For more information, visit www.porltandmusicfoundation.org or email info@portlandmusicfoundation.org.

You can ask questions and discuss these events at http://portlandmusicfoundation.lefora.com/forum.

Mark your calendars, because these are great ways to network with other bands for gig sharing, meet PR professionals and others who can help you promote your band, and just generally hang out with other folks who feel your pain. Bring business cards, CDs, whatever you want. It’s your chance to find like-minded people and grow your circle of industry friends.

NEW PMF MEMBER BENEFIT
Discounts at RealTraps, makers of acoustic treatments

RealTraps (http://www.realtraps.com) is a manufacturer of acoustic treatments, intended to improve the acoustics of any room, whether it's intended for sound recording or listening.

They are offering Portland Music Foundation members a $50 discount on the Portable Vocal Booth (http://realtraps.com/p_pvb.htm) and a 10% discount on any room kit (http://realtraps.com/p_roomkits.htm).

RealTraps provides very high-quality, removable acoustic panels that can transform even an ordinary bedroom into an outstanding acoustical environment for producing music.

For more details on how best to treat your room, contact James Lindenschmidt, Maine resident and general manager of RealTraps, at JWL@RealTraps.com.

MAMM presents ROCK & ROLL SUMMER CAMP

RECORDING STUDIO CAMP >>>>>This camp is a recording musicians’ dream! Students learn the fundamentals of recording a rock band in a state-of-the-art recording studio with one of Portland's top engineers. The camp is held at The Studio and led by engineer Jim Begley, an 11-year resident engineer at The Studio and live sound engineer of choice for countless bands and venues. Recording Studio Camp is a hands-on camp. Not only will students be using the same top-notch gear as the pros, but they will be working on a recording of a real live band! Past camps have engaged the services of popular bands, such as the internationally acclaimed Paranoid Social Club, featuring members of the Rustic Overtones.

This camp covers all the basics: pre-production, mic placement, over-dubbing, mixing, mastering, and inside tips and tricks of the trade.

SUMMER CAMP CALENDAR

June 22nd - June 26th Recording Studio Camp, Portland
The Studio, 45 Casco St, Portland ME 04101
June 29th - July 3th Rock Camp, Bar Harbor
Conners-Emerson Elementary School, 11 Eagle Lake Rd, Bar Harbor ME 04609

July 6th - July 10th Rock Camp, Kennebunk
River Tree Arts, 35 Western Ave, Kennebunk ME 04043

July 13th - July 17th Recording Studio Camp, Portland
The Studio, 45 Casco St, Portland ME 04101

July 20th - July 24th Rock Camp (Covers), Portland
Immanuel Baptist Church, 156 High St, Portland ME 04101

July 27th - July 31st Rock Camp (Songwriting), Portland
Immanuel Baptist Church, 156 High St, Portland ME 04101

August 3rd - August 7th Recording Studio Camp, Portland
The Studio, 45 Casco St, Portland ME 04101

August 10th - August 14th Rock Camp, Machias
University of Maine at Machias, 9 O'Brien Avenue, Machias ME 04654

August 17th - August 21st Rock Camp (Rock Band 101), Portland
Immanuel Baptist Church, 156 High St, Portland ME 04101

FEES & REGISTRATION

MAMM's Rock Camps cost $300 per week, and run M-F from 10am-3:30pm. Recording Studio Camps cost $400 and run M-F from 10am-4pm. You can find the registration and health forms online at: http://maineacademyofmodernmusic.org/camps.html.

MAMM asks for a $50 deposit per child per camp. Checks can be made out to "MAMM" and mailed along with the reg/health forms to:

MAMM
12 Revere St
Portland ME 04103

PMF TIP OF THE MONTH>>>>>
Mistakes To Avoid When Recording Your Own Album
by Craig Hamilton @ www.musicthinktank.com

Before you can begin to think about marketing yourselves online you'll first of all need to take care of the music. If, like me, you're making that music at home then you'll be aware of the many benefits this arrangement brings - you have the freedom to try whatever you like, you don't have one eye on the clock and you never have to get the last bus home.

The flipside is that you are on your own and, to put this gently, there will be no-one there to keep an eye on you. You are entirely free to lead yourself down any number of blind alleys before you grab the wrong end of the stick and beat yourself up with it. Recording at home requires patience, discipline and good planning…...and all at the same time…and from musicians.

What could possibly go wrong?

Since the price of freedom is eternal vigilance, here are the 9 mistakes we made in homemaking our debut record that I'm keen to avoid as we begin our second. I'm fairly certain I'm not the only person in the world who learned his good habits the hard way so if you think I've missed anything important please feel free to add some tips of your own. I'd also very much like to hear your tales of self-inflicted recording calamity!

OK, off we go..

1: That Odd Buzzing Noise Will Come Out In The Mix

..and one day there will be free jetpacks for us all. No matter how good you think that last take was, if your singer kicked the mikestand halfway through or the small change was rubbing against the keys in your pockets, then you need to think about starting that take again.

2: If You Are Having Drums, You Might Want To Record Them First

You may think you’ve nailed that guitar part to that click track but there are two people who won’t share your confidence. The first person is the drummer and he will till you all about this when he comes to play along to the song. The second is the person who will spend weeks going through the all the component drum audio files, making miniscule adjustments to the placement of a kick beat here and a high hat there. When I say weeks, I mean WEEKS…easily enough weeks to fill a month or two.

3: "Hey, Shall We Tune-up?"

This one sounds teeth-grindingly obvious, doesn’t it. Oh yes, so obvious in fact that you’d never believe anyone could make such a stupid, stupid error.

*cough*

Moving on, then…

4: Effects Breed Like Rabbits

It might not sound the way you hear it in your head but if you cave in now and add that tiny bit of distortion - just to make yourself feel better about everything - then imagine how great you’ll be feeling when you come to the mix and you can’t get rid of it. Record EVERYTHING dry.

5: "You Sound Like You’ve Got A Cold…"

If you didn’t have a cold when you recorded the vocals for the other 9 tracks, why do you want to do record the vocal for this one now?

6: Clean Out Yer Ears

If you’ve listened back to that rough mix more than 10 times today then it’s probably time to go out, meet your pals and get drunk. Additionally, when you all come back from the your night out your friends will probably be in the mood for some ELO or possibly some Fu Manchu. That track without vocals and that piano part littered with cack-handed mistakes will be waiting patiently for you tomorrow - it ain’t going nowhere.

7: Less Is More

These days home studios can be augmented with a dazzling array of plugins that enable you to have thousands and thousands of different sounds and instruments at your fingertips. You are limited only by your imagination, but remember that this cuts both ways.

8: Organise, Label & File

At some stage, when you’ve recorded your last vocal or overdub, you’ll want to think about mixing your album. When this point comes it is waaay too late and entirely pointless to have the bright idea of giving audio files sensible names and putting them into folders that, say, represent the names of the different songs they come from.

9: Back-Up

Death, Taxes and At-That-Crucial-Point computer malfunction. They come to us all in the end. Back-up your work daily, weekly or even monthly….but make sure you do it.

Now, go and make a great record!

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