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17 May, 2008 |
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Theta
Rhythm 
A waveform on an electroencephalogram having a frequency of
4 to 8 hertz, recorded chiefly in
the hippocampus of carnivorous mammals
when they are alert or aroused.
J.Hall (j -hôl)
n. Jason Hall, The J.
 1.
One who blends many audio tracks together
in a pleasing way.
2. Refers
to a man who holds great passion for
music production, typically attributed
to mixing records.
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first thing a prospective client should
know before choosing Theta Rhythm
is that J. Hall has certain... "issues".
* See also: drum·mer
(drmr) n. One who plays a drum, as
in a band. [see below]
In another vocation, the cocktail
of nervous energy and obsessiveness
that permeates J.'s daily existence
would almost certainly get him fired;
in the studio, it makes him perfectly
suited to the manipulation (Seducing?
Strangling?) of disparate tracks into
that elusive brass ring known as a
real honest-to-goodness "record".
In front of a console, fidgeting turns
to tirelessness; neurosis turns to
focus. That troublesome kick drum
gets what's coming to it. The vocal
sits like a good boy. Slowly you
stop noticing "tracks" and
start noticing the song.
Whether or not climbing behind the
drumkit at the tender age of six was
a mitigating factor in his career
path or simply the logical extension
is a chicken-or-egg argument; what
matters is that the fuse, until that
moment only potential energy, was
lit. It was that fateful event, a
Ritalin-deprived frenzy that probably
ended with a stick to the eye, that
started J. Hall on his path to audio
enlightenment. Shortly thereafter,
his parents most likely reinvested
what was his college fund into a vehicle
with a slightly more reliable return.
Like a time-share in Haiti. Or earthquake
insurance.
Years passed. Ears were taxed; parents
annoyed. The banging and clanging
of his high school band experiments
helped J. to begin formulating opinions
(well, more opinions anyway...), making
comparisons, having ideas as to what
would sound good coming out of the
speakers. When his first studio experience
proved disappointing, it reinforced
his conclusions and left him with
two thoughts:
1. "Hell, I could do
this..."
2. "...and better."
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Another pivotal moment.
Unfortunately, at seventeen he made
the grievous error of taking up the
guitar, thereby stunting his progress
for four years. Move back two spaces,
take a drink.
*
See also: gui·tar'ist (g-tär) n. One
who hangs out with musicians [syn:
drummer]
A brief moment of clarity sent him
east to learn the craft. Instead,
he... went to recording school. Move
back three spaces, drink entire drink.
Armed with the fierce light of knowledge,
he... took a job selling audio gear.
In Boston. In winter. Drink until
unconscious.
Some Jameson's and a few gallons
of Newcastle later, J. got off his
duff and began putting his training
to use.
Bands were tracked.
Tracks were mixed.
Mixes
were changed: "more me!",
cried the singer.
Theories were tested. A method of
working was taking shape, built on
experiences both disastrous and epiphanous
(Epiphanic? Epiphantastic?).
The
goal to make recording satisfying
for both himself and his clients has
taken him to strange places. He's
mixed in world-class studios and dank
basements. For national acts and
radio jingles. Minor polish and major
surgery. The depth and breadth of
experiences he brings to the table
are considerable, and growing. Don't
mind all the jumping around; it's
all part of the process, and he hardly
ever injures anybody.
Usually.
Some
eye protection wouldn't hurt though.
Just bill it to the label or something.
-
Chris Wagner 1.11.2005
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Friday, June 9, 2007:
This is inexcusable. It’s very difficult to do a short update when they are done 6 months apart. J. has been busier then ever. The time line of projects he’s done since November will be off, but lets run them down. J. entered Westend Studios with Life In Jersey and recorded a brilliant EP. It was mixed and sent off to mastering early in 2007. The band has been doing some short tours and selling tons of these things (titled “Skeletons EP”). Gabe and Dana Michalski brought a 10 song record in to be mixed, titled “Worship”. A very diverse 10 songs that J. is still listening to. Gabe also sent over a few singles from friend Kent Lucas that J. put the finishing touches on. Tony from Pendergast came over with a laptop under one arm and a hard drive under the other. After 5 days of him working on album artwork and J. mixing at a ferocious pace, a 13 song record, “Between the Bottle and the Pulpit”, was finished and Tony left smiling. The Dying Californian released their J. Hall mixed record a few months ago. A quick call to Liam indicated that all is well in their world and the record has been received with open arms. Hundred Years War cut some tracks in Chris Wagner’s studio and brought them over to J. The band is rumored to be descending upon Wagner’s studio in June to track their debut record, “Nails For Teeth”. Speaking of Mr. Wagner, The New Tragedies once again teamed up with J. and Wagner to track and mix their newly released EP, “Souvenirs”. The band has stretched their wings on this EP to adopt a more edgy sound, while retaining all the beauty they’ve always had. Kevin Rogers has J. busy at the console mixing his new 10 song record. Kevin is due in next week to wrap it up. J. also put on his construction hat and headed to Memphis to assist his long time friend Brad Blackwood in the construction of the new Euphonic Masters studio. Long time friend Kevin Bruchert recently moved his Viking Studios from up-state NY to Richmond, VA. J. was flown out to help with the move and make sure Kevin got settled in to his liking. Some songs were mixed as well.
J. recently sold his DigiDesign 192 interfaces and replaced them with a Lynx Aurora 16 box. He’s noting this as a much needed improvement on the digital side of his rig.
Tuesday, November 14, 2006:
Since the last update J. has been keeping very busy. “Straight Back To Kansas” from Satellite Soul (mixed by J) was just recently released. J. was in attendance as the guys played some new tunes to debut the record. From the looks of things, people were excited to hear new songs and get their hands on a new record. In The Pines landed a record deal with Second Nature Records and released the J. Hall mixed album on November 7th. J. was once again there to witness the live show and noted that the release of these two records back to back will most likely make him smile till turkey day. Nathan Brooks had J. produce, track, play drums and mix a single for him last week. J. has now added Schimmel pianos to his list of enjoyable experiences in the studio. Grant Richard just came by to put the finishing touches on a beautiful 6 song EP. It is now in the hands of Brad Blackwood of Euphonic Masters for the final stages. Life In Jersey sent over a single to be mixed and have begun pre-production with J. on 4 new songs they will begin recording in the next week. Flee The Seen have enlisted J. to cut 2 songs for them in the coming weeks which rounds out his month with a solid diet of rock n roll.
Recent additions to the Theta Rhythm arsenal are an SSL 384 stereo compressor and a Focusrite Red 3 stereo compressor. J. has been freaking out over these two units and what they are doing for him.
Thursday, July 6, 2006:
All right, all right!!! Things have been buzzing around here (not as in a ground hum). J. Hall just wrapped up a stunning full length (yet to be titled) by a local Kansas City band, In The Pines. A beautiful blend of folk and indie rock, sounds odd, we know. This summer marks J. Hall long awaited return to producing and tracking as he has begun pre-production with Scott Landreth. This project has placed J. Hall back in the studio with Peter Fitch. Peter was the drummer for legendary Lawrence, KS band Paw, and happens to be one of J. Hall's favorite drummers to work with. Matt Thompson sent in a single for the horror film Lycanthrope just recently. What is a horror film with out a hard rock song, "Willie Wonka". That was J.'s answer at least. Satellite Soul finally wrapped the tracking of their full length and got the rest of the tracks over to Theta Rhythm. Five more tracks turned into nine and J. is mixing like a mad man to get this thing knocked out for the guys. Tim and Ryan have stopped by a few times to check the progress, they left smiling so J. must be keeping up (no surprise there).
Theta Rhythm has recently updated it's monitoring. Still employing the Quested H108s, J. Hall added a Velodyne sub, Adcom power amp, and Mytek D/A converter. Dave McNair stopped in to do some mixing with J. Hall. J. was as giddy as a school girl to be learning a few things from such a master. Stay tuned as the next few months are looking pretty exciting around here.
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Wednesday, February 22, 2006:
Good Grief, I'm a slacker! Let's get some updates here. Since September 2005 Theta Rhythm has been rather busy. The New Tragedies record, "Vanity Vanity" (released on New Scratch Records), was mixed in late 2005, and saw a stunning release party on Feb. 10th, 2006. Trucker just brought in a three song single, tracked by David Moore, that is there most focused stuff yet. Down To Earth Approach sent in demos for Mark Trombino and Vagrant Records. If their full length is anything like the demos (how could it not be with Mark Trombino) it will be a "kick you in the teeth" rock n roll record. Miller Howell brought in a beautiful single that revealed some of J. Hall's more delicate side. J. Hall just wrapped up 5 songs on the upcoming Satellite Soul record, tentatively titled "Straight Back To Kansas", only 5 more to go. Friday, September
2, 2005:
The Past few months have been
a complete blur. I checked the website
this morning, only to realize I haven’t
updated it in months. Since May, Theta
Rhythm has mixed singles for, Mending
Point, Sides of the North and Adelaide for Word of Mouth
Records. Bradley, hailing
from Wallingford, CT, sent three songs
for their upcoming EP. Everything
turned out really well and the band
is off to Trevor Sadler at Mastermind Mastering to put
the finishing touches on the EP. The
New Tragedies (easily my favorite
local band) has begun production on
their new full length. I’ve
been helping out, as time permits,
with some producing duties, and I’ll
begin mixing it in a few weeks as
soon as they finish up with the ever
talented David Moore and Christopher
Wagner.
Monday, May 30, 2005
Kevin Bruchert, with Word
of Mouth Records, and Viking
Studios, left this morning after
an extended weekend stay at Theta
Rhythm. We ended up talking business
more then we mixed, but two Mending
Point songs were mixed and are
sounding pretty good.
I look forward to continuing this
relationship with Kevin and Word of Mouth Records. The Dying Californian has approved
three of the four mixes on their up
coming full length. The Brannock
Device aligned their schedules
and made it by for a few nights of
mixing on their upcoming EP, “King
of the Soap Box Derby”.
Friday, March 25, 2005
The Secret Club record has
finally been mixed. I leave for Memphis,
TN to master this thing with Brad
Blackwood at Euphonic Masters this next Thursday. The String
and Return full length album is
at mastering currently and is scheduled
for a May 14th release date.
Monday, October
25, 2004
The String and Return, Secret
Club, Liam Nelson: The
String And Return's full length
is tracked and ready for mixing, look
for a release date some time in mid
Jan. 2005 on Anodyne Records. The Secret Club's full length
requires a few more tracks to be cut
(guitars, vocals....odds and ends)
which is happening at the beginning
of Nov. After that, it's ready to
mix. Then it gets sent off to Boston
for Max Lord to add segues
in between every song, then over to Brad Blackwood at Euphonic
Masters for a class A mastering
job. Liam Nelson (San Francisco
based songwriter) sent a single to Theta Rhythm for drums and
bass to be added then for mixing.
Drums are done; Bass is next (via Chris Wagner) then the mix.
Friday, January 14, 2005
Satellite Lost sent a track down
from Long Island for a test mix. Timing
in at 8.5 minutes the mix came together
much quicker then I was anticipating.
Great band, great song, and they liked
some of the weird stuff I did....sadly,
they have broken up. Markus Meier
dropped off a beautiful pop song that
I just wrapped up. He has yet to hear
it, so I'm hoping it will be good
to go. The Secret Club record
is fully tracked and one tune is mixed......10
more to go.
Thursday, December 02, 2004
Moving on: The String And Return
record is finished (titled What
Cheer?), now it gets passed off
to the record label and it's out of
my hands from there. I hope it gets
finished off well as I worked hard
on it and I think it sounds pretty
good.
Chris Wagner visited a few
days back and laid down some bass
on Liam Nelson's track "Every
Little Scene". I'll be mixing
that in the next few days. After that
the Brannock Device will be
swinging by to put the finishing touches
on their new EP. Then maybe I'll find
some time to finish up the Secret
Club record that's been bouncing
around for a few years now.
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mu·sic
n.
The art of arranging sounds in time
so as to produce a continuous, unified,
and evocative composition, as through
melody, harmony, rhythm, and timbre.
Usually rocks. |
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To receive a sampler of some of j.hall's work, please contact us (see below). |
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- Paw
(Lawrence, KS)
- Mending Point
(Batavia, NY)
- Bradley
(Wallingford, CT)
- The Roosevelts
(Nashville, TN)
- Koch Records
(New York, NY)
- Anodyne Records
(Kansas City, MO)
- The Dying Californian
(San Francisco, CA)
- The String and Return
(Kansas City, MO)
- Modular
(Fayettville, AR)
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- Sides of the North
(Dayton, OH)
- Tyko
(Fayettville, AR)
- Ray Brower
(Columbia, SC)
- Crank Records
(Fayettville, AR)
- Adelaide
(Batavia, NY)
- Danger Bob
(Lawrence, KS)
- Palomar
(Lawrence, KS)
- Trucker
(Lawrence, KS)
- Last Remaining Outpost
(Chicago, IL)
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- The New Tragedies
(Kansas City, MO)
- Thulium
(Kansas City, KS)
- Karl Michelbach
(Tempe, AR)
- The Secret Club
(Kansas City, KS)
- Danny Goldenbaum
(Kansas City, KS)
- Heads Are Heavy
(Fayettville, AR)
- Grant Fitch
(Lawrence, KS)
- Charlie Keel
(Chicago, IL)
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Playback:
Pro Tools HD2 Accel
Lynx Aurora Conversion
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Monitoring: Quested, Velodyne, Adcom, Mytek
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Outboard: Sontec, SSL, Focusrite, DBX, Sphere
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telephone:
(913) 909-5474
Address:
Theta Rhythm
PO Box 1203
Mission, KS 66222
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Simply
fill out the form below, and we'll
contact you asap!
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