Hello all and a very happy October to you! As you will see we have added even more to the web-site a lot of new functionality (all listed below - after the "Nashville 2004 Report"). Our trip to Nashville was an unqualified success! We returned with 14 new singing calls and three new hoedowns - more details about these later. Firstly, I would like to tell you a little about our trip to Nashville.

NASHVILLE 2004 REPORT (part one)
Nashville is a fascinating city. A city of legend, where so many of the greatest stars of the modern age were "discovered" or managed to "find" the recognition that they deserved. This is a city-of-dreams, where "magic" can be found (at least in musical terms). If you've ever been there you will, I'm sure, agree that Nashville has a lot to offer. Of course, I am biased…

The "pilgrimage" to Nashville, this year, was made by three members of the Sting recording staff, these were: Carsten Nielsen, Søren Christensen and myself (Paul Bristow). Our first day in the studio was Wednesday 1st September. The studio that we use is one of the most well thought-of facilities in Nashville and goes by the name of Nashville Teleproductions - please click on this link and read all about their operation and the many awards that they have earned. Our engineer on these sessions (that's the man who sits at the control desk and is in charge of all things technical and is responsible for the final mixing together of all the musical instruments) is Kevin McManus, who also owns the studio.

We arrived a little before our "start" time of 09.00 to find all the players in situ, tuning up their instruments and connecting into the extensive studio systems. We have eight musicians (or "players" as they prefer to be called) who work for us (you can see them in the photo-gallery mentioned below). On the day prior to the full studio session (Tuesday) we had spent a few hours, with Gregg Galbraith - who is the "band-leader" - working on the arrangements. Although Gregg had had the information for a few weeks already, we felt that it would be worthwhile doing a little "fine-tuning" ahead of the session; Studio time costs $15 per minute, so you really don't want to waste any of it…

We started on-time and began a simple play through of the original version of the first song. My role is to press the buttons on the CD player to allow the players to hear the tune! Each player had a sheet for the tune that had been prepared by Gregg Galbraith, onto which was written the chords, the structure (opener, figure etc.) and the instrumentation for the song. This was written out using the "Nashville Notation" system, which is quite interesting; no staves, clefs, crotchets, quavers or "notes" of any kind - just numbers! At the top of the sheet was written the key. I am told that the one big advantage of the Nashville Notation system is that the numbers are the same - no matter what key you use…, which I could see, was (potentially) a big advantage.

After playing the tune, we discussed the beat structure (or Key Signature) i.e. 2/4 time or 4/4 time (AKA "full time" or "half time") and then the rhythm "flavour" and then the percussion requirements. Within a few minutes the players were playing the tune. The players decided upon the most effective "intro" and "outro" and how it could be played. We try - as far as possible - to get close to the original song, especially on the introduction. Although we quite often have to cut a 32 beat (or longer) introduction down to a reasonable length, we usually manage to preserve a great deal of the original sound and feel.

Within twenty minutes-or-so we are recording the track. After the basic play-through come the "fixes". Not always as a result of "errors" per-se, quite often the player just feels that they can play their part a little better. On balance, there will be one or two more complete passes, as percussion (Congas, Tambourines, Shakers etc.) and other overdubs (Orchestral Strings, Rolling Banjo etc.) are added. Usually, we hope to complete recording the tune in about 45 minutes. The final mixing of the tracks will not be done until after the players have finished, usually the following day.

Each of the tracks follows pretty much the same pattern. Some (the more "awkward" tracks) take a little longer. There is no obvious indicator to assess which will be the "awkward" tracks but there are always a few. In many cases, the players that we are using are familiar with the tunes and - in some cases - our players played on the original recordings (which is always a bonus). There is a lot of opportunity for the players to interpret the tunes and suggest "extras", you will find that a great deal of what you hear on our records was not "planned" but just "happened" - in the studio; of course that's one of the main reasons for travelling to Nashville!

I will tell you a little more about the Nashville 2004 trip next month… For the time being - and for a few previews of the new tracks (the mini-movies have sound), please click on this LINK to see some of the pictures and mini-movies that were taken.

And now on to other news…

INDIVIDUAL RECORD HISTORIES:
This month we are pleased to be able to offer a new feature on the web-site. We have re-built the database for the record catalogue and if you visit that, you will find a lot more information about the stories behind the tunes that we have recorded, including ALL THE ADDITIONAL LYRICS! Please note: this is a work-in-progress so it will be a while before all the entries are up-dated.

MESSAGE BOARD / FORUM:
Also new this month is a forum. This comprises a "message board" for you to visit and where you can read about and "discuss" many Square Dance related topics. Please take a few moments to visit this forum and add any comments that you feel are relevant!

THIS MONTH'S NEW MUSIC:
Our new vinyl releases for October are: "A Hard Day's Night" (vocal by Paul Bristow) and "Daydream Believer" (vocal by Carsten Nielsen). Our new MP3s are "Isn't She Lovely" (vocal by James Wyatt) and "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer" (vocal by Kenny Reese and the Silver Snow Belles); there is a special "extra" track on this latter MP3 release, which provides the instrumental with the harmony voices.

RECENT RELEASES: (Full details on the Latest Releases link)
Last month's new releases were extremely successful and achieved top-five listing on the Hanhurst's Tape and Record Service Best Seller listing. These were "Any Dream Will Do" (No.1) and "Help Yourself" (No.2).

FUTURE RELEASES:
As mentioned last month, the streaming audio samples of the future releases on the Future Releases link are up-dated as soon as we have the vocals recorded; make a point to check on this link from time-to-time. If you hear something that you like and want to be sure of receiving a copy - as soon as it becomes available - check out our Standing Order Offer.

FESTIVALS:
There are various new STING festival events in the planning stage and I will be giving details on these as soon as they are ready for release, so watch this space! Festivals that I can mention now are:

STINGUK 2005 which will take place from 10th to 12th June 2005 in Hayling Island, off the southern coast of Great Britain. It is hosted by the Hayling Mudlarks and will feature Maarten Weijers (from Holland) alongside James Wyatt and myself (Paul Bristow). The festival will provide dancing from Mainstream to A2 in two halls.

The Pader-Sting event is all set for 7th to 9th October 2005 in Paderborn Germany, hosted by the local Square Dance Club the Pader Jumpers. This event will feature 10 Sting callers with dancing from Mainstream to A2 in four halls.

Please check the Future Festivals link for full details.

Okay, I am now off to start trying to work with all the new music - I really need to learn the lyrics, the tunes, the key changes and and and … Speak to you next month!

Go Squareful! - Paul Bristow (Owner and Producer Sting and Snow Records)