I just love those jaw dropping moments when you realise you are in the presence of something truly inspiring. I first heard Penny play at CrossRoads Christian Fellowship in La Paz during the winter of 2006, and I am pretty darn sure that I was not the only one who's chin was basking in the resplendency of the church floor that morning. We spoke briefly afterwards, and I bought a copy of her first CD. In the weeks that followed I KNEW that I had to record her, something that was cemented in me after her performance at the Teatro de Ciudad. We made arrangements for a session in La Paz when she returned the following year. Unfortunately, opportunity took me away from La Paz so I was not available engineer her sessions, but she and her host, Milton, persevered and found a studio that could record her vocal performances. On their return trip to Canada, Penny and family passed through Tijuana, were I was at the time, and dropped off the session tracks. I was able to spend an afternoon with Penny and we spoke of the concept for her next album as we reviewed the work she had done in La Paz.

Penny is personal, open and a relaxing person to be around. She is very humble about the great and ever-developing talent she possesses.

:: NEWS! Nov. 28, 2008
Penny's second CD, Vision, has been released! BajaSound Produced and Mastered this wonderful collection of inspiring music. Look for it soon on Penny's website below.

If you would like to know more about Penny:
      :: Penny's Official Website
      :: An interview with Penny

:: VISION - Released November, 2008
Penny's piano sessions were recorded by Steven Gale at CrossRoads. Her vocal session were recorded by Rodrigo Avila at Jalisco with additional re-recording by Keith Molberg and Jared Martens at Caronport. She presented BajaSound with 14 songs, for which she gave us significant creative license to produce. Although our goal was to capture the intimacy of her live piano and vocal performances, one of her songs evoked an orchestral treatment, another two her jazz side and yet another something more experimental. Thank you, Penny, for letting us explore together!

:: BLÜZ EXPLOZION - Audio Restoration - December 18, 2008
Blüz Explozion is an international ensemble of musicians (Jamaica, Israel, Canada), who just happen to be hanging out right now. Above is a small sample of video that was taken at their second concert (and only 5th time playing together). The camera (of low quality) was about 10-12 meters from the band and only the on-board camera microphone was used. The video was shot by an over enthusiasic fan who also had to take care of a baby at the same time - hence the artistically chaotic camera movements! To be usable, the video needed an audio makeover. BajaSound tweeked the sound to bring out the bass, bass drum and guitar. Below you will find a link to the sound as it was originally recorded.

I met Gail Burris, a truly lovely woman, in May of 2005 within 4 months of having moved to La Paz, a city which lies on the coast of the Sea of Cortez near the southern tip of Baja California, Mexico. Gail had heard about the Kundalini Yoga classes I was teaching at CICYDH and she came to check it out. In reality, it should have been me taking lessons from her, so strong is her personal practice and so centered is her being (she is also a great photographer and an awesome vegetarian cook, too). During one class, for reasons unknown to me at the time, I was compelled to ask her if she had ever heard of some guy whom I had been told was playing Beatle’s covers around town with a couple of Mexican kids because I was hoping, perhaps, to play bass with them. "That would be Vee, my partner", she smiled. Put out the vibe, and the law of attraction does the rest.

I met Vee, a singer/songwriter/guitarist, that week and I gotta tell ya, Vee’s visage, presence and personality are magnetically charismatic. With speech occasioned by irreverent expletives, lapsing into Bronx-caricatured monologues that would fit perfectly into a politically and environmentally conscious version of Seinfeld (try to imagine a cross between the ranting of George Costanza with the erudicity of Noam Chomsky), and disenfranchised by a culture that is hell-bent on domesticating humans into cattle-esque workaholic/shop-till-you-drop consumers, I liked Vee immediately.

If you would like to know more about Vee Live:
      :: Vee's Official Website
      :: Vee's MySpace
      :: Buy New Reality at CD Baby

:: SURPLUS VALUE - In Production as of April 2008
Vee's vocal and acoustic guitar tracks for 6 new songs have been completed. Production is slated to begin in mid-July, 2008. Again, the role of Baja Sound shall be to engineer, produce, arrange, mix and supply musical talent. In great form, Vee explores different Classic Rock epochs, and morphs some of his punk-edge for funkage - but the message is still the same, "Tread Lightly on this Earth".
A spring 2009 release is expected.

Listen to a work in progress from Surplus Value

:: NEW REALITY - Released July, 2007
Vee presented us with 10 original songs which became the album "New Reality", and which Baja Sound engineered, produced, arranged and added musical support. Mastering was done at SoundHound. We tracked his guitar and voice, then spent the next few months exploring the possibilities. The result is an eclectic mixture of music that pays homage to some of Vee's Classic Rock influences, such as the Beatles and Rolling Stones with some touches of Neo Punk-esque protest and rebellion.

Listen to samples from New Reality

Samuel Cerecer is one of La Paz's up and coming singer/songwriters. He is exuberant and passionate about his art. You can hear him play live occasionally at Cafe Afrika, on Colima, on the bay side of Abasolo.

:: THREE SONG DEMO
Samuel recorded 3 original tunes (vocal, acoustic and electric rhythm guitar parts) in 6 hours as a submission to receive a grant for artist development. I was impressed with one song in particular, Flor de un Solo Dia, and spent and additional 4 hours of personal time adding drums, bass, solo guitar and other bits to bring the song up to a broadcast ready level. Un cancion fabuloso, Samuel! Check it out below!

If you are ever in La Paz, BCS, and are feeling a bit peckish for some great tacos de costilla, please check out "Tacos Mary" on Ramirez between Allende and Leon. This outdoor stand is owned by Manny and his wife Mary. They have twin sons, both named Manny as well. The twins can sing (amazing harmony) and play (guitar, violin, harmonica and piano) every Beatles song from memory without really understanding any of the English they phonetically sing. The father and sons also play music together, a type of ranchero music, but without the accordion. Dad Manny sings lead and plays guitar, Manny1 plays guitar and sings harmony and Manny2 plays the bass.

:: TU RECUERDO - In Production as of July 2008
The second offering from Los Manny is an EP of original songs dedicated to Mary, the wife of father Manny and mother of their twin sons, Manuel and Emanuel.

:: LOS MANNY - Ceresas Rosas - Released April 2007
We recorded 8 classic Mexican folk songs live in just a few hours. The self-titled debut album received regular airplay in La Paz.

Nich Walton is one of those humble singer/songwriters that has more original songs in his pocket than you can shake a stick at - and each one is a toe tappin gem. I met Nich in 1985 and we collaborated for several years, writing and arranging songs. In 2004 Nich played for me a new tune, to which I was singing along with before it ended, and couldn't get out of my head for the next month or so. "If You're Drinkin', Don't Drive!," was so catchy, with a message so important, we started working on production ideas immediately. My thought was to create a kind of "anti-drinking-driving drinking song", something that you could actually hear in a bar. Nich suggested that what was important was the lives of those affected, especially children, so he wanted a chorus of children to sing along with him. The result was used by the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia as part of a summer drinking driving counter attack advertising campaign that toured the province. Way to go Nich!

:: IF YOU'RE DRINKIN', DON'T DRIVE! - Nich Walton & the Clampit Family Singers
                                                              Released November 2004 - Remastered May 2008

There were several really amazing things about this group. While I am sure they know literally thousands of songs between them, they don't play any. In fact, when they get together to play, they never play the same thing twice. And once they start, they can play for hours at a time, with out breaks, completely improvising as they go, morphing between grooves like a well seasoned DJ. The concept driving the band is in their name, Vibe Control. They react to and manipulate the ambient vibe of the situations in which they play. Using a cool system of hand signals developed by the founder, Jamie, the music twists, turns and modulates with such precision, you would never know that the entire set is just one big improv.

The group, sadly, disbanded in 2004 when drummer Lalo and his wife, trumpet virtuoso Nina, returned to Tijuana to resume work as the top A circuit jazz group there. Guitarist Jamie continues to be one of the leading, and award winning, music producers in Vancouver. Bassist Stefen is rumoured to have retired to Mexico where he runs some kind of a recording studio, or something . . .

:: VIBE CONTROL - Da Vibe and Conquer - Editing/Mastering - March, 2003
After recieving favorable reviews of rehersal tapes, we were tasked with reviewing over 30 hours of recordings to assemble a representative sample of ambient grooves for demo distribution. In one session the group actually broke into an unoriginal tune, Black Orpheus, in between sonic musings. That moment is presented below, followed by the transition into a groove which features some exquisite high-hat work by drummer Lalo.

A line from one of their songs pretty much sums up these guys, "Just a buncha boys / With a place to make some noise." This disk harkens of New Wave/Punk infused Rock and Roll. Songs range from the protest oriented "Radio Action" and "Firing Line", to the popish "Main Street" and "Can't Fall" to the just plain fun "Rip Stick" and "City View". The album was originally recorded in August of 1987 at GrapeVine Studios in Vancouver, BC. Tracks were recorded on half inch 8 channel tape and mixed to a ¼ inch stereo master. These master tapes were then transferred to CD in 1997 for the 10th year anniversary. For the 20th anniversary, restoration and remastering was requested. More specifically, the band asked if it was possible to recapture the punchy energy they remembered when recording it, especially the drums.

:: ON THE FIRING LINE - Restored/Remasterd - Aug 2007
The first things you will notice in the sample below are the tape hiss and the clipping distortions on the drum hits. The hiss is an artifact of the tape process, the clipping an artifact of a poor digital transfer to CD. The bass drum is an ill-defined "whud" sound. There is little top end air and sparkle. Luckily, there was enough dead air before the track starts to sample the hissy noise floor, and feed that into a processer which can learn the frequency response of the hiss and attenuate it with little impact on the main signal. Next, we used a proprietary system to recapture the bass drum and snare. A chain of multiband compressors and harmonic exciters were used to bring out the guitar and vocal a bit more and add a bit of shine to the top end.

One of the first things I learned after a few months of living in La Paz, is that the members of the cruiser community are just about the friendliest and helpful folks you will ever meet, you just need to listen to the cruiser's net on VHF CH. 22 every morning at 8:00 a.m. to get an idea of this. I met Greg and Jill Delezynski of the Sailing Vessel Guenevere while playing at restaurante Ciao Molino. They became regulars every Sunday evening when in town. They have been chronicling their sailing adventures and producing informative DVD videos, which are very helpful to those thinking about visiting the areas they have documented. In 2007 Greg asked me to produce the title intro track for their next video, which has now been released and is available on their website.

If you would like to know more about Greg and Jill on Guenevere:
      :: Guenevere's Official Website

:: WE'VE GOT FAITH - Guenevere's Middle Sea of Cortez Adventure - Released April 2008
Greg and Jill's idea was to rework an favorite song of theirs, capturing the original's intensity, but with changed words more fitting the situation. Baja Sound arranged, performed and recorded all aspects of the project. The original talent to be used for the vocals was not available, so the producer sang the track. While not a vocalist, the clients enjoyed the result nevertheless. Thanks Greg and Jill!

This band sometimes calls itself Grey Tones, cuz they're all over 45 and have that salt n' peppa' look. But sometimes they call themselves Greyt Ones, cuz they have delusions of grandure that they really know how to rock ;) which is odd in itself because they are actually, mostly, so they claim, jazz musicians.

"All those 'mistakes' are actually 'intentional' jazz improvisational 'choices', although 'some' folks, I suppose, 'could' argue they're not the 'best' choices," bassist Wesley Steevland defends.

Recorded at Maximus Sound in 2000, the album almost never existed, and would have faded away into even greater obscurity than it already enjoys, if not for a sheer luck (or bad timing). While the band is sure that 8 years ago, when the tracks were recorded, the recording engineer told them, quite clearly, that the tapes had accidentally intentionally wandered into a trash bin, which they found to be a rather comfy home, and, in typical BASF fashion, refused to leave, consequently, the sessions were, *sniffle*, lost forever. But no! Here, for the first time is an excerpt of the breaking story that is now just starting to rock the world . . .

:: HAND TO MOUTH AND OTHER TRAGIC TALES - Mastering - In Production as of July 2008
The song Rock n' Roll Band pays homage to all those who have wanted to be rock stars, but found out that not only is it a bit harder than it looks, but, ya gotta have a little talent too. Something tells me it is an autobiography of the band. Jazz Guitarist Peter LaForest (also known as Wesmont Gummery) wrote the music but insists he was just trying to tune his guitar when, "All the other lads just sort of joined in and out popped this little ditty. Crikey!" Session notes indicate that on this particular date, regular drummer Bake was unavailable (cuz he wuz), so the preeminant Groovy Neurotic stood (a feat in itself) in his stead. Rhythm Guitarist Waldo forgot to bring his ax, so he sang back-up vocals even though the rest of the band didn't want any. By the time tracking was completed, everyone forgot what song they were recording, and that they had neglected to record the lead guitar solo.