Mr. Moccasin came in last week for a microshow. They stripped down to a four-piece. Hanna on vocals, Jared on guitar/vocals, Chris on guitar/stylophone and Christiana on drums/vocals.

The band totally brought it. And brought something a little different than their typical live show including a stylophone and a few new tracks fresh off their killer music making machine. An awesome time was had by all. Highlights include Black On Black, Himalayan Marmalade and Ari Schenck’s Ah Well.

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Kadman’s first record was one of the first Baltimore records I heard after I moved here a bunch of years ago. It was simply not anything I had heard out of Baltimore. Or what I thought “Baltimore” sounded like (little did I know!). I thought this band was incredible. There was something different about them. I’ve still yet to find a band here in Baltimore that sounds like them. That said, I am drawn to bands that think outside the box and do things differently. That is one reason why we worked so well together. We did a mini-EP last year (that will hopefully someday see the light of day), but I felt like we could do so much more together. I was happy when Dave (the singer/guitarist) came to me to produce his sophomore effort.

Anything

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This record went through a few stages. We scrapped the drums a few times, muted a ton of guitars, re-tracked bass tracks, wrote one song in the studio, I played theremin, re-thought the vision and then rinsed and repeated. It was a four month process from start to finish but felt like one. Dave was a great musician to work with. I’d ask him to “add this pedal” or “let’s try this room mic over here” or “hmmm, this section really doesn’t need that acoustic guitar in the chorus” and he wouldn’t flinch. Of course, Dave brought his own thing to the table as well. He’d bring in a keyboard part or a drum idea or a harmony. It was a two way road in building this record.

Mountain Song

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Dave put together a solid and vibrant band for a rather subtle yet dynamic sound. Frank Corl, the drummer, came from more of a pop/rock background but really understood the nuances of Dave’s music. He really put forth the art of the snare. We ended up using a half dozen snares on the record. James Bahleda came from an electro/goth background. But he is this beast of a bassist who can not be stopped. Be it on upright or electric. There are some lines he put down that still amaze me even after the umpteenth listen. And he has good taste in Scotch. Last but not least, I brought in Dawn Dineen and E.Joseph to sing on a few tracks. Dawn duets with Dave on one song called “An Army Rises.” E. Joseph and Dawn are both amazing singers and writers on their own. Both due out for another record soon, as well!

There are really few words to describe the record, it should speak for itself, but I’ll try. It’s a record of nuances. It’s intense – it’s acrobatic – it’s very different than their last – it’s dreamy, it’s loud, it’s quiet, it’s dense. Enjoy the samples!

Little Darling

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Baltimore producer, King Cakemix, came back to Mobtown this month to master his next release with us. Here are two of my favorite tracks. A catchy dense track and a dancy club hit.

Where Do We Go?

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Next Girl Will

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J.E.L. recently came back to Mobtown to record a live in- the-studio EP. Killer jazz, no filler. Jay Seay on trumpet, Ezekiel Roebuck, Jr on piano and Larry Stokes on drums. Here are two of my favorite cuts:

Red Clay [Freddie Hubbard]

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Cherokee [Ray Noble]

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