Many bands can only dream of making a record and video of their original music in a top-drawer, all-the-trimmings studio. If they do manage such a thing, it will inevitably cost a king's ransom.
Roy High School's SkaFace, this year's winner of the Standard-Examiner Battle of the Bands, got such an opportunity scarcely a year into its music career, at no cost whatsoever.
The group (vocalist Kelli Kennedy, 18; trumpeter Nick Matson, 17; guitarist Garrett Jones, 17; trombonist Kyle J. Larson, 18; brothers bassist Alex Boren, 18, and tenor saxman Travis Boren, 15; and the drummer, from St. Joseph High School, Hunter Garcia, 16) won a daylong session on the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus.
The band, which got high marks at the battle for both musicianship and overall showmanship, plays the fast-paced, horn-driven style of reggae known as ska.
SkaFace's recording session took place in the bus's mobile recording studio in the Music Village parking lot in Ogden on Wednesday.
Under the auspices of the late Beatle's estate, and sponsored in part by the computer company Apple, the not-for-profit mobile recording studio travels America, allowing students across the land to capture their own music.
"We travel around the country 10 months a year visiting schools and events such as Battle of the Bands, giving free hands-on audio and video production to students," said Kevin Hoy, one of the engineer/producers who travels with the bus.
"In a normal day for us, we visit a school and in an eight-hour day, we take a group of about eight kids and they then collaborate on a song and record it and do a video.
"This session is somewhat of a special circumstance, as it is a Battle of the Bands prize," Hoy added. "The kids already know the song and each other, so it is a faster turnaround."
By noon, the band already had its song, "Little Boy From Across the Street," in the can, and was ready to start shooting the accompanying video.
As they all relaxed for a few minutes between the end of recording and the start of shooting, Hoy asked the band members how they thought the sessions had gone.
"It was way fun," said Matson.
Larson added, "Yeah, it was hot."
Hoy concurred. "These guys are good, and they were ready to go. It was a delicious process!"
Song and session
The song SkaFace recorded was actually written by a previous drummer, Ian Marshall, since graduated and serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Garcia joined the band in Marshall's stead last November.
Said Kennedy: "Our song is ... about a little boy from across the street who gave us money at one point when we were rehearsing one afternoon. It is a good, happy song."
The band laid down the tune in parts -- first capturing bass, drum and guitar lines, and then adding the horns, and finally the vocals.
"How it all went together was pretty much as I expected," said Travis Boren.
Added his brother Alex: "It was somehow all more legitimate than I had expected."
Jokingly, engineer Hoy asked, "You were expecting a VW bus or something?"
The band laughed and Larson answered, "Yeah. But look at this place. No egg-carton-foam (soundproofing) here! It's really nice."
With the audio done, band members were discussing with Hoy what they had in mind for the video.
"What they want to do with the video is really up to them," said Hoy. "The whole idea behind this is about the kids and what they want to accomplish and create."
Band members were prepared.
"We have a couple ideas. One option we are thinking of is doing a 'Scooby-Doo' type thing, where we all rush through the door, and then come out another door," said Jones. "Or the other idea is we have a point-of-view film -- the (camera) is the little kid, and he is going to chase us around with money, trying to give it to us."
Showmanship
The band points to a variety of influences -- everything from Streetlight Manifesto and Reel Big Fish, to The Aquabats, who have made a mark in part by dressing up like villains from the old "Batman" TV series. Larson also half-jokingly mentioned the makeup-slathered band Kiss as being influential.
Spectacle of that sort is an important element to SkaFace.
"The showmanship makes the music a lot more funner to the audience," said Jones.
Other band members agreed.
"I think we all feel that way," said Garcia. "Don't just play -- put on a show."
"For them to have fun, you yourself have to have a good time playing the music," added Alex Boren. "You can have more fun because they are having more fun, and they have more fun because you are having more fun. It is a win/win situation."
What's to come
Though the recording session had gone smoothly, rehearsals are often a little trickier to coordinate. After all, seven members are a lot of people to wrangle, even in a professional-level band.
"The hardest part in rehearsal is getting everyone to quit playing around, so they can start playing music together," said Alex Boren. "That is what is toughest about having so many people -- one person plays, and another is doing their own thing and it gets kind of reckless."
"But we usually do settle in and get it done," added Travis Boren.
Members admit they are going to have a harder time keeping SkaFace together in the coming months, as members, several of whom are involved in other projects, are graduating and/or moving on with their lives in general.
"It's really fun, but I am not sure how long we will end up playing together," said Kennedy. "A lot of us have college in mind. Alex is going to Salt Lake and Kyle and I are staying in Ogden. So I don't know how school is going to influence everyone."
Whatever comes in the near and distant future, the band does have immediate plans for its brand-new video.
With a grin, Travis Boren said, "We are going to get it straight to YouTube!"
ABOUT THE BUS
The John Lennon Educational Tour Bus is a state-of-the-art professional recording studio and high definition video studio.
Crew members are seasoned producers and educators certified in Apple Pro Apps. They work 10 months a year, visiting cities across America, recording at schools and also with the winners of various regional student contests.
The bus is self-contained, with an onboard generator and battery system that provides power and climate control for the various applications. The mobile recording studio can also be connected to outside power sources and integrate additional gear as needed.
HD video cameras throughout the bus can unobtrusively capture visuals from the audio sessions.
High-tech touches, like green screen technology, enable the crew and artists to creatively capture a top-of-the-line final video and audio product.
Sources: Kevin Hoy, JLETB engineer/producer, and press materials from www.lennonbus.org
Comments