Ben Harvick

We first met Ben at Chessvolt Studios last year. A mutual friend sent him our way. He came and sat on a stool in the middle of the tracking room with his guitar, prepared with about 20 songs to sing and play, just in case.
"How many songs do you have?" Peter asked. "Alot more," Ben confessed.
After the first couple, we were intrigued.
Here's a bit of what came out of our first session with Ben.
Bearing striking similarities to Elliot Smith, some of Ben's songs are edgy, like a punk Jack Johnson who might go off if nudged only a little further. The songs are melodic and infectious, naive sounding yet lyrically profound.

It Was Over
Run Along
Unaccounted For
This One Does

Mack Winston was here......

They came, they played, they left behind an autographed bottle of Boone's Strawberry Hill.......!


Stay tuned for awesome live tracks.

Matt Ellis - Live@Chessvolt Studios 7/18/08

Matt Ellis and Josh Norton @ Chessvolt Studios

It's easy to be in the humble company of Matt Ellis and his guitar player, Josh Norton. Quiet and relaxed, the native Australian and his LA mate set up easily, ready to dig in. Which is just what they did. A skilled player with deep blues roots, Josh added the ambiance to round out Matt's steady acoustic accompanied by his determined, pleading vocals. He sang his heart out till he was hoarse (he was also on tail end of a cold). He talked a little about writing the song at his kitchen table. It's sad and lonely and honest and heartwrenching. He also reflected on his recent marriage. The song must have worked. How could she have ever said no?!

Recording notes: For Matt's vocals, we used a Blue Kiwi microphone sent through the preamp of our vintage Neve console and then inserted the Tube Tech Compressor for a tiny touch of compression. His Australian hand-crafted guitar's sound was on the bright side with the original mic, the NeumannKM88, so we added a 2nd guitar mic, a Neuman M149 tube mic, and blended the sound.

Josh brought his Epiphone Sheridan and Fender Blues DeVille amp. We isolated his amp in the vocal booth. We mic'd it with a Shure 57 plus a Blue Omnimouse for room sound.

Check out the clear, rich sound of Matt's songs (option-click to download):
10:15 on the 405
Hey Mister
King's Cross
My Mistake
Through to You


Tell the People
www.myspace.com/mattellisband

Olin & The Moon - Live@Chessvolt Studios 7/17/08

Olin & The Moon's Kyle, David, Travis, Marshall, and Brian

One night before the 'full' was official, we paused for a moment in the parking lot at Chessvolt Studios, in between set-up and the live session, to take in the huge yellow moon on the horizon. David and the other Idahoans (except Kyle, the token SoCal guy) who make up Olin & The Moon agreed it was the sign of a good night ahead. I can't imagine more favorable foreshadowing. The band laid down 5 solid tracks, warm and plump with heartfelt lyrics and pining pedal steel. The entire performance was drenched in endearing unselfconscious authenticity. If it weren't for the ongoing casual banter borne of the easy rapport between longtime friends ("hey, remember the foreign exchange student? he wrote this song about her!"), I may have had to climb under the covers with a box of tissues and some advil that night, so poignant were the songs.


Their sound has been dubbed "country-tinged indie rock" with references to Neil Young and Elliot Smith. Just listen. Olin & The Moon has their own special thing going on. We have a feeling you'll agree.

Listen to the live tracks(option-click to download):
Call Me Up
No Traffic No Trees
Ship On The Sea
Castle Rock
Song of Summer

Olin & The Moon
http://www.myspace.com/olinthemoon