Behind The Scenes

The Making of the Remix of “Touching The Eiffel Tower”

Larry Ross of Starways Productions gave us a #1 Country hit last year with Gari Geiselman’s “Pocket Full of Stones.” He always wanted to release the title cut from her CD and with the help of a “song angel,” he did just that.

According to producer Larry Ross: “The message from “Touching the Eiffel Tower” is that we are all connected on this planet in some way. How it came to be remixed and edited is a story about two people that connected through the Internet.”

When producer Larry Ross first heard the song, he thought it would be perfect for young singer Gari Geiselman, but he wanted to give it more of a pop feel than the original. Drawing upon his early love of the Beatles, and later from working with the Electric Light Orchestra, he incorporated some of their sounds into the production. ‘It’s very organic. We did use one electronic keyboard and a sound effect. The rest is layered acoustic and electric guitars, real drums and bass, topped off with at least 20 tracks of Dennis Caplinger’s amazing string work,” explained Ross. “And then of course there’s Gari’s joyful performance”.

When it was finished, he was so pleased with the result that he and Gari decided to title her first CD after it. But it was 5 minutes long, and there was no way any radio station would ever play it. So it sat largely unnoticed while “Pocket Full of Stones” got all the attention. “Pocket” brought people to her Myspace page, and then they began listening to the other songs on her CD.

One of those listeners was an engineer named Andreas Leonhard, whose home studio is in Germany. He also loved the Beatles, and was heavily influenced by Bruce Swedien and Quincy Jones’ work with the Michael Jackson. Leonhard had worked in radio before becoming an engineer, and eventually realized that mixing music was his real passion. He also loved listening to new artists on the Internet.

One evening, Leonhard happened to come across the Myspace page of Gari Geiselman. “I caught myself listening to Gari’s music again and again. I loved her voice, and I fell in love with her songs”.

On a whim, Leonhard sent a message to her Myspace page offering to do remixes of two songs. One of the songs that fascinated him was “Touching the Eiffel Tower,” and he asked Ross, who also takes care of her online presence due to her very young age, if he could remix it.

“I immediately said yes,” stated Ross. “There were a couple of things I wished I had done differently, plus I was curious as to how someone else would approach the song. There are over 65 recorded tracks, so I knew the result would at least be different. Andreas and I had one phone conversation, and the rest of the time we would correspond via email. Because of the time difference, I would wake up in the morning and find Andreas’ work from the evening in an attachment. I’d respond what I liked, and what I wanted him to go back and address. As the mix progressed, we both realized we were doing something good together, but the song was still too long. We decided we had to find a way to shorten it, without losing the meaning of the lyrics, which are very special to all of us. We eliminated an entire verse and chorus, changed a couple of her lines, and got it down to a perfect radio length, with the song’s message intact.”

Ross continued, “Because of this collaboration, I now have a new friend on the other side of the world. I find that to be both ironic, and also very fitting. If there are song angels, I think they are smiling.”

Radio seems to be smiling too as the remix is getting a lot of attention and is feature on IMN’s syndicated radio show.

For more information go to www.starways.com.

Meet The Ricky Earl Band

“I have always had a passion for music,” acknowledges Rick Earl when asked about his music career. “In my profession, I have plenty of time on my hands to listen all types of music. During my childhood I grew in a family that was involved in music. My mom, aunts and uncle used play on the Saturday night radio show with The Fowler Brothers and Tom Peerman. From my uncle who actively wrote and performed songs, to the other family members that are currently involved in the music industry, there is reason why music has always been in my blood. I started singing about three years after some encouragement from my family. Since then I can't get enough of it. We have been blessed with our first Record Label Contract. The folks with TMG records have been great!”

The Ricky Earl Band has been blessed with a great group of members that has really brought the music together. Band member members are Dave Davis (Lead guitar and vocals), Mitch Schaumburger (Rhythm, Harmonica, Mandolin and vocals), Junior Kirby (Bass guitar), Mike Grinnelle (fiddle), Rusty Honeycutt, (Drums).

“We recently lost a very large part of our band in September with the death of Todd Henry our Lead and Keyboard player.” related Ricky. “Todd was a big part of our group and has been missed very mush since his passing. Every show we do, we take a part of Todd with us.”

In Slow Motion came together after several long nights of listening to music over and over again. “The songs came to us from some great songwriters Lonnie Ratliff and David Dwortzan out of Nashville, and the late Boyd Moore. We were blessed to have such great songwriters provide us with such great country music. The album has an upbeat tempo with ‘Honky Tonk Heaven’ to heartfelt ballads such as ‘As Strong As I Once Was.’ ‘I’m Not Scared of Women’ has become a tour title, and we are having a ball with it,” laughs Ricky.

You can find the CD, In Slow Motion, at Hastings, Best Buy, Target, iTunes, Rhapsody and CD Baby or go to www.tatemusicgroup.com. The guys in the band are jumping up and down to hit the street with the New Show! So be on the lookout for The Ricky Earl Band. Check for tour dates on their website at www.therickyearband.com and at myspace.com/rickyfarmer. And their song, “Sometimes It Goes Without Saying” is featured on the Independent Music Network’s Best of 2009 syndicated radio show.

CENTER STAGE:

Christine VanHoy: “Never Give Up On Your Dreams!”

Award winning singer Christine VanHoy says she sometimes has to pinch herself because she feels she is living a fairy tale.

Since her early teens, Christine VanHoy has been singing, writing songs and entertaining a variety of musical audiences from the East Coast to the West Coast. She has been the lead singer and guitarist in an all female rock band, fronted a pop/jazz/rock 10-piece band complete with full percussion and horn sections, been a member and soloist in numerous church choirs, and had a solo career – just the guitar and voice doing country and folk. She has performed in “hot spot” nightclubs from Boston to San Francisco, military bases, large auditoriums and concert halls, town halls and smoky bar rooms. She is a true professional in the “biz.”

Music in her early years was everything to Christine. However, marriage and children changed her focus in her early 20s and music then became a hobby.

But music has always had a special place in Christine’s heart and mind. Encouraged by her family a few years ago, she decided that it was time to make music a focus again, and get her original songs out into the world. And Country was the perfect genre for the songs she wanted to sing.

The rest is a fairy tale story. Since she started her relationship with the Big 7 Records family, she has had seven single releases, and four of them have gone to #1 on the New Music Weekly Chart. She has also won New Music Weekly’s Best New Country Artist 2007 and Country Breakthrough Artist 2008 at NMW ‘s annual Award Show.

“I have to pinch myself to know that this isn’t just a dream,” says Christine. “To everyone out there, especially all my fellow baby-boomers, don’t ever give up on your dreams. You just never know!”

Christine believes that music is the universal language. That it’s a perfect way to express all emotions through lyrics that sends messages and tells stories, through the music itself. “And for me, Country music has a truth and realism to it that makes it a joy to sing.”

Christine’s music is a wonderful blend of all her musical influences and life experiences, woven into stories that touch people’s hearts and minds. And that’s one of the reasons she is featured on the Independent Music Network’s Best of 2009 syndicated radio show. Christine VanHoy is simply the best – every year.

Please visit Christine at www.myspace.com/christinevanhoy and listen Christine’s music at www.big7records.com.

Look for her new website coming soon to www.christinevanhoy.com