KAHLIA's RECENT RECORDING PROJECTS

Here are some great bands I have recorded in recent weeks, all at Curly's recording studio in Amherst, NH. Click through and give these guys a listen!

mp3/ STUDENT #5 - Pop Punk - New band, all the guys are students at Plymouth State in NH. Great, fun songs and their singer has an impressive sense of pitch.

mp3/ OF THE BETRAYED - Death Metal - This is one of my few death metal projects. These guys have more talent than you can imagine. It was real fun to help them get all that into the microphone. You really have to track them down at a show and get the full CD to understand the impact of what they do.

mp3/ MONGREL - Rock 'n Roll - All veteran rockers who have been in other well-known bands. These guys gig all over New England. Their guitar player owns the guitar of my dreams -- a mint condition '92 Les Paul Lite. Amazing tone and about 1/4 the weight of a regular Les Paul. It's fun to record a band that has done so much recording in the past. They come in knowing what to do.

mp3/ TWENTY TO ONE - Street Punk - I was honored these guys asked me to record their final CD before breaking up. What an incredible band! We'll all miss them. Can we talk you guys into a reunion?

mp3/ BREAKLOOSE - Hardcore - This is a young band who practiced their songs over and over before coming into the studio. That's the way to do it! Not only did they sound great, they got through the session super fast. That keeps everyone's ears fresh and captures the true energy the band is capable of.

mp3/ GRUESOME BRUCE - '77 Punk - This is a new band made up of 3 guys who came to every Curly's show ever and did their cool Indian rain dance down front. They were even at Curly's for the jonee earthquake show where we had a foot of new snow covering the parking lot. It was only a mater of time before the 3 formed their own band. To my mind, Gruesome Bruce perfectly captures the spirit of do-it-yourself early punk. Lots of raw energy from guys who "really want it."

mp3/ EIGHT SHADE OF RED - Post Hardcore - This tune is typical of their energetic approach to epic post h. Hello Warped Tour!

Don't see your favorite band here? Check back later, more mp3s coming soon.

Kahlia on guitar with "EEWEE's Basement"

Kahlia - Recording Engineer/Producer

email kahlia(at)CurlysShows.com

A guitarist, bassist, and songwriter, Kahlia has recorded dozens of bands. She is currently the engineer-in-residence at Curly's Recording in Amherst, New Hampshire (outside Nashua)

Kahlia has played bass for EEWEE since the band's inception in late 2001. She also plays guitar in the acoustic "EEWEE's Basement." She co-founded and helped operate several all-age venues including Garage Band Central in Salt Lake City and Curly's Coffee in New England.

An avid fan of acoustic fingerpicking, she studied rock guitar with Guitar Institute grad Rick "Heavy" Meadows and jazz/blues with Berklee alum Gerry Adams. She plans to take some time off this summer to study bass at Berklee.

KAHLIA's Recording Tips

This is a super exciting time to record bands. As the Internet grows and the major labels have their problems, small studios recording local bands is where the action is.

I like to record bands with Cakewalk Guitar Tracks. It's a somewhat stripped down version of Cakewalk's Sonor. But I find it's perfect for fast-paced sessions where bands want to get great results quickly.

My favorite microphone is the good old, affordable Sure SM57. When it comes to mic-ing snares and guitar amps, the SM57 Rocks!

You'll get a better sound recording your practice amp than you will from your half stack. It's a easier for a microphone to record a smaller amp. Many of the great guitar solos of all time were recorded with tiny little amps (wasn't Clapton's Layla solo recorded on a Pignose?)

Mic the bass amp. A lot of studios take the bass amp direct to the board. I've had engineers do that to my bass when recording in other studios, and the results were pretty good. But you've got to hear the finger and pick noise of the bass player. It's a big part of a bass sound. So it's usually best in small studio situations to just mic the bass cabinet. Another tip for bass payers, the inexpensive Fender Rumble amps sound great recorded.