Music Videos for a Summer (or late Fall) DayNovember 30th, 2011

Over the course of the semester, students in a video class with Brad Hesser produced a music video using songs from my recent solo album, one of which I am featured in! The students did a great job on the videos. It is always interesting to see how your work is interpreted. Here’s the vid I was in:

And speaking of talented friends (see my previous post), my good friend JD Johnson played a large role in putting together a class video for the Visual Communications department at my Graduate Alma Mater, Northern Illinois University. Not only is this an inspiring video, but it also causes me to reflect on my time at NIU. Check out what his class put together:

Lastly, I had a review of my album posted a while back which I thought was interesting and insightful. The author, Lee, has a new website for his audio review blog, Real Gone. Check out the review.

I Have Talented Students and FriendsNovember 23rd, 2011

I never cease to be amazed at the fantastic projects that are being accomplished by the people around me, and I’m proud to say there are a lot of great things that have been happening as of late:

DSU 2011 Scholarship Banquet from Luke Arens on Vimeo.

Digital Arts and Design students Luke Arens and Paul Schipper made their big video debut this week, when they showed a 5-minute video presentation at the annual Scholarship Banquet, with an attendance of upwards of 400 people.  The video was created as a part of Paul and Luke’s university-related internship, which challenges them to create promotional material for the DSU Alumni Foundation. I was proud to have helped as their faculty advisor, or as Luke calls me, their ‘guiding light’. Congrats to Paul and Luke for their great work!
Additionally, my good friend Tony Memmel recently released a new EP that he wrote and recorded from his own home studio, entitled ‘Yours and Mine’. I like to think that I was just a tiny bit inspirational in helping Tony get things up and running, and this EP has some of my favorite work of his yet. Check it out on his Bandcamp page.



As if all of that wasn’t enough, my good friend John Statz is going to be releasing an album on Yer Bird records this coming January, and on my birthday, no less! The album was recorded with an amazing producer and guitarist, Bo Ramsey. He is getting fans excited by posting a preview of his lead single, ‘Distance’. Enjoy all of this great new music!

Paul Otteson Releases New EPNovember 5th, 2011

I am very proud to have been involved in an amazing project: A new EP that was written and recorded by my good friend Paul Otteson, entitled Fall Where They May, Safe May They Land. Paul, who lives near Madison, Wisconsin, sent the recorded tracks for me to mix and master, and we ultimately created a long-distance recording between the two Madisons! It was an absolute pleasure to work on this album and hear Paul’s growth as a songwriter. Not to mention, this was his first time going through the recording process on his own, with his own equipment. I’m constantly inspired by the amazing work of my friends, and I am so excited to see this album come to fruition. You can purchase the album at Paul’s Bandcamp page, or listen below:

Audri Vargas Performs & Scott Jibben VisitsOctober 29th, 2011

It’s been an especially busy and exciting several weeks on campus. Last week, DSU Live had the opportunity to host acoustic singer/songwriter, Audri Vargas, who was an American Idol top 50 finalist several years ago! As a new experiment, we hosted the acoustic show at Myxers coffee shop in the Trojan Center. The show had a great turnout and also featured DSU student, Austin Donley as the opener. The event was such a success, I think that it will spawn many future acoustic events, including one that will potentially be headlined by myself! Check out Audri’s cover of Taylor Swift’s, “Mean” from the event:

In addition to Audri’s visit, I also had the pleasure of hosting a guest speaker: Scott Jibben, an audio engineer and business owner from Sioux Falls. He talked about his history in the music industry and how he came to be a part of Pulse River Studio where he has been working for over ten years. Scott was gracious enough to stay for over an hour and answer questions from the audio production students. It was a fun and enriching experience for both the students and myself!