•
MUSASHI
• went off to Eastern Michigan
3. University, where he earned a bache-
JAPANESE CUISINE
AND SUSHI BAR
Ask, about ow,
Sirthdiity Discocutt
• Catering Delivery
• Private Room & Banquet Facilities
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2000 Town Center
(10 1/2 Mile & Evergreen)
Southfield (248) 358-1911
http://wwwmusashi-intl.com
Strike Up The Band!
Ready to supply those vocals for your favorite
song? Studio 7 helps you become the
recording artist you've always wanted to be.
DON COHEN
Special to the Jewish News
S
• Bar Mitzvah • Bat Mitzvah
• Anniversaries
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Hours: Mon-Thurs 10 am-11 pm
Sat 4-11 pm • Sun 4-9 pm
248-053-7344
2006 Crooks • Rochester
2/22
2002
04
g lot's degree in marketing and business
administration before opening a pro-
• motions company called Visibles.
The duo first had the idea for Studio 7
ca, Productions about six years ago, but
equipment costs were prohibitive. With
advances in computer software and power,
and by piggybacking on a home studio
Houchins set up on his return from L.A.,
they turned a dream into a reality.
Their easy manner, professionalism
and accessibility have drawn a lot of
high-school and college students.
I've been pretty impressed with
those who have come in," Lebowitz
said. "Some have real talent.
"Growing up, there were places you
could
put a song on tape, but it wasn't
An homage to the
possible
to get it mixed, redo rough
late Peggy Lee:
spots
and
get a professional product.
Don Cohen of
That's
why
we thought this was an idea
West Bloomfield
whose time had come."
records "Fever"
For this reporter, one of the most
at Studio 7 in
challenging
parts of the whole process_
Farmington.
was choosing a song. Unless you go
with a certain tune in mind, the choices
can be mind-boggling. You look for a song you like, a song
you think you can sing, and one where you feel not too sac-
rilegious replacing the original lead singer.
You also need to consider your purpose. Are you doing
this to send a message to a special someone, to surprise
family and friends, to be a little outrageous — or because
you think you actually sound good enough that someone
else would want to listen to it?
I went through pages of choices without any particular
song jumping out at me. There is an abundance of popular
songs, but the titles, weighted toward songs from the '90s,
were just a bit too popular for my taste.
The pages of standards weren't for me either, so Lebovitz
referred me to a Web site with songs he could download
and have ready for me. And there I found it: "Fever" — a
o you love the way you sound in the shower. Do
you think you just might be as good as all those
Grammy-nominated best new artists? Do you
want to be a rock 'n' roll star?
Why not put your voice and modern digital technology
to the test?
In less than an hour, you can walk out of Studio 7
Productions in downtown Farmington with your own pro-
fessionally engineered compact disc featuring yourself
singing lead on one of 2,500 available songs.
You may have enjoyed karaoke before, but now you can
take your performance home with
you. And it's amazing what modern
technology can do for most voices.
Truth be told, I didn't have to be
pushed very hard to try it out. It was fun
and painless, thanks to Brian Lebovitz
hile you're thinking your
and Robert Houchins, who began
own recording just might
Studio 7 Productions Inc. last October
be an award winner, you
on the lower level of an historic building
can tune in Wednesday, Feb. 27, to
located at Farmington and Grand River.
see just how well some other Jewish
artists fare at the 44th Annual
Friends since fourth grade, Lebovitz
and Houchins, both 32, were percus-
Grammy Awards. The show will be
sionists in all the school music ensem-
broadcast 8-11 p.m. on CBS.
• Bob Dylan: A seven-time Grammy
bles at Harrison High School in
Farmington Hills. Houchins also
winner, the former Robert Allan
played piano and wrote music.
Zimmerman is up for Best Album and
Best Contemporary Folk Album (Love
After high school, he expanded his
and Theft and for Best Male Vocal
musical career by moving to Los
Angeles and singing in a band, while
Performance ("Honest With Me").
• Linkin Park: Half of this hot new
learning to be a sound engineer.
rock-and-rap band is Jewish. Brad
Lebovitz, who grew up attending
Delson, Rob Bourdon and band
services with his parents, Harry and
Patricia Lebovitz, at Adat Shalom
mates are up for Best New Artist, Best
Rock Album (Hybrid Them)) and Best
Synagogue and then at Temple Israel,
Chsanuny Jews
W
Hard Rock Performance ("Crawling").
Billy Joel: A five-time Grammy
winner, his performance with Tony
Bennett on "New York State of
Mind" is up for Best Pop
Collaboration with Vocals. The
Grammys also honor Joel as the
2002 MusiCares Person of the Year
for his humanitarian efforts.
• Dave Koz: Saxophonist Koz has
designed cards and written songs for
Chanukah, but it's his A Smooth Jazz
Christmas that is up for Best Pop
Instrumental Album.
• Michael Feinstein: His Romance on
Film, Romance on Broadway is up for
Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album.
• Joey Kramer: .The Aerosmith
drummer is up with his band mates
for Best Rock Performance by a Duo
or Group with Vocal for "Jaded."