The Michigan Daily I michigandaily.com I Thursday, December 3,2009 weekend essentials Dec. 3 to Dec. 6 AT THE MIC Instead of spend- ing all that free time browsing your favorite websites, get some fresh air and see one of the men behind these addicting web projects. Frank War- ren, known for creating the blog phenomenon PostSecret.com, will be talking about his journey of creating a viral blog at 7:30 p.m. on Friday night at the Michigan Theater. Tickets start at $15. ,:. _ - _ 4 t . . . a. . - - _ . , t . ' .. f ' y I CONCERT If you took Fela Kuti and put him in a blender with glitchy electron- ics and interstellar synth loops, you'd get something close to NOMO. This mash-up of a band is at the Blind Pig Saturday night. Tak- ing jazzy, horn-driven avant-funk and retool- ing it for the digital age, NOMO's freewheeling vibe should really spark in a live setting. Secret Twins open up. Tickets are $10, with doors opening at 9:30 p.m. eside a deserted road littered with chunks of gravel is an unexceptional building that's pale green, squat and narrow. But inside is a world entirely differ- ent from the structures boring exterior. Expensive gadgetry that seems ripped straight from the pages of a science fiction novel is scattered throughout the place, and microphones of all shapes, brands and varieties are arranged in the corners. This is the hideout of Big Sky Recording, and it's' only one of many recording studios in Ann Arbor, a city with a burgeoning music scene rife with acts both established and up-and-coming. While listeners are drawn to music by intangibles - memories evoked and emo- tions stirred through chords and melodies - the process of recording music is much more involved. The definition of a good recording will vary depending on whom you ask. There is "m no absolute. But many fac- By Jasmine Zhu ||Daily Arts Writ JAKE FROMM/Daly tors remain consistent, even - visiting the studio, talking between genres as disparate as about his equipment, and feel- oi a cappella and gangsta rap. ing out his personality and in workflow," Leahy says. v THE RIGHT SPACE, The physical layout of a o' THE RIGHT PLACE studio can greatly affect a in recording's sound as well, is First and foremost, Wood brightens, or musicians must feel at "livens," a recording, ease. which explains why "You want the musi- many studios have cians to feel comfortable," wood floors and are lined Geoff Michael, chief engi- with wood panels along neer and owner of Big Sky the walls. To maintain a Recording, says. "The set up is balance some studios have important. Set it up how musi- dampeners on the ceiling cians feel best, not necessarily that absorb sound waves to w (achieving) the best acoustics, "deaden" the recording. L because comfort is key." The physical positioning Drew Leahy, Music, The- of musicians in the studio is cc atre, and Dance senior who also important in determining eN took his band The Promenade how a recording will sound - e to record at Ypsilanti's Pretty space and sound are inextri- e Suite Recording, also feels that cably linked. Booths are used ci being comfortable with the to isolate musicians from each ti work style of the engineer is other so different instruments' important to developing a good sounds don't "bleed" or "leak" in atmosphere. into each other's recorded t "It's important to be com- tracks. it fortable in the studio, both Even' seemingly minute h in the actual space and with details, like the placement of ei the people you work with ... instruments in conjunction to S just talking to Brandon microphones, can be crucial in ey (Wiard), the studio owner developing a solid sound. w "This will sound like a cop- sing something for me so I can ut, but I think a'good record- hear the detail of their voice. ig' is open-ended," Brandon 'Then I'll choose atmic that will Viard, producer, engineer and accent certain characteristics wner of Pretty Suite Record- of their voice, or maybe one ig says. "Sometimes pristine that will help hide a flaw." the (desired sound) but I Recording equipment is tend to work on a lot of as used to enhance certain projects where noise and sounds. The outboard, a large experimentation are the rectangular contraption intim- focus." idatingly covered in knobs a nd Separating a good switches, subtly changes the recording from a bad one sound by warming or cooling is often as simple as a mat- the .tone by slightly raising or ter of taste. lowering the pitch. "It's all about what vou Different instruments and ant your band to sound like," vocals are recorded on sepa- .eahy says. rate tracks, which are While Wiard's preferred later mixed together on a ethod of recording involves computer. xperimenting with differ- nt sounds, some other studio THE COST FOR ngineers in Ann Arbor con- STARVING MUSICIANS entrate on masking imperfec- Though Garage "I'll listen to each Band might make it istrument and choose seem otherwise, the he equipment to record recording process doesn't based off of what I come cheap. Local bands ear," Eric Wojahn, chief like Mason Proper and ngineer and owner of Tally Hall as well as well- olid Sound, says. "For known international acts xample, if I'm working like Regina Spektor and ith a vocalist, I have tht See STUDIOS. Page 4B FILM GlobeMed, a student organization dedicated to improving the global health of the less for- tunate, is screening the critically acclaimed 2008 documentary "Pray the Devil Back to Hell." The film tells the story of how women in Liberia banded together to elect their country's first female president in 2005. See it in room 1300 of the Chem Building tonight at 7:30 p.m. There will also be pizza. Free. ON STAGE Get pumped for the holiday season with George Fredric Han- del's most famous choral piece, "Mes- siah." The UMS Choral Union and Ann Arbor Symphony Orches- tra will continue an Ann Arbor tradition and once again per- form the celebrated magnum opus for its 130th year Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. at Hill Audi- torium. Tickets range from $10 to $32. -J re~tcn h ryid