home > Recorded Music

Danny Arango- Death Metal Entrepreneur
I am the Death Metal Entrepreneur. How many different ways can one approach the Death Metal genre? To begin with, I scream in a Hardcore band, Bed of Arms, with three other Recorded Music students. I also play guitar in my solo Grindcore project. Extreme Music flows through my veins, and it hasn’t run out. Besides the fact that I’m a musician I’ve also been obsessed with the recording process and have produced and mixed a few heavy bands in the New Jersey area. I’ve always approached this culture from the artistic spectrum whether it is as a musician or as a producer, engineer, or mixer. My fixations on great guitar tone lead my to my job at a boutique amplifier, Sommatone. There I learned about what makes a great guitar sound like a great guitar and what makes a killer amp sound so damn good.
At the beginning of this year I decided to take an internship at Ferret Music, one of the largest growing labels for Metal, Hardcore, and Punk. There I have been establishing myself and making connections. I have used my opportunity there to start my own management company. I have started negotiating with one band, Don The Reader, from Los Angeles. Into the bargain is the fact that they are in negotiations with Dovecote Records, an independent label owned by fellow Recorded Music senior, Carter Matschullat. I hope to establish myself and hopefully incorporate my own business with that of Ferret Music. More recently I have been setting up deals between Ferret bands like Poison the Well and A Life Once Lost with Sommatone amps in hopes to get the bands great gear to play while on tour and easy publicity for the boutique company.
   
Marissa Bregman- Silver Spoon
Silver Spoon is an innovative new musical group. Our sound is unique because we managed to combine a variety of musical genres while developing our own signature style. Silver Spoon is also an unusually cohesive group because the two founding members, me and Nick Raynes. Despite being 24 and 22 respectively, we have known each other for 19 years. Over the past five years we have managed to develop a strong fan base. This is due to the fact that we garnered respect playing in live music venues under the band heading of Ruse. Despite being forced to reinvent ourselves under the new name Silver Spoon, we have still managed to maintain the support we gained in our former incarnation.
All of these factors confirm the band's staying power and our ability to evolve flawlessly in the face of adversity. In today’s world with cut throat politics within the music industry, it is both rare and notable to come across talent. So committed that we can stay solid through a varitable tempest of difficulties, and still be humble enough to evolve. Silver Spoon is the type of band that can stay together, grow with the times, work to keep our sound cutting edge, and still blow you away.

Eren Cannata- E.K. Ink.
The birth of E.K. Ink. was conceived by Eren Cannata and Koil PreAmple in early 2005. The duo met at the renowned Cove City Sound Studios where immediate sparks flew. Coming from very diverse backgrounds, the pair knew they had a recipe for success. Cannata, growing up in a primarily jazz and classic rock household with long time music veteran father, Richie Cannata, has just released his debut album entitled “Blame it on the City.” The album explores a softer and more amorous point of view while working through the trials and tribulations of young love. However, with PreAmple’s influence as an engineer specializing in rowdy hip-hop tracks, as well as having a unique way with raspy rhymes the duo integrated each other’s skills to create a totally new sound now known as E.K. Ink.
The creative ingenuity behind the project is genius. They have managed to find a way to blend sexual content with fun loving and down right silly situations, with everything from late night escapades, to digging a whole to the core of the earth in hopes of throwing literally the “hottest party,” E.K. Ink. is sure to catch some serious attention. It has the potential for colossal long-range success and may very well be the start of a new generation of electronically infused music.

Tracey Cole- Out There Marketing
Real music fans are not fools; they know when they smell a rat. Luckily for Out There Marketing, it isn’t faking it. My only goal is to help you reach your goals by getting your music into the ears of the people I know will identify with it. You develop a fan base, get your album out there so that you and your label do more than break even, and you’re able to keep making music, That’s what we all want. The target market for this music will obviously vary from project to project. Out There Marketing is looking to work mainly with independent music labels. This is not to say that artists releasing their albums without label support will be left out in the cold. I am committed to helping interested artists reach both their short and long-term goals. Out There Marketing focuses on helping its artists to build good brands. This is a process that many overlook, but it is essential to attain long-lasting careers. Thorough research enables me to differentiate my artists from their competitors, and from there I am able to create campaigns that keep the brand image consistent and positive in the consumer’s mind. I have no reservations about stepping in to the role of brand manager; I will even work with artist management and label representatives to help them take on these responsibilities as the artist’s career develops.
Because consistency is so essential, I prefer to be completely hands on with each project, assisting in artist development and in the creation of press kits. I work with artists prior to launching marketing campaigns to ensure that they are fully prepared and that each step we take agrees with who they are and what their music is about. My company’s philosophies and the strategies I use to carry out these beliefs make my service a unique one. There is an incredibly viable market out there for independent artists and labels. Because of that there are countless opportunities for Out There Marketing. Everyone is trying to sell something. It is important to find a way to break through the rest of the clutter to reach your audience. Consider Out There Marketing to be your breakthrough. It is different from other marketing companies, and you are different from other artists. If you want to find success for your music or your artists, you need to get out there.

Matt DeMaio- DeMaioProductions, LLC; Speakeasy
DeMaio Productions, LLC is  a New York City-based record label dedicated to producing quality hip-hop music with roots in Italian-American culture. The company has already produced Speakeasy, the full-length debut for DeMaio Production's first artist, Matt Demaio. In the future, the company plans to release this and other records from Matt DeMaio, as well as the work of other like-minded artists. The company was founded in 2007 and has five employees.
Quick question – when’s the last time in the past five years that you’ve heard an album or even a song that makes you sit up in your chair and really pay attention? In all likelihood, you’re hard pressed to name one. That’s about to change. Speakeasy, my debut album, is a thought-provoking album that includes elements of jazz, funk, and hip-hop. Its subject matter includes everything from the prohibition era, to identity as an Italian American, to criticism of the gangsta rap culture that has permeated our society. It’s fresh. It’s sexy. And it’s totally unlike anything else on the radio (including TV, satellite, and MySpace) today.
The title of the album, Speakeasy, is a play on words, paying homage to an admired era gone by, as well as testifying to my ability to flow with ease. This is music designed to touch the hearts of other who occupy the same ambiguous cultural space as I do, as well as anybody who appreciates the intelligent, yet still commercially viable hip-hop. It might just make you want to turn on your radio again.

Allan Fox- Loralye / Bob’s Bakery
The purpose of my capstone is simply to show off my capabilities as a producer/engineer, while demonstrating my talents as a songwriter and film composer. This will serve to exhibit my vast knowledge of different types of music, a key asset in exploring the possibilities of creating my own production company. I am presenting a reel, a film with original music, and a four-song EP that I produced, co-wrote, and co-mixed, for up and coming alternative artist Loralye. The Loralye EP, which has become the focus of my Capstone because it is my most recent project, features four insights in to the dramatic pop/rock world of Loralye. The short film Bob’s Bakery, a comedic love story about an oversized bakery worker, is directed and produced by Tisch student Jared Lapidus, My reel features songs that I have either produced or written during my four years here at the Clive Davis Department of Recorded Music.

Jacob Freeman- Il.DE.SCRIPT, Inc.
IL.DE.SCRIPT, Inc. is a multi-national, Chicago, and New York-based independent record label specializing in Hip-Hop and R&B production. Established in 2000 and formally incorporated in 2003, IDS is run by a unified collection of producers, artists, songwriters, engineers, mixers, and businessmen.
Today, major record labels are consistently returning smaller profit margins because of absurdly high production and marketing costs. IDS, Inc. remains profitable by maintaining self-sufficiency in the creation of records, from artist development and production, to recording, mixing, and engineering. This, combined with an international appeal that taps into the emerging independent rap and Latino markets both in the U.S. and abroad, will allow our company to be increasingly successful in the years to come.
Simply put, IL.DE.SCRIPT, Inc. is a young, ambitious, and educated group that has over forty years of combined music industry experience. Whether opportunity is provided in the form of a joint venture, pressing and distribution deal, government grant, or private investment, IL.DE.SCRIPT is collectively poised to deliver all aspects of the creative process, from artist development to cultural education. After all, the leaders of our brand have successfully fused creativity, experience, social awareness, and a sharp business sense to create IL.DE.SCRIPT, Inc., a company that will remain profitable and on the cutting edge of hip-hop culture. 

Jon Friedman- Film Score
I recently finished composing and producing the musical score to a Tisch student’s short film. In so doing, I have set in motion – concretely and in a labor-intensive way – my aspirations of one day becoming a professional film composer. When I entered the Clive Davis program, I was primarily involved in hip-hop production, and I made everything electronically. However, I drew most of my inspiration from classical music. I had been taking piano lessons for over a decade, and though during that time I only scratched the surface of music theory and composition, the seeds were planted.
Since freshman year, I have devoted a great deal of time and energy toward honing my compositional skills. I have pondered incessantly about how to best position myself to achieve my career goals, and I believe I have taken some steps in the right direction. This project was another such step: it tested my strengths, revealed my weaknesses, and alerted me as to what I can expect for the future.

Drew Hinshaw- Music journalist, record producer   
I’ll be speaking about three characteristics shared by several successful business models in our age of piracy and bootlegging. Using the latest rap group I recorded, Supreeme, as an example, I will show how voyeuristic songwriting, large catalogues, and short shelf life have boosted American Idol, Hip-Hop Mixtapes, Nigerian Movies, and the Virgin Megastore.

Calpin Hoffman-Williamson- Producer/Engineer, Modern Mega State online marketing
For my Capstone project, I produced, engineered, and mixed an eight-song album for the artist Darla Rose with executive producer, and fellow Recorded Music senior, Luke Taylor. As part of this project I also co-founded and developed marketing materials for the Modern Mega State online marketing company.
In producing Darla’s debut album, The Beat of My Heart, I wanted to strengthen this view. Funneling bubbly oldies through a contemporary production aesthetic, together we crafted sweet and stylized pop arrangements to brighten the colorful lyrics and contextualize her voice in a world of non-descript nostalgia. Taking the idea of aural candy to mind, we melded glockenspiel, reverberant guitar, keyboard, autoharp, lap steel, and handclaps to reinforce the feeling of child-like sweetness throughout, adding new musical characters and a bit of pixie dust to her already catchy collection of songs. Swinging with youthful spirit from country, to soul, to folk, to synth pop, the album’s production is diverse, ornate, and yet seemingly homemade. The album is clean and well thought out, but also brims with a feeling of amateurism that is pertinent to her appeal.
Backed by the Modern Mega State online marketing company, Darla Rose has already made a noticeable splash on the Internet. Amassing interest on online venues such as MySpace and garnering a number of positive blog-based write-ups, the growth of her popularity in such a short time hints at a large deal of potential success. As producer and engineer of her debut album and part of the Modern Mega State, I am grateful to have taken part in developing Darla’s talent, presenting it on record, and releasing it in to the world.

Rob Inadomi- Audio Ice Cream: Ice Cream for your Ears
Podcasts are a new emerging form of user-generated content where “podcasters” can group together music that will appeal to a specific target audience. However, many podcasts today are developed by “overly indie” narcissistic technology nerds that play whatever they want. The goal of Audioicecream.com is to bring fifteen-minute alt-genre themed podcasts to fans of rock, pop, electronic, and folk music. Due to the pop driven content, and youthful branding, Audioicecream is likely to appeal to a young audience, ages 10-25. Additionally, Audioicecream is a website that can be a useful tool for A&R executives to discover a specific kind of music they are looking for. It is also a site where bands wanting to gain exposure can submit music in order to gain new fans within their specific genre.
But Audioicecream.com doesn’t just end with the website. Additionally, users can subscribe to the podcast through the iTunes Music Store and can have it automatically downloaded to their iPod or iPhone. There will be multiple ways to connect to the Audioicecream environment through the website, the iTunes feed, the accompanying blog and through the “Gcast Podcast.” Finally, Audioicecream is an artistic project meant to showcase bands and it is not meant to be a moneymaking business. Making the perfect mix CD has been a passion of mine producing my own podcast allows me to share music I find compelling with fans of music.

Rebecca Krouse- Analog Solutions: Music Industry Consultation for the Digital Era
In the past century, the model for the structure of the American recording industry had undergone constant evolution. From the days of sheet music and gramophones, to vinyl and record shops, to cassettes and CD’s, we’ve now landed in the world of digital music, downloading, and, often, free music consumption.
Analog Solutions is a music industry, consulting firm designed to identify openings within the structure of labels, publishing companies, technological arenas, and artist development/management where, due to the changing music world, there is a need for new strategies and perspectives. The company is centered around our research of, and full immersion in, the music industry as it evolves and as companies and artists face new challenges to make a profit and produce a high quality of entertainment in the era of downloading, free music, and the longtail structure.

Allison Kruth- The Cliffs: Clear the Sky
New, cheaper, more intuitive technology has inspired a generation of artists to become their own producer. It is a very realistic alternative to buying studio time and paying a team of people to put together an album, only to hope that they come up with a product in tune with the artist’s vision. Most bands cannot afford the superstar producer and expensive facilities, but they do not have the knowledge to put together a demo or album of competitive quality. My value as an engineer and producer is in my ability to take a band’s musical ideas in their underdeveloped form and work with the band, and only the band, until they have an album that is ready to be mastered. This leaves the band free from label influence, and free from extraneous fees that will always be recoupable. The band knows what it is paying for, but is getting a well-trained professional who will watch the project from the inside and out all the way to the replication plant. My capstone project has been to find an unknown band who I liked and give them their first album.
The approach I took in recording and producing this album is not only good for the band, but it reflects where I’m coming from as a producer. I recorded, edited, and mixed ten songs while guiding the band musically and professionally. Clear the Sky by The Cliffs will consist mostly of the songs that I have been producing with them since October 2006. I recorded nine songs at NYU’s Recorded Music Department studios, and I mixed ten songs. The band will have the album mastered and design artwork for the disc and jewel case insert. The release date for Clear the Sky is set for the middle of this summer. In addition to my production work, I have set the band up with fellow Recorded Music senior, Tracey Cole, to have their new album marketed and their image developed. After sending Tracey some basic information about The Cliffs and their history, I put her in touch with Ilay Ron, the principal singer/songwriter/guitarist. For the past two months, they have been discussing the band’s direction and how Tracey will publicize them. 

Eric Lumiere- Singer/Songwriter/Producer/Mixer/Engineer/Creator
As an artist, a creator, life is a progression of discovering who I am. An artist is a puzzle and this year I have found my corner pieces. I now know the essence of the picture. The rest of my career I will be filling myself in. This awareness and learning has made my life and what I want out of it simpler and clearer. I am now left to find the best methods and paths to reach my goals. I love to create and music is what is most effective and what I am best at in this moment. Many artists may go through makeovers, different genres, and musical journey, which one can observe in their discography. I have been self-producing, recording, writing, mixing, and performing on my own album, “For the Sake of Feeling,” which includes singer/songwriter, rock and pop type songs. I am also working with renowned DJ’s Filo and Peri as a co-writer and assistant producer of club/dance music. Their remix of my song, “Anthem,” is going to be released in May by Vandit Records, #1 DJ in the world, Paul Van Dyk’s label. Paul, Armin Van Buren, Ferry Corsten and now other top DJ’s are playing the song at all of their shows around the world and there are many videos on YouTube of the audience singing along with the entire chorus and going nuts. I am also producing my friend Erik Raleigh’s debut album and have mixed songs for two other very talented artists, fellow senior Recorded Music major, Mario Spinetti, and Ian Axel.

Brandon Maragh- Producer; Entertainment Company, Maxire
For my project I worked with a group named The Griots, they consist of members Damaja D and Lingo. They are artists that have something to say. They aren’t conscious rappers, at least they don’t consider themselves to be, and they aren’t gangsta rappers. They do, however, have a message that is contained within their music. The problem, though, may be getting people to pay attention to the lyrics. What I wanted to do to help with this was to provide them with tracks that will complement their music. I think that the music I have given them would be something that appeals to all types of listeners. There are tracks that people who listen to gangsta music will listen to, and there are ones that are for people who listen to more commercial and danceable music. So by hearing the tracks, I think The Griots lyrical content will be able to reach a wider scope of people. Also, another point is that The Griots are a rap duo, which is not common in the genre and it really works for them musically.
From a production standpoint, in addition to what I have mentioned, I also would like to show some of the various tracks that I have created, as this is a product that I have completed with each one produced by me. This is not a product that I want to sell – it is something that I want to use to showcase my work. What I want from this is feedback on the music, as that is something that I really haven’t received. In addition, I would like to focus my attention on my entertainment company, Maxire, and what we want to do in the music industry, which is to become a place where artists, regardless of genre can get production work from management assistance and songs written for them. The goal of the company is to be able to do these things by having a roster of producers, songwriters, and musicians that will be able to construct tracks and songs to be tailor made for any artist. The management focused people in the company will be getting clients as well as finding placement for our productions. This product is an example of something that we would be able to do for other artist clients.

Carter Matschullat- Dovecote Records; video art piece
Most people think of a Dovecote as a birdcage. Dovecotes were initially used to house messenger pigeons but soon grew to house private collections of birds in many parts of Europe. What most people don’t know is that Dovecote has a second definition as a settled or harmonious organization. I think I first read the word with its second definition in the Canterbury Tales. I could be wrong. I had my friend Miles draw a logo for 100 dollars to put on the back of these simple CD jackets that has the word Dovecote on it. He returned with this great logo of a pair of birds sitting on top of a drooping cloud. I thought it looked great. An idea was born. It was just for fun. I didn’t intend for it to explode. I was only a sophomore in college but now had my hobby of a label signed to one of the four major distributors in the country. My life shifted from being a student to running a company.
So what does this have to do with my capstone? A lot actually. In the past three years of working, I’ve had little to no time to spend on creating music for the sake of creating music. Most of the work I used to do in engineering, video, or graphic design was simply because I enjoyed it. When the opportunity came to do a creative project in what I call the “choose your own adventure” category, I chose to force myself to incorporate everything I’d been missing in the past couple of years. This project is meant to exist. I have no intentions of making it a commercial venture. I’m not an artist, and I’ve rarely wanted to be. The collection of work I have created was an exercise in reinvigorating my creative interests. I’ve written the music, edited, and composited the video and graphics, and created the graphic design for the entire project. I ask you not to judge the music, the film, or aesthetic. Just watch it. Like it.

Evan Moore- Music Production; Thunder, Lightning, & Lightning
Thunder, Lightning, & Lightning is a team of three record producer-recording engineer-mixers headquartered on Rivington Street in Manhattan. We charge for professional record production – ie: all pre-production, studio time, tracking, and mixing for our clients that we deem necessary – what recording studio owners and engineers charge for studio time. Thunder, Lightning, and Lightning was created with the idea of doing something different. What if the band and the producer could be equal partners in the recording process? What if the band and producer could work together to make only records they were in love with, without limitations on time, equipment, or location? What if we as producers stopped charging by the hour or day, and started treating every project as the special and unique record that it should be? What if the only consideration with each project, for both band and producer, was how great can this record be?
TL&L has recently completed albums with The Attorneys, The States, and Gold Streets. These are bands that we found, loved, and nurtured. We are very excited to see the waves they will make in the coming months. In addition to making great rock records, we record audio and write music for audio/visual works. We make records for independent musicians. If you can afford to make a quality recording in New York – or if you can make such a recording yourself – you can afford our production services; and if you want to make a record for the cost of a recording, ours is the only service in town.

Jen Newman- Solo album
For my capstone project, I produced a full-length, solo album. The album is singer-songwriter pop with influences from other genres such as folk, rock, country, klezmer, and jazz. My role on the project extended beyond producing and performing. I also wrote or co-wrote all thirteen songs, engineered most aspects of the recordings, budgeted the entire project, hired musicians and arrangers to play, and wrote comprehensive business and marketing plans. Most importantly, the final product showcases my ability as a self-produced artist.
The music industry is becoming increasingly ‘do-it-yourself’ oriented as marked by the rise in home studios and niche, independent record labels. To be successful as an artist in this market, one needs to understand the ins and outs of the industry and of music technology, I believe that the most successful independent artists right now are ones that have a firm grasp of this information. The curriculum in the Clive Davis Department of Recorded Music has given me a greater depth of knowledge in these areas than many people who have been working in the industry for years. This awareness will ensure the success of my artistic projects.

Bo Pericic- Empire Nightclub, Sukosan, Croatia
I love my job of being a producer/DJ – getting to travel and play in front of large crowds every month is my dream come true. I’m being exposed to lots of cultures, ways of life, different people – everything. For the past few years I’ve taken notes from each club I’ve played by noting my favorite, and least favorite aspects of its’ design. Finally I think I’ve gathered enough data to make what will be the best club in the world. I see Croatia, as Ibiza 15 years ago – a place with thriving culture, pristine coastline, and crazy party-people. The main different is that Ibiza is a small island while Croatia has 500 miles of relatively undeveloped coastline. The potential is simply outstanding. I’ve played at over 50 clubs on four continents and I still have the most fun when I go out in Croatia – there’s just something special about the culture and the way people party. Nothing even comes close. Over there it’s not about the money, it’s about the music, love, and having fun. Most Croatian clubs were built before the war, having very basic setups, yet still draw thousands of people from all over Europe every night. With all the million dollar super clubs around the world, Mixmag still rated Aquarius, Croatia as the #1 summer club of 2006.
I see this as an opportunity to share everything I am passionate about with the world. I’ll get to share my love of music and the passion I have for my culture. In doing so, I am confident my club-goers will have more fun than anywhere else they’ve ever been. I’m confident my visitors will keep coming back for more and at the same time, continue learning lessons from my culture and everything it has to offer. I want to build an empire – not in the traditional, power hungry sense one may think of but one of happiness, fun, self-satisfaction, respect, and humility.

Jen Rock- Sound Design; Scoring, Mixing of a Tisch Student Film
As an up and coming engineer I wanted to showcase my talents through the Capstone project. I chose the medium of film because I felt my work within my project needed to not only reflect my four years of study within the realm of music, but also my last year of immersion within the audio post-production world. I have gathered many skills and film was where I could not only showcase my music engineering skills, but also my skills in sound design, ADR, mixing, and music supervision. All of these things culminate in the student film, The Morning After.
For my Capstone, I operated as a one-woman audio post-production house. I took a student-produced short film that provided me with a poorly recorded stripped down dialogue track, which I used to create a quality sound track. I added sound effects, sweetened and mixed the dialogue, replaced roughly recorded excerpts of the dialogue track, then hired a composer, with whom I worked to select a score for the short film. I engineered the score, mixed, and mastered it, then placed it within the film. Finally, I created a final stereo mix for the entire film and packaged the media. I handled all legal documents, and treated the entire process as a professional job.

Brooke Roop- DearMars Promotion
For my Capstone project, I took a Pennsylvania-based indie rock band, Street Smart Cyclist, through the entire artist development, marketing & promotion process. I spent many long hours with the band developing their image and working on their behalf to garner support for the band through online reviews and write-ups in music blogs & zines. The point of this project was to work with a small indie band that I cared about a great deal, in order to gain experience working as my own independent promotion company.
During the project, I was in charge of contacting small indie magazines as well as online marketing sites for reviews. I also sent out mass emails to record labels, magazines, and online sites to garner support and awareness of the album’s upcoming release. Through this project, I proved to myself that I am extremely talented in the areas of promotion and publicity. I feel confident to step out in to the world of the music industry and take any promotion job offered me, and most of all I feel confident in beginning my own independent promotion company, DearMars Promotion. The classes I have take at the Clive Davis Department of Recorded Music have given me the chance to develop one of the most well-rounded educations available in the music industry field. I’ve take classes in every area and feel prepared to step out in to a world where I am among the very first to graduate from this prestigious department unlike any other in the country. I am ready.

Tom Schecter- "Badass for It’s Own Sake"
A new group of teenagers are growing in to their own opinions and identities. They need their own rock music to listen to, and having been force-fed bands like Brand New and Something Corporate – or bland, formulaic radio hip-hop – for the past few years, the smart money says they’re going to want something a bit tougher and a bit more profound to listen to.
Enter Dibble Edge. Made up of three brilliant, curious minds from three different cities around the United States – photogenic, talented and supremely confident – this band is intent on bringing the balls-out swagger back in to mainstream rock music. So why Dibble Edge? Because the labels and the consumers have to expect more from each other, and someone has to start that cycle. This band is out to write music that challenges the listener, not just the type of music anyone can play along to. But the real important point comes back to the element of danger that was inherent in Appetite for Destruction way back when, twenty years ago – an eternity ago.
Take a look at a picture of the boys of Dibble Edge, glowering at you through sunglasses and cigarette smoke. Take a listen to the hard edge, the toughness and the intelligence in the music. Find the old-school, tough guy mentality ingrained in these three twenty-one year old kids.
Dibble Edge is dangerous for the sake of being dangerous.
Badass for its own sake.

Josh Silberberg- Record Producer
My name is Josh and I’d like to be a record producer. It’s the only thing I’ve ever done that completely absorbed me. I like constructing songs with artists. I like conceptualizing how a record should sound, and I love being in the studio. So to that end, I did every piece of production-related work I possibly could this year. I produced, engineered, and/or mixed on five different senior Capstone projects, in addition to freelance engineering outside of school and composing a film score. I basically just tried to stay busy, like a good producer should be.
That being said, there were two projects that mainly occupied my time this year: my own personal Capstone, a record with the joke band Serious Bob (joke like, “funny haha,” not, “oh man that band is a joke”), and an alternative rock record with my friend’s band Dibble Edge. Serious Bob resembles They Might Be Giants, if the Giants were 20 year old kids from the East Village; less preciousness, more drum programming and dick jokes. As for Dibble Edge, they’re a grungy alternative rock band, hoping that the 90’s resurgence is right behind the 80’s one we’ve recently had.
    So those were the two records on which I spent most of my time. Dibble Edge makes the kind of rock records that I like, and I’ve been working with them for quite a while, whereas Serious Bob was new to me, and somewhat of an experiment on behalf of everyone involved. This difference was a significant factor in why I decided to balance my time the way I did. I wanted to keep making the kind of records I love to make, but I also wanted to continue learning as much as possible while I still had the resources of NYU behind me.

Mario Spinetti- Solo album
In an effort to exercise my versatility as both an artist and a producer, my capstone project is two-fold.  It consists of both my personal EP [1/1] as well as Ian Axel’s EP imontoyou.
I’ve been involved in the music industry for many years as a writer/performer/arranger with an operatic background. I grew up in the backstage wings of opera theatres. As a result, my instincts both vocally and compositionally range in foundation from the classical, through the romantic and modern.  As a teen, I attended LaGuardia “The Fame” Highschool, where my musical instincts developed to encompass a die-hard passion for popular song and popular culture.  This instinct was only heightened after my studies at “Clive,” where my obsession for the popular record was born.  I have presented the synthesis of these overarching influences in my debut EP [1/1] – what I feel is a “haunting and dramatic pop opus.”
Ian Axel’s EP represents the way in which I’ve been able to apply my above instincts to realize another artist’s vision.  As contemporary NYU-based performers, and long-standing college buddies, Ian came to me looking for a “sweeping, bubble-gum orchestral sound.” He knew of my style, and knew I might be able to help realize his vision. To satisfy, I researched artists that had successfully achieved his desired “type” of sound in the past.   What results in imontoyou is a hybrid that simultaneously resembles the work of Vanessa Carlton, Ben Folds, and Michelle Branch; all in the charismatic, and brilliantly awkward performer that is Ian Axel.
[1/1] and Imontoyou feature my skills as a performer, a producer, an engineer, an editor, a mixer, a string arranger, a vocal arranger, and a conductor.      

Luke Taylor- Modern Mega State, Online Marketing
The Modern Mega state is a small, nimble Internet music marketing company that utilizes various web channels to provide artists with the online presence necessary to build fan bases, establish credibility amongst tastemakers, and maintain relationships with consumers. Found in 2006 by two seniors in the Clive Davis Department of Recorded Music, the company was envisioned to define and occupy a new role within the developing online music community – merging forward-thinking online marketing techniques with the brand recognitions and credibility of a boutique independent record label. While appealing to tastemakers, the Modern Mega State will become an established tastemaker in itself.
The Modern Mega State’s premier artist is independent New York singer/songwriter Darla Rose. Plucked from MySpace as a result of a low quality demo, Darla Rose created an album with the two founders of the Modern Mega State – David Luke Taylor (President) and Preston Calpin Hoffman-Williamson (Vice President). The Modern Mega State then generated an online following for the artist via positive reviews on influential blogs, strong MySpace presence, video podcasts, and an innovative Instant Messenger Bot. The Modern Mega State strives to become the paramount online music marketing company, known equally for its credibility, innovative techniques, and expertise in the area of online media outlets. Over time, independent record labels will recognize the brand influence of the Modern Mega State. They will pay for our “stamp of approval,” and access to our effective branded marketing campaigns.

Meridith Valiando- Publishing House, PYT Publishing
I’m launching a music-publishing house because I’m a strong believer that having a starting point is the way to get the ball rolling. I could say my capstone is to be a “tastemaker” as that is my eventual and less tangible goal, but what does that even mean? I want to be in the creative elite. PYT Publishing will be a small and initially mobile operation with about five staff writer/producers, and two employees. I will do all creative work which will include building the catalogue through arranging co-writes, pitching songs to artists who are recording, as well as pitching songs for film/TV, advertising, and video games. The other employee will do the administration, which will include registering all copyrights with BMI, ASCAP, and SESAC, as well as collecting royalties and paying the writers.

Matt Weinberg- Vector Computer Consulting Inc., Using Search Engines and Smart User Interface Design to Increase Artist Visibility and Sales Online
Vector Computer Consulting Inc., of which I own 50% specializes in online advertising, web design and development, branding, and identity. We use a lot of search engine marketing techniques, typically ones with a retail Internet storefront. Often times, we like to be the web agency of record from the ground up; build the online storefront from scratch with search engine optimization in mind, and then do a campaign for it. Of course, that’s not always an option when working with clients that already have websites they like.
Vector Computer Consulting, Inc. is currently a New York State registered corporation with its main office in Bellmore, NY. We have development teams here in New York, in Australia, and in India. We also have supplemental programmers in London that can be called on if necessary. The company has been profitable in each quarter since its inception and has grown revenue in each of the past 4 years. The method of Internet marketing for artists used takes advantage of search engine ranking algorithms and user behavior on web pages to increase both artist income and artist visibility.
   
Julia Wilde- Solo album
hierophany is an inspired work. It is an album written and performed with the intent not to think about where it might live in the marketplace or to whom I should speak. And yet, it is entirely relevant to the mainstream music audiences, because it is accessible and compelling. The melodies are contagious. The lyrics are devastatingly intimate and emotional. The title of the album, which means “manifestation of the sacred,” is a reflection of both the spiritual and the intellectual. The production takes risks, through the implementation of unsettlingly beautiful atmosphere in marriage with the organic, raw performance of a full band or a solo acoustic guitar. And the album has an entirely cohesive sonic identity as a whole, perfectly in keeping with the oft emotional, urgent intimacy of the songwriting, and the performance itself. It is through the pairing of this intensely honest, specific musical perspective and extraordinarily memorable melodies that hierophany manages to exist as an album in its own right while appealing to the commercial sensibilities of the greater music industry. The songs are singable; the melodies are extraordinarily memorable. And yet the album as a whole is located within a distinct perspective and a defined sonic space. 
As an artist, I believe I inhabit a world with a distinct and thoughtful perspective alternatively provocative, relatable, and accessible to my listener. My identity as both a performer and a person are very much audible in hierophany. And I know these songs resonate beyond the life I’ve crafted. They tap into the universal, searching for what exists between and within all of us. And, really, I was searching for myself.