{{ August 25, 2003 }}

It's been a long time since I've updated so there's lots of news to report!

We're building a brand-new Sly-Fi Studios! Construction is underway - hoping to complete the new rooms later in the Fall. Rumour has it that engineer Chris Gordon (formerly of Metalworks) will be doing some work with me in the new rooms... :)

I've been invited to participate in this year's "Creative Collective 2003" held again at Metalworks Studios in Mississauga, ON. It was an amazing event last year, so I'm excited to be doing it again this year! For more info on what CC is and my experiences last year check the November 18, 2002 news below...

I've had lots of great industry meetings over the last 8 months at Sony, Warner, Universal, EMI, BMG, and Zomba. All of the material I pitched was well-received, but in particular, Jeigh Madjus and Marqus Bobesich ("poormarqus" ) generated unanimous interest...

To follow up on the A&R/publishing interest, Marqus and I did a label showcase back in April. The show was great, and we debuted three new songs that we had been working on to great response. The production of those three new tracks is now complete. I'm really excited to shop this one...

Jeigh Madjus and I have started writing for his next project as well. We plan to record the new tunes later this fall...

Buffalo artist Scott Celani's album "Them Apples" has been heating up on commercial radio across the US! Somewhere between 20-30 (haven't seen the latest reports yet!!) CHR and AOR stations have him in rotation, some are up to 40 spins per week! Pretty impressive indeed for an indie artist! And as usual, Scott's playing all over the eastern and mid-western US. Check him out live, in the MP3 section of this website or at his website. In the meantime, Scott and I have been writing and recording his new project. We've begun tracking 5 killer new tunes and expect to be mixing in October for a January release. This one features the rhythm section of Adrian Passarelli (drummer for Nelly Furtado) and Drew Birston (bass player for Chantal Kreviazuk)...

Sacha's project "Never Forgot" was completed a few months back. Look for Sacha in the Hamilton (H-Town?!?) underground hip-hop scene. The 3-song EP features Lacey Block and Janelle Belgrave from the Popstars2 group Velvet Empire as well as our own Jeigh Madjus...

I also mixed a couple of indie records recently. One for Toronto band Unclefty that features Jeff Healey on guitar, and one for 28N, a band out of college town Fredonia, NY. I also mixed "Days Come Easy" for Toronto band Beggarz. The single, "Days Come Easy", which I also produced, has been getting some commercial radio airplay of late as well on the Edge 102.1, Classic Rock Y108, CHOM-FM in Montreal, and some Spanish stations abroad. I have to say, it was pretty funny recording the station IDs for the Spanish stations because Beggarz songwriter/front-man Adam Cassidy doesn't speak a word of Spanish!! ;) Look for a new Beggarz EP towards the end of the year. Adam and I begin writing this week in preparation for 4 new tracks that I'll be producing...

I've been writing with lots of amazing folks lately. I wrote a song with Robbie Patterson (Snow), a couple with Julie Crochetiere from pop group Sugar Jones, one with Toronto artist Jennie Laws, and one with Toronto vocalist Monika Burany. Rumour has it Moni is a bit of a celebrity as an Indian artist using a different name - but I'll never reveal her identity... ;)

I also just finished writing three songs with Nate Stengrevics from 28N, the band that I mixed from Fredonia, NY. We'll be working on an EP late October/early November...

I'm also in the process of finishing up writing 8 songs with an incredible Toronto artist, Adrien Breda. Adrien is managed by Beau and Zack (Canadian Idol judge) of Venus Management (they also manage Skye Sweetnam, Esthero, and others). We expect to finish the writing sometime in October and then we'll be recording all 8...

And last but not least, a blast from the past... Hamilton artist Paul Manchin (featured in Billboard Magazine) has released a new double CD entitled "Buzz". Essentially a "greatest hits" package with B-Group productions dating back to 1997, I did a few new mixes for this one...

I'll be back soon with all the gossip from this year's Creative Collective, and I'll try to get some new MP3's up soon so y'all can hear the latest! BB.