Tag Archives: duo

The Disclosures new video for The Secret to Being Rich

The Disclosures, the singing and songwriting duo of Madison-based Chad Helminak and Christopher Morris, released a new video today, for National Financial Literacy month. The video is for their song The Secret to Being Rich, from the album of the same title. This album is full of fun, upbeat and humorous songs that have a financial theme, that kids of all ages will enjoy. I’m especially proud to have had a hand in bringing these songs to fruition, having done the mixing and mastering for the collection.

This latest song is a fantastic ballad, appearing at the end of the album. And for the month of April, they are making the song FREE because it’s Financial Literacy month, and Chad and Chris are great guys who have a great message to share with any youngsters.

If you like this video, they’ve made another fun one for the song Thank My Piggy Bank.

Check out the video, grab a free copy of the song, and get a copy of the whole CD if you like what you hear.

Squirrel Trench at Hall of Fame Worcester Regionals

Hall of Fame Dance logoSince both Rhythm Dance Company and New England Dance Centers are competing at Hall of Fame‘s Worcester regionals at the DCU Center this coming weekend (Feb 28-Mar 2, 2014), that means that 27 of the routines will be using Squirrel Trench edited and remixed music.

The performances are scheduled to be live streamed via this link: http://www.halloffamedance.com/livestream.aspx

The full schedule for the weekend can be found here, and routines that will be performing with Squirrel Trench audio are listed below: http://www.halloffamedance.com/regionals/schedule.aspx?id=442

(All times listed as Eastern)
Friday, February 28
4:41p Stage1 Beautiful, Dirty, Rich — Rhythm Dance Company (Senior Jazz Trio) — (Edit)
7:22p Stage1 Werk It — Rhythm Dance Company (Senior Hip Hop Large Group) — (Full Remix)
7:49p Stage1 Neon — Rhythm Dance Company (Senior Jazz Large Group) — (Edit)

Saturday, March 1
10:45a Stage1 Wicked Lil Girrls — New England Dance Centers (Junior Tap Line) — (Edit)
11:39a Stage2 Toy Soldier— Rhythm Dance Company (Junior Jazz Duo) — (Edit)
2:12p Stage2 Americano/Dance Again — New England Dance Centers (Teen Open Solo) — (Edit)
4:47p Stage1 Coronet Man — Rhythm Dance Company (Senior Jazz Solo) — (Mastering for consistency of volume and modernization)
6:42p Stage1 The Dynamo of Volition — New England Dance Centers (Senior Tap Solo) — (Edit)
6:48p Stage1 Human Nature — New England Dance Centers (Senior Tap Solo) — (Edit)
7:18p Stage2 Let The Good Times Roll — New England Dance Centers (Teen Jazz Solo) — (Edit)
7:39p Stage2 Yes Sir, That’s My Baby — New England Dance Centers (Teen Jazz Solo) — (Edit)
7:42p Stage2 Lock My Heart — New England Dance Centers (Teen Jazz Solo) — (Edit)
7:48p Stage2 Vogue — New England Dance Centers (Teen Jazz Solo) — (Remix)
7:51p Stage2 Feet Don’t Fail Shaun Now — New England Dance Centers (Teen Jazz Solo) — (Edit, Mastered, custom track courtesy of the original artists Rhythmic Circus minus taps)
10:28p Stage1 Starlets (Glamour Action) — New England Dance Centers (Teen Jazz Small Group) — (Remix)

Sunday, March 2
7:58a Stage1 Fancy Footwork — New England Dance Centers (Junior Tap Large Group) — (Remix)
9:00a Stage2 (She’s) Hot Stuff — New England Dance Centers (Junior Jazz Solo) — (Remix)
9:12a Stage1 Toy Story — Rhythm Dance Company (Junior Hip Hop Line) — (Remix)
9:38a Stage2 I’ve Got Love — New England Dance Centers (Junior Jazz Solo) — (no edit; as-is)
10:02a Stage2 Sparkling Diamonds — New England Dance Centers (Junior Tap Solo) — (Edit)
11:52a Stage1 Gimme Some Rhythm, Daddy — New England Dance Centers (Teen Jazz Duo) — (Remix)
12:07p Stage1 What Is Jazz? — New England Dance Centers (Teen Tap Trio) — (Remix)
4:31p Stage1 The Audition (Broadway Here I Come) — New England Dance Centers (Teen Musical Theater Line) — (Remix with voiceovers)
5:07p Stage1 Let’s Dance Hezekiah — New England Dance Centers (Teen Tap Line) — (Remix)
6:57p Stage1 Let The Groove Get In — New England Dance Centers (Teen Tap Large Group) — (Edit)
7:01p Stage1 We Came To Smash — New England Dance Centers (Teen Jazz Large Group) — (Edit)
8:58p Stage1 To Be Beautiful — New England Dance Centers (Teen Tap Small Group) — (Remix)
9:32p Stage1 Dirrty — Rhythm Dance Company (Teen Hip Hop Small Group) — (Edit and removal of inappropriate language)

Break a leg to all the dancers performing!

The Secret to Being Rich by The Disclosures

The Secret to Being RichWell, the day has finally arrived: The Disclosures‘ latest project has just been released in mp3 and CD formats worldwide.

In the interest of Full Disclosure on this write-up of The Disclosures, I am the person who mixed and mastered this album. And in my role as the mix engineer, I heartily endorse this fun and creative song collection. This has been a true labor of love for me to mix and master, and I am quite thrilled with the results.

The Disclosures are the singing and songwriting duo of Christopher Morris and Chad Helminak, based in Madison, Wisconsin. During the process of mixing this CD, I was continually amazed at Chad and Chris’ conceptual, lyrical, and musical creativity. Each song is completely original, and no two songs on the CD sound alike.

There is quite a cast of characters contained inside– there’s Uncle Hank who is a very smart man with a plan, Kidd Silver, a young pirate just beginning to embark on his chosen career path, but winds up in a sorrowful situation with Loan Sharks, Dr. Greedypants who invents a high-tech ray-gun device that turns pigs into bacon, and to the rescue rides Captain Smartmoney, who shows Dr. Greedypants the error of his ways…..

This album of 10 songs is aimed at kids in the age range of kindergarten through fifth grade, and hidden inside these catchy and inventive tunes are some ideas for smart money management — but just as importantly, a whole lot of silliness that is sure to cause youngsters fits of giggles. In fact, Chad and Chris have kept their eye squarely on kids throughout this musical journey – every artistic decision made was done with the youngsters in mind first and foremost – and how to deliver songs that would be instantly appealing to them. It’s an added benefit that parents will enjoy the songs as well…. give it a few listens, and you’ll be humming “won’t you be my money buddy, yeah”, muttering ‘ARRRRRRR’ at random people walking down the street, and a whole lot more.

The release is just in time for the holiday season, so if you know someone with kids in this age range, this CD makes an outstanding gift. Currently, the mp3 format is available on iTunes and Amazon, and the physical CD is be available via CD Baby, Amazon, or bulk purchases for organizations may order via The Disclosures’ own web site.

Here is a track listing; click any song to go to a preview of it on iTunes:

  1. Money Moola Dinero Dough
  2. I Want, I Need
  3. Save!
  4. Won’t You Be My Money Buddy?
  5. The Tale of Kidd Silver, the Savviest Pirate to Ever Sail the Seas
  6. Thank My Piggy Bank (link is to YouTube video of song)
  7. Captain Smartmoney vs. Dr. Greedypants
  8. Spend, Save, Give
  9. Too Good To Be True
  10. The Secret to Being Rich

Grab this CD– you’ll be glad you did! No fuddy-duddies allowed!

Congratulations, dancers!

Congratulations to four New England Dance Center soloists, a duo, and a trio, using Squirrel Trench Audio remixed songs and choreo by Miss Lesley, for winning 1st overall in your category at Star Systems‘ Worcester Regional yesterday morning… and the duo and trio scored the PLATINUM prize as well.

Congratulations to Rhythm Dance Company soloists!

Congratulations to the Rhythm Dance Company dancers on their first competition of the season! Soloists and Duos/Trios who have music edited by Squirrel Trench Audio include:

Sara G. with First Time Ever I Saw Your Face – Elite Gold and 6th overall teen soloist

Allie D. with Giving – Gold

Molly G., Sara G., Katie R. – They Weren’t There – Elite Gold and 4th overall teen duo/trio

That is a fine start. Complete results from their first competition are here.

And that does not even touch on EIGHT of RDC’s group numbers that feature original Squirrel Trench Audio remixes… they came out GREAT and am excited to see them performed later in the Spring!

Soloist’s CDs are ready!

It’s that time of year… when the anticipation reaches a peak with the first dance competition of the season coming up in just days or weeks. The students have been rehearsing for months. Costumes have been selected and have arrived. Now it’s time to make sure that all of the studio’s music is perfect too. Squirrel Trench Audio has been busy burning-competition ready CDs on high quality Taiyo Yuden CD-Rs, complete with competition-ready labels. Note the nine rectangular spaces on the lower part of the CD; these spots enable the studio to write the number of the routine on each CD for every competition entered.

Competition CDs are ready to go

If you are a studio owner, and you want to make your music prep this easy, contact me about our Studio programs— a full service where you simply select the music for each dancer, and receive a set of rehearsal CDs for each student, as well as competition-ready CDs for performance. With this program, it is possible for the studio to make a small profit on their music each year instead of incurring an expense.

For more information, email me. The sooner the better, because the 2012-2013 dance season will be here before you know it!

Solos, duos, trios, and gymnastic floor routines

It’s been a blast doing some fun music editing and remixing for this dance season’s soloists, duos, trios, as well as for a number of gymnastic floor routines. I’m really excited for all of these songs to be performed by a wide age-range of students, anywhere from ten to eighteen years old. The songs range from jazz to electronic to pop, and artists range from Martin Solveig to Club des Belugas to Dee Dee Bridgewater.

If your son, daughter, or student still needs their music professional edited for dance routine length or gymnastic floor routine length, send me an email, and I’ll try to get it done for you right away!

Junior Mister Superstar at Star Systems Nationals

Katelyn and Jacob warming up for their Jump Jive and Wail duo

Congratulations to Jacob Lill for winning Junior Mister Superstar at Star Systems’ National dance competition 2011 at Myrtle Beach. Jacob was smooth on stage for his brief interview, citing his mother as the coolest person he’s met in real life, and finding nothing bad he could say about his home state of Connecticut. An hour later he was on stage performing That Old Black Magic, choreographed by Lesley Lambert. The music was by Jeremy Davenport, and edited by yours truly. It was somewhat of tricky song to edit, since the tempo of a jazz song will drift slightly through different sections of the song. I am very proud of the results of my audio editing, making the song perfectly seamless.

But I am even more proud of Jacob and his choreographer for all of the hard work they have put into becoming a National Champion!

And now Squirrel Trench Audio can claim to have edited the music for a National Dance Champion! For more on the keys to a winning dance routine, check out this entry.

Keys to a winning dance competition routine

As pointed out in this article on Suite 101, there are three keys to creating a winning dance routine for competitions.

1.) Start with fantastic and appropriate music. Dance is based on the foundation of music. If you don’t build your routine and choreography on wonderful music, then you are missing out on a major source of emotional impact on the audience and judges. I can help you select winning music for your next competition dance routine. I’ve attended numerous Regional and National dance competitions, and have decades of experience in music. When choosing songs, there are some songs (or versions of songs) that will leave the judges flat. I can help you pick something memorable and appropriate for your dancer. Just let me know the dancer’s personality, age and what song they’ve used previously, and I will give you a couple of suggestions for their next song. Whatever song you select, I can also edit it to the needs of winning competition routines, i.e. the correct duration, and any other minor adjustments it might need, such as a slight tempo change, or boosting the volume without clipping distortion.

2.) Choreography. I am no expert in this field, that is for YOU the dance teacher to make great. I agree with the article; great choreography nearly always tells a story. It doesn’t matter if the audience doesn’t fully understand the story conveyed, if there IS  a story, then the dancer has a message to transmit to the audience, and that’s the important thing.

3.) Costume. Dance is a very visual medium. While the music provides the auditory part of the routine, the costume provides the foundation for the visual part of the routine. The above referenced article goes into greater depth on costume choices.

4.) What this article leaves out is the most important part of a winning dance routine: PRACTICE. Practice equals love. If your student loves to dance, it will manifest itself in the practice habits of the dancer. One of my favorite sayings is the difference between amateurs and professionals is that amateurs practice until they get it right, PROFESSIONALS PRACTICE UNTIL THEY CAN’T GET IT WRONG.

So now we know that music is the foundation of the dance routine. Costume is the foundation of the visual part of the dance routine. Just as you wouldn’t put your dancer on stage with a ripped or torn costume, why would you put your dancer on stage with music that contains scars, hiccups, half-beats, partial measures, jumps, cuts, awkward fade outs, or unnatural silences? I’ve heard all of these music editing mistakes at competitions. Are they enough to reduce the scores from the judges? I don’t know, but why take a chance? Since you put countless hours of rehearsal into your choreography and practice every week, shouldn’t your music reflect the same meticulous level of detail and precision?

When you are ready for your music to step up to your dance, Squirrel Trench Audio is here to deliver.

What have YOU found to be the key to creating a winning dance competition routine?