Tag Archives: vocal

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!

Three more vocal competition karaoke tracks finished

Squirrel Trench Audio continues to do editing for vocal talent competitions. Our latest client comes from Arizona. The request was for three songs to be edited for a pageant vocal competition, and the rules are that the song can be no more than 2:00 minutes in length. We are proud to be able to produce each of these excellent song choices in the 2:00 format, in both a karaoke version with background vocals, as well as a reference vocal/guide version for our contestant to rehearse with. Here’s what the parent of the pageant competitor had to say:

“Thanks Morriss, these turned out fantastic.  We will be recommending you to everyone we know.”

— Jeff V., parent of a competitive
pageant singer, Arizona
June 13, 2012

If you have a competition vocalist, and need your songs edited to competition length, Squirrel Trench Audio is here to make it happen for you. Just send me an email and let me know the song you’ve selected and the competition’s time requirements. I’ll supply you with both a karaoke version for competition, as well as a reference vocal/guide version for rehearsal, uploaded as high quality mp3s to a secure and private online folder for your downloading and playback convenience.

Vocalists take home the prizes at Star Systems

Bookending the Top Vocalist and Third Place Winners at Star Systems' 2012 Worcester Regional competition.

This past weekend, Squirrel Trench Audio was honored to be in the audience for the performances of two amazingly talented young singers at Star Systems’ Worcester Regional Competition.

These two young talents have been rehearsing their singing skills all season long, and with the backing track of Squirrel Trench-mixed instrumentals, have taken home the Top Vocalist and Third Place Vocalist trophies.

The choice of song and choreo for Shaunessey was supplied by Miss Kerrin Clark, and additional choreo for both girls was supplied by Miss Lesley. Additional vocal coaching for Shaunessey supplied by Pam Bussell.

To aid these young singers in improving their performances, I recorded them a month ago, and supplied them with rehearsal CDs that had three versions: the instrumental-only version, a version with a professional reference singer, and their own sung version, which was created by editing together the numerous takes they had laid down in the recording process. The recording process itself is a great learning tool; you can really zero-in on minute details and trouble spots that are not immediately obvious on first listen.

The results speak for themselves, and Squirrel Trench Audio is proud to be associated with these marvelous entertainers.

Here is Shaunessey’s rendition of That’s How You Know

Here is Ava singing Nothing (from A Chorus Line)

Tips for improving your dance music

Here’s an article on Dance Moms with Tips for improving your dance music. Some of the ideas contained in it are a little dated (when was the last time you ever played music off a cassette?), but the premise is a solid one. Your dance students are paying hundreds of dollars and putting in countless hours of rehearsal, so why would you short change them by giving them anything less than stellar music to work with? It’s like building a two-story house on top of sand. The music is the foundation of dance, start with a rock solid foundation that goes down to bedrock!

We here at Squirrel Trench Audio take pride in delivering songs that are edited perfectly, optimized in a variety of ways to be the best they can be for competition! Here are just a few of the things we take into account when editing songs for dancers: Short but sweet intro, overall song structure and integrity, solid ending, buttery smooth & seamless edits, maximizing vocal verses so dancers can easily tell where they are in the song, while retaining bridges for maximum dynamic interest, and making sure the eq and dynamic range of the recording will translate well on all sound systems.