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news and recent projects
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2002-2004 news
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A sampling of unsolicited client quotes::

"John Reynolds has become family and is, as always a wonderful collaborator and producer - the Blue Studio is a musical heaven."

"John Reynolds, a wonderful person to collaborate with....we can't think of any better."
     Gwynne Cropsey and Steven Snyder of Zun Zun
     (featured in the soundtrack to My Suicide)

"A special thanks to our friend and mentor John Reynolds whose patience, professionalism and wisdom made this project a joyous journey."
   Hollowdog

"Thanks again for the great work you did on the mastering. I've listened to the before and after versions of our record, and I think you really improved things. You were also a great guy to work with, very detail-oriented."
     Scott McDonald, Rum And Rebellion

"Thank you for going all the way through with Pele Juju -- we really would not have made it (Pele Juju Live!) without you."
    Molly Higbie, Pele Juju

"As always, you come through"
     Lile Cruse, producer and music director, Cabrillo Stage

"Special thanks to John Reynolds for contributing on so many levels and making it fun. John is a masterful wizard behind the console, performing or arranging...I have recorded in Austin, Dallas and Seattle but have never experianced the fun, professionalism, creativity and dedication to the music that I found at Cool Blue Studio..."
     James Faretheewell (AKA Allred), singer/songwriter

"Thank you, John for all the wonderful sound...Sound added a lot to the overall production. It was wonderful listening to it all"
     Edit Villareal, playwright, faculty U.C.L.A.

"We all seemed to have grown as musicians because of our experience with you at Cool Blue. It's like our eyes and ears have been opened to allow us to truly hear our music.... That listening and awareness has made us much better musicians and a much better band, thanks. I really look forward to working with you again."
     Rich Norkunas, Hollowdog

"John Reynolds- you have the skill of a surgeon and the heart and soul of an artist."
     Julia Korena, singer/songwriter

"I love Austin and am so happy to be here making things happen and using our cd to market myself, it sounds great!."
     Christine Young of The Christine Young Band

"Thank you for making such a fine and integral contribution... I appreciate your willingness, flexibility, and always, your professionalism -- your expertise."
     Trace Ashley, Pele Juju

"I also want to thank John for his assistance with production and arrangement. His love of the art is a constant inspiration."
     Rory Koshlaychuk

"Thanks for all the great work on my C.D. You're fab! ...Thanks and thanks again, you're the greatest!"
     Ukulele Dick

"Blessings and mucho gratitude!"
     Saniel Bonder

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News and recent projects

2010:

R.A.P. is morphing from a production facility to a record label, with the
release of two more CDs, one old and one new!

Now avalilable on CD Baby, iTunes, Amazon and other popular sites:
Pay No Attention!
The B O N O B O Champions

2009:

As of July 1 2009, the Cool Blue Studio is closed. Many thanks to all of the amazing musicians and songwriters who have worked here!

The Bossa Nouveau CD Duos & Trios is now available!
Check it out here!

The Dead Beetles have completed mixing of 12 tracks including five songs from the Sending You A Postcard CD, remixed with added brass from Cliff Jetton, four previously unreleased originals, covers from The Supremes, Jeff Beck and Loony Toons (the last two recorded live).
Watch for a release date in 2010.

ZunZun

Six songs from ZunZun (R.A.P.'s dear friends and most loyal and prolific recording/production clients) are in the soundtrack to My Suicide, a very cool indie film with some big names. Other artists on the soundtrack include Radiohead, The Eels and TV On The Radio.

Of the six songs used, three were produced in 1997 in the Santa Cruz studio, and three were done in 2004, here at The Cool Blue Studio in Portland! Fingers crossed in hopes that it will find distribution soon.

in other news...

The Dead Beetles are in pre-production for our next CD.

2008:

The fifth Cool Blue Review returns to The White Eagle on Saturday, December 6, 2008.

We've just finished recording, mixing and mastering a new CD, Love Songs To The Dark Lord, for Bhagavan Das and Kali Dharma. Bhagavan (of Be Here Now fame) has recorded many CDs of Indian Kirtan music, most recently Now, produced by Mike D. of The Beastie Boys . The new CD is very organic and natural with incredible hand drum performances from Benji Wertheimer and Caton Lyles.
Look for a release on the Nutone Music label soon!

The CD release party for "Sending You A Postcard From The Dead Beetles" will be Thursday November 13 at The Fez Ballroom in Portland, OR. Opening the show will be Pale Blue Sky, DBs play in the middle, headling is Beyond Veronica, tres cool, check 'em on myspace. Doors at 8pm, DBs downbeat at 10:15, $5 at the door.

The fourth Cool Blue Review at The White Eagle with Greg Thelen, The Dead Beetles and Sketchy Ted, was again, a bunch of fun with great sets by all.

NEW CD: Sending You A Postcard From The Dead Beetles is finished and will be available soon at CD-Baby, iTunes and beyond, stand by for details!

Cool Blue Review is back at the White Eagle Saloon February 9 with Tyler Stenson and Lander, The Dead Beetles and Audio Fatigue.

2007:

The Cool Blue Review returns to McMenamins' White Eagle Saloon
on Saturday nights, beginning January 12, '08
Each review will showcase three Cool Blue Studio artists.

New bossa from Bossa Nouveau!
The first of two long awaited CDs from guitarist Jorge Zamarano's Bossa Nouveau is finished mixing and mastering! Tracking was completed for the second CD, and final edits mix tweaks and mastering are underway! Both CDs feature elegant, playful, virtuosic performances from Jorge, flautist (and whisteler!) Liberty Broilett, and bassist/flugelhorner Thomas Williams on originals and timeless Latin standards.

The new CD by James Faretheewell (AKA Allred), over a year in the making, has finished mixing and mastering. James' brilliant songwriting and vocal style is complimented by extraordinary guest musicians including Jorge Zamarano, Jeff Cooper, Jonathan Neher, and Terra Peach.

The Hollowdog CD has been released, look for them rockin' and skankin' at a juke joint near you!

Big fun August 11, sitting in with Vivid Curve at the Bite Of Oregon Festival in Portland!

The Cool Blue Review at the White Eagle on June 29 was a blast!
All of the bands played great and the place was packed.
Thanks to all who attended and participated.

Mixing a new CD for melodic Portland rock band, Audio Fatigue.

Begun tracking for the second Dead Beetles CD.

FInished mixing and mastering the Hollow Dog project, should be ready for release soon.

Tracking continues for James Allred and Hollow Dog.

Bossa Nouveau's two new CDs of Brazillian jazz are nearing completion and starting mastering.

Songwriter Greg Thelen's CD Enough Thunder has been released and is available at CD Baby.

Oher recent CD releases include Vivid Curve's Synesthesia, and The Gil Reynolds Trio.

2006:

Tracking has begun for James Allred's second Cool Blue CD.

Hollowdog will be in this fall for their new CD project.

John's song Soledad is featured in Nuestra Familia, airing in major cities nationwide this month on PBS. Broadcast dates here.

Songwriter Greg Thelen is in to mix and master ten songs for his upcoming CD.

The Dead Beetles (formerly the John Reynolds/George Turner Duo) recorded a CD of original and cover songs, just as we play them live, acoustic guitar and bass or cello and two vocals.

The Gil Reynolds Trio (no relation) is in to record a CD of Gil's original songs.
Gil is a finalist in the Portland Songwriters Assn. 2006 Road To The Bite competition and will be appearing at the Bite Of Oregon Festival in Portland on Sunday, August 13.

Lander, led by singer Tyler Stenson, came in to master their new CD Orange Chrome Sky. Check out the CD release party July 25 at the Doug Fir in Portland.

Sketchy Ted was in to master their newest CD. This Portland band plays consise pop rock with tinges of punk, ska, R&B and country. Fun stuff!

Vivid Curve has finished their new CD "Synesthesia", a very unique and exciting album, featuring talented guest artists from all over the musical map.
Listen to Vivid Curve here.

Pele Juju Live! CDs (discontinued) have been selling for over $100 used on Amazon.com! Listen to "Move" from Pele Juju Live! here.

Julia Korena is creating a buzz on GarageBand.com with the song "Baby Lie".
Best Female Vocals in Pop Rock, week of 17Apr2006
Best Programming in Pop Rock, week of 17Apr2006
Chill-Out Track in Pop Rock, week of 17Apr2006
Best Elevator Song overall, week of 17Apr2006
Best Elevator Song in Pop Rock, week of 17Apr2006
Listen to "Baby Lie" here.

Cool Blue Studio hosted it's third Portland Songwriter's Association songwriting seminar on March 21, featuring Nashville resident (Portland raised) Craig Carothers. Those attending were treated to inspiring insights into Craig's creative process and the art, craft and business of songwriting.

PSA seminar with Craig Carothers at Cool Blue Studio 3/21/06

Vivid Curve is in working on a new CD of their unique music.

On January 18th, N.A.R.A.S. sponsored a Grammy Career Day at Portland Community College for area high school students.
The event featured panel discussions and workshops on a wide variety of subjects relating to working in the music Industry and a live performance by Lifesavas. John and Rob Stroup of Eight Ball Studios led a workshop on record production.

2005:

Mastering for digeridoo based trio Vivid Curve.

In November Cool Blue Studio hosted it's second songwriter's seminar sponsored by the Portland Songwriters Association and featuring L. A. songwriter Wendy Waldman, who has written hits for Linda Ronstadt, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Randy Travis, Mellissa Manchester and many more.i

An original song composed and performed by John Reynolds (Soledad) will be featured in a documentary film Nuestra Familia (our family), produced by the Center For Invetigative Reporting in San Francisco, slated for nationwide broadcast on PBS next fall. The film also features Tres Generaciones by client Bossa Nouveau.

Zun Zun is once again a finalist in a major songwriting competition.
Their song Outside placed in the VH1 Song Of The Year contest,
with judges including Norah Jones!
Go to the Audio Samples page to listen to Outside.

The Julia Korena CD is complete!
CDs available here.

Mastering for Salinas punk/roots/folk trio Rum and Rebellion.
CDs available here.

Recording the West Linn High School Jazz Band under the direction of drummer/teacher Jeff Cumpston.

Mastering for Portland songwriter Russell Stafford.
CDs available here.

Mastering for Santa Cruz blues rockers The Koz, featuring Rory Koshlaychuk.
CDs available here.

Recording continues with jazz saxaphonist Noah Peterson and producer Jeffrey Dawkins, recording some tasty duos and trios for upcoming CD release.

Recording and arranging new music for cable TV show Upland Days With Dash and Dez.

The March 19 PSA Songwriters Clinic with hit writer Steve Seskin was a huge success with 22 songwriters in attendance. Topics covered lyrics, melody, song structure and music business, and Steve's passion and dedication to the art and craft of writing was inspiring to all.

Singer/songwriter James Allred recorded eleven songs for his new CD.
John co-produced with James, and played bass, keyboards and recorder in addition to mixing and mastering.
CDs available here.

Scott Fisher's self titled second CD was released, featuring Chemicals and For Today, recorded here. The first single, Nothing, is being added to comercial radio playlists around the U.S.A..
CDs available here.

Long time friends and clients Zun Zun are finalists (one of six out of more than a thousand entries) in the Independent Musicians World Series (sponsored by Billboard Magazine and Discmakers), with Foggy Bossanova, a song from their second CD Sea, Land and Sky.
Their third CD Beachcomber, recorded here last summer was recently released. CDs available here.

2005 marks the fifteenth anniversary of Reynolds Audio Production!
During this time, John has produced, engineered, mastered or performed on hundreds of recording projects, and engineered or performed for over a thousand live events, in addition to consulting with numerous pro audio manufacturers, artists and venues.

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studio upgrades

2008
Just one more mic, honest...picked up a Sennheiser E609.

2007
A pair of Cascade Fathead ribbon mics was added to the cool blue mic cabinet.

The Carvin XV112 guitar amp got a good tune up and all new tubes.

The Line 6 Pod 2.0 guitar amp modeler was upgraded to a PodXT Live floorboard with USB interface and modeled stomp box effects.

Behringer Multicom four channel compressor/gate and EX800 effects were added to the rehearsal PA system.

2006
The Radial Engineering X-Amp re-amping interface allows processing of recorded tracks or other line level sources through two guitar amps and/or stomp box effects at once.

The Mackie d8b console has been upgraded with the addition of the Saturated Fat plug in from Acuma Labs, providing distortion and cabinet modeling effects with full automation control within the console. The console also benefits from a new 19" LCD monitor.

Major hardware and software upgrades to the Pentium 4 computer have resulted in an even more powerful and flexible workstation.
New features include:
Dual 17" monitors
Over 600 GB of hard drive space accessable
RAM upgraded to 1.5 GB
Lynx L22 audio interface expanded to allow sixteen channels of input and output via ADAT lightpipe.
Steinberg software upgrades:
Cubase SX 3.1
WaveLab 6.0
The Grand 2.1
Fxpansion BFD drum software

2005
Mackie recording software Trackion 2 was recently installed, along with a powerful group of plug-in instruments and processors.

Client and friend James Allred donated a fine Sennheiser MD421 microphone to the Cool Blue Studio.
THANK YOU, JAMES!!!

2004
Garritan Personal Orchestra soft synth was installed, offering detailed emulation of orchestral instruments and ensembles.

The AKG C414EB mic was recently refurbished by AKG in Nashville, TN with a new C12 capsule and new switches.

2003
Cubase SX 2.01, the most recent version of this powerful DAW software.

A new Sony DVD+/-RW external USB drive allows fast and cost effective backup and archive.

To counter the summer heat wave, a 24k BTU air conditioning system was recently installed, assuring a comfortable creative environment, year round.

Complimenting the Steinberg The Grand virtual piano software, is the Native Instruments B4 virtual Hammond B3 organ, with Leslie speaker as well as Vox, Farfisa and harmonium emulations.
Like the piano, the B3 software sounds fantastic, and gives unprecedented control over the lush classic organ sounds.

izotope Ozone, powerful high resolution mastering software

Diamond Cut DC5, audio restoration and noise reduction software developed for the restoration of Edison's earliest recordings. This amazing software can improve the clarity of less than perfect recordings: remove pops, clicks, hum, and broadband noise for musical or forensic applications.
Also added was the new Bias SoundSoap plugin, which provides broadband noise, hum and rumble reduction.

Primera Bravo disc publisher, capable of making 25 CD copies at once with full color on disc printing!

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