Join me as I open for Johnny Cash's Granddaughter, Chelsea Crowell next Friday at Musica in Akron!

As if her lineage weren't intriguing enough, Ms. Crowell's 2011 album, CRYSTAL CITY made NO DEPRESSION'S Top 10!!

Get your discount advance tickets for $9.99 HERE!

Head engineer Adam Boose @ http://caulifloweraudio.com walks us through his gear and workflow for mastering a digital/vinyl dual release.

This week we watch über-cellist Tara Hanish (http://tarahanish.com/) works her magic on "Who You Say" with mix-master Jake Fader @ Elevation Studios in Cleveland, OH (http://www.elevationrecordingstudio.com/).

Four years ago today, I released my debut album Dog Days. With the new album nearing completion (final mix session this Sunday), I thought I'd offer up a fancy--and, for one week, FREE--edition of my first one!

Tracklist:

1. Begin
2. Secondhand
3. Half-light
4. Start Anew
5. Deja Vu
6. If You Can
7. Coming To
8. Let Go
9. Unspoken
10. In Dreams
11. You and I

...and a 14-Page PDF featuring reviews, write-ups and Q&A about the making of the album!

In between takes at Elevation Studios in Cleveland, OH, cellist Tara Hanish (http://tarahanish.com/) talks us through the various approaches she used in the song "Wiseblood"--including the more modern and unconventional chopping and ponticello techniques.

Tara and I employ the iPhone's Voice Memo to get an idea what two cello parts might sound like together before heading back in to the studio.

Before heading back into the studio for the final sessions, I take a stab at recording some foot-stomps for "Wiseblood" in my apartment. The more successful approach owes more to filmmaking (Foley artists) than typical music production techniques.

Thanks to the unbelievably generous support of 78 "Fantastic Fuelers," we were able to raise $3,230 through the Rockethub site. Add to that the off-line contributions of a handful of individuals, as well as the hundreds of concert-goers who attended the fundraising shows, and we were able to gross over $4,300!

Only 5 days left to help Light The Dark... Get exclusive, limited edition CD/Vinyl/DVD content (and much, much more), but only through January 31st. Go to http://rkthb.co/4469.

Starting TODAY, contributions of $75 or more will be rewarded with A signed copy of the LP--including a complimentary CD version; an invite to a “Secret Album Release Show” wherein I’ll play the whole record in sequence; a DVD compilation of all 40+ behind-the-scenes Flip Video Production “Vlogs” chronicling the making of the album--including a few that didn’t appear online; all of my previous CDs; a digital copy of the record a month before it’s released--complete with CD-sized album art and liner notes; and, the exclusive “I Helped David Release His Record” button--all stuffed into a 15x15 davidullman.net "Green Boot" canvas bag! Get yours @ http://rkthb.co/4469

See the FULL PERFORMANCE of this brand new tune when you "Fuel" my new record at any level @ http://rkthb.co/4469

If you're the first to contribute to the "Release David Ullman's New Record" campaign (http://rkthb.co/4469) @ The $150 Fueler Level, you'll receive this custom Green Mahalo Ukulele!

Get a one-of-a-kind customized "Green-Boot" Ukulele! This forest-green, maple-bodied soprano ukulele comes with a matching gig bag and 4-chord chart. I'll sign it if you like or send it as is if you "fuel" my new record @ http://rkthb.co/4469

The person to correctly identify the highest number of LPs (by both title and artist) surrounding me in the project pitch video @ http://rkthb.co/4469 will be awarded a $25 fueler reward package. Use the picture above for a leg-up on the competition, and post your best guesses in the "Recent Conversations" section of http://rkthb.co/4469. 

We get Brian Yost out of his NYC apartment and into the RCR studio to rock the drums for "The Fall." 

I had such a good time at the Light The Dark album fundraiser in Akron on the 23rd, I'm doing a Cleveland edition at The Beachland!

Here's how they're describing the evening:

"Akron punks the Nimrods didn’t pack it; they instead found a new way to cause trouble with their latest band, the Giggitys. Switching gears, we’ll also have the dark and desolate folk of David Ullman, along with Cleveland’s own one-woman band sensation, the cheerful and fun Miss Firecracker. If this isn’t a diverse bill, what is? This show is curating work of bartender/music lover Terry Durst, so come give him some love."

Get Your Tickets NOW @ http://www.ticketweb.com/t3/sale/SaleEventDetail?dispatch=loadSelectionData&eventId=4183505

Sneak peek at The All-Ullman Band's Mini-U2 Set. See a full performance of U2's "Where The Streets Have No Name" when you help out at http://rkthb.co/4469 - Kindly captured on 12.23.2011 by Eileen Matias at Musica in Akron, OH. Vocals: David Ullman, "Edge" Guitar: Brian Ullman, Keyboard/Guitar: Jim Ullman, Drums: Jack Ullman, Bass: (Honorary Ullman) Mike Thomas

My brother Brian shows us around his home recording setup, where he laid down his guitar tracks for "The Fall" and "Fear Followed."

Free sneak peek at the "Fueler-Only" Blooper Reel. See the full video (with even more Walken!) NOW when you help out at http://rkthb.co/4469

http://rkthb.co/4469 - The Founding members of my "GreenBoot Brigade" Street Team, Monica, Rae Anne and April, give you an inside look at the surprisingly involved process of creating the "I Helped David Release His New Record" buttons and the manual mail merge for the new album fundraising show fliers and Rockethub Campaign letters.

http://rkthb.co/4469 - We interrupt our regularly-scheduled "vloggage" to bring you this very important message!

Greetings!

David here. I'm posting this long, letter-like entry to update you about the new record. I’ve been working hard all year, and I'm really excited to share it.

Unfortunately, I’ve spent and borrowed all of the money I can to get it to this point, and now I don’t have enough left to finish the album and give it a proper release.

This is where YOU come in. I need your help to release this record!

Here’s how you can contribute: Visit the project page @ http://rkthb.co/4469, check out the “Rewards” section on the right, and click on the “Fueler” option that works best for you.

You’ll notice the more you give, the more cool stuff you get, but it’s worth noting that contributing at any level will get you access to “Fueler Only” content such as previously unseen behind-the-scenes videos, early mixes and more! Something new will be posted each week.

My new album, entitled LIGHT THE DARK, includes the best, most raw and personal songs I’ve ever written, and for reasons I can’t even fully understand (let alone articulate), it’s awfully important to me to share them.

I pour too much of myself into my music for it to exist only as ones and zeros (ie: “digitally”), and even though my “day job” keeps a roof over my head and my creditors at bay, there’s not enough money left over after all of that to release this music the way you deserve to experience it.

You deserve much more than an MP3. You deserve a record that you can hold in your hands, place on the turntable and flip over when you want more. You deserve an album you can interact with--one you can touch, smell and display. With a lyric sheet, liner notes and artwork bigger than your whole head!

**Don’t fret if you don’t have a record player. Each album will have a CD version tucked into the sleeve.**

If you stop and think about it, we carry on life-long relationships with the albums we love. They mean different things to us at different times, and they mark periods of our lives in ways that nothing else can.

By contributing to my Rockethub campaign, you’ll be helping me make my mark by enabling me to get my record mixed, mastered, manufactured (and possibly) promoted--all of which I could not do without you.

Thank you kindly for watching and reading. Please comment and/or ask ANY questions you may have in the “Recent Conversations” section over @ http://rkthb.co/4469. You can also e-mail me directly at dju@davidullman.net.

What are you WAITING for?!

Go to http://rkthb.co/4469, pick a reward, and come along for the ride!

YOUR Fan,
David

PS: Please share this project with anyone you think would be into it!

Cauliflower Audio head-engineer Adam Boose takes a few minutes to talk with us about the process of mastering music for both vinyl and digital releases. Check out his site @ http://caulifloweraudio.com.

Vince Slusarz takes us on a tour of his bustling downtown Cleveland vinyl manufacturing plant and answers a few questions along the way. **NOTE: The folks at Gotta Groove are so busy, there were 5 presses running while the video was taken. Thus, it's a bit noisy!**

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In this 8-minute interview, graciously given at the end of a Three-Day-Mixing-Marathon, Elevation Studios Engineer Jake Fader walks us through the workflow he utilized on my project, discusses the unique challenges presented by the time constraints and explains how he bullied the air molecules into playing nice together in the frequency spectrum.