Fox Blog

Personal Blog of Musician and Producer Adam C Fox

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Hi All..

Been a while since I’ve done a Blog entry and I’ll share with you why. It’s been very busy around here, from working on music to logistics. I’ve begun a Kickstarter project in an attempt to get some additional funding to make things a bit easier to get done the right way. I have a huge group of great people that will be involved in this new album, and I’d really like to give this project its’ due. With players like Eric Sands, Matt King, Mike Martin and Rob Balducci being part of this thing, I wanna come correct. I have my Nephew, Doug Alcantara, Drummer for the San Diego band, Terra Firma, standing by to hop into Blitz Recording Studios, with my good friend and awesome Producer and Engineer, Richard “Blitz” Livoni and record all the drums for the whole album and bonus tracks and get us that next phase forward.

That’s why I started the Kickstarter project. I’ve been doing some video blogs to explain the process, and where the kickstarter funding will be going, and I’ve attached the most recent episode below to help you get a feel for how these projects get done.

So as you can see, there’s a lot that goes into it.

We only have 20 days left of this Kickstarter Project to raise the sponsorship levels and hit my goal to get this thing moving along. This is a project that is truly a coast to coast affair with participation from California to New York and New Jersey and all points in between. It will require a lot of coordination and the ability to take care of those people that are being so generous with their art, creative souls and time. I’d really like to dive into this and spend the Fall and Winter focusing on making this album and bringing a great guitar album with lots of musical diversity and flavor to all of you.

I would love to ask you to stop on by the Kickstarter page for my project by clicking the image here below, check out the introduction video which features one of the new tunes I’m working on, find a sponsorship package which is basically preordering the album with any number of goodies attached at different levels and jump on board. I thank you all in advance for your support and it is my sincere hope that I can hit my goal and share these awesome sponsorship experience packages with all of you!

Thanks again all,

Adam

Hi Folks!

I hope all of you have been having a great Summer and are looking toward the Fall.. I want to apologize for not blogging for a while, but a few personal things came in to the picture that desperately needed handling. I really appreciate all the support offered from all of you.

Now it’s time to get back to work! I love the Fall.. and I assure you I’ve been writing new material the whole time and working on some other production projects, so the studio has not been sitting idle . .

I’ve been working on Robert’s solo material, we’ve been doing that pretty much every weekend, and it’s been a great process. We have several tunes already finished, and a couple have already made the radio here in Southern Oregon. I have also released a single off the new album, and it’s already made the air here as well to some great feedback I’ve received, always a good thing.

So now that the Fall is here, and things have quieted down a bit on the personal front, I can get back to work on the new Album. I’m looking at perhaps doing a kickstarter project to help with production costs and manufacturing costs, in the event that I don’t go the label route, but that decision has to be made yet, before I put one up. I’ll certainly keep you all posted as that develops.

Today’s blog is a short one, but I wanted to get back to in proper, and this will also include more activity on my Twitter Feed HERE and Facebook Page HERE.

Thanks much folks.. look ahead for some more video clips for behind the scenes footage of the recording, and me just rambling..

Till Next Time,

Bye For Now!

Hi All! Long time no chat and for that I apologize. I’ve been tied up with all kinds of behind the scenes kinds of things as they relate to the recording of the new album. I’m having a great time working on it, and I feel the awesome freedom of the creative process. It’s truly an amazing part of my life that I hope never ends.

I’ve started to gather video clips that I’ve just been shooting on my iPhone 4S Gorilla Style. Thoughts about the album and some sneak peeks of the making of the album. I’ll be sharing some great stuff and hoping that you all enjoy it.

To the news and the progress on the album, I have 3 tunes completed, Portend, Fratricide and Akhenaten. I’m now starting on the next batch, beginning with Vimana. In the spirit of the new channel and the Vlog, I’ll put the first couple segments beneath here and then a special surprise.

And the next:

So you’re getting a good idea of the project thus far. Here’s the first of the sneak peeks into the studio that isn’t published publicly and will only be found here for your enjoyment

There it is! You’ve been caught up to date, and I promise not to lag so much in the future. Things will get better when I get my new MacBook, which will be coming shortly thanks to Michael Longfellow and Blue Wolf Photography, a very good friend of mine who’s throwing me his MacBook Pro since he just got a brand spanking new one, so I get it on long term loan, and I’ll definitely put it to good use. Thanks again Mikey!

Thanks for stopping by, tell a friend and keep coming back for more. I’ll be trying to post something once a week, and as I get deeper into the album, I’ll have some great segments to share.

Hope you enjoyed the first few episodes of the Vlog and I’ll make sure to stay on top of it from now on.

Bye for Now!

Adam

Hi Folks..

Well there’s been a lot going on in the studio and behind the scenes lately. I’m sorry that it’s been so long since my last blog, but I’ve been working extra hard in the studio, and here’s a breakdown of the progress of the new record:

Currently working on about 6 tunes. I am very happy to say that I’ve finally finished the tracking and administrative stuff on the first track, “Fratricide’. Interesting how this thing came around. I have been working through Wept, Akhenaten and Portend and pretty much felt I had my plate full. One evening while tuning up and getting warmed up to start laying some tracks.. I started playing this chord progression that I’d had ringing around in the back of my head for quite some time now. I’ve been experimenting with a lot of different amps lately with the addition of the Eleven Rack to my studio. It’s like having a room full of the best, most sought after amps in history and a whole selection of the coolest classic and modern effects.

I really am surprised every time I fire that thing up and play it just how good it sounds. I really worried before I bought it, because I’ve heard this song and dance before so many times in my life; Oh, yeah.. this is one box with all the best sounding amp modeling, etc. Never found one that was worth anything, but all the video’s I’d seen with Sean Halley, their product specialist, and you tube comparisons by “VaiSatriucchi”, (look him up on you tube.. he’s got some great vids) and others, and it really did look like it delivered what it said it did.

I took a chance, I figured the worst it would be is a marginal sounding box, but still having a full protools interface, I couldn’t lose. I called my friend who manages a Guitar Center and someone I’ve been buying gear from for over 13 years, and had him send me a new Eleven Rack bundle with Pro Tools and the Expansion Pack, the Protools Virtual Instruments Kit, a new Axiom 61 Keyboard and all the cables I’d need. It was the best decision of my life. It is far and away, the best piece of gear I’ve ever purchased in my life, and those that know me, know I’ve bought a ton of gear in my life.

Sorry about the detour, so I’m playing the Eleven Rack one night in the studio and I dial up this great Super Reverb with Vibrato, and start playing this chord progression I was talking about, and the whole thing just exploded in my head. I heard the whole arrangement come together in an instant, so I started a new session and within the first few hours I had it mapped out. This tune is such a great refreshing piece of music. I really am happy with how it all came together.

With that in the works, and having the other tunes closer to completion, I’ve been putting in some late nights in the studio in addition to the days. I can almost see the light at the end of the tunnel with this first few tunes, and that’s a great milestone for me personally to know that I’m right smack dab in the thick of it, instead of still trying to get started.

I’ve taken some focus away from the other ancillary projects I had on my plate, like the remixing and remastering of Songs in the Key of 7, I’ll get back to that later, but I have some other top secret stuff that I can’t yet share that has taken more of a front seat.

Well, I will keep this one short for you all, I’m on my way back into the studio for the evening session, but thanks again so much for stopping by and reading the blog. Can’t wait to fill you in more folks, and as soon as I can, then I will!

Take care of each other folks,

Till next time,

Bye for now!

Adam

Hi Folks!

Well today I’d love to share with you some projects of the last couple weeks. I’ve been busy putting the final touches on the new website, focusing on all the little detail things that I wanted to fix from the soft launch and spending some time on the forums, tidying up some administration and layout coding.

So.. what does this have to do with the topic at hand? Well a lot actually. See.. I’ve been busy with all kinds of administrative stuff.. that I haven’t had a lot of time for working on my own music. Sometimes it gets like that when you run your own business and are responsible for a family, house payments, bills, etc.. We all have those times where the daily stuff we need to do becomes a routine and it’s something that keeps us from what we really love.. merely by survival.

Luckily, I’ve had some creative projects to do that help keep me working in Protools and creative, for that I am truly grateful. I’ve been working on a large mixing project for the local band, Takilma. Robert became their keyboard player a few years ago when he moved up here from San Diego, and they have a pretty busy schedule for gigs, they do a lot of West Coast touring and have a couple albums under their belt. They came to me, because they want to take their game to the next level. They’ve been working on a new album, and brought me one of the tracks, a tune called, “Ragin for Our Lives” and wanted to see what I could do with it and if it would fundamentally take them to the next level.

I dug in and started with a ground up mix, put about 10 hours into it and got it to a good point that demonstrated just that, a fundamental change in their sound for the better. I also have been producing another young artist, Tyler Alford. He’s a great guy and reminds me a lot of myself at his age, and he has that enthusiasm and drive that a Producer LOVES to have walk into the studio. We’ve been working on some demo material for him, as he has some upcoming changes in his life that will be shifting him toward music full time.

I mention these, because these kinds of projects help to keep me motivated to work on my own stuff when I have time to do so. I spent the entire day on Saturday working with Robert on some of his music, and that’s a great thing, because he and I have been songwriting partners since early 96’ and working with him has and continues to be a joy for me.

Doing other projects while we work in this production field can be a double edged sword. I chose to see it as a positive thing, and I suggest that if you feel yourself bogged down by reading a seemingly endless pile of copy, or cranking through cookie cutter commercial spots all week, just take a moment to realize that you could be doing something you hate, and still not having time to get to your own work. At least you have all the tools that not only make a living for you, but feed your passion too. You’ll find the time.. you just have to make it.. that’s the discipline..  

Till next time, Bye for now..

Adam

Hi All,

I just wanted to take a moment to say thanks for dropping by and to introduce you to the new blog I’ll be dedicating to all things musical and music business related. Here I’ll share pics and videos, stories, experiences, etc. that have to do with the musical side of what I do.

I’m very exited to have had a new direction open itself up and I’m happy to share that with all of you. I’ll do my best to stay on top of this and make it a regular thing.

I’ve been putting a lot of time and effort into the new album, “Back To Myself” and I’m really liking how everything’s turning out. The lineup is really exiting to me. We’ll start off with my Nephew, Doug Alcantara of the band “Terra Firma” and “Today We Live” on drums. He’s an amazing drummer full of passion and energy. I know that the beat is going to be solid for sure.

Next, on Bass will be my good friend, Eric Sands. Eric is the Bass player and co-founder of the Prog Rock band “Man On Fire” who had an amazing year with the release of their latest album “Chysalis” which has been getting amazing reviews. Eric is a world class Bass and Guitar Player, and will be bringing a variety of Fretted AND Fretless Bass to the album. Eric and I were acquainted during the Generation Ibanez project “Across The Miles” back in the late 90’s.

We’ll also have some great guest appearances on the album. To date, I can say that Mike Martin of Fozzy and Stuck Mojo Fame, who is now taking his new band, “Agent Cooper” on a European Tour as main support for Tony MacAlpine will be making some guest appearances and I can’t wait to collaborate with Mike. He’s a great guy and gentle soul while being a monster World Class Guitar Player.

Also, my good friend Matt King, a Monster Guitar player and awesome guy will also be making some guest appearances. He is currently in the studio with his band, “Earthman” working on their follow up to last year’s awesome release “Remember”, and I’ve been fortunate to have some sneak peeks of the new material and let me tell you.. These guys are an amazingly tasty and talented band full of great songwriting and awesome performances. I’m really looking forward to collaborating with Matt on this one.

I’m also happy to be working on the remixes of past Albums. I’m deep in the midst of the remixes for “Songs in the Key of 7” as I prepare to rerelease it along with other past projects. I’ve been building a secure ordering area of the new site to make them all available to all who wish them.

I’ll keep this one short, and just say again Thank You all for stopping by. I hope that you enjoy the new site and all its’ various features. Tell your friends to stop on by, chime in and enjoy!

Till Next Time Kiddos!

Adam