Bands Wanted | Recent Projects | FAQs | Recording Packages
Booking + Recording Frequently Asked Questions
1. How can I get my band booked into a recording session at Expression?
2. Why are these sessions free, and what can I expect from a free session at Expression?
3. What types of projects are you looking for? Do you take any type of project?
4. Who will be recording me?
5. How many songs can I record?
6. Beyond the rough mix provided, how can I get my project finished (mixed + mastered) once it has been recorded?
7. What format are the sessions recorded onto? Do I have a choice? Can I bring my own tape? Can I transfer it to another format?
8. What is the waiting time to get into the studio?
9. Can I book more than one session at a time?
10. What if we don’t get everything done in the time allotted?
11. What if I book a session and I have to cancel?
12. Will my band retain the rights to music recorded at Expression?
13. Will my band retain the Master recording?
14. Can I show up early for load in?
15. My band already has an engineer/producer we are working with, can we bring them along?
16. What is the difference between sessions in "Live Sound" vs. Studio sessions?
17. What can I expect in terms of set-up time? How much of the session will I actually be recording?
Answers
1. How can I get my band booked into a recording session at Expression?
Anyone interested please contact >Jafar Thorne with the following required info:
Name of Group or Artist
Lineup of Group (members + instruments)
Style of music
A brief history of the band, including performance experience/upcoming show dates/locations
What you hope to accomplish with a session here at Expression
A demo if you already have one (mail to address below)
Contact information (Name, phone, email)
Send demos to:
Jafar Thorne
Studio Manager/Artist Relations
Expression College for Digital Arts
6601 Shellmound St
Emeryville, CA 94608
Jafar Thorne
If we decide to use you, you’ll be sent a list of dates/times that sessions are scheduled at Expression. Email is our preferred method of communication. Pick a few possible dates from that list, as your first choice may be taken by the time you respond. Once a date/time has been agreed upon, we’ll schedule a pre-production meeting and studio tour here at the school. These meetings typically occur between the hours of 2:30pm and 6pm, Tues-Fri. In the event that the whole band can’t make it, a representative of the band may come provided they can speak knowledgeably on technical issues related to the band/instruments.
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2. Why are these sessions free, and what can I expect from a free session at Expression?
Expression teaches it’s students the practical, technical, and theoretical applications of Audio Engineering with hands-on, real-world type experience as the main educational tool. Without musicians to record, how could we teach them to record music? Basically you volunteer your time and talent for our students and in exchange you get free studio time. If you have absolutely no money to spend, it is possible to walk out of here with a roughly mixed, demo quality CD of the material you record. That is what we offer minimally for free. You will then have the option of obtaining the master recording (You must purchase the tape in this case. Expression will hold a reel for 1 month before re-using it.) for further overdubbing and/or mixing. Ultimately Expression makes no guarantees about the outcome of the session.
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3. What types of projects are you looking for? Do you take any type of project?
The majority of the sessions we do are for ensembles. Typically this means Bass, Drums, guitars, keys, vocals, and/or any other auxiliary instrumentation. Minimally the rhythm section (for basic tracking sessions) must include a traditional drum set (micing a drumset and dialing in the tone is a large focus of our recording program) and one other instrument (typically bass), ideally it would be at least 3 pieces (drums, bass, + guitar or keys for example). We do also have a limited number of solo artist sessions for singer-songwriters, which may also be used for completing overdubs on unfinished work (adding vocals to sequences or music beds etc). The style of music is not important, however the proficiency of the players is considered, and their attitude/vibe is of paramount importance.
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4. Who will be recording me?
A student lab group. For traditional studio sessions there will be a maximum of six students and one Instructor. The students will be doing all of the hands-on work while the Instructor leads them through the session. In our Live Sound Course there may be up to 8 students and 2 Instructors working on the production of the performance and broadcast.
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5. How many songs can I record?
This is a very subjective question. This depends on the preparedness of the band, and how well they work in the studio environment. In the studio, we recommend tackling 2 songs per 8 hours of studio time. Your performance may vary. Ultimately, each student lab group is assigned 30 minutes worth of 24 track tape for your session. In the Live Sound Course, the standard is a one hour performance.
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6. Beyond the rough mix provided, how can I get my project finished (mixed + mastered) once it has been recorded?
Once you have completed tracking for your project, you have several options:
1. We offer professional mixing services (no students involved) for material recorded here only at a rate of $45 per hour.
2. If you happen to make a strong connection with one or more of the students you work with, they may be willing to take your project on as a personal project. Expression Students have the ability to book up to 12 hours in our studios each month for personal use free of charge.
This is of course subject to student interest and schedules, and they are not allowed to receive payment for work they do here. Expression makes no arrangements to this end, so it would be up to you and the student(s) to coordinate (they must book the sessions personally) the time(s).
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7. What format are the sessions recorded onto? Do I have a choice? Can I bring my own tape? Can I transfer it to another format?
The majority of the sessions are recorded onto 24-track 2” analog tape. Analog Reels can be purchased for $180 or converted to digital files. This service carries a charge of $90 per reel and is subject to gear/personnel availability. You may bring in your own tape, however the students will generally hang on to it for up to a month to use in class. If you use our tape, we will hold it for approximately one month before re-using it. It is your responsibility to follow up if you want to obtain material from it.
In the case of our Live Sound Course and sessions in the Heptagon Studio, Digital Performer and ProTools are used respectively. Therefore if you provide an external Firewire hard drive on the day of the session, you may receive a digital copy of the master recording free of charge. We do not however store the material for more than a few days after the initial session.
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8. What is the waiting time to get into the studio?
For solo artist sessions, which book up further in advance than any other type of session, it’s typically about 3-4 months. For full band sessions, it can be as little as a week. Ex’pression operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, nearly 52 weeks a year, so many of our sessions occur between the hours of midnight and 8am. The graveyard sessions tend to fill up more slowly than the daytime sessions, so if you are able to do a graveyard shift, you may not have to wait very long at all. Ex’pression operates on a 5 week block cycle rather than a semester system, so we are looking for bands every single month of the year. Also, there are sometimes cancellations that we end up needing to fill on short notice. Staying in touch with us regularly is a good way to get info on these.
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9. Can I book more than one session at a time?
As an introduction to the program you may only book one session/"slot" (some of our "slots" consist of two 8-hour sessions). This gives you an opportunity to try us out before you make any major time commitments to us, and likewise it will help us determine whether your group is a good match for our program. Our first priority is the student’s experience, so we want the best bands we can get in terms of their dependability and suitability for our program.
Once you have completed your first session(s), if you are happy with the results and we are happy with your performance, you are welcome to come back as much as you want. All groups are reviewed by the Instructor after each session, and this info helps determine who we continue to work with. We’d rather re-use groups we know we can depend on and who are good for the students than to try and have someone new for every session. This is potentially an unlimited opportunity.
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10. What if we don’t get everything done in the time allotted?
As with mixing, you may be able to hook up with one of our students to complete tracking on your project, but we also have a limited number of sessions which can be used for overdubs on existing projects (analog only).
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11. What if I book a session and I have to cancel?
Flaky musician types need not apply. While we’d prefer you not cancel a session, we understand that sometimes situations arise that make it unavoidable. Be courteous! Please give at least 7 days notice if you need to cancel. Of course there are exceptions now and then (depends on the circumstances), but typically if you cancel with less than 7 days notice we probably won’t ask you back. With less than 7 days notice, it is extremely difficult to find a replacement, and without a band, we simply can’t teach our students what they need to know. We depend on you in order to do what we do. Did we mention flaky musician types need not apply?
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12. Will my band retain the rights to music recorded at Expression?
Expression provides tape for all sessions, however, if you would like to obtain your master recording you’ll need to arrange to have it transfered to a digital. Please refer to FAQ#7 above for more info on this.
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13. Will my band retain the Master recording?
You may purchase the 2” reel for $180 or have it converted to a Digital format for $90. Digital recordings may be obtained by providing sufficient storage media at the time of the session.
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14. Can I show up early for load in?
You may come a little early to load into the building, however you will have to wait in the front lobby for the Instructor to greet you and take you back into the studio.
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15. My band already has an engineer/producer we are working with, can we bring them along?
Outside engineers are not allowed as we already have a professional running the session. Unless you are booked into the Advanced Recording Course (see package descriptions) we do not allow producers into the sessions either. The reason for this is that producers typically have a pressuring role over the engineer, and we don’t want that to get in the way of the educational process for our students. In the Advanced Class however, the students are ready to experience that pressure so it is actually encouraged.
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16. What is the difference between sessions in "Live Sound" vs. Studio sessions?
The sessions in our Live Sound Course focus on a 1 hour live performance recording and webcast. They take place onstage in our theatre (used for KFOG Private Concerts) and are recorded using Digital Performer.
Unlike our studio sessions, no mixing of the multi-track tape takes place in these sessions. Instead, the performance is recorded & mixed live by our students to a CD during the show, as well as being videotaped and webcast live from the Expression Website. The band will receive both a DVD copy and a media file (wmv) of the webcast on a cd after the show along with the audio cd.
You are welcome to invite friends/fans (max of 30) to attend these sessions to give you more of a "show" vibe, however they must be aware that they are in a classroom and not in a club, and should behave accordingly, ie, no alcohol or drugs are allowed on the premises. Also, you must provide the Instructor a list of their names on the day of the show to be given to the security staff.
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17. What can I expect in terms of set-up time? How much of the session will I actually be recording?
For solo sessions, expect 30-45 minutes set-up time, these sessions are usually fairly simple. For full band sessions however, you can expect about 2 hours minimum, as the micing and EQing of the drumset takes quite a while. For Overdub sessions are generally the same set-up time as solo sessions. In the Live Sound course, the set-up time is approximately 2.5 hours followed by an hour or so for Soundcheck.
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