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cavemanproductions2004

______________Saturday June 26th 2004 - Beach House

Hi there - welcome back. Spent the week mixing the stereo mixes of the 3hour long Dream Theater show from the Budokan in Tokyo for their forthcoming DVD, and it's a real ball-breaker to do. It's so complicated and technical, and a real challenge. Mike Portnoy swapping from one drum kit to another all over the place, Jordan and Petrucci firing machine-gun riffs around in harmony with John Myung holding down the foundation = so you have to be concentrating non-stop. * Took the weekend off ( I had planned to work through 'til we were finished, but my assistant is fried!), and am just waking in the quiet, foggy early morning of the Hamptons. Next week, I plan to finish up the Dream Theater stereo and surround mixes, as well as mix a track for the sensational "new" English group, The Darkness, which I'm really looking forward to! What a way to spend your birthday - well, I'll get a group of friends together in the next coupla weeks, and toss back a few in sympathy. July has a few surprises in store, but you'll just have to wait 'n see. * Had a fun encounter at Fred's, an Upper West Side bar Thursday night, where my bud Pat Thrall and I bumped into Divinyls singer Chrissie Amphlett and her uber-musician hubby Charlie Drayton, and we gabbed into the wee hours of the morning - and I certainly had a great time reflecting on music history and the whole Australian scene. We recorded a single for a Melrose Place soundtrack exactly ten years ago in Nashville, a song called "I'm Jealous", and the weird thing is, is that that song is the thing that turned Pat 'n his wife Zoe onto my work, as they referenced that vocal sound for years. I finally met them while producing Aerosmith at Avatar Studios in 1997, when Zoe was managing the place. So, the stories begin.................................... Other than that, it was a quietish week. EnormoGothBoyMan stayed out at the beach - he's not into camp at all, and I miss him when we're apart. * Howie Weinberg mastered John Petrucci's solo album, so that's all ready to go, and I'm off to ride my bike!

'Til next time ... peace!

KevTheCave

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______________Saturday June 19th 2004 - Beach House

2.30am. Finished mixing John Petrucci's solo album today. He is massively psyched! It's called "Suspended Animation", is 64 minutes long, has no keyboards or vocals on it, and it rocks pretty hard. At times, it throws up Steve Morse, Gary Moore and Jeff Beck stylings and he really shreds on it! Next week, I begin mixing a new Dream Theater DVD/CD project from their recent gig at the Budokan in Japan, so that should be fun - with budget constraints and the bands touring schedule we've got just over a week to mix the 3 hour plus show in both stereo and 5.1 surround sound. Something I think you DT fans have been wanting for awhile! * 16 year old EnormoGothBoy returned from his trip t o London, quite dismayed at his friends, who've all apparently become big dope fiends, which didn't thrill him. He took in the opening reformed New York Dolls gig there, and was pretty funny describing the whole thing! And now, exhausted, it's time to turn in, with the warm ocean breeze wafting through my open door!

Goodnight.

______________Wednesday June 16th 2004 - New York

beedle-dee weedle dee, chunk-a-chunk!!! Been mixing the debut solo release for John Petrucci (he being the master guitar whiz in heavy rock outfit, Dream Theater) all week, and if I'd been paid by the note, I would be a man of extraordinary wealth - there are that many notes! But it is a very exciting album, very heavy and very melodic, and should satisfy anyone who appreciates stunning and heavy guitar work. 'Twas stifling hot in the Big Apple this week, and I'm afraid I need to be there for another month at least to finish up various projects - which sucks in that that's half of the summer, and I really want to hang with my son - actually, Fuck it! i am going to put some projects off, and if they can't wait, that's too bad. Mostly they're just paying peanuts now, anyway! As I've rented out my fabby Trump apartment, which I hated living in (like the brat I am!), I have to stay in a hotel, and for $200/night in New York, I've got little more than a "crack closet" to while away the hot nights on my own - but being a little oiled helps the sandman with his nocturnal pursuits! Tonight - I think a little sake with my bud Zoe might be in order. I am really tired of being in this business - I love the music, but the business really sucks!!!! And that is why ..... I am pissed off today!

______________Monday June 14th 2004 - New York

Hi! Heading into the city today to mix some new John Petrucci solo material, and am really looking forward to it. Might head out to London Friday to see the New York Dolls (and special guests), but just for the evening! Been awesome at the beach this past week, built a "rock room" downstairs - with a little stage and dance floor - and decorated it with some of my gold and platinum awards (that usually live in boxes in my garage) - so that was fun to do. And that's it really - F1 was exciting yesterday and I look forward to the Indy race next weekend (which it doesn't look like I'm going to be able to get to - sorry Rick!!)

KevTheCave

______________Sunday June 6th2004 - The beach! 60th Anniversary of D-Day

Arrived back from London last night and drove straight out to the beach house. EnormoGothBoy and gorgeous Taryn moved us out of Manhattan for the summer - so we'll be based here 'til school starts in September. I do have some albums and DVD's to do in the city, but I'll just stay in a hotel somewhere and head out to the beach when it's not too late. It's worth the two hour drive to wake with waves crashing outside the window. I'm going to get up and perpare my boy's new drum kit before he wakes on his 16th birthday - it was so great to see them again after 6 weeks! The Page & Plant DVD/CD set is complete, although I have no idea when it'll be released - i imagine before Thanksgiving, but ... that's not my department. I also mixed an EP for The Black Country Bandits - a new English band featuring Robert's son, Logan. And he can sing, as well as being a thoroughly nice lad, as they all are. Influenced by Iggy Pop and bands like Kings Of Leon (I'd say), I have high hopes for them. It's just that you don't find a partner and genius creative force like Jimmy Page to collaborate with everyday - and that's the difference between Zep and ALL the rest!

Here's to all the veterans, cheers! We remember.

KevTheCave

______________Monday May 31st 2004 - London

It's a beautiful day here in London - the start to the summer, and it's 9am, and I'm in the damn studio already! I'm getting very depressed here - yesterday I was in the studio for 14 hours, finishing off both the stereo and surround DVD audio, and new CD audio for the Page/Plant "Unledded" No Quarter - whatever the hell it's going to be called - and I think it's going to be great! One time Black Crowes drummer, Steve Gorman popped in and had a listen, and thought it sounded amazing, then we went for a beer and waxed philosophical and the rise and the fall of the brothers Robinson - and it's always interesting to hear stories about onself that have been distorted by another's view to write history. I don't want to complain because I do love my work, but I find it so hard to be away from my son for weeks on end without companionship, and the workload has been unexpectedly overwhelming. The tapes were in a real mess - nothing marked or labelled, and nothing to sync the audio to already edited video, so it's been very cerebral on both left and right sides of the brain, as I weave been creativity and mathematical calculations to get audio running at a different speeds to lock to the picture. But I'm now finished, and going to do some rough mixes of Robert's solo stuff ..... who needs a break anyway? I'm ready for a mojito in Manhattan! Enough fucking London for me! I have to give a big hoorah to Drew, my second engineer on this project, who also worked with me on the Led Zeppelin DVD, How the West Was Won and the Iron Maiden "Dance Of Death" album (amongst others) - who has worked tirlessly and does in fact have a life and girlfriend, which I've kept him away from! So thanks mate - let's get another beer and "mystery meat" pie at the Fitzrovia! I think I'm just tired today - probably need a big, long bike ride; a swim in the ocean, a nice bottle of Bordeaux from my cellar at the beach - and a shag, although that may prove a little more difficult to come by! :) Oh the glamour of the recording industry! OK - back to the grindstone! Peace ...

KevTheCave

______________Saturday May 29th2004 - London

Holed up in Whitfield Street Studios again, and just finishing the last of the surround sound mixes up today. No peace for the wicked apparently, and I've been so busy, it's really catching up with me. Next week I'm to mix two things for Robert's solo project, then mastering of all 38 songs for the Page/Plant thingy Tuesday and Wednesday - then Thursday and Friday I will be mixing Robert's son, Logan's, bands debut EP or album - not sure how many tracks at this point - and then home on Saturday, and I can't wait now! I'll be home just in time for Josh's 16th birthday, and I've got him a set of electronic drums (I'm not stupid!) and I hope he's thrilled with them.

KevTheCave

______________Wednesday May 26th2004 - London

Greetings - I am sorry it has taken so long to update the diary. I am currently in London, and am indeed working on an updated and expanded version of the Page/Plant - No Quarter - Unledded DVD, with brand new stereo mixes and 5.1 surround sound mixes, and a couple of new performances. It is an altogether different experience now, and some of the performances, with a decent mix, are breathtaking. I think the version of "Since I've Been Loving You", with the London Metropolitan Orchestra behind them, is stunning. Jimmy is really digging in, and both he and Robert are totally going for it. It has been wonderful to be around Jimmy again (after the DVD and How The West Was Won), who is always a joy in the studio and really loves the musicintensely; and Robert has been fun - totally 180 degrees from Jimmy's persona - equally devoted to the music but a barrel of laughs, full of lurid stories of his sexual conquests, tales of the Wolverhampton Wolves and at odds with the price of a pint of beer in a London pub! It has been really busy - I haven't had a single day off in London, although I did take two days off to go to Barcelona for the Formula 1 Grand Prix - managed to watch from in the Paddock Club above the pits, but the race was really boring. Last weekend, I took four days off and went to Monaco, for the F1 race there, with my friends from German TV channel Premiere and Martijn from Necker Island, and that was a total blast = and the race was amazing! We watched from a balcony overlooking the track, and the result was very exciting. The Leedle Prince/EnormoGothBoy turns 16 on June 6th, so I willl definitely be home by then - whether I'm finished or not! Actually, the work is hard and time consuming, but the playback kills me - it takes hours to playback everything, for each individual involved, and I would have been well finished by now, but that's part of the process, I suppose! Plus, I need a swim in the ocean!

KevTheCave

cavemanproductions2004