Carl Dixons Bandtraxs session Blog

CD Baby acknowledge digital was forgotten about

2010-12-17T19:39:00.000Z

Those lovely people at CD Baby have just confirmed the digital down loads of Pree's "Suddenly there's you" will be processed today. Stay tuned ....

Come on CD Baby

2010-12-16T18:22:00.000Z

> CD Baby have had Pree's 'Suddenly there's you' 45 for almost 3 weeks now, and still no news. Another email beckons....
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Detroit session sheet music/notation

2010-03-29T08:14:00.001+01:00

The wonderful David J. Van De Pitte was responsible for the arrangments of my Detroit session songs. He took my vocal/instrumental ideas from the demos I sent over prior to the session and created hand written full notation. No computers involved! After the recording session I was presented with sheet music, which I will treasure. Above is just one page of 'Suddenly there's you' and you can cleary see how intricate it is. Going back further in time, I created the chords and melody in Logic Audio, my sequencer package. Once the demo is ready to record, I record the composite output of wav/midi instruments (as I also do a little live guitar etc) into a stereo lef and right instrumental.

Vespa, scooter, and 60's soul

2009-11-13T10:14:00.008Z

I did not realise that so many scooterists supported soul, and Northern soul music. They travel all over the place to meet and listen to mod and soul material from the 1960's. I wonder if any of them would be interested in the soul cuts I did last year in Detroit:

www.youtube.com/bandtraxs

And, even better, available to purchase right here on this site. (see right hand side)

Working with legendary Motown arranger David J. Van De Pitte

2009-11-10T12:15:00.002Z

It seems like only yesterday that I used to visit as many record shops on a Saturday afternoon as I could in search of some obscure soul record from the USA that nobody else had heard. That was in 1974 and in that process I picked up albums also to discover that some companies had started to name musicians, arrangers and other faceless people who had somehow contributed to the studio session output on the rear of the LP sleeve. Over the years and into the 1980/90’s the names of certain individuals became more celebrated, as their contribution to the songs became more apparent, and rightly so. I cannot remember when I first became accustomed to reading David’s name on a record cover, or indeed via some other medium, but what I do know it was always synonymous with quality music from the Motown record label. Distant memories come to life also, as in my archives reside the names of Paul Riser, Gene Page, Hal Davis in addition to David’s. They must have been imprinted long ago as I was in awe of these people including the musicians and how they all made the music come alive for me thousands of miles away in England.

During the planning stages of my dream Detroit session and the hundreds of emails both Dennis Coffey and I exchanged, it became apparent that it may be an idea to employ an arranger to study the demo’s I had sent over and put some sparkle on the songs. I was not familiar how this was done, but Dennis Coffey, who really worked hard and helped this project work from start to finish suggested contacting David J. Van De Pitte and asking whether he would be interested in arranging the four songs, doing the charts for the musicians and leading the band in the studio. Amazingly he said ‘yes’ and I was shocked, in fact tearful. How could this happen to somebody like me? Not even an average person, from Hull, England on probably one of the most difficult ventures of his life and here, a top Motown arranger coming on board to help make my dream come true.

So, everything was organised. Dennis had contracted the musicians and David to appear at Studio A one Monday morning in March 2008 for the Carl Dixon session! My wife Michelle and I turned up early to Studio A in Dearborn Heights on a cold winter’s morning, to be followed into the car park by drummer Spider Webb and pianist Robert Jones. We embraced and laughed about what was happening like old friends. We had met previously on ‘The Soulful Tale of Two Cities’ session held at the same studio coincidentally in March 2006. Bobby Eli had invited me to attend around January 2006 and I flew out to Detroit with excitement and watched the masters at work. It was this session that made me realise that I could possibly hire Studio A too, and do something similar. Everything fell into place. However, David was not on this session and a million miles still, from mine.

The interesting part to was when I saw this small bearded gentleman waltz into the studio that Monday with a bag full of Federal Express white envelopes. I honestly thought he was a US mail delivery man wandering around looking for the studio owners to get a signature for an important delivery. I was wrong! I said to him ‘Hello, who are you?’ he replied ‘David Van De Pitte’ and I introduced myself and told him who I thought he was. We laughed, shook hands and discussed the music. It was an unbelievable encounter. He whispered something in my ear about my demos which made my day! He was complimentary and thrilled to be working on the session. Of course he knew many of the musicians who had already arrived and I remember fondly the embrace he and Uriel Jones had as they had not seen each other for some time. In the studio I was speechless when out of the Federal Express bags came hand written musical notation for every musician playing on that gig. Meticulously organised and created without the use of computer technology, something he did not believe in. He even told me he did not want an email address and handed me his CV! David was a professional and worked the musicians hard to acquire their best cumulative effort during the session. It’s like he understood that once the best was in the can he could relax knowing that he and the musicians had done their very best for the label/contractor. In just two days, we recorded the basic rhythm tracks and horn overdubs. Can you believe the rhythm tracks were recorded in less than 4 hours on the Monday! How professional is that! Some of the demos took me 6 months to do! It was a priceless experience and to quote David at the end of one of the song recordings:

“I didn’t know that there were that many notes”

And Dennis Coffey replied:

“There wasn’t when we started”

And David again:

“He just makes ‘em up as he goes along”

Go here to see and hear the studio session in full swing, and those famous words.

http://www.youtube.com/user/55Motown#p/u/3/UKuRfjNmY-E

Rest in Peace David J. Van De Pitte, I miss you already…

© Carl Dixon 2009

Listen to Bandtraxs releases here

2009-11-08T15:42:00.002Z

Listen to Bandtraxs releases on Youtube. These are samples of the 3 wonderful tracks cut last year in Detroit:

http://www.youtube.com/bandtraxs

Finally - 45's arrived in London - Spyder Turner/Pree

2009-10-25T07:33:00.010Z

Hear Spyders and Pree's tracks on the Bandtraxs Youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/user/Bandtraxs

Finally, my 45 rpm 7" records have arrived in London after a journey from 'Archers' pressing in Detroit. I got an express delivery for a basic package from UPS because they collect everyday from Archers and they just put my consignment on the truck early. Sales are slowly starting to move and I have pitched the price at £10 including delivery for retail customers for the moment. I think for this project that is a little too low because of the costings and import freight, duty and vat expenses on top of American production costs. Wholesale customers, of which there are not that many, are small independents and cannot afford to lay the money out so require SOR (sale or return) to be able to even consider a purchase. However, after my initial investment last year, I cannot afford to give credit either, no matter how much I want the songs heard. So, here comes the next part of the story...the distribution of the 45's to places they will be heard and then hopefully some of those who hear the tracks know where to buy them. Purchase details are on the right hand side.

'Soul Recession' by Double Exposure

2009-09-12T20:55:00.007+01:00

Purchase 'Soul Recession' and 'There I go falling in love again' by Chiquita Green here:

http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/doubleexposure2

Also available on iTunes!!

Go to these sites for presser and audio files!

http://www.youtube.com/phillysoultronics

http://soultronics.blogspot.com/

45 rpm vinyl test pressings arrived in London

2009-08-26T14:19:00.002+01:00

So now they need scrutinising before I place the order! Stay tuned..

Dennis Coffey talks about my session on Radio 6 Craig Charles Saturday 19th July 2009

2009-07-20T13:41:00.002+01:00

Hear Dennis Coffey talking about the project to Craig Charles Saturday 19th July 2009:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/6music/shows/funk_soul/

You will have to zoom down to about 47 minutes. 'Tell me' played earlier on the show too!

Vinyl Labels for Detroit session recordings

2009-07-20T13:33:00.002+01:00

My wife spent hours yesterday designing the 45rpm labels for two Detroit recordings. The plan is to commission 2 x 45's (Tell me/Suddenly there's you) with instrumentals on the 'B' side. They are both getting some airplay here in the UK on BBC radio 6, Craig Charles Soul & Funk Show, with Peter Young, Ian Dewhirst, Richard Felstead and even Tony Blackburn up on Hull's KCFM! There has been a couple of lovely offers to do the vinyl for me and take that worry away, but...as I intend to see this project through from the actual song writing to distribution and airplay, I would very much like to soldier on, maybe relying on these helpful people to guide me through with any difficulties I encounter. They are far more experienced than I, but again I feel obliged to continue as planned. Once done, I can maybe contact them with a view to other future projects and opportunities.

Spyder Turner 'Tell me (crying over you) presser

2009-06-27T09:23:00.004+01:00

Listen here: www.youtube.com/bandtraxs

Finally! Detroit releases x 3

2009-06-12T13:47:00.014+01:00

www.youtube.com/bandtraxs

Finally a big fanfer as I am releasing three of the Detroit songs I recorded last year in the city.

Tell me (crying over you)/Spyder Turner
Suddenly there's you/Pree
Detroit (city by the river)/Bandtraxs

The tracks were completed March 2008 and were part of my Bandtraxs project, but I had to get my head around the music business and song registration protocols that are necessary for copyright reasons and royalties of course, before I dipped my toe in the water. The releases will be digital download first via Amazon/iTunes, to see what the interest is before I commit finances to the 45 rpms I have promised and indeed the Bandtraxs project CD which I am planning for later this year or early next.

Now, the songs are registered for writing and performer royalties should I be lucky enough to glean anything from air play, and of course as a 'label' I could maybe earn something to share with the performers on the session. But, it is early days yet, so my next step is to contact some of the radio DJ's I know with a view to seeing if they are interested in the material. It's all cloak and dagger stuff because I have sent so much already and not heard a thing! Maybe it's still a big secret.

Listen to the tracks here.

Buy Bandtraxs Productions here

2009-05-27T14:03:00.002+01:00

"Don't tell your mama" by CDO

Buy from Amazon.co.uk

Buy from Amazon.com

Detroit tracks x 3 to aggregator for release

2009-05-21T12:04:00.003+01:00

Now, the following recordings are with Tunecore for the digital aggregation to Amazon.co.uk/Amazon.com and iTunes for eventual sale to the public on or before 1st July 2009, wordwide:

Detroit (city by the river)/Bandtraxs
Suddenly there's you/Pree
Tell me (crying over you)/Spyder Turner

These tracks feature the very best Detroit talent from production, arranging, musical and vocal performances in the studio, and indeed a great studio to cut the songs in, Studio A, in Dearborn Heights. I must confess, the song writing is pretty cool too! Just look at the roster of performers who have appeared on some or all the tracks. to hear snippets, go here:

http://www.youtube.com/bandtraxs

New Detroit releases

2009-05-19T10:47:00.007+01:00

I am now in the process of arranging for three of my Detroit recordings recorded in 2008 to be digitally released via Amazon.com/co.uk and iTunes. 'Tell me (crying over you)/Spyder Turner, 'Suddenly there's you'/Pree and 'Detroit (city by the river)/Bandtraxs. I am just preparing the press releases now and have included a sample of one of them here. Also here is the recording report I completed after the session to keep a record of the musicians and artists who performed on the recordings.

Spyder Turner was live on 'The Right Track Soul Show'

2009-05-19T10:37:00.001+01:00

If anybody missed the terrific interview Harry Grundy did with the legendary Spyder Turner on ‘The Right Track Soul Show’ on Sunday, don’t fear. You can go here for a web cast or even download the programme to your PC (right mouse click and ‘save target as’):
http://www.therighttrack.org.uk/latest_show.html
The programme showcases Spyders musical career and even plays material from when he was just 17 years old. The interview was fun, informative and Spyders sense of humour prevailed throughout.
In addition, Harry played the unreleased ‘Tell me (crying over you)’/Spyder Turner & ‘Detroit (city by the river)/Bandtraxs. These tracks were cut at Studio A, Dearborn Heights, Detroit in 2008 with Spyder, Pree and Gayle Butts on vocals and a wealth of musical talent from the city. These two tracks and Pree’s ‘Suddenly there’s you’ are due for digital release very soon. For trivia about the session and more details go hear:
http://bandtraxs.blogspot.com/
and my personal blog:
http://www.carlsmusic.blogspot.com/
Stay tuned…
For those interested in Harry’s’ programme each Sunday evening (UK), please check out the details below.
The Right Track Soul Show
Salford City Radio 94.4 fm
Sunday nights 8.00 pm - 10.00 pm
http://www.salfordcityradio.org/
email: righttrack@salfordcityradio.org
http://www.therighttrack.org.uk/
Studio Number: 0161 793 2944 / 2942

"Don't tell your mama" - CDO, Press Release

2009-05-03T11:01:00.004+01:00

This great new single release is now available to purchase from ITunes, Amazon.com/co.uk, Lala, Emusic etc. Any DJ's interested, let me know!

To buy from iTunes go here and search CDO 'Don't tell your mama'

To buy from Amazon.co.uk go here: buy

To buy from Amazon.com go here: buy

Sad passing of Motown/Detroit drummer Uriel Jones

2009-04-01T15:59:00.000+01:00

Yesterday was the funeral of the legendary Motown drummer Uriel Jones. This was such a shock, as he had complications earlier this year and was in hospital recovering well, or so it seemed. I was honoured to meet him on a number of occasions and indeed he performed on my Detroit session last year. I shall never forget him as one way or another he has been part of my musical quests since about 1970. When I was just 15 years old I realised something was happening in Detroit and wanted to know who the musicians were. Uriel was part of that dream and through Alan Slutskys book 'Standing in the Shadows of Motown' , I finally found out what his name was around 1992! In 2002 I travelled to Detroit with some colleagues and met him at Ann Arbour Library where he was performing with Joe Hunter, Marcus Belgrave, Fred Bryant, and Tonya Hood. I had the honour of cleaning his shoes for him as a fun gesture. In 2006 Philly producer, writer, musician Bobby Eli invited me to attend the 'Soulful Tale of two Cities' Detroit session, and again I met Uriel and all the musicians at the studio. Of course, my session in Detroit last year was a thrill to see him and the others tailor my songs in true Detroit style with the help of Dennis Coffey co producing and arrangments by David van de Pitte. My condolances go to his family and friends who have lost a gifted and talented individual that has inspired so many. He will never be out my life, that's for sure. For the Detroit News coverage fo the funeral go here.

"Don't tell your mama" by CDO released.

2009-03-31T18:06:00.002+01:00

"'CDO' perform "Don't tell your mama" which is a rhythmic piece of danceable contemporary funk, with 1970's overtones. The track was written in 2004 and this Bandtraxs production release features a slightly different mix to the original incarnation."

Purchase "Don't tell your mama in the US here.
Purchase "Don't tell your mama" in the UK here.

CDO - "Don't tell your mama" a Bandtraxs Production

2009-03-21T12:56:00.003Z

In preparation for the digital release of some Detroit recordings I did last year, I am releasing a track called "Don't tell your mama" by CDO, to test the functionality of the aggregator and digital stores. It is critical that I understand how sales will take place worldwide, in order that I can control any income or royalties that are generated. I have always admired the musicians and producers who in the past have inspired me to write and produce new material. Should I be lucky enough to generate sales and a healthy income, after expenses of course, will use the money to pay for more sessions and residuals back to those who helped me get this far in the first place. The featured artists on my Detroit session have become instrumental in the success of the material recorded in March last year. They really are talented people and deserve a fanfare for what they do and have done in the past in the music business. In fact that sentiment goes to all the session musicians, producer, studio staff etc who could be bothered to help an English man achieve a dream session in the wonderful city of Detroit.

What I have learnt in the last 12 months is that the music business model is falling to pieces and digital media taking over via the Internet. Even CD's have issues, just like records did in the past. However, I will concentrate on the digital side of things, and still hopefully press some 45's for those tracks released in the digital domain. Once "Don't tell your mama" is available to purchase I will publish a press release and forward the track to any radio stations that may be interested. Then, I will concentrate on the Detroit material, so stay tuned.

Philly Session September 2008

2008-12-23T14:38:00.003Z

The trip to Philly took place in September 2008. Three weeks in the studio and four cracking modern tracks that have that familiar Philly groove. Exquisitley crafted by legenday Philly producer, guitarist and writer Bobby Eli.

In the beginning & Detroit Session March, 2008

2008-10-22T10:53:00.000+01:00

It always seemed to be a struggle at school. I never excelled at anything, not even music. My parents persuaded me to take piano lessons around 1970, but by 1973 at just 17 years old, I was more interested in the disco culture I had discovered with a friend of mine from the Hull Grammar School. Before I even left the 6th form, we were dancing until 1am at weekends in Annabella’s in the city centre and being subtlety influenced by the dj’s record collections. And sure enough on the dance floor something happened! I kept hearing melodic cleverly written and orchestrated songs performed by amazing vocalists who had literally made me excuse myself from floor sometimes to inquire the title of the song and the singer. One of those songs was called ‘At the top of the Stairs’ by an unknown group called The Formations on MOJO records. I had not realised it charted in the UK previously, but there began the quest to find that record, purchase and cherish it forever. I wanted to know who played what instrument on it and anxious for any other interesting trivia.

A week or two later we wanted more of this music and headed for another disco called Bailey’s, also in Hull. There, one Monday evening the dj played an instrumental called ‘Ooh! Pretty Lady’ by Al Kent on Ric Tic records. That was another defining moment which would shape my inquisitiveness into American soul music from the 1960’s.

In addition around 1974 my ears were becoming customised to the Sound of Philadelphia. A slick, fresh and modern sound that utilised strings, vibes and harp all arranged differently to the 1960’s sound of Detroit. A favourite being ‘Got to get you back’ by The Sons of Robin Stone was just one of those records that filled the dance floor back then, so I just had to seek it out and get it. Then it struck me like a bolt of lightning one evening whilst on that dark wooden dance floor analysing a Four Tops record! I had to make a commitment to this music and somehow pay homage to those responsible for making it. Then the journey began to understand more about the construction of melodies and lyrics in songs. At first it was slow. No Internet or publications that would help. It took until 1990 when I purchased an 8 track sequencer and later the ‘Standing in the Shadows of Motown’ bass book by Dr. Licks. There, the bass lines from one of the world’s greatest bass guitar players were all written out which I analysed and step recorded into the synthesizer. On playback I heard Jamerson’s bass lines playing out my speakers all on their own, wow!
As the years went on, computers, the Internet and electronics became the tools I used to help me find the musicians and those responsible for the music. It helped me create demo material of the songs I wrote over the years in sequencer style. The frustrations of slow computers not coping with audio recording were prevalent in the late 1990’s. Then around 2000 everything changed. Faster PC’s, broadband and Internet forums helped me meet the likes of Dennis Coffey and Bobby Eli, two members of a web site called soulfuldetroit.com. These individuals were partly responsible for much I was aspiring to musically. They wrote, produced, and played their guitars on hundreds of recordings I danced the night away to in Hull decades earlier. They had become part of my persona, without even knowing. They held the key to much of the music from yesterday and were happy to communicate about it.

The legendary Dennis Coffey took up the mantle of the now finished Detroit sessions. We had met face to face at his book signing in Denmark Street, London, around 2002 and also again in 2003 at The Cass Café in Detroit where I plucked up courage to ask if he would be interested in playing on any of my songs should I ever get to the city to complete my dream. He cheeringly said yes, as he supped his beer from the bottle at the bar. Then, last year George Katsakis of The Royaltones fame suggested it was time for me to come to Detroit and do a session. In addition, Harry Grundy who at that time was on WFM Manchester decided to play two of my demos on air over a number of weeks. He could see the potential of the songs which gave me more of a boost to accomplish my dreams. I contacted Dennis, he said yes and would help co produce the session and would start on a plan. Not being in the business it was his experience that pulled things together with some legendary musicians form the city. We spent 10 months planning and finally on the 24th March this year the rhythm tracks were laid down at Studio A, Dearborn Heights, were the likes of Dennis Coffey, Bob Babbit, Uriel Jones, Spider Webb and Ray Monette did their genius on the humble songs I took over there. In addition some great sax solos by George Katsakis and Gil Bridges were included on two of the songs.

The vocals were going to be difficult because who would be really interested in an Englishman’s dream to come to Detroit and do this? Stepping up to the mark was also fellow forum member Spyder Turner who was persuaded to look at the project and examine the lyrics. He agreed to perform lead on two songs ‘Tell me (crying over you)’ and ‘Glory Fleeting’ and cleverly suggested the wonderful vocals of Cherokee Pree for lead on ‘Suddenly there’s you’. In addition Spyders daughter Gayle Butts performed backing vocals on the session. They did their magic and crafted some terrific vocals.
It took just three days to record all the elements for four songs from start to finish. They were mixed and mastered in the same studio and by the Friday, the Detroit dream session was in the can. Mission accomplished, or so I thought. I now have the masters of some unique soul music which has the essence of the past in it, in addition to the soul of the present. These new songs are a testament to the Detroit soul music which the world has cherished over the years. New songs crafted in Detroit without the use of synthesisers with legendary musicians and singers….a dream come true.

So, what is the future for the recordings? In total four songs were recorded. ‘Tell me (Crying over you), ‘Suddenly there’s you’, ‘Glory Fleeting’ and ‘Detroit (city by the river)’. Each has an instrumental and in addition all the isolated tracks are available, which are really interesting to listen too. I had hoped the songs would have been commissioned by somebody and recorded at their expense, but in my ignorance I did not realise the recording process and in addition the writer credits on a successful song can be lucrative. This explains why so many song writers exist and how difficult it is to get songs exposed to artists. A valuable lesson learnt, and also recognition of how music publishers can be an important part of the process. I was naïve to think I could achieve my dream without contributing financially in some way and ultimately had to raise funds personally for the project.

I am now considering options with a view to releasing the material. I feel it is important to release 45 rpm’s in the first instance. The format is still in demand and I would feel proud to have helped create recordings in 2008 that capture the spirit of this style of music on an appropriate medium. Also, I am considering MP3 download options through an aggregator. This would hopefully allow soul music fans to hear new material recorded in a traditional method just like back in the day. If that works out and a revenue stream created, I may do a CD which could include all the songs, both vocal and instrumental, the extended vocal mix on ‘Suddenly there’s you’, maybe some video from the studio session, photographs and maybe even a couple of the original demos. I would like to think the project could generate an income and I could filter residuals back to the States and even maybe consider doing more recordings. But, my initial investment was expensive so I must tread carefully. The record business is complicated and it looks like if I want people to hear the material, again I must finance the releases myself. You can hear snippets of the songs on my blog right here:

http://www.carlsmusic.blogspot.com/
And more demos on my YouTube channel here:

http://uk.youtube.com/55motown

Bandtraxs are coming soon!

2008-06-24T09:38:00.000+01:00

'Bandtraxs' is the generic name for Carl Dixon's' musical initative featuring some great musicians from Detroit and Philadelphia. This personal project has developed over the last two years and so far, four songs in each city have been recorded. The name 'Bandtraxs' is appropriate because it was always about the musicians and how they interacted in the studio to create the band tracks with the producer/arranger at the time. It was legendary producer Dennis Coffey who first mentioned on the telephone to Carl, that he must make the band tracks for the songs with a rough guide vocal, so everybody could get a feel for the song prior to recording.

Details of the 'Bandtraxs' sessions are coming soon! Great soul music with a modern twist, from the US. The rhythm sections with only real instruments! Modern recording techniques of today accompany some traditional studio procedures to record new bespoke songs from Detroit and Philadelphia.

This short Detroit video clip showcases the wealth of talent employed to create some great new soul music. The songs are brand new so do not suffer the plight of the cover version!