Re-Release: Tear It Down

The Rockwells Tear It Down EP now available online and locally on CD in Knoxville! Recorded with Don Coffey Jr. at Studio 613 (right before the city tore it down to make way for an expanded interstate), this was the first and only Rockwells project to be made entirely in a professional studio.

When Fred and I were looking at the Rockwells catalogue to see how best to prep things for digital release, we looked at Tear it Down and decided it was already ready to go! Keep an eye out for future Rockwells remixes and re-releases. In the meantime, if you want to find out more about where you can find this EP, just go to the Tear It Down Release Page.

Release: The Bateman Christmas EP

Years ago the Bateman Brothers recorded a super sweet Christmas EP. Previously only available to family and friends, it’s now remixed and remastered by the Kelly Bros. at Famous London and is available to all!

This was a family favorite in both Kelly houses, and Fred and I were really excited and proud to get to work on this official release. In addition to some holiday standards, this EP also includes two original songs.

Most exciting of all was the opportunity to produce a project for vinyl! Made here in Tennessee at Memphis Record Pressing, this record came out sounding great AND looking great. We also used Tommy Bateman’s original hand drawn artwork.

For more information about where you can listen to or find a copy of this hidden holiday gem, take a look at the Bateman Christmas EP Release Page.

Remix Project #7: Where You Gonna Go

Written and performed by Original Cyndi

Recorded by the Kelly Bros. and Justin Jordan in 2002.  Mixed and MFI 2016

Fred Kelly:

Justin was the first. Long before we (or anyone else we knew) embraced the advantages of computer-based hard drive recording (as opposed to tape or dedicated non-computerized hard drives), Justin had discovered the power and the freedom in using a DAW in his music. It took us a while to see the light (which, of course, we have).
Coincidentally, around the time that Jonathan and I had started our own 8-track garage rock odyssey with The Rockwells, Justin had formed a new organ-based garage rock project: Original Cyndi. The songs were different from anything he’d written before. And, at least in my opinion, the tracks were all smokin’ good. As a result of our 8-track cassette, analog experimentation, Justin decided to ask if we’d be the rhythm section for this first batch of Original Cyndi songs. We’d cut the songs in Knoxville, on our Tascam, and then he could import them into his DAW to do with as he pleased.
This is one of those original batch of songs. I love it. I love all of those songs, in fact. This one is interesting, as Justin only need up releasing a Memphis-recorded version of it. It’s very good, but I always liked our version a lot as well. Here it is.

Jonathan Kelly

This song has a bit of a stranger path than even some of the other songs that Justin recorded with us for the Original Cyndi's album.  At one point, after we transferred the tracks off of the cassette we recorded on, Fred had the idea to add fresh drums, bass, and guitar.  It would be a hybrid version of the song, with Justin's original vocals and organ parts retained.  I think we did that in...2008?
What we ended up with was fun, but we didn't have anything we could do with it, so it was a bit of a curio.  This made it a perfect candidate for the Remix project!  There are several songs that didn't make it on the the Original Cyndi album that could maybe be its own thing in the future.
As for the initial sessions for the project, I have really fond memories of them.  It really felt like a total change of gears for Justin, and the very direct songwriting with melodic and intricate organ parts was really exciting.  

Remix Project #6: Still Ridin'

Written and performed by Million Powers

Recorded by the Kelly Bros. in 2011.  Mixed and MFI 2016.

Fred Kelly:

We had only just met Justin when he recorded this song with us. Jonathan might have known him a little longer, but he and I were still more or less strangers when we started working on “Still Ridin’”. I have to be honest: new clients always make me nervous, and until I get comfortable working with someone, I worry a lot about whether we’re being too overbearing, or not commanding enough, or just not a good fit.
In the case of this track, Justin knew what he wanted (he has a great ear, and a great “mind’s eye” for knowing what he wants), but it was up to us to translate his vision. We added drums, bass, Hammond organ, Wurlitzer electric piano, a smattering of percussion, and backing vocals. It works for me!
Anyway, I didn’t need to worry about being nervous. Justin became a fast friend, and “Still Ridin’” turned out great. I still really love this song, and I’m convinced that it should be part of a Knoxville “Bike to Work or School” campaign. Locally produced, fun and bouncy, and totally about bike ridin’. Maybe one day…

Jonathan Kelly:

Million Powers is what Justin was calling his solo project after I Need Sleep, but I think he already had Marina Orchestra in mind for his next full band thing.  We worked on Still Ridin' for a potential solo release, but by the time we finished it, Marina Orchestra was taking shape, and he decided to put all of his efforts into that.  We began work on Take on the Silence not too long after.
I'm not sure it was intended that way, but working on this song ended up being an audition of sorts for the Marina album.  It turned out to be a really fun collaboration.  When we added more people into the process for Marina, we already had a pretty good working relationship with Justin to build upon.
On a more personal note, I sing a little harmony on this, and in doing so I discovered that Justin is a deceptively intense singer.  He has a very relaxed demeanor (both in person and on recordings), but when I tried to sing along with him, I sounded like I was almost unconscious.  It took a lot of energy and focus just to sing in a way that could stand up to Justin's "free and easy" vocal performance.  Even then he's still dominating.  The phrase I like to use for that is "eating __ lunch."  As in, Justin is totally eating my lunch on this song.