PHR's Johnny Hunkins Releases Rock and Roll Album...and it Actually Rocks!

[cjforumadmin]

http://www.bangshift.com/blog/PHR-s-Johnny-Hunkins-Releases-Rock-and-Roll-Album...and-it-Actually-Rocks.html

[dieselgeek]

Re: PHR's Johnny Hunkins Releases Rock and Roll Album...and it Actually Rocks!

Holy Shitballs!! I just listened (and bought) two tunes.

I am an audio production freak - and I have to say the quality of not just the music but the mix and production are absolutely STELLAR!!

Way to go Hunkins!!!

[Bamfster]

Re: PHR's Johnny Hunkins Releases Rock and Roll Album...and it Actually Rocks!

I can usually tell in the first 30 seconds of a tune if I'll like it or not, and I LIKE!...Very good sound, one talented individual there.....

[Johnny Hunkins]

Re: PHR's Johnny Hunkins Releases Rock and Roll Album...and it Actually Rocks!

Thanks for the great feedback guys! Just wanted to chime in and say that the CD is available for sale at www.GrooveyardRecords.com (as well as Amazon.com). I'm kind of miffed about the download sales. They are not available yet--at least not legally.

You can listen to more song samples by clicking here: www.grooveyardrecords.com/mp3johnnyhunkinstalladegapileup.html

Very nice review, Loren! Thanks a ton!

[dieselgeek]

Re: PHR's Johnny Hunkins Releases Rock and Roll Album...and it Actually Rocks!

Hunkins, a number of us here are amateur musicians, recordists, mixers...

it would be awesome if you could detail your recording process - who mixed it, who mastered it. I build my own preamps, I'm interested in what mics you used, preamps, recording room - whose drums, who did the engineering, anything you can share.

The final mix and mastering job is *awesome*


Congrats on a job well done! I know how much of a bitch it must have been to get there.
-Scott

[BOOOGHAR]

Re: PHR's Johnny Hunkins Releases Rock and Roll Album...and it Actually Rocks!

very cool sound, theres a local radio station run by the community college in my area and is in my Top 3 stations I listen to, they are always looking for new music to play thats not main stream, if you're interested you can send them a demo, heres the addy to the program director

KACC Live
C/O Mark Moss
3110 Mustang Rd.
Alvin, TX. 77511

[38P]

Re: PHR's Johnny Hunkins Releases Rock and Roll Album...and it Actually Rocks!

Thanks for the great feedback guys! Just wanted to chime in and say that the CD is available for sale at www.GrooveyardRecords.com (as well as Amazon.com). I'm kind of miffed about the download sales. They are not available yet--at least not legally.

You can listen to more song samples by clicking here: www.grooveyardrecords.com/mp3johnnyhunkinstalladegapileup.html

Very nice review, Loren! Thanks a ton!

DUDE! I'll buy one if you'll put more Modular Ford content in PHR (Love the Project Cougar, BTW. Still mad over that fetid mess y'all called "The Orphan" ).

And maybe could y'all legalize DOHC for Amsoil Engine Masters next year. It's unfair that the mill in hundreds of thousands of F-Series trucks and thousands of Mustangs can't be built for Engine Masters.

[Johnny Hunkins]

Re: PHR's Johnny Hunkins Releases Rock and Roll Album...and it Actually Rocks!

With the exception of the drums, I recorded the whole project in my home on a Korg D3200 digital workstation. These aren't made any more but typically cost $1,200. Ryan Hoyle (of Collective Soul & Paul Rodgers) recorded the drums in his studio (first in Hollywood, then in Burbank after he moved). I don't use anything fancy for an amp, just a Line 6 Spider Valve 112 with a Line 6 pedal board. For mics I've got a Rode NT2A for vocals, an Audix I5 (SM57 clone) on the amp, and a Shure Green Bullet dispatcher's mic for harp. My bass is a Soundgear SB450.

I don't use Pro Tools or any kind of software DAW, but maybe down the line.

My typical work process is to sequence the drums and keyboard parts (if any) on my Roland Juno G, then bounce all that to open tracks on the Korg D3200, along with a click track. I lay down the bass guitar first, followed by rhythm guitars. Vocals take the longest time because I'm a lousy singer. I spend a couple of weeks doing vocals for each song, punching in individual lines until I'm happy, layering and overdubbing along the way. I knew from the start that the vocals would make or break this, so I spent a lot of time nailing the phrasing and pitch. This is actually my first time singing. The last thing I do is lay down the lead guitar and bring in any special guests. (I have Chris Duarte, Wes Jeans, and Ryan McGarvey on four of the tracks.)

Then I send all the WAV files out to Ryan Hoyle for real drums. After he learns the song, he'll call me with a rough demo. Sometimes he plays the same thing as the programmed drums I laid down, or sometimes he has suggestions that improve the thing. Once we discuss his interpretation, he goes back and lays down his best stuff, sometimes comping several performances to make one really good one. Ryan totally rocks out, and I think I spent a total of about $4,000 on his tracks. Ryan has a complete Pro Tools rig, tons of good mics (Royers, AKGs, etc.), vintage tube pre-amps, and a huge selection of drums. I think he used a '70s-era Gretch kit on my songs. He's an incredible drummer (do a youtube search on him sometime and watch his live stuff with Paul Rodgers).

After we get killer live drums, I burn all my tracks, plus Ryan's drums, onto a DVD, and send it out to be mixed. Most of these songs were mixed anywhere between three and five times. The record company didn't like most of the mixes, so they put me in touch with Don Moore of SoundCrafters in Dallas. Don is off-the-hook, crazy good. He's mixed cats like Bugs Henderson, Wes Jeans, Eric Gales, and Lance Lopez. The only song not mixed by Don was "Gone," which was mixed by Brian Yaskulka here in Hollywood.

Getting the record deal with Grooveyard was is a story in itself. I knew from the start that I wanted to be on one of three record labels: Shrapnel, Favored Nations, or Grooveyard. I actually contacted Grooveyard first. I sent them an email introducing myself along with a couple of MP3 files. I figured it was a lost cause, but they came back real quick and said they wanted to do it. I was totally shocked. I got a record deal on the first try with the very label I wanted.

Grooveyard Records really gets the blues-based hard rock thing. Nobody does it better. They're totally keeping the rock alive at a time when all the majors are abandoning it. Piracy is killing record labels, and if we don't solidly support labels that are making the music we like--they will simply go away forever. (Same thing with car magazines.)

As for mod motors in Engine Masters, I'm all for it. The only problem is that nobody else besides Ford has a four-valve, so to keep the playing field even, we limit it to three-valve engines. Aftermarket support is also weak. Letting the four valve in has too many down sides right at this moment. Maybe down the road we'll revisit.

[dieselgeek]

Re: PHR's Johnny Hunkins Releases Rock and Roll Album...and it Actually Rocks!

*Thanks* for detailing your process - I appreciate it!!

[Blazerteam]

Re: PHR's Johnny Hunkins Releases Rock and Roll Album...and it Actually Rocks!

If you like Chevelles and Lagunas,you have good taste ;)...awesome sound.

[KeithTurk]

Re: PHR's Johnny Hunkins Releases Rock and Roll Album...and it Actually Rocks!

Hey Johnny.... I've been digging it for a while....

Never got the opportunity to say thanks....

K

[38P]

Re: PHR's Johnny Hunkins Releases Rock and Roll Album...and it Actually Rocks!

With the exception of the drums, I recorded the whole project in my home . . . .

It's cool how much musicians can accomplish at home these days.

As for mod motors in Engine Masters, I'm all for it. The only problem is that nobody else besides Ford has a four-valve, so to keep the playing field even, we limit it to three-valve engines. Aftermarket support is also weak. Letting the four valve in has too many down sides right at this moment. Maybe down the road we'll revisit.

Thank you for your kind reply.

Of course I'm unaware of any Detroiter other than FoMoCo building a THREE-VALVE V8 either. ;) I suppose all those old GM Northstars (Cadillac, Oldsmobile) and the Mercury Marine LT-5 are fairly forgettable as well. ;D

Your answer is a little confusing because if there's "weak" aftermarket support for the Coyote, then letting it (and the Northstars) in Amsoil Engine Masters for 2012 doesn't really have downsides, does it? (unless that's an admission that the Coyote is inherently superior to the sleep-inducing GM "LESS" V8 and other under-valved Engine Masters favs)

On the other hand, there was almost ZERO aftermarket support for the Ford 400M and the Boss 429 until enterprising competitors developed and created parts for competition.

It's sort of a "chicken and egg" thing, isn't it? Which comes first -- the parts or the opportunities to use them?

Under similar logic to the current rules, a 1951 version of Engine Masters would have banned the Gen I Hemi and the GM Kettering V8s. "Flatheads forever" would have been the rationalization. After all, 95% of the aftermarket back then was for Ford and Mercury flathead parts. Until Ray Brown's breakthrough Hemi at Bonneville, flatheads were still the most popular SCTA mill.