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Opening for Rick Mercer and Great Big Sea

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I just completed a fun weekend of performing … Saturday afternoon and evening found me playing Aaron’s Song and a new Celtic Medley with a troupe of Celtic Dancers for the pre-show of the annual Canadian Tire Banquet at the Toronto Convention Center with the 5th String Blvd. band. I also opened for Rick Mercer and Great Big Sea on the main stage as a part of the opening band multi media show organized by Ken Vandevrie of ADS Media to kick off the banquet. It was an honour to meet Rick Mercer after his “opening Canadian Tire roast routine” (my whole family are fans – a true Canadian icon) … nice guy … wasn’t able to stay to see Great Big Sea but did hear their sound check … needed to get home to my family because we had an early start the next morning to get to my next event …

Trevor with Rick Mercer

A candid shot with Rick Mercer taken by Ken Vandevrie on his Blackberry …

The next morning (Sunday) Le-Anne, the boys and I were off to London at 6:30 a.m. to do a Compassion concert/speaking event at RidgeView Community Church. It was a great morning of worship. Music & Worship pastor, Barry Usher, led a Jazz combo (keys, upright bass, congas, flute, and vocals) of students and faculty from University of Western Ontario. They had an excellent, unique sound as they led the worship. Aprox. 15 children were sponsored from the congregation of 80 which was a great response. To learn more about child sponsorship through Compassion click here.

Live Studio Tracking for a Canadian Tire Gig

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We brought the band together last week to do some live off the floor studio tracking at ADS Media just outside of Hamilton. I have done a fair bit of recording for Ken Vandevrie, president of ADS Media on acoustic violin over the last few years. One of our first recordings together was Dan Macaulay’s “Captured Again” CD. ADS also did all the production on my 2006 “Flyingbow – Up Close” DVD Release.

On this session last week, however, we tracked a medley of 5 traditional Celtic songs that we will be performing live this Saturday at the Toronto Convention Center for an annual Canadian Tire Banquet. Ken needed a recording to give to a troupe of Celtic dancers who will be joining us for the Canadian Tire gig. Ken’s newly renovated studio is a one-stop media design and development company that delivers excellent, affordable work across three major disciplines: Audio, Video, and Design. Canadian Tire is one of his esteemed clients.

You can download the new Celtic Medley here for free! It was recorded live off the floor – has not been mixed or mastered so keep this in mind …

ADS Media Outside

ADS Media’s new studio location – a beautiful serene setting. Click here to see more.
ADS Media - Main Control Room

Ken, Corey and Will in the ADS Media Control Room

I really enjoy studio recording. It is great challenge. As I record, I am often asked to do a combination of playing by ear, reading charts and creating on the spot arrangements and multi tracking where I lay down multiple violin lines to create the feeling of a full orchestra. A great trick many producers do (on a budget) is lay down string lines from a keyboard using sampled strings, then add my real violin sound to the mix. This tricks the ear into thinking that the whole orchestral line is real.

ADS Recording Artists

Taken after a productive morning in the studio … from left to right: Will Jarvis (bass), Ken Vandevrie (president of ADS Media), Trevor Dick (violin), David Johannesson (drums – subbing in for Steve Heathcote) and Corey Lacey (guitar).