The Confetti Clatter – September News Update

Posted on October 2, 2015 by John Giotto

August shows bring concert season to an end

Posing before the August 11 show at Burgundy Basin

IT’S MY PARTY! performed eleven concerts in August, concluding the season at Van Bortel Chevrolet in Macedon, NY, as the entertainment for a Corvette cruise-in. The weather for the event was perfect and Van Bortel graciously offered free food to attendees from various well-regarded vendors. In atypical form, the group stopped between songs and solicited requests from the audience. With many regular attendees at this finale, the more laid-back approach seemed appropriate. A couple from Ballston Spa, NY traveled a fair distance to see the group for the first time, having discovered IT’S MY PARTY! on YouTube, making the event even more meaningful.

In addition to the Van Bortel performance, August stops included returns to What’s ‘Ur Scoop Ice Cream, in Penfield, NY, Hammondsport. NY, Batavia, NY and Shortsville, NY. The group also performed for a second time in the season at the Burgundy Basin car show and Waterloo Premium Outlets. Another show on August 4 was a rescheduled concert at the Charcoal Coral in Perry, NY that had been rained out in July. New venues in August included a car show at the Genesee Brew House at High Falls in the City of Rochester, and a show at the Legacy community at Clover-Blossom. A concert promoter from New Hampshire approached the group at High Falls and talked about the possibility of regional performances next summer. He must have enjoyed the show, because he also attended our performances at the Burgundy Basin and the Legacy.

IT’S MY PARTY! returns to the studio

Tracking began August 21 on a new recording scheduled for release in 2016. The group is concentrating on two songs pitched by Michael Lynch, a talented songwriter. Lynch provided demos of his songs “Mister Sunshine” and “I Almost Forgive Him.” Lynch played all the instruments on the demos and even sang the vocals. These songs lend themselves to an interpretation by IT’S MY PARTY!

In addition to the two Lynch songs, the group will record two cover songs, one of which is a song by the Sherrys, a ’60s girl group from Philadelphia. The other cover will be a surprise for our fans, so we will keep that under wraps for the moment. Finally, the group’s producers are working on an “answer record” like those prevalent in the ’60s — think “Jerry (I’m Your Sherry)” by Tracey Dey. One of the issues with an answer record is the possibility of copyright infringement, so we will seek counsel regarding the proper crediting of the original song.

Advances in on-stage technology also bring new issues

Our entire show is run by way of an Ipad through a wireless network

Our entire show, sound and lighting, is run by way of an iPad through a wireless network. You can see the digital console and wireless router center-left in the photo.

Technology is designed to make our lives easier. This is especially true in the area of live touring. Through the years speakers and amplifiers have become smaller and lighter without sacrificing power and volume. Consoles are now digital, with on-board effects, making setup faster, and allowing scenes to be saved from show to show. You may recall from years past the image of a sound engineer stationed under a pop-up tent at our shows. The engineer was sitting behind a soundboard connected to the microphones and speaker system by a series of cords, including a long conduit called a snake. Perhaps you spoke with him about the mix. Now you may wonder whether we even have a sound engineer: No snake, no pop-up tent, no obvious console. That is because we are now being mixed on an iPad, which communicates with a digital board, located on stage, through a wireless network. Sound engineers are now free to walk about to venue, iPad in hand, as long as they are within range of the network.

The wireless setup has come in favor over the past five years. Wireless setups are less obtrusive; this is a big plus aesthetically. Although I can’t confirm it, there is a community that will not ask us back because of an incident at a show there in 2005. The person in charge complained about our sound mixing popup tent being set up in a position that could potentially block the view of audience members on a rise behind it. Trying to accommodate, we moved the tent from the optimum center position to the side of the lawn, apparently this did not propitiate the talent buyer .

Although digital advances have made for a cleaner and faster setup both for sound and lighting, with new technologies come potential issues. At our show in Hammondsport this year, the iPad suddenly refused to communicate with the board, in effect, our mix was frozen. We had to apologize to the audience and, much like a computer, restart the board. After restarting, the issue was resolved for the remainder of the performance.

Another issue is that sometimes– and this happens more during afternoon shows — the iPad overheats and shuts down, effectively freezing the mix and not allowing for any subtle changes. This has happened to us three times in the past two seasons. A quick search on this issue will uncover many discussions on iPad overheating and the causes, everything from the version of the iPad, to hot weather, the use of a protective cover, to the strain on the processor of a resource-hungry app — like our mixing app. Curiously, airplane pilots seem to have this problem with regularity when flying, though I ‘m not quite sure why.

If you would like to weigh in on some ideas how to keep our iPad cool, feel free to comment on our Facebook page. And next year, while attending one of our shows, disregard that wireless network found on your phone called It’s My Party, that’s just us doing our thing!

The Confetti Clatter July 2015 – News Update

Posted on July 30, 2015 by John Giotto

IT’S MY PARTY! added to Wikipedia

We are excited to announce that our group is now included on Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia. Apparently the name for the site comes from the Hawaiian word “wiki,” which means quick, and “pedia,” which originates from a Greek word, meaning knowledge. The inclusion on Wikipedia helps to build more credibility for the group, and ensures that its legacy will continue. You can visit our Wikipedia page here: IT’S MY PARTY!

IT’S MY PARTY! releases a new EP

After months of hard work, the group released its fourth single, entitled “He Wasn’t Like That (When He Used to Be Mine).” The release consists of three cover tracks: the title track, “In Your Letter,” and “You Won’t Even Know Her Name.”

Track one was originally recorded by the late George Hamilton. “She Wasn’t Like That (When She Used to Be Mine)” was written by Raleigh and Barken, the latter also wrote many girl group singles, including some recorded by Lesley Gore. The song lent itself to a recording by a girl group. I’m sure you will agree, when you listen to our version.

Track two was originally recorded by REO Speedwagon and included on their highly successful album, High Infidelity. Like the first track, “In Your Letter” opened itself up to a girl group rendition. An interesting side-note to this song is that is was covered in 1982 by Mike Zero’s Randy and the Rainbows, most famous for their 1963 hit song “Denise.”

The final track is one that has been part of the IT’S MY PARTY! live repertoire for several years. “You Won’t Even Know Her Name” was written by Mike Curb and recorded in the ’60s by the Starlets and Josephine Sunday. Our version has elements of both, but more closely resembles the Josephine Sunday version. Josephine Sunday was 18-years old when she recorded that track, and lived in Washington, DC.

Currently the EP is only available digitally as a download of the complete work, or as individual tracks. The release is in queues for inclusion on various digital services, like iTunes and Amazon, but is now available at CD Baby. “He Wasn’t Like That (When He Used to Be Mine)” will also be available as a physical CD, in the near future. Keep checking in at the media section of our website for updates on this release.

Performance season heating up

The girls rock out at Newark’s Music on the Erie Concert

The girls performed five times in July, and were rained out once in Perry, during a summer that has been trying and unusually wet. The highlights of the season so far have been the show in Newark, which always includes an enthusiastic audience, and Waterloo Premium Outlets, where the girls turned in a strong performance. August will be a very busy month with 12 scheduled performances, beginning on the first, when the group will return to What’s ‘Ur Scoop Ice Cream, and concluding with a Corvette car show at Van Bortel’s Chevrolet on August 22. Fortunately, the Charcoal Corral show in Perry has been rescheduled for August 4. The Rev-on car show, originally scheduled for August 4, has been moved to the new date of August 11. We would like to thank the Natalie B. Band for switching dates with us at the Rev-on show. Check the events section of our webpage for more details.

The Recording of the “That Boy John” EP

Posted on May 12, 2015 by John Giotto

That Boy John Cover

After the success of the single “Can’t” in 1997, IT’S MY PARTY! set out to record more material, with a goal of a 1998 release. Unlike “Can’t,” which took two years to complete, while enduring several vocal personnel changes, the next recording benefited from the polished vocal lineup of Vanessa, Roseanna, and newcomer Lauren, who had replaced Aubrey. Aubrey, finding it difficult to juggle her commitment to the group with the pursuit of her other passion, theater performance, departed on good terms, and would return for a second stint in IT’S MY PARTY! the following year.

I selected the material for the new release based on the relative strengths of the singers. Vanessa’s voice seemed to lend itself to a relatively unknown Barry/Greenwich composition, “That Boy John.” A decade before, in 1988, Paul Kanack and I visited Ellie Greenwich’s Manhattan apartment with the idea of working with her. She shared with us her frustration about the timing of the release of “That Boy John,” by her group, The Raindrops, in early December 1963, just weeks after the assassination of John F. Kennedy. The timing couldn’t have been worse, and the record failed to chart. It was her thought that a release at any other time would have produced a hit. Remembering this, Paul and I were determined to give this song a second chance. “That Boy John” became the title track of the new release.

The second song selected for the single was “I’m Bobby’s Girl.” Not to be confused with “Bobby’s Girl,” by Marcie Blaine, “I’m Bobby’s Girl” was an original song, written by Syeed Abdulal-haqq, especially for the group.

Another song that had remained a favorite was “The Boy Next Door,” a tune popularized by The Secrets in 1963. Although IT’S MY PARTY! had recorded this song in 1988, it was never released to the public. Vanessa had established herself as the lead vocalist of this lineup, however, Lauren’s perky vocal-style seemed perfect for “The Boy Next Door.” By adding this track the single became more of an EP or maxi-single with three song offerings.

Calvin May was the primary engineer during the recording. Eager to try digital recording, Calvin offered the use of his two ADAT recorders. These machines encoded digital information on magnetic tape that resembled VHS cassettes. The thought was that our 1/2″ 16-track analogue tape machine could not reproduce the low end needed for these recordings, whereas the ADATs could. However, halfway through the recording of “That Boy John,” Calvin left the project to pursue other interests.

With ADAT cassettes in hand, and hauling my 70-pound tape machine, I set out to a local recording studio with ADAT recording. All of the tracks on the ADAT were then transferred to my analogue tape machine, which was then returned to our studio to finish the project. Unfortunately, an amazing piano track was lost on “That Boy John” during the transfer. It is unknown why this happened, perhaps that track was placed in record mode, or, as we like to say to try explain away the woes of digital recording, perhaps a ghost entered the machine.

Two-track master label – test tones ensure that the playback machine runs at the same speed as the recording machine

Strong vocal renditions more than made up for any technical glitches, and the stereo master was finally compiled in August. One of the new twists on this release was the addition of horns and reed instruments, for the first time on an IT’S MY PARTY! recording. Bill Tiberio played some moving tenor sax solos, especially on “I’m Bobby’s Girl.” Derrick Lipp added trumpet, and David DeWitt played trombone. Jim Sawicki, who helped record some of the earliest IT’S MY PARTY! tracks in 1988, contributed a piano track on “The Boy Next Door,” and Jim Reilley, now in Nashville, added the guitar track to “I’m Bobby’s Girl.” (You can see other contributors by clicking on the track sheet links at the bottom of this post.)

Gene Paul, son of legendary guitarist, Les Paul, mastered the single at DB Plus in New York City. Sheila Bergel, an acquaintance, who lived in New York City attended the mastering session. Sheila is a girl group authority and publisher of Cha Cha Charming, the definitive girl group fanzine. Sheila added an enthusiastic presence at the mastering that gave the session a positive vibe.

After months of toil, “That Boy John” hit the stores in early December on both CD and cassette formats. The initial reactions were positive. Bob Scheffel of The One Magazine and WBER radio wrote, “This single is stronger than the first release.” Martin Natchez of The Flint Journal added, “On the new CD is ‘I’m Bobby’s Girl,’ featuring trio leader Vanessa singing in the style of The Angels’ ‘My Boyfriend’s Back’.” The tracks received airplay on stations in Michigan and Canada, and opened IT’S MY PARTY! to new markets and fans.

One track that was fun to record was “I’m Bobby’s Girl.” In the intro, there is a dialog between the girls. Janine, our fan club president, is one of the voices, and can be clearly heard on the line, “I don’t know what she sees in him,” adding to the vibe of the song. All these years later, with various girls taking turns at the lead vocals, “I’m Bobby’s Girl” remains a fan-favorite at live concerts.

If you would like a physical copy of “That Boy John,” click the “Add to Cart” button below to purchase the CD by way of Paypal.

If you prefer a digital copy, go to our discography section and follow the link of your choice for downloads.

The Confetti Clatter – Fall 2014 News Update

Posted on March 19, 2015 by John Giotto

Summer 2014 Tour comes to and end

It was a very busy August for IT’S MY PARTY!, the group performed a total of nine shows, finishing with a return to the Honeoye, NY concert series on Friday, August 22. Unfortunately, the weather threatened all day. The crew made a decision to disassemble the light show, rather than have it exposed to a possible cloudburst. As it turned out, there was not a drop a rain, and the crowd was large and responsive.

Wendy Krause, from the Honeoye public library, organizes this series yearly, and does a fabulous job. Every year, the concert series includes a glossy color flyer of the schedule of events. Wendy, and her team, are most interested in the musical integrity of the act. She was particularly impressed with our string section, which included 5 violins that night.

Announcing Personnel Changes

After five incredible seasons with the same vocal lineup, IT’S MY PARTY! is about to begin a new chapter. Kylie has decided to dedicate more time to her classically trained voice at Slippery Rock College, and would like to take a break during the summer. Shelbie is studying theater production at Fredonia, and found it difficult to juggle her commitment to the band and her future profession. We wish both girls success in their future endeavors, and thank them for a great run with the group.

You may have seen a show this past season with Sarah performing with us, while Shelbie was on an internship. We are happy to announced that Sarah is now a member of IT’S MY PARTY!. Sarah is joined by new member, Sierra, a junior at Penfield High School. Sierra has her own solo career, and has been singing classic rock, and jazz for some time now. Finally, we are thrilled to announce the return of Michelle. Michelle is not only a great singer, but a real student of the girl group sound. The new trio is busy in the studio rehearsing and recording. The vocal blend is already coming along, and I know that our fans will be as excited as we are, with the new lineup.

Group completes recording of “You Won’t Even Know Her Name”

The recording of “You Won’t Even Know Her Name” is now completed. The final steps are mixing and mastering. We will have to make a decision whether to release this as a single, or include it in a larger body of work. The group hopes to record more material in January. This is the first recording to with our new member, Sarah, who is singing the high harmony part. You can hear a rough mix — minus the fade out, which occurs in the mastering process — by clicking the link below.

Exciting Event planned for July 2015

IT’S MY PARTY! began with conversations between John Giotto and Ron Stein in 1984. By December of that year, John interviewed the first singer, Sharon. Liz and Sonia followed to round out the first trio, and the band debuted on June 15, 1985 at Panorama Plaza, helping celebrate the 175th anniversary of Penfield, NY.

As we begin 2015, the time felt right to reunite the original members, along with the other ’80s lineups for a one-time concert. The plan is to have a concert that would open with the current group and then welcome the three ’80s lineups to perform, culminating the show with the original members. As of this writing, six of the original seven members have made a verbal commitment to perform. Additionally, Larry Goss, and Kelly from the second incarnation have expressed interest in performing. The event will take place in July. We will keep you updated as new developments unfold.

The Confetti Clatter August 2014 – News Update

Posted on July 31, 2014 by John Giotto

Group goes into Performance Mode

IT’S MY PARTY! took the show on the road in July, beginning with a return to the Legacy at Willow Pond community on July 11. The weather was ideal, and, although it was the first show of the season, things went well. Many of our devoted fans were present, some driving an hour-and-a-half to watch us. We performed eight shows in July, at one point performing four shows in a five-day span, a new record for the group.

Setting up in Hammondsport, NY

Unbelievably, all of the outdoor shows went off without a hitch, a small miracle, as Western, New York has experienced an unusually wet July. The nearest miss, was our July 19 show at the Waterloo Premium Outlets, where it rained at the conclusion of the show. One of our new stops was in Hammondsport, NY, a small village at the southern tip of Keuka Lake. There is a small village green with a bandstand in Hammondsport, where the Chamber of Commerce hosts Thursday night summer concerts. Although it was a bit of a tight fit, we are able to use the bandstand. The lawn filled up quickly, and the local Rotarians sold food. We had a perfect night, and all indications are that we will be returning again next year.

Recording Update

Preparations for our live show put the recording of “You Won’t Even Know Her Name” on hold. However, we have booked some time on Sunday, August 3 to complete the recording. If all goes well, we should have the new track available on iTunes and other online stores before September.

What happened to the Music of My Youth?

(The ramblings of a drummer with too much time on his hands)

There was one all-too familiar sound that was ubiquitous to every shopping experience of my youth – Muzak. Muzak, or elevator music, as we called it, filled every supermarket aisle. I guess the intention of Muzak was to make the shopping experience more enjoyable, but as one of the younger generation, it had the opposite effect on me. I couldn’t fathom any one actually liking Muzak, it was totally unpalatable. If any thing, the “fuddy-duddy” tunes only made me want to exit the building as quickly as possible. Did any one really like this music? Not only were the songs sleepy, they were not even the original recordings. Later on in life, I would come to realize that the licensing for the original recordings were most likely cost prohibitive. There must have been a recording studio and Muzak musicians who specialized in creating the most drab pieces of music ever recorded. I did a little research, and found out that these light pieces, with few dynamics, were meant to slow down the buyer, so they would take longer to shop. To me, the only possible effect would be to fall asleep in the department store.

Here is 90-minutes of Muzak, if you can stand it:

So, now I’m one of the older generation, and what do I hear while shopping today, the musical background of my youth. Only now, the songs are, for the most part, the original recordings. I guess companies are willing to pay more for the licenses to these tunes. And it get’s me thinking, is the younger generation as turned off by these songs, as I was with the Muzak of my youth? Is the teenager of today laughing at the songs I held so important to my formative years?

Now my initial reaction to these songs being played in stores is one of fury. I mean, don’t get me wrong, they are great songs, but was “Holding on to Yesterday” by Ambrosia meant as background shopping music? Certainly, there had to be a deeper meaning to the song, or was it all created in the backdrop of disposable pop music?

I remember the outrage when Nike used “Revolution” by the Beatles in 1987 to promote their shoes, the public outcry made them drop the ad — I think Michael Jackson was behind releasing the music for this use. But now, would any one complain?

So, as I contemplate this use of the music of my youth, I only have one word of caution to the younger generation who, most likely, wants to exit the store at the first note of “Hot Blooded,” what goes around comes around. Just wait a few decades, and 5 Seconds of Summer, and Mylie Cyrus songs will be scoffed and laughed at in supermarkets by the next generation!

The Confetti Clatter July 2014 – News Update

Posted on June 30, 2014 by John Giotto

Recording Update

We continued to add tracks to our recording of “You Won’t Even Know Her Name,” a song recorded in 1965 by the Starlets, and then by Josephine Sunday in that same year. Neither version was a hit, but both recordings are sought after by record collectors. The track seemed like a perfect addition to the IT’S MY PARTY! catalog.

Last month we mentioned that equipment issues forced us to step away from the recording process. The purchase of a Universal Audio Apollo Quad 2 interface solved our previous issues. Now the interface, computer and software are working in harmony to produce nice digital tracks.

On June 15, Matt Doi added baritone and tenor saxophones. Matt plays guitar in the band during our performance season, and in addition to guitar, plays some tenor sax parts. Matt is an accomplished multi-instrumentalist, and producer, John Giotto, is taking advantage of his many skills. “I wish I could clone Matt, and place him on more than one instrument,” said Giotto. Fortunately, with the advantage of modern recording techniques, this is possible, by recording overdubs, specifically, recording new tracks, while listening to pre-recorded tracks.

On the following Sunday of June 22, three talented students from the esteemed Kanack School of Music came into the studio to record violins. Daphne, Hassler, and Henry laid down four separate violin tracks, creating a nice layered effect. Engineer, Calvin May moved the microphone after each track to emphasize a particular violin in the ensemble during takes.

Next up, tracking back-up vocals, percussion, organ, and an additional guitar track. Hopefully, we will create the wall-of-sound present on the Josephine Sunday recording.

New performance date

IT’S MY PARTY! is performing on Friday, July 25, from 7-9 for the Village of Webster. Please add this date to your calendar. This spot opened up late on the booking season due to a cancellation, and although we feel badly for the group who had to cancel, we are excited to return to Webster after a ten-year absence. Some of our singers attended school in the Webster district, and we expect a strong showing from the hometown crowd. The venue in Webster is Veteran’s Park, located just north of the intersection of Routes 404 & 250. There are plenty of food vendors in the area, but don’t forget to bring a lawn chair, as seating is limited.

Stretching

(The ramblings of a drummer with too much time on his hands)

Breaking through the barriers that impede us, rather than find the path of least resistance, is good for the soul. In early June, I talked myself into taking the trip to Montreal to attend the F1 car race at Gilles Villeneuve Circuit. Just getting out of my comfort zone, and travelling to a different country took some self-persuasion. After all, with no effort at all, I could get the best seat in the house, in my man-cave, directly in front of the widescreen. The trip provided a needed break, and the race proved to be the most exciting of the season, with Daniel Ricciardo winning for the Red Bull Racing Team.

As an English speaker, visiting Montreal provided some language hurdles, however, as most of the residents spoke fluent English, it wasn’t too difficult to communicate. It was clear, none the less, that I was an outsider, “Dorothy, we’re not in Kansas anymore.” Montreal has the feeling of a European city, and I felt more than the hundreds of miles I was removed from Rochester, NY. I was determined to give a game effort at speaking some French, at the very least, to learn some polite responses. I picked up a few French lines with the help of the receptionist at my hotel, a nice young lady, who wore a backwards baseball cap. I think she got a big kick out of my questions and mispronunciations.

A Bixi bicycle sharing station in Montreal.

Once I had my bearings and figured out the subway system, it was time for
some recreation. I enjoy cycling, and Montreal, as it turned out, is bicycle-friendly, with designated, and clearly-marked, cycling routes throughout the city. I did not bring my bicycle with me on this trip, but that was not a problem. Montreal has strategically positioned bicycle sharing stations along its bike routes. The system is called the Bixi, which stands for “bicycle-taxi.” For $7.oo you can obtain a 24-hour subscription to the service. But there is a catch, as the hotel receptionist pointed out, if any of your rides exceed 30-minutes, you incur additional fees. Many a tourist has been surprised by this, and the Bixi is not recommended for visitors, who are unfamiliar with the fee structure. There have been some documented cases of folks buying a three-day pass for $15.oo, and racking up hundreds of dollars on their credit cards. The idea behind the additional fees is to have as many bikes available as possible. So, for a one-hour trip, you should stop before a half-hour, park the bike, then sign in again and take out a new bike, if you want to avoid the additional fees. I took this as a challenge, I would meet the Bixi head-on.

Well, this whole idea seemed overwhelming at first. How would I time my ride? Where was the next station, and was it within a half-hour’s ride? Would I be able to read the instructions at the kiosk? After some research and education on the Bixi, I was ready to take on the challenge.

A Bixi kiosk, it was difficult to read when in direct sunlight.

Initiating a transaction at the Bixi kiosk was a little daunting, it was sunny, and hard to read the French directions on the screen, but, with some guessing, I was able to acquire a one-day pass. I obtained a four-digit code to unlock any bicycle at the station, and proceeded to travel east down Rue Rachel, toward the Olympic Stadium, my desired destination. I was sure I could make it to the stadium in a half-hour’s ride. The weather was perfect, and the ride took about 25-minutes. After a somewhat frantic search, I found a Bixi station tucked under a line of trees. I will say, they could mark these stations a little more clearly. Again, the locals know the locations of all of these stations. I placed the bike in the docking station with a few minutes to spare.

For the return trip, I was determined to take a different route, rather than choosing the safe option of travelling back the same way I came. I used the four-digit code to take out another bike, and proceeded to travel back by way of Rue de Rouen. Rue de Rouen was a smaller street, and did not afford an actual bike lane. I changed bikes again along Rue de Rouen, near a park. After heading north for a few blocks on Rue Frontenac, I finished at the station I started at on Rue Rachel. Conquering the Bixi, as silly as it sounds, was exhilarating, and made it more than a bike ride.

So, what does this have to do with the band? In an effort to improve and refine our act, I watch as many shows as possible. There are many talented musicians in this area, but rather than dwell on individual attributes, I am more interested in how the performers present as a group. How do they take the stage; exit; interact with the audience? How does the set list flow? What do they wear, and do they present a unified image?

I have picked up a thing or two by attending shows. However, as polished as many of these acts are, there is an all too common thread, most recall the same presentation, year after year: the same set list, same order, same banter. This is where we draw the line. Whether it’s new instrumentation, new songs, different stage banter, or improved technology, we will not be complacent.

The line indicates my route, all of the circles are bixi sharing stations.

The very nature of our group is a stretch, and clearly, we are not all things to all people. Does this backfire on us sometimes? Sure! A talent buyer once asked how many hits we played. My answer was enough to give the audience a familiar island here and there, but the presentation was more important to us, along with the ability to play some of the lost treasures of the ’60s and our original compositions. This attitude costs us some gigs, but we are not a good-time party band.

One season we decided to cover a Monkees’ tune, a bit of a reach for the group. After a show in Williamson, NY, an audience member approached the stage and said, “‘The Girl That I Knew Somewhere,’ it just isn’t working.” We are lucky to have such an informed audience. After some reflection, we eventually dropped this tune from our list. An experience like this, though humbling, will not stop us from thinking outside of the box when considering new material. In the words of the late Casey Kasem, “Keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars.”

Then there was the show last season where we unveiled our new string section. Now the safe thing to do is have the keyboard player cover the string parts, but we wanted authenticity. During a break in the music, I introduced the string players, and asked the audience how they liked the sound. The response was lukewarm. Once again, after the show, a member of the audience approached me, and said that he couldn’t hear a single note they were playing. This wasn’t the soundman’s fault, the strings were positioned next to the drums that night, so, when the live engineer tried to bring up the string section, all you could hear were drums. As this was a festival, and we we were not the only act that night, we did not have the proper time to sound check. We could have easily scrapped the whole idea, and gone back to the synth-strings. Instead, we experimented with different microphones and placements of the string section, eventually coming upon the right formula. You can go to our You Tube page and hear the results for yourself. And, for the record, be kind to the soundman, he is a highly-qualified technician, who knows what’s going on.

Changing the vocal line-up, while necessary as girls move on, is, at times, traumatizing to some of our fans. Some followers are so infatuated with one group or another, that they stop attending shows when their favorites leave the group. Clearly, a new group’s first season will not stand up to an experienced exiting trio, but their growth potential has a huge upside. And while we salute the talent and contributions of former members, we strive to create a group sound that transcends any individual member.

Keep stretching, and I hope you will have a chance to watch us stretch as well!

The Confetti Clatter June 2014 – News Update

Posted on May 31, 2014 by John Giotto

The Confetti Clatter June, 2014

New Recording in Progress

IT’S MY PARTY! went into their recording studio in Penfield, NY to record more material. There will be new recordings available for the 2014 summer tour. The first song selected for recording, “You Won’t Even Know Her Name,” has been a part of the IT’S MY PARTY! live repertoire for the past few seasons. This song was selected based on strong audience response and execution by the singers and band. You can watch a live video performance of the song here:

The first session was on March 23. On that day, drums, electric bass, and electric guitar were recorded live in the “dry” room of the studio. The instrumentalists were Dave Carroll on Fender Jaguar guitar, Paul Kanack on Fender Jazz bass, and John Giotto on Slingerland drums. Calvin May engineered the session. Calvin recorded three takes, and chose take-two as the best of the three.

The next recording session was on May 11. The studio is going through a transition from an analog studio (recording on tape) to a digital studio (recording on a computer). There have been many challenges along the way. In digital recording, there has to be a happy marriage between the computer operating system, the DAW (digital audio workstation) software and controller; this challenge slowed down the recording process, as the studio continued to emerge as a digital facility. The good news is that Calvin has made major progress with these critical elements.

On May 11, an additional upright bass track was added to the three original tracks. Paul Kanack played the upright bass, while listening to his performance and the original tracks through headphones. The idea was to layer the bass track with both electric and acoustic bass. The session went well, and we achieved the desired effect.

The last session-to-date was on May 17. Michelle came in to record the lead vocal track. We had a short window of opportunity, because Michelle was leaving for a trip to Greece the next day. The recording session couldn’t have gone better. Within one hour, we had both lead tracks recorded. Two tracks are needed to double the lead vocal, a technique that has been around for a while. Lesley Gore, the “It’s My Party” girl, is famous for her smooth double-tracked leads. Michelle sang both takes from beginning to end. The only hitch was an incorrect lyric, which we fixed quickly with what is called a “punch-in.” A “punch-in” is a recording technique that preserves most of the take an only records over the mistake. Calvin selected two different microphones for each take to give the two recordings a different feel.

Next up will be strings and saxophones. We will keep you updated on this recording and others in the July edition of the Confetti Clatter.

New Mobile Presence for IT’S MY PARTY!

With so many people getting their information on smartphones these days, it’s important that IT’S MY PARTY! have an official presence designed for mobile users. Although our website can be viewed on a mobile phone screen, it is not designed for a mobile device.

A few years ago we created an account with a company called Appsbar, which offers a service where companies create and publish their own Android and iPhone apps. The process was easy and the service was, and still is, free. Although we still have our Appsbar app, both Android and Apple took down Appsbar apps from their stores. Apple and Android charge a developers fee, so Appsbar could no longer offer a free native Android or Apple app. Our Appsbar app is still available, by going to appcatch.com. Click here to see our Appsbar app: It’s My Party App . If you attempt to download this app on an Android phone, you will receive a warning that your phone will not download an app that does not come directly from the “Play Store.” You can, however, launch the app in your phone’s web browser without a problem. Once there, you could bookmark the app on your mobile browser.

About a month ago, we discovered a company called Advamobile, they are relatively new, and geared specifically to bands and music. Like Appsbar, Advamobile offers a totally free service. We have created an Advamobile app, which you can access by texting getimp to 88704 on your mobile phone.

There are some nice features available with Advamobile, including offering exclusive content to fans, and having an online store available. Advamobile captures the phone numbers of fans, so the artist can keep in touch with followers by way of sending text messages. With Advamobile, we could have contests from the stage in real-time, with a random winner selected through a text message.

Like Appsbar, the fan uses his or her mobile web browser to access the Advamobile app. Fans would have to save a bookmark to this link for easy access in the future. Advamobile also offers native apps for Apple and Android. There is a yearly fee for this service — remember that Android and Apple charge a developers fee — but the end result is a native app available through the Apple and Google Play stores. This seems like a more convenient way to keep in touch with fans on mobile devices. However, most users have many apps, and tend to only open a few with regularity. The thought at Advamobile is that through regular texts to fans, the artist can prompt followers to open the app.

We’d like you, our fans, to help us decide whether to take the plunge and spend money on the native apps and coding through Advamobile, or stay with the free app services. Please weigh in by participating in the poll below:

"Can’t," an IT’S MY PARTY! recording from 1995-97

Posted on July 27, 2013 by John Giotto

The cover of the “Can’t” CD Single from 1997

I’d like to tell you the story of the release of the IT’S MY PARTY! single entitled “Can’t” b/w “I’d Much Rather Be With the Girls.” It’s hard to believe that so much time has past since this recording, and I’d like to write down my recollections of this project before I lose any more memory of the events as they unfolded. Fortunately, we keep very good records of the recording sessions as well as saving artifacts through the years.

IT’S MY PARTY! got back into the studio in 1995 with the intention of recording and releasing a single. The group was in a state of flux for the previous two years, but the time seemed right in ’95, as new candidates auditioned for the vocal lineup and had shown potential.

I thought it would be a nice tribute to the original girl group sound to try to recreate one of the thousands of great tunes to choose from. I always liked Donna Lynn’s version of “I’d Much Rather Be With the Girls,” a Rolling Stones song from their album, Metamorphosis, recorded in 1965. Besides paying out the proper mechanical royalties, we needed to ask permission to change the name from “I’d Much Rather Be With the Boys,” to “I’d Much Rather Be With the Girls.” With permission from the publisher granted, we proceeded to track this one in the spirit of the Donna Lynn version.

We decided to rent the large room at the Penfield Baptist Church on Penfield Road in Penfield, NY for the recording of “I’d Much Rather Be With the Girls.” The price for the day was more than reasonable, and we thought that the large room would give us the big sound present on the original recording. Calvin May, the engineer, set up a microphone in the back of the room to capture the ambience of the drum set. Combining that ambient track with the close microphones created exactly the effect we were looking for. The tracking date was September 1, 1995. The take that we decided to work with was take-three.

We brought in musician Ted Paris to play bass on the track. Ted had played in various sixties revival bands and knew the style we were looking for. Ted also brought along his Rickenbacker twelve-string electric, the same instrument used on Donna Lynn’s version. Besides playing bass, Ted overdubbed many of the guitar tracks, including the twelve-string. Walt O’Brien, whom I will talk about later in this post, played the guitar foundation track, as well as some of the guitar overdubs. We ended up with a total of seven guitar tracks on our recording. As far as the percussion went, Billy Eberts played the glockenspiel, while I played the drum set.

Adding the lead vocal track was a challenge, the would-be singers lacked any real studio experience. We tried a few different vocalist before shelving the project. Then finally, in late 1996, the group enjoyed its strongest singer in years with Vanessa joining the group and taking on lead vocals. We also added Aubrey to the group, a great backup singer whose voice blended well and sat very nicely in the mix. Vanessa and Aubrey were friends from middle school. We were now in a position to complete this track. It was serendipitous that “I’d Much Rather Be With the Girls” was a perfect fit for Vanessa’s lead vocal. I remember posting the word “than” to the studio wall on a piece of paper so she wouldn’t sing the word “then.” We double-tracked Vanessa’s lead using an AKG 414 microphone. We completed the final backing vocal track on March 29, 1997. I guess you should never give up on your dreams, because the finished product was well worth the wait!

I wanted an original recording for the A-side of the project. As I mentioned earlier, Walt O’Brien played guitars on the “I’d Much Rather Be With the Girls” recording. Walt was, and still is, one of the finest musicians in the Rochester area. He cut his teeth on sixties music by listening to his older sister’s records. Walt is a natural, able to pick up, and master, virtually any instrument he touches. Much like Paul McCartney, Walt could easily multi-track himself as an entire ensemble, then sing lead and backup vocals over the top. Walt is also a prolific songwriter; at my request, he provided me with a cassette tape of songs he had written. I listened to the tune “Can’t,” originally recorded in the ’80s by Walt’s band called the Insiders. “Can’t” intrigued me, it had the obvious hooks and infectious melody, the Mersey-beat feel with walking guitar lines and driving harmonica, but there was more. I really liked the seventh chord vocal harmony, and the one bar of two beats that gave the song an interesting twist. So, “Can’t” became the choice for the plug side.

We recorded “Can’t” at Hat n’ Hat Studio in Penfield, NY. Many local and out-of-town groups enjoy the ambiance of that tiny studio, and it would remain the main recording facility for IT’S MY PARTY! through the years. Hat n’ Hat has two rooms and a small control room. Each room can be used for recording. Room one is larger and carpeted, it’s “drier” or “damper” than room two, which is tiled a livelier. The control room is fairly neutral. Sometimes vocals are recorded in the control room with the singers listening to the payback monitors rather than using headphones. We began the recording of “Can’t” on November 24, 1995.

I brought Walt into the studio to play the guitar tracks. We raised the key of the song to C to fit the vocal range of a female vocalist. Walt also played the harmonica solo as well, the only harmonica to date on any IT’S MY PARTY! recording. Calvin May added the final bass guitar track, as well as engineering the recording. The tracking consisted of three microphones on the drums, bass, five guitar tracks, harmonica, hand claps, and tambourine. Walt is one of the best tambourine players I have ever heard. The bass was re-tracked by Calvin on November 2, 1996. We sure took a long time on this, but, again, we were searching for the right vocalists. Vanessa sang lead, and Vanessa and Aubrey both sang the backups. You can clearly hear Aubrey’s voice making the seventh in the harmony.

We took the master tape to DB Plus in New York City to have Gene Paul master the single. It was nice having another set of ears on the project, especially a guy with Gene’s resume. He made some great suggestions for our next tracking and mixing sessions. And, I must say, he wasn’t too thrilled with our ’60s styled faux stereo mix of “Can’t.” Most of the 45 rpms back in those days were mixed in mono, with all the instruments and vocals in the center of the mix. Keep in mind that these songs were mixed for optimum sound from a single car radio speaker, where most people at that time became exposed to new music. Record companies began producing stereo records for stereo equipment, which was on the rise in the late fifties and sixties. The information from the original mono records would come out of a stereo system equally in both the left and right speakers, but this was not the effect stereophiles were looking for. Engineers went back to the master tapes and remixed, but what they had to work with consisted of two, three, or maybe four tracks. Usually the lead vocals on one track, the backing vocals on another, the basic music tracks on the third and any sweeteners, like hand claps and tambourine, maybe on a fourth. That really didn’t leave a lot of room for separation into left and right channels. Most of the time they would load the music on one side and the vocals on the other, this could create an irritating effect where, if the vocals dropped out, your ear missed that information, creating an imbalance of sound. If you listen to “Can’t,” that is precisely what’s going on. We could have balanced the stereo field, but got a little too cute with this mix trying to replicate a four track effect. Remember, we had five guitar tracks, and we could have balanced them equally across the stereo field. Gene really took us to task on that mix, and we never tried that again. On a side note, Phil Spector was never a fan of stereo. He liked the full, fat sound of mono; the meddled effect of mono also made it more difficult to pick out individual instruments, and in a age of fierce competition, more difficult to copy a producer’s techniques.

“Judy’s Turn To Cry” picture sleeve

Calvin designed the sleeve of the CD, which was inspired by the Lesley Gore picture sleeve for “Judy’s Turn to Cry” b/w “Just Let Me Cry.” The inspiration came to Calvin and me over a meal at Dell Taco in Henrietta, NY — long since closed. We particularly liked the monochrome printing on the Lesley Gore Picture sleeve, and wanted to produce the same effect. Here again, we perhaps reached too far. Our CD replicator was a sort of one-stop, providing in-house printing. While this was convenient, I’m not sure they knew what they were doing when it came to printing anything out of the ordinary. Calvin suggested we print in true monochrome. Rather than approximating the one-color by using the four-color printing process, we wanted the pure one color mixed and loaded into the printing press, the end result would be a grayscale of that particular color. The replicator said that, in order to do this, they would have to stop all production, purge the machines, and set up our one-color, adding an additional expense to the project. We agreed, determined to make this look like an old ’60s picture sleeve. The cassette proofs came back from the manufacturer before the CD, and boy was I upset. The printing looked just awful, the product was dark, with black ink clearly present. Obviously, black ink had leached into our printing from somewhere. I wondered who proofed this thing before they sent it along to us! I was on my way to the Grey Cup football game in Edmonton, and steaming mad! I cooled off in Toronto, so I could enjoy the cross Canada trip. After sending the sample cassettes back, with few apologies from the replicator, we eventually received a new batch of passable cassette covers. The CD jackets ended up looking okay, but this incident held up production, and they arrived a few months after the cassettes.

Advertisement for Educational Expo

The “Can’t” cassingle was available for our performance at the Eisenhart Auditorium on East Avenue in Rochester, NY. The girls performed to pre-recorded music from 11:30-noon on October 26, 1997 as part of a larger event called the Educational Expo. And now for one of the best kept secrets of the group; we only had two singers on these recordings, that makes a duo, not a girl group. Insert Lorraine, a friend of mine’s daughter, into the photo shoot, and voila, IT’S MY PARTY! was a girl group, at least for appearances sake. Just in time for the Educational Expo show, we welcomed Roseanna as our third singer. This show was their second performance as a trio.

IT’S MY PARTY! (Vanessa, Aubrey & Roseanna) performing at the Eisenhart Auditorium 10-26-1997

I remember what a trooper Roseanna was at the Educational Expo show; here she was performing, but not on the cover art, not having sung a single note on the release, and she had an ear-to-ear grin the entire show. She was also eager to point out our cassette to onlookers. We easily sold over one hundred cassettes that afternoon in a short period of time, and I thought to myself how easy this was going to be, we were going to sell thousands of these singles! What I didn’t realize at the time was A: the music business is flush with talent, competing for the consumer’s discretionary income, and B: sales were artificially high that day because all of the relatives of the IT’S MY PARTY! girls were purchasing them, especially Roseanna’s family! Getting back to Lorraine, she actually ended up performing in the band, playing hand percussion, when we transitioned from canned backup music to a full fledged live ensemble. Lorraine reminded people of Tracy of the Partridge Family, played by Suzanne Crough, who had the same assignment of percussion, usually tambourine, and looked very similar to Lorraine.

To mark the official release, the group hosted a record release party on Sunday December 28, 1997 at the now defunct Spinner’s Family Fun Center in Macedon, NY. The admission was only five dollars and included skating and free pizza. The CD singles were in stock by this time, and once again, like the Education Expo performance, sales were brisk. We had a nice turnout, and went through many sheet pizzas. The group was already working on a new recording which would become the “That Boy John” maxi-single. The “That Boy John” session would give Roseanna a chance to record and promote her own work, as we released the single in 1998. I will tell the story of that recording in my next post.

If you have any comments, or if you were at the Educational Expo or the “Can’t” Record Release Party at Spinners, please leave us a message on our contact form.