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Goodbye Summer!
August 18th, 2011
Hello Cymbals Eat Guitars and Male Bonding!
I can't believe the summer is practically over. I spent most of the month either in Sweden or in Brooklyn working with the great Norwegian band, Dirt Inc. Goteborg was a wonderful place to record. SGS, owned by my buddy, Kalle is one of my favorite studios in the world. And Kalle is one in a million.

We finish mixing this current EP on Friday and after going to see The War On Drugs that same night, I will prepare to leave on vacation Saturday. So I'll have spent all of one day in August at home. Living the dream!

The end of August will bring the release of not one, but two of my productions. In chronological order, the new Male Bonding record was recorded at Dreamland Studios in early March and mixed at Headgear Studios soon after that. Dreamland Studios is an old converted church outside of Woodstock that has wonderful vibe, gear and setting.

The Male Bonding guys were wonderful to work with. They are part English gentlemen and part power punk revivalists. I'm really psyched with the record and they will be here the end of the month to start touring.

Right after Male Bonding was complete, I started a record with Cymbals Eat Guitars. These guys are so talented, it makes me nuts. We actually had been doing pre production on and off for months previous to starting the recording, so we hit the ground rolling.

I'm so proud of the record and they too will be touring in support. Too bad they couldn't arrange a co bill.

So keep your ears and eyes peeled for these records. Male Bonding's "Endless Now" is on Sub Pop and Cymbals Eat Guitars' "Lenses Alien" is on Barsuk.

Some other notable info. In July I mixed Lee Ranaldo's solo record. What a fun time! I haven't worked with him since "The Eternal" and we had a blast. The record is his first solo record ever and it's great. Can't wait for that one to see the light of day.

And I did a great single with Philadelphia's Free Energy. What a great group of dudes! We had tons of fun and the two songs came out great.

In the middle of July, I flew to Chicago for the Pitchfork Music Festival. It was a great time and I got to spend a bunch of time with my main man, Kurt Vile. His set on Sunday afternoon was awesome and he had the mid afternoon crowd totally psyched. He also played a "secret" show Saturday night that was ridiculously crowded, but also awesome.

The current record, "Smoke Ring For My Halo" is doing great and Kurt and the Violators are touring like demons.

Ciao for now.

Enjoy the rest of summer.



 
Spring Is Coming In With A Bang!
March 11th, 2011
Loads Of Things Going On In Agnelloworld.
Hey everyone, I hope 2011 has been good for you so far. I wanted to keep you all in the loop, because my shit is blowing up, figuratively, of course. If it was literally, I'd be at the hospital as opposed to updating my website.

Anyway, there is a ton of stuff to talk about. First, this last Tuesday saw the release of Kurt Vile's "Smoke Rings For My Halo," his new effort for Matador Records. Kurt and the band spent the entire day playing three instores and then playing up at WFMU, in my neck of the woods. The reviews have been exceptional. Pitchfork gave it 8.4 out of 10. Uncut gave it 4 out of 5 stars. Spin gave it 9 out of 10 stars. And the wonderful Charles Aaron said some nice things about yours truly.

The bottom line is this is a great record and Kurt has evolved into one hell of an artist. And the Violaters are a great band. Chris and everybody at Matador were wonderful and all the studios we frequented on the record, and there were many, treated us great. It wasn't the easiest record to make logistically, but it was worth all the effort.

Kurt is supporting my old friend J Mascis on tour, who is also releasing an album. His first solo acoustic studio record. It's a great record with a bunch of great songs and of course J shreds! It has some great guest stars and I loved mixing it at Bisquiteen Studios. I've been working with J since 1993 and it's hard to believe it's been that long. He's one of my favorite people in the world. His wife, Luisa is an angel for putting up with him.

Let's see, what else........

Okay, in honor of all my friends who are going to SXSW, I'd like to hip you to two unsigned bands that I have worked with who will be playing numerous shows down there.

First up is Shayna and the Catch, who are a wonderful, organic pop band who play great songs that are influenced by folk, calypso and other styles of popular music. And Shayna, the lead singer is a wonderful woman with a big voice and a big soul. Not shitting you. Check em out down in Austin. And when they return to NY, they are doing a residence at the Living Room in April/May.

Second is a great band from Boston called Mean Creek. Powerful rock with a great singer in Chris Keene. These guys have a great sound with double guitar, and the wonderful Aurore on lead guitar and backing vocals. They recently released a great EP and played a release party show at Pianos in the LES of Manhattan. They packed out the room in Pianos and killed it. Their super fan, Adam Duritz was in the house.

One other band to check out down there is the Spanish band, Capsula. They are a hard rocking three piece from the northern part of the country and if you like your riffs heavy and your songs psychedelic, this is for you! I saw them in Cadiz 2 years ago and I fell in love with them.

So all you peeps down in Austin, try to take some time to see either of these bands. You will not regret it!

December saw me hunker down with my main engineer man, Ted Young at the famed Magic Shop, in NYC to work with The Young Presidents, a cool new band. We had a blast making the record and it came out great. They will be playing around the city and expect to hear more from them.

I am currently working with Male Bonding, a great three piece from London who are on Sub Pop. We tracked the record up at Dreamland Studios in West Hurley, NY, which neighbors Woodstock. An old church with loads of vibe and great gear and a wonderful sounding record room. It's actually an old church. This record is great! It fires on all cylinders, from songs thru performance. It doesn't sound bad either. And me and the band have gotten on famously. Look for this record in the summer.

Up next is Cymbals Eat Guitars, a young quartet from NYC, who evoke the spirit of Jawbox, Sonic Youth and the like. Four young kids who make wonderful noise. Throughout rehearsals we've tweaked arrangements and worked on approach and by the time these kids get into the studio, they will be ready to kick ass!

A few other things before I go. The great Norwegian band, Madrugada, who I've made a few records with are re releasing their records, remastered with extra tracks. They asked me to do liner notes for the remastered, "Nightly Disease" and I was thrilled! It's the first time I've ever done anything like that. Totally exciting.

Also, it looks like I'll be hosting an indie rock forum for the website Pro Recording Workshop. That should be happening soon. My mentor, William Wittman asked me to do it and I couldn't say no. Once again something new to this guy. Maybe you can teach an old Italian Producer/Engineer new tricks.

Well that's it for now. Whew. Long post this time. Be well everyone and go buy the Kurt Vile record!

 
Happy Holidays!
November 26th, 2010
It's that time of year again.
I hope this post finds you all well. I'm celebrating this Black Friday by staying the hell away from anything that resembles a store. Just sitting at home with a big cup of tea, catching up on my internet to do list.
This has been a great year so far with so many great artists who have approached me about work. Some I could not accommodate, due to scheduling concerns, but I've had some wonderful projects.
When I last posted, I was on the precipice of finishing a record with my main man, Kurt Vile. We mastered the record, but then it was agreed that we should go back in and record a couple more tunes. Not because of the fact that we didn't have a great record, but more to add a couple more rockers to it. Yeah, this record is a wacky one. In fact , we have too many great songs which made it hard to cut down to an 11 song record. As it stands now, it'll be a great record, but some of my favorites didn't make the cut. Which means that sometime after the record comes out, there will be an amazing EP in the works. I am not shitting you.
Around the time we were recording the last two songs for KV's record, I was in the process of mixing the J Mascis solo acoustic record. That was so much fun. I never need an excuse to visit or work up in Western Mass. with J and the family. It's always a great time. J's new record is totally great. It's got great songs and some wonderful guest appearances. If I'm right, the first single is an awesome song which will reminiscent of a particular '70's supergroup.
Just after that, I spent my obligatory 2 plus weeks in Spain attending the upstart, but wonderful Monkey Week Festival. This being it's second year, they improved greatly from the previous year. All I can say about it is that it's setting is a wonderful town, called the Puerto De Santa Maria, the gentleman who run it are wonderful and the talent is improving every year. The main shows took place in an ancient Monastery, which was the coolest setting ever. I spent the second half of my trip with my good friends, Paco and Muni, working in the studio with a great artist, who's new record will be out early next year.
Of note for me is a record I just finished which was a great experience. The band is called, Shayna Zaid And The Catch. A 5 member band, who are as super talented as they are super nice people. The music is rootsy and kinda pop in a traditional way, with a lead singer who's voice is as big as her heart. We are mastering the record tomorrow and I can tell you it's an amazing record.
Right after I returned from Spain, I had the pleasure of mixing a record by a band I really like called Capsula. They are part QOTSA and part psychedelic. I've seen them live and they really bring it. That record will be released in Spain, but I hope it sees the light of day here. It's very cool.
One other fun record I was involved with was The Baseball Project record. Those guys are a great hang and there are some great songs on the record. If you're a sports fan, you'll love this record. If you're a music fan, you'll love this record.
So that's it for now. A couple of random thoughts before I leave.
Making records is fun.
My little girl, Bella is a blast.
If we ignore Sara Palin, maybe she'll go away.
I love the Autumn.
Fantasy football is addicting.
Legalize pot, please.
I miss my big girl, who's in Thailand.
And, I'm a lucky husband.

Okay everybody, Happy Thanksgiving and Happy Holidays!
 
Gooooooooaaaaaaaal!!!!!
June 23rd, 2010
Welcome to summer!
Hey everybody, coinciding with England's and USA's victories in the first round of the World Cup, I write you to give an update on all things Agnello!

It has been a remarkable 2 plus months since my last update. I've been incredibly blessed to have some great records come through my doorway!

First and foremost, the Dead Confederate record, "Sugar" will be coming out on my birthday, of all things! This record is really special. My favorite tracks, "Giving It All Away" and "Run From The Gun" should get plenty of airplay. I can't wait for these southern shit kickers to get on the road to support the record.

After a quick mix for a rising, Norwegian artist, Andre Holstad, I had a week off before starting a record with someone who is becoming my one of my favorites. And that man is Kurt Vile. He is a trip and a great artist. We took a 6 week break in the middle of the record while he and his lovely wife had a beautiful daughter.

And now that the record is just about mastered, I can tell you that it is really great. Kurt's a great singer and this batch of songs are really melodically beautiful. It's a bit on the mellow side, but it's one awesome song after another.

We had a blast making it, with trips to Amherst and Philadelphia. We had a great midnight drive back to my house from Amherst, where i tortured him with lots of '70's prog rock and other great records.

While I was breaking from his record, I started a record with a great band I had seen at Piano's last November. They are called Sherlock's Daughter.

The had approached me via internet and me and Sharon were blown away by their set. So after they relocated to Brooklyn, post SXSW, we got down to the business of arrangement and rehearsal of the songs.

It was awesome doing pre pro with them. Great band with great ideas and lotsa energy and talent. Fronted by the beautiful Tanya Horo, who I can honestly say is my favorite Kiwi.

So like the Kurt record, we took a 6 week break, which drove the band nuts, while I took a 2 week vacation around weddings and Mother's Day and then finished the Kurt Vile record.

We eventually got back to work finishing the Sherlock's Daughter and it was worth the wait. Not yet mastered, this record will knock your socks off.

Many instruments and rhythms and all these kids sing! It was a lot of fun making the record, whether we were hard at work or certain drummers were climbing trees naked or recording autoharp in the garden or bbq'ing at my house. Love these guys.

Kurt's record will out sometime in the Autumn. Don't know about the Sherlock's, but we'll see.

A couple of other thoughts. Also in the last months, I've been involved in some other shorter projects. Mean Creek, a new band from up in Boston are comers. They have a raw energy that will rip your face off. I did a 7" with them for Old Flame records and it was 2 awesome days. I hope to talk about a full length with them.

I mixed an EP for The Heavenly States. Great band from the west coast. I've known them for 5 years and Ted is one of the funniest guys I've ever worked with. Special guests on the EP include Britt from Spoon and Eugene Miramen!

Last and not least, I did a great record with a wonderful singer named Amy Bezunartea. She is the significant other of Jennifer O'Connor and boy she has a great voice. In fact they sing great together. That record is being mastered right now by Alan Douches. Very Excited!

Looking back on the year so far, it's great to have been involved in so many cool projects. Like last year, the first two quarters have been exciting.

And if any of you haven't heard, my 6 month stay at Work's End, err I mean Worlds End did not go so glowingly. So I am back to working with my dear wife, Sharon. We are more of a mom and pop organization anyway. And this way, I know how I'm being represented and I know what projects I'd like to go for. Okay, be well everyone!

 
Spring Is Vile!
March 26th, 2010
March is in like a Vile and out like a Lamb.
Happy spring everyone. Last week was notable for a few things. First, I spent 5 days doing the Master Cleanse. http://themastercleanse.org/ It was a trip. I felt kinda high the first few days, but as day three started, I really was getting into it. I lost some pounds, felt much better by the end of the week, and exorcised a few demons brought on during the Dead Confederate record.

The key to me getting through it was keeping super busy all week, so I did my taxes, worked on my storage unit, etc, etc. That took my mind off of the fact the I was living off a liquid diet. Gotta say, I'm psyched to do it again for maybe a week or so.

I assimilated myself back into the world of food just in time to welcome Kurt Vile to NYC. We are recording his new record at my favorite studio in Manhattan, The Magic Shop. He is super talented and a wonderful guy. He writes some great songs and is this decades alt rock troubadour. We are in our first week of recording and the songs we've worked on sound great.

After taking the weekend off, we resume the record on my side of the Hudson River. At one of my favorite studios. Yes, you know..... Water Music Recorders. We have some really cool sounds and guest stars on this record and the Violators, Kurt's touring band, are well represented.

So here's to Kurt Vile, in the house, and a weekend off with the family and then back to it next Monday! Rock on, kids!
 



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