#johnpaulkeith

Alright, this will be the final post today about the making of The Rhythm of the City in 2019. Just a few random behind-the-scenes clips I found on an hard drive I thought I’d share today, now that the album is two years old. This was my first time in the studio with @dannybanksdrummer and @thewilsonmc together, but happily it would not be the last. And this was my fourth album to be graced by @algamble1 on the keys. The entire record was a mixture of analog and digital technology, back and forth from one to the other. We tracked the basics live on @electraphonic’s 8-track Scully, with drums on two tracks, including my live vocal and lead guitar. We then transferred those 8 tracks to digital where we added bgvs, percussion, and yes, ELECTRIC SITAR! (Thank you, @highlowrecording!). Although we mixed digitally, we used much analog gear in the process of course, including Scott’s Ampex tape machine for slapback echo, just like Sam Phillips did at Sun Studio in 1954. Then the mix was digitized and mastered, uploaded to the streaming servers, and sent off to the pressing plant, where it became analog again and went on to become 7 different colors of vinyl over the next two years thanks to @wildhoneyrecords___. Thank you Scott Bomar and @adamemphis1457 for making everything sound awesome. I’m gonna miss that little studio on South Main. And a special note of thanks to @ronnymon6149 for his invaluable help making this all happen. #therhythmofthecity🎶🌃 #johnpaulkeith #studio #recordingstudio #recordingstudios #analogrecording #memphismusic #memphisstudios https://www.instagram.com/p/CpOjD6xALpw/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

I’ve been a fan of Memphis’ amazing @southernavenuemusic for many years, and I was incredibly lucky to get @tierinii and @tikyradrums to sing on The Rhythm of the City. There’s just nothing like sibling harmony, and they sent record to a whole other level. And we had a lot of fun in the studio that day, too. 😂 This whole record was fun to make, from start to finish, and I think you can hear that in that music. I was very proud to have these two rock stars on the album. Thank you, Tierinii and TK! 💙 #therhythmofthecity🎶🌃 #johnpaulkeith #studio #recordingstudio #recordingstudios #analogrecording #memphismusic #memphisstudios #tierinii #tikyra #southernavenueband @electraphonic https://www.instagram.com/p/CpObiOZJFG6/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

🎷🎷🎺The biggest difference between The Rhythm of the City and all my previous records is the brass. Like most songwriters with any ambition, I had long fantasized about doing at least one album with horns on every song. About half of the record the section is two saxes, baritone and tenor. Art Edmaiston (@artiepartie) wrote the killer arrangements for those, and we decided that he and @kirksmothers would track live at @electraphonic with the band, since the bari can become a part of the rhythm section. For the rest of the songs, we wanted Marc Franklin’s (@mfrankl3) trumpet in the section, and he wrote the arrangements for those. We would track each song without horns, do a quick rough mix at the end of the day, and DropBox the rough to Marc. He would then write the arrangement at home the next day, and then he, Art, and Kirk would come in the day after that and overdub the part. For me, hearing other writers’ arrangements augmenting and embellishing my songwriting was a real thrill and a wonderful learning experience. Thank you guys for making that dream come true. #therhythmofthecity🎶🌃 #johnpaulkeith #studio #recordingstudio #recordingstudios #analogrecording #memphismusic #memphisstudios #horns #hornsections #BTMhorns #memphissound #memphishorns #saxophone #trumpet #arranging #arrangements #hornarranging #hornarrangement #memphissoul #countrysoul #southernsoul https://www.instagram.com/p/CpN5k-7gaPv/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

One very special memory from The Rhythm of the City sessions back in 2019 for me: the day Archie “Hubbie” Turner (@turner.archie2018) of Hi Rhythm came by to play Clavinet on “Keep On Keep On.” I had been listening to a lot of Syl Johnson’s Hi records at the time, and Hubbie of course plays some really sick clav on some of that. I will never forget the late nights I spent in Wild Bill’s watching Hubbie play when I first moved here in 2005, my first real immersion into Memphis’ musical culture. It will forever be amazing to me that I was able to just call him up out of the blue one day and ask him to come by the studio and make the same magic on my record that he made on so many records that I love and admire. That’s the Memphis magic you can’t get anywhere else. Thank you, Hubbie, for helping to make this record so special and thank you for sharing your talents with us! #therhythmofthecity🎶🌃 #johnpaulkeith #studio #recordingstudio #recordingstudios #analogrecording #memphismusic #memphisstudios #hirhythm #hirecords #archieturner #archiehubbieturner #memphissoul #southernsoul #countrysoul #memphissoul #memphissound #funk #clavinet https://www.instagram.com/p/CpNzZrTAadQ/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

February marks the two-year anniversary of the release of The Rhythm of the City, so I thought I would share a few memories from those sessions. It was my first time producing my own album, but I called the right people. Thank you to Max Kaplan (@mkappy33) for taking these pics, and thank you @electraphonic, @tierinii, @tikyradrums, @dannybanksdrummer, @thewilsonmc, @algamble1, @artiepartie, @kirksmothers, @mfrankl3, and @turner.archie2018 for lending your talents to this music and making it a reality. #therhythmofthecity🎶🌃 #johnpaulkeith #studio #recordingstudio #recordingstudios #analogrecording #memphismusic #memphisstudios (at Memphis, Tennessee) https://www.instagram.com/p/CpNsM2sgsot/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

🖤💙💚🤍♥️In the words of Nick Lowe, “I love my label.” Thank you, @wildhoneyrecords___, for releasing The Rhythm of the City two years ago this month. We are now on our third pressing, and our seventh color. Customers in the US can get the new limited edition RED vinyl directly from me (signed if you like!), and customers in EU/UK/ROW can get the new limited edition CLEAR vinyl directly from Wild Honey in Italy - both exclusively at Bandcamp. Link in bio. And ICYMI, I added three more previously unreleased studio outtakes from the sessions for this album, exclusively for my Bandcamp subscribers. #therhythmofthecity🎶🌃 #johnpaulkeith #memphismusic #vinyl #bandcamp https://www.instagram.com/p/CpLbrqJPaX8/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

John Paul Keith #johnpaulkeith (at The Side Bar)

Check out our recent Motel Mirrors live performance, recorded at Lafayette’s Memphis for Beale Street Caravan.