As the end of the semester quickly approaches, Blue Hawk Records is gearing up to present their 19th compilation, “Back on Track”, to the world. This brand-new LP features seven songwriters performing their completely original songs.
The artists have had a long and exciting journey since September. Every artist went through an audition process, whether it was via in-person presentation or digital submission, and their music stood out to the Blue Hawk Records team. Then the artists moved on to communicating with their managers and creating demos of their songs before eventually heading to Lakehouse Recording Studios for sessions that occurred over the course of three weeks.
Both the artists/musicians and the people working behind the scenes had a blast at the studio. Blue Hawk artist JADE.’s song “Waste Forever” will be featured on “Back on Track”, however it had already been previously recorded and released. Therefore, JADE. had the chance to visit Lakehouse and got to view things “from an outsider’s perspective.” She said, “I’d never not been the one recording at a studio, so to see these musicians working so hard on perfecting their songs, and some of them even recording for the very first time, was so cool. I’m so glad I was able to be a part of those moments and capture them in photos!”
Monmouth University provides a very unique experience for those looking to appear on a Blue Hawk Records album. Abby Garcia, a second-time Blue Hawk artist, said, “Having the opportunity to go to Lakehouse is my favorite thing about Monmouth’s music program. Being at the studio inspires me to keep working on my music because hearing my songs go from a voice memo on my phone to the final product we make is so rewarding.”
As part of Professor Joe Rapolla’s Record Label Strategies class, students who were producers, musicians, or just eager to witness the recording process were also invited to join the recording sessions. Nick Ruiz-Garrecht was part of a band on one of the album’s tracks. When recalling his experience at Lakehouse, he said, “Playing in the studio is both an exhilarating and fun experience that requires a great deal of concentration. Danny [O’Grady] played his guitar while singing in the vocal booth and he was great. Mikey [Sanchez] was on bass and laid down some pretty cool lines. I’d never heard Mike [Viani] on drums before, but he was really, really good too. On the last take, Mike asked me to play the softer guitar picking part first and then do the main riff I had come up with, and then we all ended together after that buildup with me playing the unison bend and Mike with the four hits on the snare.” From the producing to the mixing to the singing, everyone involved in “Back on Track” has been putting in a substantial amount of effort to make it the best LP it can be.
Over the past couple of weeks, “Back on Track” artists have been appearing on the Blue Hawk Talk radio show, which airs Wednesdays from 10 p.m.-12 a.m. and is hosted by Elena Worton. Worton has been interviewing the artists on their upcoming songs and will also be joined by special guests for the final show on Wednesday, Dec. 8. Just a couple of guests on the show so far have been Olivia Melfi, a long-time songwriter who is sharing her music with the world for the first time, and Samantha Spano, a country artist who has been seen on both New Jersey and Nashville stages. Just recently on Blue Hawk Talk was an exciting announcement about a live event being hosted on the night of the album release.
On Dec. 10, a listening party for “Back on Track” will be hosted at Woods Theatre from 6-8 p.m. It is open to all Monmouth students, and there will be free food, giveaways, and even performances from some of the artists! Keep an eye out this Friday for the official release of Blue Hawk Records’ first LP, “Back on Track”, and be sure to stream it wherever you listen to music!
