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Latest Voice, Music, Celebrity News and Information Blog

Voice Of McDonald's Singing Contest Semi-Finalists Studio Recording Vocals

Toronto semi-finalist vocalists John Paulo Amor & Justine Fajardo recording songs and 'live' studio music video for the 5th annual Voice of McDonald's worldwide employee singing contest.
Since 2006, employees have entered by submitting more than 36,000 videos in hopes of winning trips to Orlando, Florida, USA to compete for up to $25,000 and more exciting prizes.
The competition has grown through online voting: videos on www.voiceofmcdonalds.com featuring top VOM performers have been seen more than 1.75 million times, and voting by the public has helped to make their dreams come true.

Stacey Englehart Television Commercial Voice-Over

Great audio recording session with the friendly, sweet and sexy Stacey Englehart for the ‘Behind The Brands – BIC’ pens Television Commercial Campaign.

Stacey's TV and Radio Personality credits include Brandpower, Evanov Radio Group, CTV, CBC, Global, Sun TV, E! Network, and Fox.

Sensodyne's Repair and Protect Has Gone to Air

We are pleased to announce 'Sensodyne's Repair and Protect' voice-over recorded at the studio has gone to air - Watch the television commercial.

The G Adventures Team Voice-Over

Rocking voice-over recording session with Todd Rogerson, Mayor at G Adventures and his team of eight ethnic voices. Good on ya for the twisted script Steve English!

Bolshoi Ballerina Svetlana Lunkina Graces JL Recording Studio

It was an absolute pleasure to spend time recording a Russian voice-over with Bolshoi ballerina Svetlana Lunkina this afternoon at the studio. Svetlana is a strikingly beautiful lady and extremely passionate about her involvement with the arts. Svetlana has been in Canada for about eight months and has joined Toronto's Dance Teq studio for a teaching stint. Also, she isn't ruling out applying for a post at the National Ballet of Canada, where artistic director Karen Kain has allowed her to take classes with the company.

Sensodyne 'Repair and Protect‘ 30 second Television Commercial Voice Recordings

Fantastic early morning studio session joined by voice artists Lori and Erica recording English & French voice-overs for Buchanan Group ‘MediFacts – Sensodyne Repair and Protect‘ 30 second Television Commercials.

Jenny Lee Stern Voice-Over Recording

JL Recording Studios today welcomed the very talented Broadway Star Jenny Lee Stern to record a voice over for the Museum of Science.
Jenny Lee is part of the new company of Forbidden Broadway beginning previews July 24th.
Jenny is thrilled to be a part of this prestigious New York tradition. She originated the role of "Mary Delgado" in the Chicago and Toronto productions of Jersey Boys as well as playing it in the First National Tour. Recently she's been seen around the city as The Little Mermaid in the Off-Broadway bound Disenchanted. Regionally, Jenny has garnered critical acclaim time and again for her portrayal of Patsy Cline in Always...Patsy Cline.

 

Canadian Tire "Sure Life" Television Commercials

At the studio today with content media producer Tony Sasso and Ann Smith, voice over artist.  The audio recording session included mixing and mastering for several Canadian Tire "Sure Life" television commercials. The spots will shortly air across Canada.

Air Wick Television Commercial / Punjabi

Things were buzzing at the studio with creative directors Imran Awan and Irfan Khan at the helm for today's voice over recording, mix, and audio mastering of the upcoming Air Wick " Colour Changing Candles" television commercial in Punjabi. The 15 second spot is soon to be aired.

Our Very Own Victor Garber at JL Studios

   

Our very own Victor Garber was at JL Recording Studios today laying down voice overs for The Canadian Diabetes Foundation radio campaign.

Victor is in-town currently to promote Paramount Pictures' Titanic 3-D on DVD.

In addition to this visit, Garber - who has appeared in a litany of Hit Films and Television Series, including Alias, You Again, The First Wives Club, Legally Blonde and Sleepless in Seattle - will be returning again shortly for TIFF 2012, as he stars in Warner Bros.' Argo, directed by and starring Ben Affleck. "I'm heading back home today and will be back again next week!", he says. On Argo, he tells me, "You're going to love it. It's an excellent Film."

OVA spots for SPIKES Program

SPIKES® is the latest craze from Ontario Volleyball!  The program has been successfully launched across the province as an exciting combination of developmental and house league structures.  SPIKES® is focused on providing a supportive, non-competitive environment, where learning volleyball skills is a whole lot of fun!

Youth who participate in SPIKES® will learn the basics of volleyball: forearm and overhead passing, attacking, serving, and basic team movement.  Depending on age, game play is modified to ensure that every athlete is involved with each play, ensuring maximum learning.  Also, the game environment is modified to increase early success, improving the enjoyability and fun factor for all involved.
In addition to the technical elements of the game, youth are immersed in the other side of our team-based sport:  clear communication, being supportive of teammates, and good sportsmanship.  By spending time encouraging these elements through the drills and activities, it is our hope that SPIKES® will foster youth who are not only passionate about the game, but recognize the value of being a respectful and supportive teammate, as well.

Voice Of McDonald's Semi-Finalists

JL Studios had a wonderfully creative past two days working with Molly Marlow and Sarah Peterson vocal recording and shooting live off the floor video for the Voice of McDonald's IV worldwide talent singing contest.

The contest showcases the talents of crew and managers worldwide, as they show the world all kinds of opportunities the company provides for their restaurant employees.

Contestants were be able to enter through the competitions in their own countries.  The top 16 contestants (four each from North America, Latin America, Europe and Asia-Pacific/Middle East/Africa) will become Global Semi-Finalists, and eligible to compete in the final rounds at McDonald's 2012 Worldwide Talent Convention in Orlando, Florida, USA.

Heating It Up With Lisa Ray

OMG!! Lisa Ray, Bollywood/Hollywood Actress and former Model was recently at JL Studios recording voice and her quest for gold is heating up...on  OH MY GOLD!
 Starting July 11th on Discovery TLC.

Sneak peak into behind the scenes of Oh My Gold!


 

Twilight Star Robert Pattinson at JL Studios

"Twilight" star Robert Pattinson stopped by JL Studios this afternoon to record an ADR voice-over for an L.A. project in the works. Rob was very laid back and accompanied by two friends with a dog. He is a huge music fan and is an excellent musician, playing both the guitar and piano.

MR816 CSX Is JL Studios Newest Addition

The MR816 CSX fuse fully featured FireWire studio interfaces and inbuilt DSP FX power with next-generation integrative technologies. Developed by Steinberg and Yamaha, both MR interfaces are the centerpiece of a latency-free recording and monitoring environment that fully exploits the flexibility and power of Cubase.
The MR816 CSX is, simply put, the ideal hardware for any Cubase owner who needs to record vocals, instruments, keyboards, percussion or any other audio source. The Advanced Integration between MR816 and Cubase offers a unique and powerful production solution that fully mirrors Cubase functionality, adds DSP power for mixing, allows on-the-fly rerouting of input signals via Quick Connect, full integration into the Cubase user interface and much more.

Apple Mac Pro Takes Center Stage at JL

We are in love with our Apple Mac Pro 2.26GHz 8-core!!! This baby is a member of Apple's most powerful family of computers yet. Boasting "Nehalem" processors for seriously beefed up performance, the Mac Pro 2.26GHz 8-core accesses information between cores more efficiently than ever before. Plus, with a massive 640GB hard drive - and three more internal drive bays for expansion - along with 12GB of installed memory, four FireWire 800 ports, and five USB 2.0 ports, the studio has a powerhouse companion for your demanding professional audio work!!!

Morgan Kelly at JL Studios for "Long Day Gone"

Morgan Kelly at JL Studios for ADR voice on his soon to be released film, "Long Day Gone".

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Inspired by true events, Long Gone Day is the story of Christian Locke, a young rockstar who was on the verge of superstardom, then he disappeared. A year since his bands last tour, Christian no longer opens his door.

Phone calls are ignored, messages are not returned. Isolated in his loft, Christian hides from the outside world. Despite his childhood dreams of stardom, he now spends his days getting high and remembering Layna, the girl who left him as his addiction spiraled out of control.
Determined to get her back, Christian finally vows to overcome his demons. But as he soon discovers, while drugs can be addictive, fame can be even worse.

Caught between his dreams of musical immortality and the simple happiness he's found in his girlfriend Layna, Christian is on the verge of losing it all. But just when the memories of his past catch up with him on his journey towards recovery, a dark secret is discovered that casts doubt over everything we believed to be real along the way.

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Chad Pollett and Dani Matte Explore Cory Lee

Chad Pollett, producer and Dani Matte of The Management Trust met singer, songwriter, Cory Lee today at JL Studios to explore possible future collaboration.

Shannay Smith is an Original and Distinctive Voice

Shannay Smith graced JL Studios today to record piano and vocals for her latest four song effort. This talented singer with her crystalline vocals and insightful songwriting, is one to keep a look out for. Shannay is an original and distinctive voice who will surely be welcomed by the Toronto music scene.
Shannay Smith has been involved in performing arts since she was a little girl. Her first debut performance as Anne of Green Gables when she was 10 years old. Since then she has been the lead in many musicals such as Laurie in Oklahoma, The Narrator in Joseph and the Technicolor dreamcoat, and Cinderella in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella. Having had extensive vocal training Shannay has been awarded multiple scholarships for her vocal performances.She graduated from the performing arts school Randolph Academy.
She is involved in an entertainment group called the Blonde Moments - singing and dancing to choreographed songs from the 50's and 60's and she is one of the lead singers for a cover band called The Groove Babies.
She began composing her own music on the piano when she was in high school and has only recently begun to pursue a career in being a solo artist in Toronto.

New Single for Country Artist Lee Everett

What a great time we had tracking vocals on a new single for country artist, Lee Everett. The song, "Got What It Takes" was penned by legendary song writer Don Graham. Also, present for the session was super star Bobby Curtola who sang backing harmonies for the track, joined by son Rob Krienke, and patrons of the arts Rosemary & Paul Learn. After the session had wrapped I mentioned to Bobby that a friends mother was a huge fan and asked if he could autograph a picture for her. Bobby said, "I can do better than that, do you have her telephone number?" Mr. Curtola ended up calling Carol and personally sang a song to her over the phone. Now that's what I call a commitment to his fans. Bobby, your one of the coolest guys I have ever met!

Hugo and Kimberly Deliver Solid Vocals

Hugo Straney, Singer and Irish Person of the Year joined Winnipeg Vocalist, Kimberly Wood (who has worked with Shania Twain), at JL Studios for a recording session today. Hugo and Kim layed down solid vocal accompaniments for the soon to be released Bobby Curtola record, 'Coming Home'. Delicious home baked cookies were shared, the conversation laden with humour. A fun time was had by all.

Be sure to check out 'We Are Irish', hosted by Hugo Straney on Chin AM Radio 1540, each Sunday from 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. EST. .

Bobby Curtola The Original Teen Idol Recording at JL

Bobby Curtola, the original “teen idol” spent the day at JL Studios tracking vocals for his upcoming album. It was great pleasure to work with Bobby on the albums title track, "Coming Home", written by MacGregor/Graham/Curtola/Hill, and being recorded as a tribute to the Canadian Armed Forces. The single is due to be released in February on Breakin Records.

In the fall of 1959, sixteen-year-old high school student Bobby Curtola went from pumping gas at his father’s garage in Thunder Bay, Ontario, to the life of a Teenage Idol. Who would have known that within a year he would go from playing in his basement band “Bobby and the Bobcats” (who played Lakeview High Assemblies) to recording his first hit single “Hand In Hand With You.”

The “45” was recorded at a radio station in Thunder Bay and it was released in January 1960. By February it was sent to radio stations nation-wide, starting first in Winnipeg and then Halifax to the Rock’n’Roll DJ of the Maritimes, Frank Cameron at CHNS radio. Next it was sent to Regina, then Kingston, to DJ Brian Olney at CKWS radio and CFUN radio’s Red Robinson in Vancouver. Edmonton and Calgary stations were playing it next and it made its way into the Ottawa Valley ending up in Toronto in June. The response was immense and with his popularity mushrooming Bobby was making many promotional and professional appearances, one of the most significant was opening for the Bob Hope Show in March.

The charismatic Bobby, with his handsome boy next door looks was quickly finding himself within a whirlwind that we now refer to as “Curtolamania.” Everywhere he went there were throngs of teenage girls screaming...“Bobby, Bobby... We love you!”

Bobby set out on his first Western Canada Tour in the fall of 1960 with Edmonton’s famous DJ from CJCA radio, Barry Boyd and his band The Frantics. From there Bobby went on to become a trailblazer, establishing the first coast to coast tour circuit in Canada. Within the next year he was recording in Nashville with Bill Porter for RCA Studios, where he continued to record for many years.

Basil and Dyer Hurdon, Bobby’s first managers and songwriters can be credited for much of this early success.

The hit “Fortune Teller” was released in 1962 and was soon to be Gold in Canada. The now Rock’n’Roll Hall of Famer, Red Robinson, was instrumental in Fortune Teller’s success. Seeing its potential internationally, he sent it to Pat O’Day at Seattle’s KJR and Hawaii’s KPOI radio. The result was monumental. The Americans went crazy over it, especially since they couldn’t buy it; it wasn’t in the stores yet. A major US record deal was signed and Fortune Teller went on to become a 2.5 million seller internationally! Bobby now had everyone’s attention!...He was invited to tour with Dick Clark and his Cavalcade of Stars, the beginning of many tours that followed. While on tour in England that same year, Bobby met The Beatles and appeared on the famous British TV variety show “Thank Your Lucky Stars.”

In June of l964, Bobby was definitely in the right place at the right time. He became the first pop singer to record a jingle that sounded like a “Top 40 Hit Single,” the song was “Things Go Better with Coke.” He signed an exclusive contract with Coca-Cola to be their #1 Spokesman. Bobby, inspired by Coke and thinking of a spin off to “Things Go Better with Coke,” co-wrote “The Real Thing” which he used a version of for the commercial “Coke’s The Real Thing.”

Bobby made numerous appearances on network “Teen” TV shows like American Bandstand. His Hollywood debut was on Hullabaloo and Shindig, from southern California, then the world famous Wolf Man Jack Show and Don Webster’s show in Cleveland, Ohio. He later became the first recording artist to host not one, but two Network Canadian TV shows, After Four on CFTO Channel 9 in 1965 and 1966 and Shake, Rock and Roll on CTV in 1973. Bobby was also host to many of the Miss Canada and Miss Teen Canada Pageants.

The sixties, with hit after hit for Bobby, included 25 Canadian Gold singles and 12 Canadian Gold albums.

The year 1972 became a turning point for Bobby. He made the transition from “teen idol” to the “highest paid nightclub entertainer” in Canada and was ready for his debut in Las Vegas. Once there, he was an instant success! With his degree of professionalism and sheer showmanship he couldn’t help but impress the audiences and it wasn’t long before he was noticed. Walter Kane, who was in charge of hiring the entertainment for the Hughes Hotel chain, signed Bobby to a five year multi-million dollar contract making him the first Canadian entertainer to receive a long term contract in Las Vegas. Bobby continued a very successful career in Vegas for more than twenty years.

Courtesy of bobbycurtola.com

New Kid Neumann TLM 103 Shines at JL Studios Recording

JL Studios has added the Neumann TLM 103 to our collection of microphones.

As a large diaphragm condenser mic, the Neumann TLM 103 can handle most recording situations one will come up against. It shines as a vocal mic with pleasing coloration in the high frequency realm. It's proximity effect is nearly perfect in my opinion. It gives you that extra bass you want without being overbearing. Neumann recommends it for broadcast, sampling, foley, and as a spot mic for strings, winds, percussion, amps and as an overhead for drums.

Due to the mic's low self-noise and distortion, you could use a hyper-EQ shape and/or an extremely squashed and spanking compressor setting and not highlight any microphone shortcomings. I found applications where I prefer the TLM 103 over anything else in the mic cabinet.

Quite simply JL Studios loves the new Neumann TLM 103. Bravo.

"The Puck's Fanfare" Theme Song

Jeffrey Leclair and John Francis have co-written "The Puck's Fanfare" theme song that has been entred to Canada's Hockey Anthem Challenge.

http://anthemchallenge.cbc.ca/mediadetail/322630

CANADA’S HOCKEY ANTHEM CHALLENGE WINNER

Entrant(s) of the winning Theme will receive $100,000.00 Cdn. (in total) for an assignment of copyright, and a waiver of moral rights, in the winning Theme’s composition, including its lyrics, and ownership of the Master Recording of the Entry.

As well, CBC will direct that half of the royalties for public performance of the Theme, will be paid to the Songwriter(s) to be divided among them in accordance with the formula set out in the Competition Rules, and half will be donated by CBC to minor league hockey. The winning Theme will be broadcast as a key part of the program during the 2008-9 hockey season, and potentially beyond.

David Matthews Killer Bass

 David Matthews joined us at the studio to lay down killer bass for a new SHIRTLIFTER single due to be released soon.

David Matthews has been working as a singer songwriter in Toronto for
the past 8 years . Dividing his time between acoustic , and bass
guitar fairly evenly. " I enjoy solo acoustic performance , for its
simplicity , and bass guitar for the wide variety of artists and
genres it has allowed me to work with."

David enjoyed his first time at the JL studios . "It was a genuine
pleasure to be there. If I could get every engineer I work with to
make the bass guitar sound this FAT , bass guitar would likely be my
only job title!"

Billy Newton–Davis Hits A High Note

International singing superstar, Billy Newton–Davis is back at JL Studios recording remixes for his currently released tracks "All U Ever Want", "I Like Your Music" and "Outta My Life".

"All U Ever Want" has just been nominated for a Juno Award for Dance Recording of The Year, sponsored by Galaxie, CBC's continuous music network.

The triple Juno winner described himself as "overwhelmed and so excited" over his nomination. "When Melleny Melody and Deadmau5 (producers and owners of Toronto Play Records) brought me into their world, I had no idea it would lead to this," he said.

Billy's debut album, Love Is a Contact Sport included the songs 'Deeper,' 'Right Beside You,' and 'Find My Way Back,' and won Newton-Davis the 1986 Juno award for best R&B/Soul recording and most promising male vocalist. His 1989 follow-up, Spellbound, included his most successful single, 'I Can't Take It,' as well as 'Can't Live with You' (a duet with Céline Dion), and won the 1989 Juno award as best R&B/Soul recording.

Jason Farrar Explores with His Stick

Renowned bass player and vocalist Jason Farrar, accompanied by his bass stick joined Shirtlifter at JL Studios to lay down melodies for two songs on the up coming, "More Songs About Gods" album.

After graduating in classical piano and voice at the Royal Conservatory, Jason Farrar has gone on to unfailingly pound and caress his way through hundreds of gigs and rehearsals. His band credits include J. Englishman and Brother Love Canal, the Sattalites, Megan Morrison, Blues Element, and the Greg Wyard Band, but to name a few.
In 1993, Leslea Keurvorst and Farrar formed Kuru, a Toronto-based dark-wave band. Their classical training combined with their use of technology and the human voice gave them a unique and dark sound that was perfectly suited to the needs of the film. Their work has appeared in a number of films and they have produced several independent recording projects during their eight years together.
In spring 2004, Jason joined "Classic Albums Live" project as choirmaster. Classic Albums Live is fast becoming one of Toronto's biggest attractions. The Classic Albums Live group draws on the finest musicians from around the world to create a track-for-track, note-for-note experience duplicating an album from the annals of rock history.
Farrar performs regularly in Toronto, Canada and around the world.

Darryl Sutton from BRTB Connects

Darryl Sutton from BRTB ventured to JL Studios to personally deliver an order of cable connectors. The guys at BRTB pay meticulous attention to detail and you will be hard pressed to find better customer service.

If you need pro audio and video cabling that rivaIs Mogami at a more competive price, then I suggest you check out BRTB.

"The Audio division of BRTB is 10 years old and has quickly built a reputation for quality audio cabling. BRTB Audio products consist of standard audio cables to snake systems, recording snakes, connectors, bulk cable and accessories. All BRTB audio assemblies are manufactured at their modern facility located in Markham Ontario, Canada."

Courtesy of brtbcanada.com

Richard Thomas at JLS Recording

Veteran actor Richard Thomas trecked to JL Studios between performances to record a voice over for "Hope For Life".

"Thomas is in Toronto staring as courageous Juror #8 in Twelve Angry Men, which hit the stage at the Princess of Wales Theatre Jan. 8. Most remember Richard Thomas as John-Boy from The Waltons in 1972, the role that first made him a household name. During the Waltons years, Thomas starred in several well-mounted TV movies, including the 1979 remake of All Quiet on the Western Front. Ever seeking opportunities to expand his range, Thomas has sunk his teeth into such roles as the self-destructive title character in Living Proof: The Hank Williams Jr. Story (1983) and the amusingly sanctimonious Rev. Bobby Joe in the satirical Glory! Glory!. In 1980, Thomas made his first Broadway appearance in over two decades as the paralyzed protagonist of Whose Life is It Anyway."

Courtesy of thestar.com