Evoking images of desert plains and ghost towns, the music of The Famous is like swallowing hard liquor—a raw, scorching blast of rocket-fueled post-punk guitar and country twang, a blasphemous marriage of indie-styled rock & roll and cowboy laments.

Elmwood Studios: Where “Come Home to Me” from The Famous was Mixed

6/22/09 — Just about every native-born Texan is raised with an ingrained sense of how much the Lone Star state prides itself on independence. The point is driven home like a fence post early and often that Texas has the right to secede from the Union any time it sees fit.

Some of this may be an embellishment on the state’s constitution by middle school history teachers — and while that kind of enthusiasm helps make Texans a boastful bunch filled with state pride, true independents are often hard to come by. Yet, there are exceptions.

In the early 1900s, the town of Oak Cliff was annexed by the city of Dallas, but in many ways it’s always kept some independence from the big city. Local businesses and restaurants mixed in along same blocks as family homes is the hallmark of Oak Cliff’s Elmwood neighborhood.

It is here on a street named after Balboa (presumably the Spanish explorer) that you could easily drive past what was formerly a realtor’s office and not realize a Grammy-winning producer/engineer was working inside.

Elmwood Studios is owned and operated by Stuart Sikes whose work with Modest Mouse, Cat Power and the White Stripes has helped craft some of the most highly regarded albums in recent memory.

It was his mix of Loretta Lynn’s “Van Lear Rose” that brought him a Grammy award and made us big fans of his work.

For several hot Dallas days and nights in June of ‘09, we worked with Sikes to create a classic analog feel for each of the 11 songs featured on “Come Home to Me.” His ear for the right tone is incredible and he’s got a studio full of great gear both vintage and modern to make it happen.

We are thrilled to have collaborated with Sikes at Elmwood and hope you enjoy the mixes of “Come Home to Me.” Be sure to listen with headphones.

Greetings from Texas!

6/15/09 — The Famous' great mixing expedition of 2009 has brought us to Dallas' Elmwood Studios in the historic Elmwood section of Oak Cliff. It's not just home to this excellent studio but also some great off the beaten path taquerias that rival many of our Bay Area favorites. (The carne asada tacos at Taqueria La Competidora were as big as the Lone Star state and just about as hot.)

For some nearly hour-by-hour updates (and an update archive) check out our @thefamous feed and make us a Tweetin' fave if you haven't yet.

Stuart Sikes is the man. He's done an incredible job engineering the mixes and has helped us craft a sound that has made this collection of songs a full-fledged, 11-song album. We've gotten past working titles and are pretty sure we have an album name. Thanks for all of the great suggestions. Our favorite to this day remains... "The Chinese Democracy of Alt-Country."

We'll let you know the name of the follow-up to "Light, Sweet Crude" next time. Now, back to the mix.

The Famous Presents, mixing and tweets

5/29/09 — Now that we're just two weeks away from mixing the new album at Elmwood Studios in Dallas, we're staying busy with a couple of new things. For starters, a constant flow of The Famous/indie-music related Twitter updates... so get your hashtags on @thefamous to follow us, so that we can follow you. The other thing we're getting up and running on this site and on our YouTube channel is 'The Famous Presents.' It'll feature our favorite songs -- some originals, but mostly covers -- performed at our studio. The first one, you may have heard at our live shows... "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain." Check it out and we'll catch up with you later.

Nearing the finish line...

5/1/09 — We've wrapped all the overdubs for the still-to-be-named new album and have booked a mixing session with Stuart Sikes (White Stripes, Loretta Lynn, Cat Power) for mid-June and mastering the following week by JJ Golden (Calexico, New Pornographers), so we're shooting for a late July release if all goes according to plan. It's been almost two years since we started writing songs for this album, and a little over a year since we laid down the first tracks. Thanks for being so patient, we think you'll find the wait was well worth it. Stay tuned for sneak previews and special offers...

Sneak Preview

12/4/08 — Here's a "behind the scenes" look at the making of the upcoming new album from The Famous featuring clips from five new songs: "Eye On You", "Mano Negra", "Come Home To Me", "Moving On", and "Cold Tonight".

Subscribe to our YouTube Channel to be notified when new videos are posted

Basic tracking completed

9/14/08 — The Famous have completed recording the basic rhythm tracks for their upcoming new album after a second session at Laughing Tiger Studios on September 6-7 with engineer Rick Vargas at the helm. Thanks Rick and Ari -- the drums sound amazing! Twelve new songs ranging from the post-punk squall of "This Thing Won't Go" to the lush instrumental Americana of "Under The Stars" await you... We're going to be working on vocal and guitar overdubs for the rest of the year with a release planned for early mid 2009. Stay tuned...

Light, Sweet Crude back in print!

8/15/08 — The first pressing of Light, Sweet Crude has been out of print for several months leaving many hungry music fans left with digital downloads as their only option. Well for those who savor ripping the shrink-wrap off a fresh new jewelcase and extracting the shiny disc within, you'll be happy to hear that Light, Sweet Crude is back in stock and available for purchase now on CD Baby. Get yours now!

Back in the studio

Hey there -

Thanks for dropping by the home of The Famous. Here's the very latest: we just completed tracks for six new songs on a full-length album that is planned for release in likely mid-to-late August early 2009.

We recorded at Tiny Telephone in San Francisco where we mixed our debut album with the talented Jay Pellicci at the helm. The champion of the most recent session was our man with the steadiest of steady beats, drummer Chris Fruhauf. No doubt, G.D. had an impressive thud working in exact time with his bass, but the endurance and concentration award goes to Fru.

Best supporting actor honors go to the band's documentarian extraordinaire, Bart Bishoff, who snapped the great photos you see here, but better yet, has a video trailer of the recording forthcoming.

Vic and Laurence have mapped out the remaining ideas for the album, which promises to be an eclectic blast across the ever-widening landscape of the band's West Coast indie, alt-country sound.

Meanwhile, We know you may be thinking by now, 'Just what has been taking so long between albums guys?' Well, quality over quantity has been our motto from day one.

Seriously, we want a record that builds on 'Light, Sweet Crude' and have been very careful to get the right kinds of sounds to accompany some fairly intricate arrangements.

Each of us love working in the studio and can't wait to deliver you a first-class record.

Until next time... which won't be too far from now... take care and be good to yourself.

-- The Famous

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