Author: Bill Lord, Executive Director

It is so cool to see this project coming together! Now that our song is selected, we are actively recruiting the necessary musicians. In order to minimize complications, we are recruiting musicians from our networks in Colorado and Maryland. We have some exceptional talent lined up. There are still some logistical challenges to negotiate, but we are looking to schedule recording sessions late this Summer.

The Board Members listened to and ranked all song submissions using a 40 point scoring system. In the end, the tune with the highest tally was “Come Home,” by Maryland-based songwriter Seth Jernigan. There was some tough competition, but at the end of the day, Come Home came through as our choice for Phase I.

Many thanks to all songwriters who took the time to submit a song for us to consider. By taking the time to submit your fine works, you are supporting us and our ability to advance our mission.

Next up, we decide what musicians will be selected to include on our virtual recording sessions. This is about to get very exciting and interesting!

We have had some excellent tunes floated our way for consideration to be used in our Phase I Project! The reviewers have scored the submitted songs and we have indeed selected a song for the Project. We are waiting until the songwriter reviews and signs off on our single song agreement before we announce our decision. As soon as we have the agreement in hand, I will publicly announce the song and author.

Many thanks again to those who have submitted works, your suggestions and support. Stay tuned for more news soon…

I cannot tell you how happy and proud I am of the two student teams that were assigned to our organization this Spring. The teams were as follows:

Acoustics Team
Schylar Woods – Team Leader
Chris Breuer
Ben Dolph
Hayden Sinchak

Database Team
Eli Brainard – Team Leader
Leonardo Signorelli
Ian Giacomelli
Melissa Baumgardner
Jessica Bangs

Schylar and crew researched and developed strategies for how to treat  home and school spaces with commonly available materials to help  ensure musicians will achieve superior recordings in spaces not designed for audio production.

Eli and team researched, configured and installed a database on our DreamHost website that allows us to upload microphone characteristics data pertaining to mics in our mic locker.

Both teams did a superb job and went beyond the scope of agreement.

While I am not able to make the microphone characteristics database public due to partnership agreements, I can release a link to the work of the Acoustics Team.

DIY Acoustics

A special nod of thanks to the UCCS BI Profs. They are the master facilitators who ensure these projects happen:
Dr. Jenifer Robertson
Dr. Corrine Harmon
Dr. Nina Polok (Program Director)

I hope you derive benefit and enjoyment from the teams’ innovative and good works.

We have received some fine song submissions. Out of this pool of original  compositions, only one will be selected to be recorded as part of our Americana Phase I Proof of Concept Project. Our Board Members have begun reviewing all submissions and and will ultimately choose which song will be our Americana tune for 2018! The name of the songwriter and the song’s title will be announced May 21st.

Once the song is selected, next steps include determining what vocals and instruments are needed to help make our production the best it can be. Then, musicians based out of Maryland and Colorado will be selected. Finally, it is on to the recording, mixing and mastering. We will apply a hybrid recording strategy with the cooperation of musicians and supporting partner institutions! We are loosely scheduled to record the song mid-to-late Summer, depending on logistics.

Visit us over the next few weeks to learn more about our wonderful musicians, our unique recording strategy, and get ready to hear our first recorded work! 2018 is a big year for Global Z!

This Winter has been crazy with late March and early April snows. Spring has finally arrived in Maryland, and along with the promise of flower blossoms, fresh green leaves, and lawns that need mowing, Global Z has been busy with our partner institutions moving our mission forward.

Our two UCCS BI student teams have been doing amazing work that I am looking forward to releasing to the public in a month or so. Meanwhile, the FCC Audio Production students have been conducting more microphone characteristics analyses which have been revealing some surprising results!

We have also altered our Phase I song submission requirements in order to have access to a wider range of works to choose from by enlisting the assistance of the amazing artistic community at Just Plain Folks.

So, there has been lots of work going on behind the scenes these past few months and May through July promises to produce some exciting developments!

A huge nod of thanks to the staff, profs, students, and artists at UCCS BI, FCC Audio Production, and Just Plain Folks!

The University of Colorado Colorado Springs, is home to the “Worlds only Bachelor of Innovation Degree,” and their program mission is beautifully aligned with those of The Global Z Recording Project.

Global Z is a social change agent, designed to have a positive impact on peace-mindedness while discovering and promoting young world class musicians. We educate participants and the world by introducing them to various cultures, places, people, and genres of music. The Bachelor of Innovation (BI) program, “is aimed toward students who want to make an impact, who are destined to change their world and add value to society.”

UCCS BI Program

We had the honor of being assigned a talented team of BI students to work with us in Fall 2014. For Spring 2018, we are thrilled to have been assigned TWO student teams, which is both unusual and exciting.

Team One will be researching, designing and developing a reference resource that advises how to acoustically treat home and school room settings while recording audio to control for bouncing sound waves using common household materials. Team Two will be designing and developing a secure microphone characteristics database we can refer to that allows us to anticipate what microphones might work best while recording a specific instrument or vocal type.

The timing on the development of both resources is close to perfect. We are currently in the middle of our Phase I Proof of Concept Project and will be able to apply acoustic treatment principles to work in the near future. Also, in December, we completed our first semester of researching microphone characteristics with the assistance of Frederick Community College’s Dr. Jon Cresci and his Audio Production students.

FCC Audio Production Program

This week, we are preparing to enter into another semester of microphone testing and analysis that will be conducted over the coming months.

Thank you to our partner institutions for assisting our organization by providing valuable resources and services, while allowing us to provide real-world teaching and learning experiences to students.

 

We are honored to announce the addition of Dr. Jan Dommerholt to our Board. Jan brings with him a unique  set of skills, knowledge and experiences that includes physical therapy; a Dutch-educational and training perspective; world culture  and teaching expertise; former performing clarinetist and saxophonist; world-renowned dry needling expertise; business owner; and expertise in the diagnosis and treatment of musicians with musculoskeletal problems. Our Board is looking forward to collaborating and brainstorming with Dr. Dommerholt as we take The Global Z Recording Project into 2018!

We feel particularly fortunate this year. In the Spring, we restructured the organization in the Great State of Maryland. We developed new partnerships and attracted a couple of awesome sponsors. We have been in operation for more than 3 years and have acquired all the equipment necessary to launch Phase I. And now, after years of research, planning, doing, and collaboration, Phase I is underway.

To our past and current Board members, our past and  current Subject Matter Experts, our past and current partners, I humbly extend my thanks for believing in what we are about, what we have achieved to date, and what we seek to achieve. Our mission is a humble one and I am honored to be working alongside such talented and caring people.

We give thanks to all who appreciate great music and share in the mission to spread peace and understanding from person to person, culture to culture.  Peace.

After many hours of collaboration, work and planning by a number of fine volunteers, the day is upon us! Global Z’s Phase I Maryland Americana Songwriting Contest is live!

To find out more about this ground-breaking contest, please check out our Phase I web page. Deadline to receive all submission is December 15!

Musicians, you will be next! If you dig playing Americana music and you are a student based in MD, keep you eyes open for a call for auditions.

My thanks to everyone involved to make this launch a reality.