22 November 2006
WOW! It's been 3 months since my last update. Well, I am happy to say the Fake Reality CD "Figments" is finally finished and for sale! It took us quite a while to get it to where we were all happy, but I think it was well worth the wait. Special thanks to Michael Landolt for his mix and patience and to Greg Reely for coming to the rescue when the disc was in need of some mastering love. You both helped to make this new record sound amazing - let's get going on the next one!

I will be in Montreal next week for the official release of Derek Yaple-Schobert's CD. It appears the chapel and piano we used to do the recording are quite in demand - it took him until now to secure a date for this performance. Rumour has it "Nordic Passion" will be given as gifts this holiday season by a high ranking diplomat - fantastic for you Derek!

While I am in Montreal I will also have the pleasure of attending a TUIAS performance. This will be the first time I get to see how they put our CD into a visual context and I am very much looking forward to it (I am also playing drums for Blue Venus in December here in Toronto for a show that TUIAS is opening).

And finally...
I've been playing drums a lot! I now play with the Gerry Alvarez Odyssey. You might remember Gerry if you were ever into a band called The Gruesomes. We've played three shows so far (Montreal, Hamilton, Toronto) and we're gearing up for more. Recently Latte has been playing acoustically - and I've been playing brushes and improvising with the rest of the band - we'll be done her new disc in a few months. AND - Brendan O'Brien was here. We went to New York City to play the Waldorf Astoria again which was a blast and we also did the benefit here in Toronto at the Granite Club.

Before the end of the year:
I hope to have the music to Latte's new CD completed, be in rehearsals with my new stage band, and have new web sites for Derek and Fake Reality.

More Soon! - Flavio

14 August 2006
The new solo classical piano disc by Montreal pianist Derek Yaple-Schobert is now available! This CD marks a departure for me from the worlds of Pop and Rock. It was a challenge musically that brought into play areas of music theory that I had not used in a long while. The disc is also the longest CD I have ever recorded at just under 72 minutes. I am very happy to have had the opportunity to work on this record with Derek and I look forward to the next one!

In other news: We're still working on the Fake Reality disc. It's almost done, but we decided to go back and re-tool some of the vocals. Mike Landolt has been working on the mixes in Columbus, Ohio and I'll be taking a trip down there soon to hear his work. Look for a fall release, a new website, and loads of touring.

And finally...
I did a gig this weekend north of Huntsville with a band called Fiction. Thank you to Martin and Anthony for the hospitality and great fun. I'll be doing some gigs with Latte soon and Brendan O'Brien will be visiting in September so we'll be heading to New York to perform at the Waldorf Astoria once again to benefit COPE.

Best wishes - Flavio!

13 June 2006
This past weekend was spent in post-production rehearsals with Fake Reality. We locked ourselves away inside the Rat Space for two days of intensive work on the live versions of the songs from their up-coming CD "Figments". It was 24 hours of hard work, but we've come away from it with a solid presentation. As part of the weekend, photographer Matt Maaskant came by with designer Carol Cooper to take pictures for their CD, promotional material and new site artwork. They spent four hours snapping pictures of the band and Matt got quite dirty in the process! Special thanks to Robin Easton for opening up his world class space to us and to Matt and Carol for being so patient in getting the right shots.

Derek's CD is done and being pressed. I can't wait to get a finished copy. I am very proud with the way this one has turned out. Look for a July release.

The next month is jam packed with drum gigs and pre-production for the D&BNB CD. I will also be at the Much Music Video Awards this weekend and the Toronto Downtown Jazz Festival for ten days before departing for Quebec to record Dynamo & Badnut Beats. 

And lastly, I have been added to the Vater drum sticks endorsee page at www.vater.com. I LOVE their sticks and am honored to be part of their family. FM

24 May 2006
I recently completed work on an online shop for Monopoli Music. Follow this link: www.monopolimusic.com/shop/m2onlineshop.htm to find a page where you can now purchase any, or all the discs I have produced. In the future I will be adding links for band merch as well as downloads and concert tickets.

On the weekend I drove up to Newmarket to visit a brand new studio called Abbymax. Owner George Lockhart was kind enough to take time out of his busy schedule to show me around. It's amazing in every way and I look forward to working there in the near future.

Monday marked the mastering of Derek Yaple-Schobert's classical piano CD at Suite Sound Labs in Vancouver. Jamie Sitar reports the process went off without a hitch and he is pleased with the result. Derek's CD will be available for sale shortly.

And finally! The recording of the new Fake Reality CD entitled "Figments" was completed today. I am happy to say it sounds amazing and will sound even better once Mike Landolt (Maroon 5, Spin Doctors, Rooster) has put his stamp on it. All the tracks are enroute to his new studio near Columbus, Ohio where he will be hard at work mixing the seven songs. Look for these guys soon - they're gonna blow your mind!

I am in pre-production for the new Dynamo and Badnut Beats CD. It is going extremely well and I promise this one will be quite the departure from the norm! FM

19 May 2006
Two months have gone by since my last update. It's been quite the couple of months! We're almost done recording the new Fake Reality CD. Mike Soragnese and I are hard at work finishing vocals and Mike Landolt (Maroon 5, Spin Doctors) has already started the mix. We'll likely be done in the next week or so. Here is a picture of their drummer Nick Fani laying down tracks in the Backline Lounge. The space is massive and wide open, but the walls have been treated with acoustic tiles that make the room sound great. Rush and the Barenaked Ladies used this space to do pre-production. Special thanks to Robin Billinton and Ted MacDonald for allowing us the use of this facility.

We shot the new Goodie Bag video for a song I wrote with Latte called "I Like Big Balls" last weekend. It's a parody of Sir Mix-a-lot's hit "I Like Big Butts" and the video promises to be quite funny. Kirby Ferguson has also asked me to do the score for his latest short film.

And finally - The TUIAS single "My Picture of You" has been placed into a CBC TV mini series called Dragon Boys. I produced and co-wrote the track with Jungle L. and I am very proud of this, our first serious piece of recognition.

The next few months will see me completing the Derek Yaple-Schobert classical piano CD and preparing for a 10 day session at Casa M with Dynamo and Badnut Beats (Drum and Bass / Ambient). This one is sure to be amazing as well! I am also in discussions with Big Rude Jake and hope we get to work together on his next project.

I am proud of all the work I have done over the last few years. I am proud that I stayed the course since becoming a producer and have made music that I love with people I now consider family. FM

12 March 2006
Friday night was the most recent installment of the Wet Spots' "Big Ass Show". It featured sketch comedy by Press Release and an appearance by Vancouver's Watermelon as well as the premier of the video for "Do You Take It?" (the video at www.goodiebag.tv has very nearly hit 500,000 downloads in just under a month!). My friend Matthew Maaskant took the picture at left for me as D'Addario Canada (www.daddariocanada.com) recently launched their new site and asked me to provide them with a new live shot to include in their endorsee area.

Matthew is one of the best photographers I have ever known. You can view his work at www.qr5.org. His band - also called QR5 (www.qr5.com)- has this great vibe and recently released a CD called Pharmakon. I had the honour of playing with them one night in December due to their drummer hurting his foot. It proved to be one of my favorite performances EVER! Sometimes magic happens! FM

07 February 2006
Last night was the first of two INXS concerts at Massey Hall here in Toronto.  I was invited to see the show from great seats and hung out backstage afterwards.  They performed a stellar set starting with "Suicide Blonde" and ending with "Never Tear Us Apart".  Thank you to my good friends "TM" and "13" for the tickets and passes.  I had a great time and it was great to have the opportunity to see you all again.  

I have found it very inspiring and educational to have the chance to see how some of these amazing shows are put on.  It was great to see the inner workings of Blue Man Group while I was in New York City in September, and it was interesting to see how INXS is using a system from DigiDesign (like mine) to put on their concerts.  All of these "inside scoops" will be put to good use when the 80's Hit Parade is finished and ready to begin performances.  I'll Keep you posted.

I got to sit behind Jon's drums after the show.  I used to own a kit similar in size to his, but truth be told it was a nightmare to transport and it usually took four people to get the rack onto the riser at different venues.  There were also a few early shows in small clubs where we could only fit the drum kit on the stage!  I guess that's the benefit of having a crew like INXS!

The band will be on a grueling tour that will take them around the world over the next 18 months.  All the best for a safe, fun filled and exciting journey! - FM

26 January 2006
I just returned from four days in Montreal.  I was there to produce a classical piano CD with Canadian concert pianist Derek Yaple-Schobert, whom I have known since the 4th grade. The session took place in a chapel on the corner of St-Laurent and Sherbrooke.  We captured some great music over the course of the long days spent together.  Derek, I am thankful you and I are still friends and that we share the gift of music.  You played magnificently!  Thank you to Derek's mother Jane for all the food.  Thanks also to Francis and Melanie for watching over us while we were in the chapel and to Oliver for tuning the most amazing piano I have ever heard!  A very special personal thanks to Nick, Dayle and Daniel Kravec for letting us stay at your beautiful house with the monster sized entertainment room.  You ROCK!  It was also very nice to see Derek's father Hans and Nick's mother Patricia.  Hans and Jane joined us for dinner after the first day of recording.

And lastly, the time in Montreal was spent in the company of one of my dearest friends - Eastside Jimmy (or in the case of the credits on this up-coming "serious" CD: James Ernest Dunsmore).  He was tour manager for Velour 3 a long time ago and came along to assist with the logistics of this session.  It was great to travel with you again and to have the chance to hear about your latest adventures.  I miss you every time you go away and look forward to the next time we see each other.

In the near future: The Fake Reality CD - which is sounding AMAZING will be mixed in Ohio in March.  In February we start recording the tracks for a stage show to be announced soon.  There has also been a change with Meet My Band that is exciting and I'll tell you all about it when the time comes.

More soon! - FM

20 January 2006
I recently started playing out with Latte to help promote the songs we wrote together for her EP "So Begins The Saga".  Last night we performed at the Kathedral for a high energy 20 minute set.  There was a photographer there from a local music site called www.runningstill.com.  He shot a bunch of pictures that can be viewed on his site.  Look for a new Latte D. Kyd EP coming in the next few months.

Consequently, the playable songs she has posted on her page at myspace.com have exceeded 12,000 plays!