Bruce Mandel: Blog

My song "You Said Yes" has made it to the FINAL ROUND of voting in The Next Wedding Classic Song Contest.  
Starting today, July 25, 2010, you can go to http://www.thenextweddingclassic.com/vote.html  to vote for "You Said Yes" (up to 3 votes per week per computer or ip address) through midnight Saturday July 31, 2010. 
Maybe "You Said Yes" will wind up as one of the top 3 finalists.   
Tell everyone you know (and everyone they know) to VOTE 3x! 
Thanks so much, I really appreciate your support in getting this far!!!
Let's see what we can make happen!
Bruce

     Well, despite the weather, the little town of Otis, Massachusetts had a great Bi-Centennial Celebration.  
     The weather co-operated just enough.  No rain for the fireworks on Friday.  No rain for the parade or for the fun and games on Saturday afternoon.  And no rain for the Crafts Fair on Sunday.
     It did rain pretty good for the Dance on Saturday night but we were all under a huge tent and it didn't dampen a thing.  Well, on stage, Rick and I got a few drips on our shoulders.
     The presentation of my Otis Bi-Centennial song, "Here's To Otis (1810-2010)" was extremely well received.
     In case you don't know, I am donating a portion of the proceeds from the sale of the Special Limited Edition  "Here's To Otis (1810-2010)" CD to the Otis Free Public Library.  If you are interested in getting a copy you can find the CD for sale locally in Otis at the Otis Free Public [...]

     Why re-master my first CD you ask?
     Well... when I recorded "Follow Your Heart" back just before the turn of the century, digital technology was not quite yet a teenager.  I recorded the record in the loft of my Log Cabin in Colorado using some of the latest digital recording equipment available at the time for the DIYer.  
     Now... jump to the 21st Century and the digital advances over a very short time boggle the mind.  Gone is the old digital sound that could sometimes be a little harsh or brittle sounding and here now is relatively affordable recording equipment that in the hands of the right person can produce what many say is a more pleasing analog like sound.  Of course, there are endless Analog vs. Digital debates and "relatively affordable" is just that, relative.
     Anyway, I recorded my second CD, "Between Dreams and Regrets" with better equipment at my disposal and it was Mastered by [...]

     I just want to say thanks to everyone who had the opportunity and made the effort to be at the "A Concert For Loved Ones In Haiti" last night at The Colonial Theatre.  
     It was a smashing success with fund raising goals being met and surpassed!  Johnny Irion and Sarah Lee Guthrie did a great job getting this event together. 100% of the net proceeds are going to the United Nations Foundation's Help us Help in Time: Central Emergency Response Fund.  Over $20,000.00.
     It was a wonderful evening with many magical musical moments! (please excuse the excessive alliteration here!).
     Doing things to help others, like "A Concert For Loved Ones In Haiti", or going to Hailti to help out those in need really feeds the souls and spirits of all of those involved.  Whether you are one who is giving, or one who is receiving.   
     I think I speak for all of us [...]

It has been an adventure. It always is, isn't it? The road was filled with discovery. Getting to spend time with friends both old and new as they all helped take this record to places I could not have forseen. I went back in time and invited a friend of mine from high school to contribute some pickin' on the CD. Mark Rohsler and I played together in high school and cut our teeth together on a wide variety of music back then. Mark contributed some pedal steel to the record. Adam Michael Rothberg has out done himself. He took a song that I have always played on the guitar and adapted it to piano. He played and I sang it, live together in the studio, and he really took this song somewhere else for me. And that's a good thing. A really good thing! Adam also cut a very cool acoustic guitar part. Prior to Adam's contribution, I cut bass parts along with my friend Rick Leab playing the Cajon. The Cajon is basically a wooden box with it's origins in South America and Cuba and then later in Spain. [...]