July 29, 2012

The Art of Unplugging

To stay creative and in touch with reality these days… DANG, in my opinion,  you just have to step away for a bit from the internet, smart phones, iPAds, Facebook and the myriad of other brain sucking tunnel vision technology that we all have been dealing with  this past decade!

Tomorrow at Noon, I say goodbye to technology for a week; NO phones, NO internet…. just life!!!  Other than keeping my digital camera ready to catch video or amazing still images for later digital consumption of course 🙂

DURING  MY UNPLUGGED WEEK “Please, I need your help!” As I posted on Facebook yesterday, I’m having a hell of a time nailing down a name for this debut album. Any ‘name’ suggestions  you can come up with are more than appreciated… they will earn you an album credit and a secret surprise I have been dreaming up.

So please post your ideas for the album name in the comments below…

Here are the song names (in NO particular order) to get your juices flowing:

Rock The Water
Three Guitars
The River Runs
Mr. Maker
One & The Same
Alexander Keith
To The Moon & Back
Pick Up The Phone

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July 9, 2012

The Brolo

I’d like to think I’ve invented a new musical term…. but probably not 🙂 Anyway, here is a very short video and a few pics  shot while recording a take of the 2nd bridge/solo of a song called Rock The Water. Since its NOT a bridge and NOT a solo I here by decree my first BROLO!

Anyway! Album is coming along and is still on target for a fall release. Thanks to everyone who keeps encouraging me to push on… ( it means more than you’ll ever know)!!!

Cheers,

Lee

Raito~ The Brolo Session

Raito

Raito's Fender Strat

Raito’s Fender Strat

 

 

 

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May 30, 2012

Studio Album Update- Mr. Maker

This past weekend got to spend 5 hours at Bedside Studio here in Winnipeg. Finished up an acoustic/rock song, with another blazing solo, called Mr. Maker. Thats the 3rd song which is now 100% complete and ready for post production! I may LEAK it out on Soundcloud later this week 🙂

The remaining songs have more work… But are well on their way. With any luck I’ll be releasing my album early this fall.

Thanks for your support,

Lee

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April 1, 2012

Kenny Shields of Streetheart & Alexander Keith

Hi All,

Had the amazing pleasure of getting a pic with Kenny Shields and telling him a story of how we are connected. After performing my newly released single ‘Alexander Keith’  I got to open up the conversation with Kenny saying , “Alexander Keith was recorded on some of the same equipment used to record many of the Streetheart albums!” Wow,  Music in Winnipeg, and even Canada for that matter, is such a small circle~ one degree of separation!

It just so happens that when I was growing up, one of my friends Dad, John Hildebrand,  was the owner of Century 21 Studios. I remember visiting Century 21 and dreaming of one day being good enough to record music. Flash forward to today, and in the process of recording my album at Len Milne’s Bedside Studio, I have discovered that when Century 21 Studios shut down in 1998  some of the equipment ended up at Beside. Another amazing fact is that when Century 21 shut down the AC-DC road crew apparently drove to Winnipeg to pick up the Neve Consoles… too cool.  So as a result, on most of the songs hat I have recorded at Bedside Studios, including Alexander Keith, I have been doing so on some of the same equipment that Kenny Shields & Streetheart used back in the day! SO a big thank you to John Hildebrand of Century 21 Studios and his son Kris for giving me those studio tours. It is very, very cool that the experience is not just a memory, but in fact has had an affect on the recording of my album.

Ron Paley put together a great article here that talks a fair amount about the history of  the Eternals and  Century 21 here: http://www.mocm.ca/Music/Artist.aspx?ArtistId=94752&RoomId=54

 

Lee Raito & Kenny Shields

Raito & Kenny Shields of Streetheart

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March 4, 2012

Pick Up The Phone

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Len Milne ~ Bedside Studio

Just got back from Len Milne’s Bedside Studio recording the ethereal sounds for ‘Pick Up The Phone‘ and almost can’t describe the craziness. We have used no drummer but YET have a a crazy wicked beat to this song that is hard to describe other than ‘ far out’. To do this wild ear candy we have added the following to this song; pennies on a snare, e-bow slide on Gibson electric guitar, shaker, bass drum modified through an effects panel & tambourine. We’ll be introducing some digital sounds in this song, but the vast majority is 100% au natural creative musical mojo!

Here is a pic of Len Milne, my producer and recording engineer, adding a repetitive secondary guitar part on his ‘Gibson’ 🙂

Can’t wait for you all to hear this one. I promise you it will be worth the wait when the album is released. I’m sure people will hear something new every time they listen to ‘Pick Up The Phone’!

It’s actually a song that I think people will either love or hate… no in between on this one.

Cheers,

Lee

 

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February 20, 2012

Alexander Keith

Hey All,

I have written a cross genre beer song that I truly  hope you will enjoy with your favorite pint of India Pale Ale! I will let ‘YOU’ be the judge on whether it rocks your music palate or not! To the music critics, “Bring it on!”

Click Here To Download The Song For Free If you do like it please buy on iTunes Raito - Alexander Keith - Single

It has been way too long since BOB & DOUG MACKENZIE have dominated the musical beer related genre in Canada. (If that means nothing to you–then please  just listen to the song, bob your head and ignore my written words. I’m an artist… enjoy the ear buzz and cut me some slack!) If you are remotely interested in HOW the song came to be and my motivation behind writing and recording ‘Alexander Keith’ then please do read on:

It was a hot summer holiday, and my wife…. just kidding sorta! It was the first week of July 2011, and I was enjoying a completely unplugged vacation on my deck drinking beer, jumping in and out of the pool with my daughters, and writing songs  much to the annoyance of my neighbors. Magically I stumbled across a chorus, “I’d like a beer. Mmmmm please! Order me an Alexander Keith!” I then proceeded to spend an entire afternoon trying to rhyme different beer names with Alexander Keith and various other lyrics. I even shouted to neighbors asking what beer rhymes with ???? Yes, they know and accept I’m crazy. After failing miserably  at the beer rhyming game, the rest of the Alexander Keith lyrics magically just came to me. I could literally see the pub, the waitress, people dancing and my friends as I was singing.  There is not much more to it than that. At the time, I immediately knew I would be adding the song to my debut album, but admittedly didn’t know that it quickly would become one of my favorite songs, and be the single I decide to lead in advance of my album with. Life and beer works in mysterious ways!

Setting The Record Straight

YES! Alexander Keith is my my favourite beer. MGD is a close second.

NO! I did not plan to write the song  just to try and get a deal with Alexander Keith. Although half way through recording the song in the studio I realized… they just might be interested 🙂

If you enjoy the song. Please do buy it on iTunes, Rhapsody, blah, blah and sign up on the email address thing on the right… so I can stay in touch when I release my album late this summer/early fall!

Here is the link to buy on iTunes Raito - Alexander Keith - Single

Cheers,

Lee

PS. If you love beer and rock and roll please listen responsibly!

Note: This song would not have been possible with out my producer and engineer extraordinaire Len Milne (Bedside Studio), 2nd engineer Mike Pascucci, and musicians; Travis Hauge, Todd Lesage, Darrell Lesage and the very, very patient women in my life!!!

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March 6, 2011

I Made You

So my 5 year old daughter Grace was not only the inspiration for this song, but as well the videographer! She blows my mind every day not only because she is beautiful & amazing, but she can work a Flip video camera. A little shaky here & there mind you, but HEY she’s in kindergarten so cut her some slack 🙂

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZpuAutxdWa4[/youtube]

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February 23, 2011

Rock The Water

Here is a new song I’ve been working on called ‘Rock The Water’.

I hope you quickly have your own connection to the song, but for me it is about the ultimate strength we have in our own mind. Our thoughts are our own & nobody can take that away from us. Oh, and there are a million ways to rock that boat 🙂

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gk6jOoce8mE[/youtube]

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November 29, 2010

Three Guitars Video

Here is a song that I have been working on called ‘Three Guitars’. I’m just starting to experiment with video, so bear with me as I start to work out the glitches. Maybe Santa will be good to me and get me an HD video camera 🙂

I fear what this song means to me, and why I wrote it, people may either not understand or think I’m pretty weird when they do! Either way my wife doesn’t like the premise behind the song, as I wrote it as a wish to be fulfilled when I die. I want my ashes built into Three Guitars and for these guitars to be passed down to my three daughters.

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September 1, 2010

Round 2 Voting for Playlist for the Planet

(In about 20 minutes) 06:30 am PST Wednesday, September 1st Round two voting for David Suzuki’s & CBC Radio 3’s Playlist for the Planet officially gets under way. Please keep reading as I need YOUR help over the next week (explain more at the end)…

With over 750 songs entered in the contest & after all your voting in round one, ‘One & The Same’ has made the top 5 songs in Manitoba & with your help this week it could be chosen as the number one environmental anthem in Manitoba, and be put on the Universal Music album being released this October! All proceeds from the sale of this album will go to help saving our planet through the David Suzuki foundation. Our children deserve to inherit a healthy planet!

For the next seven days please  vote once per day to help ‘One & The Same’ go down in history as an environmental anthem next to such great artists as Joel Plaskett, Bruce Cockburn, Broken Social Scene, k-os, Gordon Lightfoot, Randy Bachman (with Sarah McLachlan and Nikki Yanofsky), DOA, Tom Jackson, Johnny Reid, Raffi, LIGHTS, Jessie Farrell, Rush, the Trews, Great Big Sea, and Tanya Tagaq.

Here is how you vote:

1. Please go here & vote once per day for  ‘One & The Same’ until  Wednesday,  September 8th: http://radio3.cbc.ca/#/polls/?pollId=73 (Login if you have already registered as a free member or take 2 seconds to signup)

2. If you want me to keep you up to date & hear how this all turns out please enter your name & email on the left side of this site or select the ‘Become a Fan’ button this page: http://radio3.cbc.ca/play/band/Raito/One-and-The-Same

3. Please share this with anyone & everyone you can..

Lastly, I can’t thank you enough as I couldn’t have come this far with out you & all my other friends!!!Now, lets go & win this thing!

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