Dead Letter Perfect << Behind the Scenes

This band's story
 

Being a Fly in the Wall - Vocal Lesson with Aaron's Coach, Nancy Badger

Aaron was kind enough to invite me to his vocal lesson - pending his coach, Nancy Badger's, approval...

So here I am, learning about the voice for the first time in my life... And considering making a hefty investment into it!
http://www.DeadLetterPerfect.com

   

Posted September 4, 2010
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Yep. That's What I Thought That Was.

Today??? Why TODAY?

So, we've been living next to this massive hole in the ground - apparently the bank foreclosed on a project a few years back - and someone recently bought it. Today, of all days, is the day they break ground - officially ending all peace and quiet in our amazing neighborhood. This will affect all songwriting/recording sessions from this point until they're done... next year?? :(
http://www.DeadLetterPerfect.com

Posted September 3, 2010
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Ode to the Van B.

Finally gettin together with Aaron Barnhart again - I think it's been months! We locked the song we started, he's planning on putting it on his next EP (January) and are about to move onto song 2.

But over his keyboard he's got this bust that I jokingly referred to as Benjamin Franklin, and he told me that when he gets frustrated he looks up at Beethoven and thinks, "Well, this dude did it deaf!"
http://www.DeadLetterPerfect.com

Posted September 2, 2010
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Writing Music with Justin Yi

Decided to connect with Justin Yi and play a lil' music... workin' on a new tune with a different sound than I've been playing in recent past... and excited about it!  Here are a few lyrics:

Hey brother, 
I know you see my game
I know you're watchin' me and wonderin' should you do the same

Hey mother,
I see that knowing glance
I know you disapprove but love has always been your stance

Thoughts? Hopefully we'll post a finished version soon :D

Posted September 1, 2010
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Back at My Old Stomping Grounds

Just dropped into The Hollywood Film & Acting Academy to pick up some footage of a short I acted in when I worked here in 2009. Then I gotta grab some footage from Jeff Solema and Larry Sands film, Adjusting Honor and I'm off to edit a 30 second acting reel! I should be able to add my own music to it :D

Gotta hurry, have a song writing session in 35 minutes...
http://www.DeadLetterPerfect.com

Posted September 1, 2010
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Voice Acting - I Was Just Getting Started When...

Crazy! Right off the bat, Chris Mezzolesta commented on my post in which I declared my intentions to master multiple industries as a side project (yeah, maybe a bit much?) and pointed me to Peter K. O'Connell's free eBook called The Voice Over Entrance Exam. Chris has been doing voice over work for 20+ years and Peter since the year I was born... so I figured I'd take a read!

Here's a clip from Peter talking about his book and about the voice over acting industry:


Here's Chris's profile on Voices.com - a great example of a voice over demo, as well as an example of a way to bring myself to the market!


Brad Crowell
Dead Letter Perfect
http://www.deadletterperfect.com

   

Posted August 30, 2010
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Onward and Upward - But... How Do I Get Paid?

Hey! Thanks for reading and sticking with me over all this time! I've been threatening to start a band for almost a year now. It's obviously not happened. I have, however, been writing... Let me fill you in:

You might not know it, but I've been two-facing my life for a few years now - working as an online marketing guy and pretending (even to myself) that I'm a full time musician.  Fact is, I have/had sold out to the man in order to pay my rent.  And while that has its advantages - such as being able to buy a bunch of music stuff and eating well - it didn't leave me the time, nor the energy or devotion, to actually do music!  
Since I just lost my marketing job, I've decided to make a real "go" at the true reason for my moving to LA, but a friend of mine then asked, "so when are you gonna get paid next?"  That kinda set me into a frenzy, second guessing myself and wondering whether or not I should be modifying my resume and lining up more back up plans, just in case... but I've decided it's time to burn through my savings and take a risk!

We are all aware that writing music doesn't get you immediately paid - it's a gradual process. So how can I make enough money doing something in "the industries" to pay rent and still have enough time to devote towards my writing? I've got a brief history in acting - fortunately a few of my friends make films. I've also decided to look into voice-over acting.

So, I guess my first step is to figure out how to put together an acting reel as well as a voice-over acting reel, then build pages on this blog to house them and then get out there and start networking!

I've decided to blog about the whole process, including my research, my thoughts, my progress and my successes (or lack-thereof!) Stay with me by signing up for my mailing list, subscribing to my blog, or subscribing to my RSS feed... Maybe this new way of "selling-out" will give me the time to devote towards writing and playing live music :D 

Wish me luck!

-
Brad Crowell
Dead Letter Perfect

   

Filed under  //   acting   dead letter perfect   demo reel   demo reels   Into the Wild   my story   voice-over acting   voiceover acting  
Posted August 30, 2010
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Happy Birthday @Kylafornia

Kickin it with friends and celebratin Kyle's bdizzle!
http://www.DeadLetterPerfect.com

Posted August 21, 2010
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Studio Time with Geoff from @GeoffroCause

Gettin together and seein' what happens... Always fun!

Kickin' it in Glassel, CA (basically, just south of Eagle Rock) - really chill place.
http://www.DeadLetterPerfect.com

Posted August 17, 2010
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22 HRS might have been a little ambitious :D

Ok - so we totally had to cancel tonight, but the pics from the previous post were so awesome I decided to keep it up! Maybe someday, we'll have an Electrics reunion!

Posted August 7, 2010
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