STUDIO BLOG: Day 6

Day 6 in the studio!! Today was great! We started out the day by doing more guitar tracking. We spent a lot of time getting the right tones for this song. We tried a few different pedals and and few variations of gain and distortion, we even used a few different guitars to really nail the tone we were looking for. It was awesome messing around with so many different guitars and tones. After we tracked all the rhythm/lead/and bass for this song we moved on to vocals. It was  a lot of fun working on this song. These new songs are so different then "Center Stage Shout Out" and you'll be able to hear that right away. The vocals alone are sung with so much more emotion and passion. Ben and Nick are helping me find my voices character and its really been cool. Ive been taking a lot of influence from Bano and Jared Leto's singing structure. Ben booked me a vocal lesson Brook Barrett Smith. She's done work with Brett Manning and actually made it to hollywood in american idol a few seasons back. It was the season with Daughtry on it and they have been friends ever since...sooo thats pretty cool! We went through some warm ups and we figured out a solid vocal warm up routine for my voice. She gave me some awesome tips and put me on the track to really proper vocal technique but at the same tip keeping my "rock" sound. It was great and im extremely excited to get back into the studio tomorrow to track more guitars and vocals=))
Enjoy the pics!!

My view from the vocal booth

STUDIO BLOG: Day 5

I was really happy to get back into the studio today! Ridge and Josh drove back to PA on friday so its just been Kris and I chilling all weekend. Saturday and sunday were off days and we literally sat in Bens house and watched movies and tv allllll day. Ive never done so little in my life haha. Sunday we went to Bens church and really saw God move and speak. It was cool...then we went back to doing nothing. So needless to say I am REALLY excited to get back into the studio! Today was great. I laid down the acoustic guitar tracks for our first love song ever written! Then we went back in and added some sweet electric guitar tracks.Then we moved on to vocals! We again broke down each small part and focused in on intonation and pronunciation.  I sang the song about a hundred times but it was great! They really pushed me to reach notes that I have never ever hit. It was crazy. Im stoked for the rest of this week (now that I actually get to be productive;)

STUDIO BLOG: Day 4

DAY 4!! Today ridge laid down all of his piano and keyboard tracks! Ill say it again...it was really cool to hear these songs come together layer by layer. Ridge kind of knew what he was doing so Ben took josh, kris, and I out for lunch. The town that this studio is in is really cool. Its a small town but its right beside lake Michigan so its got some cool scenery and some cool places. When we got back ridge and I worked on some final piano and key parts for the 5th song. We actually got done with all that stuff an hour early! Nick stayed in the studio and worked on some bass tracking while ben, ridge, kris, josh, and myself went to play ultimate frisbee with a group of really cool people from bens church. That was a lot of fun to get out of the studio and run around. Sadly Josh and Ridge had to leave after that. Kris and I are now staying at Bens house for the week and focusing in on our song writing and vocals in the studio! Its gonna be a lot of fun and a lot of work. I dont think we've ever put so much thought and focus into our songs as we are now. We're all really excited about whats coming=)
I also just wanna throw in there a HUGE thank you to Anna who has been letting us stay at her house for the past week. She is a friend of Krises family and has been a huge blessing to us while we've been out here. She packed us a lunch for every day we went to the studio and has been our mom away from home! She owns the company RAW Materials and everyone who reads this should go check her stuff out!
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Raw-Materials/86791158997

STUDIO BLOG: Day 3

Hey guys! Day 3 in the studio is over! Today really came and went. I learned a lot today. First I learned a little more about working with producers. Its cool that they help develop our songs but when you wrote something a certain way and it gets changed it kinda bums you out. I understand they are trying to get the best out of our songs but I dont know... they know whats best and im trying to see that so I stop getting bummed out. We got a lot of sweet guitar tones though today! The guitars sound huge!! So we are pretty stoked about that. Hearing the songs come together layer by layer is sweet and is definitely exciting! We played out of a sweet vintage marshall head and a mesa head and we did some work out of a vox too. Im stoked about the guitar tones though if you cant tell=) So we re-wrote some guitar riffs and altered some others and got through 2 songs on guitar! Tomorrow ridge is doing all of his piano and keyboard parts. Him and Josh are driving home on saturday morning and kris and I are staying another week to focus on vocals! Im stoked and here are some pictures! See yah tomorrow!

SURPRISE! haha I had to put this on the blog...sorry ben=P

STUDIO BLOG: Day 2

Day 2.....to be honest day 2 was pretty boring. Nick, the sound engineer, and ben focused in on a lot of technical drum parts which left ridge, kris, and myself sitting and listening. Im pretty sure we're all drummers now though because of everything we heard and learned. We finished the drum tracks to the rest of the songs which was great! Ridge spent a lot of time on his ipad, kris did a lot of sleeping, and I was on facebook most of the day. I got on skype for a while with my girlfriend and she got to meet Ben via skype. She geeked out cause she's a skillet fan so that was cool for her=) Tomorrow kris and I will be having fun because we're tracking guitars! I cant wait! The amps they have in this studio are my dream amps. We're working on getting 5 songs done so hopefully the guitar tracking will go smoothly tomorrow! The raw drum takes sound great and I cant wait to keep these songs moving!! Enjoy the pics=)

This was my view all day

Kris sleeping and Nick attempting to wake him up

Ridge and his ipad....they are inseparable 

STUDIO BLOG: Day 1

So yesterday we left Pennsylvania at 7 a.m. to start our 10 hour drive to IL. We are blessed enough to be staying with a family friend of Kris for the first week of recording. Its really nice out here and she's super awesome for letting us guys stay here. Today we began out first trip to SkiesFall studio...we only got lost once =P When we finally got to the studio we met up with Ben (producer) and Nick (audio Engineer). I really started getting stoked when we walked into the studio. This place is legit and I feel really blessed to be able to record here.  We started out the day with a lot of pre-production and breaking down our songs. We focused in on certain parts and altered them to get the best song we could. Its really cool to be working with a producer on these songs. Next we recorded a rough rhythm guitar track and I did a quick rough vocal track...singing at 11:30 a.m. is interested to say the least....also let me just say that im glad the rough tracks wont be heard by anyone;P Once that was done, josh used those to start laying down his drum tracks. Today we finished the drums for Whisper. Below are some pictures for your viewing pleasure! Needless to say we are very excited to get these songs finished=D See yah tomorrow folks!
-Ronnie

Message from Clay

Hello Skyhawk fans,


For the past 5 months our friend Clay Sprecher has been playing bass guitar for us. I know some of you have gotten to know him really well over that time. If you saw him at a show youd remember him for sure because he had more energy then all of us. Clay is moving on from the band to continue his pursuit at Liberty University. He is studying to become a worship leader there. He has such a huge heart for Christ and we wish him the very best down there. He is going to do amazing things with the gifts and talents God has given him and we are all supportive and happy for him. It has been an honor to have him with us. He's been such a good friend of ours for a long time now and he will be missed. This is from clay...


To my dear friends and fans,

Firstly, I want to take this opportunity to thank all of you for how you have supported Skyhawk Drive as well as me personally. It is really you the fans along with the grace of God that makes this thing possible. It has been so amazing to meet and talk with as many of you as I can.

Unfortunately, I have to let you guys know that my involvement in the band is ending. God is moving and changing in the direction of the band as well as in my own life. While my involvement in the band has been short (just over 5 months), the experience has been life-changing. As I said, meeting each one of you was incredible. Each of you have a story that needs to be heard and I feel privileged to have heard so many. Never stop sharing your stories and remembering that Jesus is really all there is. When the things of this world pass away, Jesus will be the only thing left. Give your lives to Him, cast your cares on Him, and live for Him. I love all of you so much and I pray for as many of you as I can everyday. I have started relationships with many of you and I want you to know that even though I am no longer in the band, I am still here to talk with you and pray with you whenever you need. If any of you needs anything, please don't hesitate to ask.

Finally just to clarify, I am still friends with the guys of Skyhawk Drive and I continue to support them as I hope that you will as well. You can expect an awesome new album and stage show on its way that I am looking forward to hearing and seeing. I hope to see some of you around at shows, and look forward to being out in the crowd watching with you.

Love you guys,

Clay