Kendall Schmidt of Big Time Rush Releases Heffron Drive's Debut Album Happy Mistakes

Heffron Drive’s debut album, Happy Mistakes has officially been released! Kansas-native heartthrobs, Kendall Schmidt (lead vocals, guitar) and Dustin Belt (vocals, guitar) joined forces and named their group after the street they had both been living on in Burbank, California… Heffron Drive!

Kendall Schmidt rose to stardom after he was cast as one of the members of the record breaking Nickelodeon boy-band series, Big Time Rush. As Kendall’s career took-off he still found time to work on his solo side project and in 2013 he decided it was time to create a full-length album.

The first single titled “Parallel” debuted this past spring at SXSW, in Austin, Texas. "Parallel" was written by Schmidt and producer, Toby Gad, and was mixed by The Lodge’s Chief Engineer, Emily Lazar and Scott Jacoby, at Eusonia Studios.  Lazar and Jacoby also mixed tracks “Could You Be Home,” “That’s What Makes You Mine,” “One Track Mind,” and “Love Defined” for the album. The official “Parallel” remix exploded across social media and drove anticipation for Happy Mistakes’ release.  

“Parallel” was so well received, that the group was invited to perform at the 2014 “A Capital Fourth” concert celebration on July 4^th at the West Lawn of the United States Capitol with hundreds of thousands in attendance and millions watching on PBS. The duo performed a beautiful rendition of “Parallel” along side The National Symphony Orchestra. Less than two months later, the electro-pop album was ready for release through Kendall Schmidt’s new independent record label, TOLbooth Records.

Happy Mistakes was mastered at The Lodge by Chief Mastering Engineer, Emily Lazar, and was assisted by Rich Morales and Chris Allgood.  Producers included Kendall Schmidt and Michael Cammarata. Engineers Emily Lazar, Scott Jacoby, Mark Needham, Ben O’Neil, and Steve Soloman all contributed stellar mixes to the album.

Heffron Drive kicked off their promotional North American Happy Mistakes Tour on August 30 in Atlanta, GA. They then traveled up to New York on September 6 and put on a powerhouse performance at the Madison Theatre in Rockville Center. The Heffron Drive Happy Mistakes Tour will continue through September 29, click HERE for tickets.

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Hamilton Leithauser Revisits The Lodge for Solo Debut

The Walkmen’s front man, Hamilton Leithauser, has officially released his solo debut album Black Hours, via Ribbon Music, and critics are calling it “lively, confidant, and charming.” It’s sound is reminiscent of an old classic New York, when late nights were filled with jazz and good bourbon. The album, vinyl and special release Record Store Day Alexandra 7” vinyl were all mastered at The Lodge by Chief Mastering Engineer, Emily Lazar, and assisted by Rich Morales. The Lodge also mastered the very well known You & Me album by The Walkmen. 

 Hamilton Leithauser and Rostam Batmanglij in “Alexandra.” 

Shortly after The Walkmen announced that they would be taking an “extreme hiatus” Leithauser took to the studio to embark on a solo career.  Even though Leithauser is now solo, his album contains a slew of big-name collabs, including Dirty Projectors’ Amber Coffman, Fleet Foxes’ Morgan Henderson, The Shins’ Richard Swift and longtime Lodge friend, Rostam Batmanglij of Vampire Weekend. The Lodge has worked with Swift and Batmanglij, mastering Chutes Too Narrow, Wincing the Night Away, and Port of Morrow for The Shins, and Vampire Weekend, Contra, and Modern Vampires of the City for Vampire Weekend.

 Hamilton Leithauser's "I Retired" official lyric video.

The album was produced by Hamilton Leithauser, Rostam Batmanglij and fellow Walkmen guitarist, Paul Maroon.  Leithauser worked alongside Batmanglij, as he also co-wrote the two singles “I Retired” and “Alexandra”. Additional mixing of the tracks by Scott Jacoby and Emily Lazar; both were mastered at The Lodge by Emily Lazar.

Over the past several months, the album has been receiving a lot of recognition: “What’s most impressive about Black Hours is how Leithauser can bounce from one style to another without disrupting the flow of the album.” His recent two-day debut solo performance at Joe’s Pub in NYC was impeccable. The intimate 190 seat sit-down venue on Lafayette Street felt lush and elegant, and seemed to elevate Leithauser’s big-band sound. The album translated to the stage beautifully, as the show sold out both nights. 

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Kendall Schmidt and Band, Heffron Drive, Bring Debut Single “Parallel” to Emily Lazar at The Lodge!

Big Time Rush heartthrob, Kendall Schmidt, has just released his debut single titled “Parallel” from his band, Heffron Drive, which is available now on iTunes. The song was written by Schmidt and producer, Toby Gad, and was released through Schmidt’s new label, TOLbooth Records.

The single was mixed by Scott Jacoby and our very own, Emily Lazar, at Eusonia Studios. The pair has worked together as a mixing team most recently on select tracks from Vampire Weekend’s Grammy-winning Modern Vampires of the City and Hamilton Leithauser’s (of The Walkmen) debut album, BlackHours, among others. The track was also mastered by Emily Lazar, Chief Mastering Engineer at The Lodge, and assisted by Rich Morales.

Heffron Drive is comprised of Kendall Schmidt and guitarist Dustin Belt, and together they are currently working on a debut album, which is set for release this summer.  Earlier this month, the duo were well received as they performed some of their new music for their adoring fans during the South by Southwest Music Conference and Festival (SXSW) in Austin, Texas. Plans are set to tour throughout North America this summer, as well as Europe and Asia in the fall.

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Vampire Weekend Named Rolling Stone’s #1 Album of 2013

Its official: Rolling Stone has named Vampire Weekend’s Modern Vampires Of The City the number one album of 2013!!  This is the third studio album for the NYC indie rock band, which was released in May via XL Recordings.    

The album, which was released on multiple mediums including vinyl, has earned massive amounts of praise throughout the year including near perfect reviews from media outlets such as MSN, Pitchfork,  (received Best New Music title) and was also named SPINMagazine’s Band of the Year.

Chief Mastering Engineer of The Lodge, Emily Lazar, mastered Modern Vampires of the City alongside the album's artful producers, band member Rostam Batmanglij and Ariel Reichstaid. Lazar also joined forces with producer/mixer, Scott Jacoby to co-mix the track “Unbelievers,” the highest charting single from the album thus far. Rolling Stone also featured two tracks from Modern Vampires of the City on its 100 Best Songs of 2013 list: Unbelievers at #42 and Hannah Hunt at #4. 

There is no arguing that Vampire Weekend has had a truly amazing year; as Rolling Stone has recently declared: “Vampire Weekend is one of the most innovative artists of the last decade."  

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Golden Girl Carolyn Malachi Masters at The Lodge

Carolyn Malachi’s new album, Gold, was mastered at The Lodge by Chief Mastering Engineer, Emily Lazar and assisted by Rich Morales.  Released on July 30, Carolyn presents the world with her third studio album, which landed the #52 spot on iTunes’ Top R&B/Soul Albums upon its debut!! 

Gold was produced and engineered by James McKinney of Eusonia Records, a label founded by Grammy award-winning engineer, Scott Jacoby, who mixed most of the songs on Gold.  Additional mixing by Matthew Shell from Assemblyline Studios for "Beautiful Dreamer".

Carolyn was nominated for a Grammy in 2011 and Gold certainly presents a prowess capable of gaining the same recognition.  The album is out on Legacy Brands and you can buy Gold on iTunes here.

Watch Carolyn's Video for The Road to GOLD Part - II featuring her mastering session with us!

     Check out her latest music video for "All Right"