Effortless Records

We've had a few noise issues with some neighbors that limits when we can and can't play and record music, so I've bought a house that should remedy most of that. The new studio space will be bigger and better than ever.
Hoping to have the new studio up and running for June 2010.
Please check back for updates.

Ever since I've added Gay to this page - the web searches have gone way up - they are that popular.

Somewhere at Night. A Freely downloadable sound collage experiment from our very own Doc Woodland. Twenty minutes of experimentation, various moods and at various speeds. An ambient must have for your iPod

MONDAY, JUNE 1, 2009

Congratulations to the Rock Druids!

Craig Robinson, and Shannon Kearns of the BluIgloos are now married! (To each other). Congratulations to you from Effortless Records. Now stop dancing and come back and finish your album.

Thanks to Will Currie And The Country French, Drew Power's for the Photo's, and Spenser Hamilton for doing a great job on Sound.

Free Download, and Also available on CD. The first release from The Vague Accountants. Check it out!!! The Vague Accountants are now officially listed on the site, and in the Effortless Records roster.

Basement Champions Vol 1
(erg025) VARIOUS ARTISTS - Basement Champions Vol 1 Compilation (Digital/FEb 2009)

Track Listing:
1. Dog - Eric Welton
2. Dr.Firm - Square Root of Margaret
3. Canada - The Hip Bones
4. Last Day of Summer - Demo Kid
5. Slips Away - Kyle Workman
6. Stakes & Hammers - Hey! Death?
7. Not Yet Found - The BluIgloos
8. Poetically Impotent - Underwater Solitaire
9. Rain On My Parade - The Secret Flyers
10. Shot of Whiskey - Rudy
11. Like Eric Said (Vacate this Place) - Captain Zapoleon
12. Astral Grenades - Observatory
13. Cats & Dogs - Truth & Justice
14. I give it all - Demo Kid


ALL Songs Mastered by Bob Hiltz
(Thanks Bob!)
except for :
4, 14 - Mastered by Shawn Beaulieu
7, 12, 13 - Mastered by Matt Workman


Effortless Records cat# ERG025
© 2009 Effortless Recording Group

THURSDAY, JANUARY 1, 2009
Black Lion Audio Blunders

Long story short - I paid Black Lion Audio good money to destroy my mixing board.

One of their employee's seemed to be blocking me from talking to anyone else, and strangely enough claimed the board didn't work when it arrived, and then wasn't sure, and then said it did.

I have all my correspondence with them to prove what went on.
Here are some of the facts...

1. After this was all said and done - I found the employee had the same gear I did, already to go, and properly modified. Hmm... how strange is that?
2. The employee seemed to make efforts to block me from talking to anyone else.
3. The employee said my unit was DOA, and then wasn't sure, and then said it was ok. That's kind of weird isn't it? It worked great when I sent it.
4. When it arrived back to me, after they modified it, the preamps sounded horrible, and the faders would give you electric shocks if you we're holding a guitar or microphone. The Black Lion Audio guys insisted it was a problem at my house. Hmm... really
guys? I sent the board to you guys to be circuit bent, I never sent my house.
5. The owner of Black Lion Audio basically called me a liar and an idiot.
6. I called them out in a public forum, and none of them would respond.
7. I received lots of private email from other's who have had problem's with their service.
8. I had my local repair guy look at the work they did - he said they blew the ground traces off the board due to poor soldering. Hmm.... you mean it's not my house that's causing my to be electrocuted by my recently modified mixing board?
9. The same tech also said - the mod they we're performing was smoke and mirrors anyway. They are simply replacing some op amp's.
10. If I had to take a wild guess - I think the employee say my unit, and used it as an opportunity to repair his own, which explains all the weirdness of why he wasn't sure if it arrived DOA. He also lied to me, saying he didn't have another unit to test
with, but I saw his for sale a week later.

They we're willing to look at it, if I sent it back to them. I told them I was not paying shipping, and duty again - and did not trust them anymore. If they wanted to make good, they could refund my money. At least then I'm only out the board, not the board
plus the cost for them to wreck it. We could not come to an agreement.

So yeah - I PAID MONEY to let Black Lion Audio destroy a perfectly good piece of gear. Plus shipping, plus taxes, plus duty. Now I've got their $1000+repair bill, and no mixing board, which was worth $1400. I'm out $2400.

If anyone wants any more details on this, please free to email me, I've archived all my correspondence with them, and can back up my claim.




TUESDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2008
We Can Work it Out...
Well, I am speaking terms again, with the BLAudio guys. When they all finally got all the facts, they realized, it was their fault, and they felt bad. Now that they know there is a soldering problem, they realize the 'shock' issue is indeed an issue.

The studio is still down, and my board's being looked at locally. I apologize again, to the bands who wanted in here during the Christmas break (which was almost everybody), and to the Sarnia guys who wanted to do some ad's. I think I'll be back up and
running in 2 or 3 weeks. Merry Christmas everybody.



SATURDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2008
What a total disaster. Here's why the studio is still down...
Long story short, the Mod went badly. There's a few guys in town who might be able to salvage it. I'm also looking at a replacement and/or backup solution. Sorry for the delay guys.

ITA Studio will be out of commission until roughly the 3rd week in December. My board's gone to Chicago to be Frankenstein'd into a Monster by Black Lion Audio. If you haven't already, head on over to this link and check out Captain Zap's EX album. It's a free download, and the good Captain would love the company.


Effortless may yet see a few more releases out before years end. With little more than a month to go, it's going to be pretty close on a few projects. What's up with the Compilation you ask? It's the monkey on my back that just won't die. We're basically sitting at, a few more songs need to finish up in the studio, and then get mastered, and then we're ready to go. The buck stops here, in that, the delay's currently are all my fault. Once my board comes back from Chicago, I'll be back at it again, full steam ahead.