Album 4: Day 2
Today was our first real day of tracking. And what a day it was! By the time the sun set we had completed basics for four songs, sometimes on the first or second take! We covered, in order: 1) You're The Reason Why, 2) Sauvignon Blanc, 3) Under Summer Stars, and 4) Love Doesn't Get Old.
Steve is both direct/efficient and meticulous in his approach. He's already whipped out some pretty fab mic tricks on the drums and his way of capturing guitar (and distorted marimba) sounds is both simple and very robust. And he is a master of encouraging bands to be exactly who they are. But his shining moment for today had to have been the manual LFO moves on the tape machine. But I'm giving away our secrets. Shh... :)
Recording to tape is hella fun. I can't express how nice (and focusing) it is to have NO COMPUTER MONITOR staring you in the face. This marks my fourth major project on tape and the third Sexy Accident release approached this way. For those considering it, I have one word of advice: prepare. Everything with tape is both more luscious and also more difficult. You can ruin a take with a bad punch-in! So the bottom line is to work in big chunks and ideally, whole performances. The best side effect of working this way is it forces you to be a better musician! And isn't that the point of it all?
So far our MVP trophies have to go to Daniel and Mark. The Sexy Accident's rhythm section is a force to behold. And Mark has downright mastered the art of using a bass whose E and G strings can't be trusted! :) Of course, it's nice that we have a nice P-Bass when the parts won't cooperate with the limits of Mark's dad's ornery (but absolutely toneful and mojo-laden Thunderbird.)
Finally, I'd like to give a shout out to Mike Miller and West End Recording, where we are making this record (and where we tracked our last EP.) The studio is solid as a rock. It's simply my favorite place to record in KC. Thanks also to my wonderful wife for not only supporting me in these financially improbable musical boondoggles, but also for feeding the band amazingly tasty home-cooked indian food. :)
Back at it tomorrow. Goodnight!
Share
Tweet
Steve is both direct/efficient and meticulous in his approach. He's already whipped out some pretty fab mic tricks on the drums and his way of capturing guitar (and distorted marimba) sounds is both simple and very robust. And he is a master of encouraging bands to be exactly who they are. But his shining moment for today had to have been the manual LFO moves on the tape machine. But I'm giving away our secrets. Shh... :)
Recording to tape is hella fun. I can't express how nice (and focusing) it is to have NO COMPUTER MONITOR staring you in the face. This marks my fourth major project on tape and the third Sexy Accident release approached this way. For those considering it, I have one word of advice: prepare. Everything with tape is both more luscious and also more difficult. You can ruin a take with a bad punch-in! So the bottom line is to work in big chunks and ideally, whole performances. The best side effect of working this way is it forces you to be a better musician! And isn't that the point of it all?
So far our MVP trophies have to go to Daniel and Mark. The Sexy Accident's rhythm section is a force to behold. And Mark has downright mastered the art of using a bass whose E and G strings can't be trusted! :) Of course, it's nice that we have a nice P-Bass when the parts won't cooperate with the limits of Mark's dad's ornery (but absolutely toneful and mojo-laden Thunderbird.)
Finally, I'd like to give a shout out to Mike Miller and West End Recording, where we are making this record (and where we tracked our last EP.) The studio is solid as a rock. It's simply my favorite place to record in KC. Thanks also to my wonderful wife for not only supporting me in these financially improbable musical boondoggles, but also for feeding the band amazingly tasty home-cooked indian food. :)
Back at it tomorrow. Goodnight!
Share
Tweet
0 Comments:
Post a Comment | Go to the top of the blog