you never see those guys any more... this guy had it pretty rough too...
that was the last day of tracking. i think beer had something to do with that...
we've moved on to the next step and have been mixing for the past week. a few more passes of each song and we'll be done!!!
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Save The Date!
The Game is on…We have booked time at our friend Brian McTear’s Miner Street Studios to start mixing the album on Jan. 11th. Fuck, it feels really good to type that. It marks the end of a really long/fun/ sometimes very frustrating (go back to the earlier posts when we spent a month just trying to get our studio computer to work correctly) and what now seems like endless good times making music that I’m almost sad to see come to an end. We’re not officially finished, but we’re damn close. I put down the last of the vocal tracks and final “lead” gtr a few nights ago. I still have three tunes that need keys, but I’m already on that shit. It’s tough to concentrate on the final touches in the holiday season. Too many family deals and parties to attend, but with the mixing date set we’re doing our best to get the shit done. I do think the holidays are a great time to be wrapping up the recording of this album though. Not to sound like a hippy, but the good vibes seem to be on our side as we lay down the final tracks.
So back to my original point of this post is that we are actually going into a proper studio to mix the album. This is a first for me man. Usually when we finish recording that only means we have two months of endless mixing to do on our own. Second guessing, and never being quite happy with the results. It’s like trying to put the final touches on a 4’ x 8’ painting you’ve spent 5 months on with your nose pressed up to the middle of the canvas. You just can’t see (hear) it clearly and it’s great to finally have an outside ear really help us dial it in. Can’t wait!
-j
So back to my original point of this post is that we are actually going into a proper studio to mix the album. This is a first for me man. Usually when we finish recording that only means we have two months of endless mixing to do on our own. Second guessing, and never being quite happy with the results. It’s like trying to put the final touches on a 4’ x 8’ painting you’ve spent 5 months on with your nose pressed up to the middle of the canvas. You just can’t see (hear) it clearly and it’s great to finally have an outside ear really help us dial it in. Can’t wait!
-j
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Happy Holidays! Still At It.
I hope you all had a great Christmas and have some fun NYE plans ahead of you. So far the holidays have been great for me.
Got back at it tonight in my home studio. Started laying down some keyboards on two of the last three tunes that need’em. Spent about 4 hours and ended up getting three solid tracks down. Pretty good for a post Christmas hangover evening.
Here’s the deal. The actual breakdown of what we have to complete before we are set to start mixing this album.
Tomorrow night will mark the second to last night of tracking in the “real” studio and here’s what I hope to get done:
1. Put down the vocals for one of the first tunes we started many months ago called “Gold”. I’ve been re-working the lyrics for weeks and finally got’em together earlier this evening and I’m ready to go.
2. Put some secondary rhythm gtr’s and the final gtr solo on a tune called “Heard The Shot”. The gtr stuff is always the easiest and most fun for me.
3. Re-do a harmony vocal on another tune (working title “I Don’t Know”) that was recorded a while back. The track sounds great and my vocals have been going down pretty smooth, but this one part really kinda sucks and has to be fixed.
Once all that’s tacked down and I get the last bit of keys tracked we’ll have one last night of recording ahead of us to put down the last of the percussion stuff and fix anything we see fit after a we run through the songs with a fine tooth comb.
Sorry for the LAF "to do" post, I promise some better reading next time around.
Be well, be safe and check back often!
-j
One of the tracks i put down tonight.
Got back at it tonight in my home studio. Started laying down some keyboards on two of the last three tunes that need’em. Spent about 4 hours and ended up getting three solid tracks down. Pretty good for a post Christmas hangover evening.
Here’s the deal. The actual breakdown of what we have to complete before we are set to start mixing this album.
Tomorrow night will mark the second to last night of tracking in the “real” studio and here’s what I hope to get done:
1. Put down the vocals for one of the first tunes we started many months ago called “Gold”. I’ve been re-working the lyrics for weeks and finally got’em together earlier this evening and I’m ready to go.
2. Put some secondary rhythm gtr’s and the final gtr solo on a tune called “Heard The Shot”. The gtr stuff is always the easiest and most fun for me.
3. Re-do a harmony vocal on another tune (working title “I Don’t Know”) that was recorded a while back. The track sounds great and my vocals have been going down pretty smooth, but this one part really kinda sucks and has to be fixed.
Once all that’s tacked down and I get the last bit of keys tracked we’ll have one last night of recording ahead of us to put down the last of the percussion stuff and fix anything we see fit after a we run through the songs with a fine tooth comb.
Sorry for the LAF "to do" post, I promise some better reading next time around.
Be well, be safe and check back often!
-j
One of the tracks i put down tonight.
Friday, December 21, 2007
12.20.07 Twenty Tracks Of Vocals
Back at it tonight. Put the vocals down on “Nice Person” this evening and when I say “vocals” I mean a shit ton of vocals. I think we topped out at around 20 tracks. That’s not to say there are 20 simultaneous tracks going at the same time, but we broke down each individual part into separate tracks to help ease the mixing process. Plenty of doubled vocals on each part and a ton of harmony deals. I laid down the foundation stuff and Jeff did some harmony stuff and I finished the whole thing off with yet more harmony stuff. The highlight was an amazing three part harmony in the chorus. One of the best on the whole album. This “Nice Person” tune is gonna end up being one of the best on the album for sure. I really can’t wait for you guys to hear this stuff.
I know when I hear about a band doing a bunch of excessive harmony vocals I usually think of a Beach Boys rip-off. Well let me tell you, I wouldn’t even consider an attempt at such vocal styling’s. Brian Wilson could burp a better vocal than I could ever imagine actually singing. I'm going for a much different deal. I’m shooting for a little better than the video below.
I'm the "dood" in the middle going for it and the other guys in the band (actually chicks in this vid, but you get the idea) are the ones that have to reign me in. This process seems to be working as of late.
-j
I know when I hear about a band doing a bunch of excessive harmony vocals I usually think of a Beach Boys rip-off. Well let me tell you, I wouldn’t even consider an attempt at such vocal styling’s. Brian Wilson could burp a better vocal than I could ever imagine actually singing. I'm going for a much different deal. I’m shooting for a little better than the video below.
I'm the "dood" in the middle going for it and the other guys in the band (actually chicks in this vid, but you get the idea) are the ones that have to reign me in. This process seems to be working as of late.
-j
12.19.07 Gtr’s, They’re Our Friends!
Yeah, you guessed it. We laid down some gtr’s tonight. Put the last bits on the tune “Nice Person” tonight. One secondary rhythm deal, a quick “blues” deal that Pete (yeah, he’s the drummer, but he did throw an acoustic gtr on and came up with a pretty sweet old school blues riff that I ended up putting down to tape and I got to say it really makes the part) and a sweet full blown, wha pedal laden solo. I must admit I’m pretty into the wha pedal when it comes to recording leads. Not the “prono” type wha stuff, but just kicking it up mid way and getting that “vocal type” tone on the gtr. Think Brian May or Deen Ween (hit the 1:32 mark and enjoy!) and you’ll get the idea. It’s just a cool way to tweek and/or bend the tone that I really dig.
Yet another strong evening in the trenches my friends.
A pic and a vid below for your enjoyment.
As always, thanks for reading!
-j
Just imagine this "jamming" on top of one of the best tunes you've never heard. Do it, it will make the vid much better.
Yet another strong evening in the trenches my friends.
A pic and a vid below for your enjoyment.
As always, thanks for reading!
-j
Just imagine this "jamming" on top of one of the best tunes you've never heard. Do it, it will make the vid much better.
Thursday, December 20, 2007
the last three sessions, for me...
so the last three sessions have been great. the first did start off a little weird for me. i was having a problem hearing brians bass. i'm not sure what it was but everything sounded really loud and really muddy. thank god dave was there. we moved the mic, tweaked some knobs on the bass head and things started to clear up. dave and i have been splitting up most of the engineering, mostly by who's able to be there. some nights i'm working so daves the man in charge and some nights daves got stuff to do or is/was on the beach kite surfing. after this night me and jay stopped at the the p.o.p.e for a night cap and jay forgot to mention what happened in his post but the next day we ended up on philebrity...
im in the background laughing...
the other two nights were awesome! everything is sounding really good and we seem to be moving along rather quickly. jeff and brian have really kicked it up for these last few songs. and i feel like we are getting into a grove again. the guitar parts have been super easy to record. it's like all we have to do is turn the amp on plug any guitar into it and put a mic in front of it and it sounds good. it seems to easy i know but thats how it goes i guess...
pg...
im in the background laughing...
the other two nights were awesome! everything is sounding really good and we seem to be moving along rather quickly. jeff and brian have really kicked it up for these last few songs. and i feel like we are getting into a grove again. the guitar parts have been super easy to record. it's like all we have to do is turn the amp on plug any guitar into it and put a mic in front of it and it sounds good. it seems to easy i know but thats how it goes i guess...
pg...
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Dat Sunburn!
The past few sessions have been very productive. I think everybody feels the end getting close and we’re kicking it into high gear on this last straightaway.
Got vocals down on “Better Bring A Bomb” & “Heard The Shot” a few nights ago. Went very smooth. A few nights later we got the final rhythm gtr’s and bass track down on a new one called “She’s More Of A Night Person”. Jeff put down the gtr’s. He had to learn the parts on the spot as I had only written the tune a few weeks prior and never even made a demo. He stepped up and nailed it in only a few takes. They sound amazing and I have to tell you that if it wasn’t for friends lending us a bunch of extra gear (Gtr’s, Amp’s etc) the album wouldn’t be sounding as good as it does. Of course it would still be good, but just having all the options is just awesome. With that said, if it wasn’t for the Metal Band that we rent a practice space too at the studio the gtr’s would have suffered big time. Any time our little arsenal of Fender amps wasn’t cutting it sound wise we could just go into their room witch resembles a mini-Guitar Center and take our pick of a ton of really cool Marshall, Orange, Laney or Sunn amps not to mention the endless supply of weird, old efx pedals. We’ve been leaning pretty heavy on this old Sunn head and cab for the last couple of tunes (Jeff used it on this last track). I think it’s solid state. Man that fucker get some sweet overdriven tones. Not really “distorted”, just good and dirty.
Brian also had to learn the tune on the spot and I have to say, he nailed one sweet ass bass track that had us all smiling in the control room as he laid it down. I guess knowing it was the last bass track one the album he decided to let it rip. Bass? DONE! It was one of those really fun nights of recording.
So I can’t believe I forgot to tell you this little studio happening. Sometime last week we were recording a bass track when in-between takes we heard somebody come in front door downstairs. I thought it was Jeff as the rest of the band was already there, but Dave heard a girls voice as they came up the stairs. Turns out it was the owner of our building Ernie along with a Asian female associate in tow. She heard the music outside an insisted on coming up and checking out what was going on. She burst through the door and with a very heavy accent asked “Are you getting high?”. We told her no, just beer and cigarette’s. This chick was shot of a cannon man. She told us that she “Sing in wedding band” and proceeded to point at all out gear and tell us what it was. “I know dat, dat Fender”, “What’s dat, dat bass?”. We were all pretty well oiled on Miller High Life at this point and we’re trying to answer her questions, but it was like she was a 5 year old that had just learned all of here favorite instruments names and was let loose in a petting zoo of musical instruments. The most classic line of her visit was when she saw the Fender Telecaster with a sunburst finish hanging on the wall and declared two times in a row in a very excited tone “I know dat, dat sunburn!”. I almost lost my shit. So good. Of course the video camera was not rolling. Fuck! A lesson learned: Always roll tape……..always!
-j
The black Strat is my main gtr and is all over this album. The other two are on loan from Dave's brother Mike.
Jeff behind the mic.
No more bass for you.
The vocal "booth".
The mighty Mica Fuzz Wau Wau! One of the many pedals we stole from the Metal Band. This thing is insane.
Got vocals down on “Better Bring A Bomb” & “Heard The Shot” a few nights ago. Went very smooth. A few nights later we got the final rhythm gtr’s and bass track down on a new one called “She’s More Of A Night Person”. Jeff put down the gtr’s. He had to learn the parts on the spot as I had only written the tune a few weeks prior and never even made a demo. He stepped up and nailed it in only a few takes. They sound amazing and I have to tell you that if it wasn’t for friends lending us a bunch of extra gear (Gtr’s, Amp’s etc) the album wouldn’t be sounding as good as it does. Of course it would still be good, but just having all the options is just awesome. With that said, if it wasn’t for the Metal Band that we rent a practice space too at the studio the gtr’s would have suffered big time. Any time our little arsenal of Fender amps wasn’t cutting it sound wise we could just go into their room witch resembles a mini-Guitar Center and take our pick of a ton of really cool Marshall, Orange, Laney or Sunn amps not to mention the endless supply of weird, old efx pedals. We’ve been leaning pretty heavy on this old Sunn head and cab for the last couple of tunes (Jeff used it on this last track). I think it’s solid state. Man that fucker get some sweet overdriven tones. Not really “distorted”, just good and dirty.
Brian also had to learn the tune on the spot and I have to say, he nailed one sweet ass bass track that had us all smiling in the control room as he laid it down. I guess knowing it was the last bass track one the album he decided to let it rip. Bass? DONE! It was one of those really fun nights of recording.
So I can’t believe I forgot to tell you this little studio happening. Sometime last week we were recording a bass track when in-between takes we heard somebody come in front door downstairs. I thought it was Jeff as the rest of the band was already there, but Dave heard a girls voice as they came up the stairs. Turns out it was the owner of our building Ernie along with a Asian female associate in tow. She heard the music outside an insisted on coming up and checking out what was going on. She burst through the door and with a very heavy accent asked “Are you getting high?”. We told her no, just beer and cigarette’s. This chick was shot of a cannon man. She told us that she “Sing in wedding band” and proceeded to point at all out gear and tell us what it was. “I know dat, dat Fender”, “What’s dat, dat bass?”. We were all pretty well oiled on Miller High Life at this point and we’re trying to answer her questions, but it was like she was a 5 year old that had just learned all of here favorite instruments names and was let loose in a petting zoo of musical instruments. The most classic line of her visit was when she saw the Fender Telecaster with a sunburst finish hanging on the wall and declared two times in a row in a very excited tone “I know dat, dat sunburn!”. I almost lost my shit. So good. Of course the video camera was not rolling. Fuck! A lesson learned: Always roll tape……..always!
-j
The black Strat is my main gtr and is all over this album. The other two are on loan from Dave's brother Mike.
Jeff behind the mic.
No more bass for you.
The vocal "booth".
The mighty Mica Fuzz Wau Wau! One of the many pedals we stole from the Metal Band. This thing is insane.
Monday, December 17, 2007
Great Ghost Stories
This is the album that had "The Golden Arm" ghost story i was talking about 2 posts below!
Click here to hear it! I haven't heard this in over 26 years at least. Awesome....
Thanks A.J.!
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