Day One Part One Take One

Marathon recording is the only true way to make a record. I can now say this and mean it.

Where do I start? The last 48 hours just seem like a dream. On the drive home Josh and I kept saying "Did WE just do that?" I think everyone felt some sort of cosmic creative cloud showering the power of the rock and roll from start to finish. Even during the first few takes and just setting up the studio, we couldn't believe how good everything was sounding.

This part will discuss the friday night set up and how cool it was....

Drums

There are 8 channels/tracks of drums. That is 4 more than what we had last time. I think in the somewhat spread out room combined with the "forts", Aaron and Daniel managed to get Josh's drums to sound powerful and thundering. 8 tracks. It's just the right number we needed. I really felt like Josh had a "Dave Grohl" type sound going for him. Especially since he pulls alot of drum influence from him and many of those others that play like him. Plus, in the closed doors of a studio where there is no audience, Josh plays different and let's himself go more.

It was nice to walk into the room on Friday night and see all the mics set up ready for us. The drums took a long time to set up, but I feel the sound of the drums will dictate any recording and be the leader in determining how the rest of the band will sound. Josh isn't picky and melted right into all the set ups. Plus he got a new bass head and snare head which to me makes all the difference. He now has some punch.

Guitar: Tha D

Tha D jumped right in during set up, found his sound, and that was it. The producers built a fort around his amp to deaden the bleed. Tha D was not very particular about the set up, which was new for him. He only brought the Fender amp, his red strat, his Les Paul, a tube screamer and a few other pedals. Pretty simplistic. It also took no time to find his sound. It's almost as if it was there waiting for us!!

Tha D has a great sound. It has not been perfected over night. He's building his sound for the last year in the band, so I think just like Peach, he knew what we wanted. I wish I had paid more close attention to the microphone he used, because it makes his amp sound HUGE. Glad he brought the Les Paul, but my favorite is his red strat.

We went through alot of mics. The producers are very particular about which mic they use for what. Which is very fun and exciting especially since they enjoy experimenting with amp sounds and tones. They were also very "econo" about mic set up. Which means, sometimes they placed 2 at a time to save set up time and listen to them seperately to find which one we/they liked better. This would be repeated on all the other instruments and my vocals. Even Tha D was being creative with some sounds, which Peach might have a better story for because I left before he did his over dubs.....

BASS

Matt changed his strings. Good call......and yes he practiced. Peach put alot of thought into his bass these last few days. Peach went back and forth on many bass issues during practice and prior to set up but one thing was for sure....THAT AMP ROCKS SOME BASS BALLS!!! The new strings were perfect. Once again, after all the second guessing, Peach melted right into the bass set up. He tried the direct in box for a moment, which was quickly shot down by me. I wanted that amp sound...badly. It's his sound on stage, and it's great. But we like to try new things, right? If we could do both I would say yes in case we need a "beef" later, but as soon we moved some knobs and Matt started playing, it was grand. Peach wants to be Mike Watt and kept asking me about how I felt about a "Watt sound." You are who you are influenced by and just from the new strings, the amp settings, and some nice mic placement Peach and the producers got his sound. Sometimes worrying is a good thing. Which brings me to me....

Guitar: Kelly

I had to travel without my Fender tube Deville....which sucks. I had Peach's VOX. We scratched our heads on it for about two days, Peach kept saying he would bring it just in case because the sounds we got from the last album were the best the amp had ever sounded. Why not? It's a good thing he brought it, but we didn't use it. During practice it was fine, but I felt naked without my Fender. I was worried I wouldn't get that "sweet" fuzz sound from Elvis Costello's "Blood and Chocolate" or "When I Was Cruel"...I feel more and more influence by Mr. Costello these days, mostly from the writing stand point, but his sound is great because of all the greatness from the band behind him, kinda like us. I'm not picky, but I felt like I was being picky. Josh and Peach said it was ok and to take my time. We ended up using a Marshall that the producers had. We tried it in the bathroom and it had to much treble. I wanted low and smooth. So, we used the direct output from the amp. After some knob twisting, pedal setting changes, Peach comes into the control saying "Thats the best your guitar has ever sounded. Keep it!" Josh spoke into the mic, "That's it! Don't touch it!" I scratched my head for a moment and agreed. Another pedal setting change and a quick run through "Know It All" to test all the level together, they were right. I got my Costello sound. I have also learned that Fuzz Face pedals are great, and I want one. Even though I'm not using one on the record....

Well that was the Friday night set up. We were very tired by the time 1am rolled around. The free set up time was also good bonding time with our new producers. It was very relaxed, almost like when you were in college and all you did was sit around and talk about music ALL NIGHT LONG. The four of us talk about music religiously, but recently, we have been going into more depth in discussions. It's important to talk about these things. Our band has derived a lot of its energy from discussion. We talk, then we do it. Josh and I have similar tastes. Peach and I have similar tastes. Tha D and I also...plus...they have their own with each other. This really came out this week and during set up. It was nice having our rythm section knowing what they wanted from the start. It relieved alot of headaches I thought we might have. I was worried we would be TOO meticulous. But our vibe was nice. very nice.

Part 2 coming later....Peach will post sometime in the few minutes...