Day Four at the Studio

R&R Diary

Day Four - We wanted to get to the studio a bit earlier than usual, but our Lyft ride was a total cluster-fuck. A driver who didn't really know how to use the app, a car that could only seat three passengers with a fourth, pissed off, passenger left waiting on the curb. We got to the studio about 10 minutes late, hoping the ride wasn't a bad omen for the day. It wasn't. We rolled up our sleeves, and plunged right in. The goal for the day was to record all the vocals for our 11 definitive takes of songs. We fell two short. By the end of the day we had 9 tracks with full instrumentation and final vocals. It was a blur, it was a kick, it was a gas. One thing we had going for us, we are a working band. We have worked on these songs in intense rehearsals, we have recorded our rehearsals, we have tweaked and refined arrangements, we have performed many of these songs in front of an audience, we know these songs. When we are singing, we are singing our own heartfelt words. We are speaking our "truth." Carla was singing thru a Josephson C715 microphone: "rich sound with a very unique “head-basket," and I sang thru a Soyuz 017, "cardioid condenser with handmade KU67-style capsule." We were set up out in Centerfield, a big, beautiful recording room with high ceiling, hard-wood floor, adobe brick walls. Fabulous natural room ambience. We ran thru the rockers, and the quiet ones too. Many of the songs we nailed on the first take. I love those one take wonders. There were no "problem" songs. On some songs we did a few alternate takes: easier, edgier, more grit, more personality, more delicate; we tried a few modes. It was a totally consuming & inspiring session. These songs, this music, is just so us, you know, us to the maximum. We feel these songs embody the best of us. Heart-songs, head-songs, vision-songs. I sat on the floor, lotus position, eyes closed, meditating in Centerfield, and listened to Carla sing a song called "Child of the Revolution." She wore headphones, singing along with the track. I could only hear her unaccompanied voice in the room. A voice, transparent, stripped bare. It was a heavenly, gorgeous, ethereal performance. Two wonderful, soulful takes. Smiles all around. We called it a day. We were two songs short of our goal, but that was absolutely the perfect moment to end the session. Today is our last day of tracking. Two more vocals, and our guitar player is coming back to run thru another take or two on one of the songs. Then, hopefully, we start mixing tracks. That is whole adventure in itself. Don't want to get ahead of ourselves. One step at a time. As Jeff Tweedy reminded Carla in a dream: "It's all about the process."