Day Three at the Studio

R& R Diary

Day Three - Yesterday morning, walking into Electrical Audio's Studio A, all of us were happy, confident and loose. The first two days had been totally intense, but also incredibly rewarding. 8 songs already tracked. 8 keepers. Today's plan was an intense, full day of recording. We were going to track the last three of the planned 11 songs that we think will be our next whitewolfsonicprincess album. Also doing a few overdubs: conga, harmonica, tambourine, floor tom, cowbell (yes, that's right cowbell), and shakers. The songs left to track were all the high-energy rockers. The recording engineer wondered why we had saved them for 3rd day, he said that most bands start with the rockers. I said it was because of something the great horror film director Wes Craven once said in an interview. Talking about making movies he said he "always did the hard scenes first, when everyone was fresh and full of energy." That totally makes sense to me. So yes, it turns out some of the tracks we did day one and two were the slow, quiet, delicately-played songs, the ones where you can hear a pin drop between notes. They are fabulous songs, shooting for a stark, hushed, beauty. But they do pose the greatest challenge. How do you describe "feel." How do explain to other musicians that yes everyone is playing the right notes, and in correct time, but the song still doesn't feel right? There are no words that can accurately convey that info. Anyway,  yesterday, we ripped thru the rockers with total abandon. There were a few hitches, we did multiple takes of two of them. We ended up doing another "punch-in" on the last measure of one song. I did it reluctantly, with gritted teeth. It really goes against my r&r ethic. I was all for doing one more take, but the recording engineer, and the band, all thought 99% of the performance was fabulous, it was just that one last measure that needed a bit of tightening. We have been a bit democratic in our approach, when we do a take, everyone in the band marches into the control room to listen. All the of the musicians in the band are experienced, talented, incredibly soulful, and musically-intelligent beings. So yes, all opinions are welcomed. There is a bit of the "hive mind" at work in the control room. The recording engineer spoke up a few times too with some really smart ideas. Anyway, the punch-in worked. The edit was seamless, the stitches were erased, the track sounded organic, lively, real.  One of our band members told me that this whole process was a "peak experience" as a musician. To be in a room, listening attentively, playing with other fabulous musicians, all creating in the moment. The good work. Can't say enough about Electrical Audio. A music mecca built specifically to capturing great frequencies. What you hear in the recording rooms, what you hear in your headphones, and what you hear on playback in the control room all sounds great. There is a science and alchemy at work. Just so inspiring. Today, two of us will be tracking final vocals on all 11 tracks. Pretty important day today. It's all about capturing an inspired performance.