Studio Part I: Picking the Producer

By howzr on Apr 15, 2008 10:49 am

This weekend, we are going into the studio to cut a few new songs. These are some songs we have been writing over the past few months, and if you have been to our shows lately, you've probably already heard at least some of them. We're all pretty excited about the songs and think we have some kick-ass material. So, we want to capture some of the behind-the-scenes of the recording process and post a series of written and video blogs on this site. Hopefully it will be fun for you to check-up on it and fun for us to see it all later.

At the helm of the studio will be our friend and Electric Ladyland veteran Joe Blaney, who has worked with everyone from the Clash to the Beastie Boys to Blues Traveler to Good Charlotte. Dan and I had done some work with Joe in a previous project and really liked the results and also liked the vibe of the studio (think 70s hippie den meets bomber cockpit).

Picking a producer/engineer is one of the most important parts of the process. In a lot of ways, you are picking a 5th member of the band for a few days. His decisions must be in-line with the band's vision and vibe. If not, the results can be disastrous, disappointing, or just plain bland. Think Raw Power, the David Bowie mix that everyone hated vs. the remix that kicks-ass. Its not the band's performance -that was already on tape. It was the mix decisions that ruined the original release.

So, we decided to work with Joe for a number of reasons. Obviously, its cool to work with a producer who has a lot of credits on some major albums -albums that we know and like. That brings some cred and experience that is invaluable. But its also practical. Instead of saying to the engineer, "Hey, lets try to figure out how they got that sound on that album so we can use it...", you can say "Hey, use that drum sound from that Ramones album you did."

Another reason, and more important, is that he likes the same stuff we do. I stopped by his studio a few days ago to start discussing the project and we probably spent 2 hours just talking about our favorite albums and another hour talking about John Bonham. Its a cool thing and makes sure that the guy pushing the buttons and helping us pick performances is thinking about the same sound as us. None of us would want to work with an engineer who has credits if those credits were from -say- Def Leppard or Poison. We could end-up playing some kick-ass shit only to then have the producer punch the "suck" button. Painful.

Also, we have already worked with Blaney and have seen him around the NYC rock scene a lot. So, he is a friend outside of the music business part. I have done some recordings with other guys, the problem is that you are starting all over with that working relationship -you have to re-explain your influences and vision, etc. It wastes time and can be frustrating if you don't meet eye-to-eye. I'd rather pick the right guys for the team to begin with and then stick to it. Its like every time Tim Burton makes a movie, he starts by calling-up Johnny Depp and Danny Elfman (composer). Its a creative team that is a a well-oiled machine: no need for introductions, just jump into the project on the same page.

It helps that the studio is across the street from my apartment. You can't get any more convenient than that, and just saves a lot of time from traveling all over the place and trying to get people to arrive on time. Plus, we can save some time as Joe could start the mixing process and a few of us could break-off to my apartment to lay down overdubs that later could be taken back to the studio and dropped into the mix.

You know, forget all this serious shit, the studio looks like the set of Easy Rider and we all just like hanging there. Vibe is key. When lay down those buzz-saw guitar tracks, I want the spirit of a cracked-out Dennis Hopper whispering that crazy ranting shit in my left ear. When I come out of 4-5 days being in that dark, low lit, lava lamp, bomber cockpit room, it will be as if I had awaken from a strange and slightly disturbing dream. Yet the hours of drug-like deliria will have a lingering manifestation in the form of a little round plastic disc.

"One through nine, no maybes, no supposes, no fractions. You can't travel in space, you can't go out into space, you know, without, like, you know, uh, with fractions – what are you going to land on – one-quarter, three-eighths? What are you going to do when you go from here to Venus or something?"