Studio Part II: Tracking...

By howzr on May 09, 2008 9:34 am

To be a true blog, I guess we should have kept up with these posts daily. But I didn't, so there it is! But I will try to recap.

First, we went over on our studio time estimate. We always do. And we do for the same reasons: First, we get so excited about recording the material, that we can't decide which songs to lay down, so we always lay down more. Second, we're perfectionists. Though some songs were a wrap in 2-3 takes, others took considerably more yet no one wanted to let shit slide until the feel and vibe of the song was "just right." Third, both Joe (producer) and the band are perfectionists about the mixing process. Again, we'll tweak until every ounce of sweetness is in the sound. And finally, we were a little rough-around the edges when we started tracking on Friday, though things got smoother by the next day.

So, backing up a bit here... We did all the tracking from Friday-Monday, April 18-21. We loaded-in on Friday morning and got set-up. It always takes several hours to get the drums setup and mic'd to get a good sound.

After we got setup, we tracked "Pour Me a Drink" and started "Heatherette". On Saturday we finished "Heatherette" and "Hanging There." On Sunday, we laid down the basics for "Chapel Street" and then moved on to guitar & vocal overdubs. Monday, we finished overdubs. ...I might have Sunday and Monday a bit confused ... it was all a blur.

A day in the studio was pretty much dreary, nocturnal, though inspired. It was a beautiful Spring weekend outdoors, yet indoors the studio was dark, windowless, and a little stuffy. We would start by 2 or 3pm and work until about 3am. We played nonstop, often forgetting to eat. When we finally got around to food, it was some order-in Mex or Tai at 10pm, then beer for dessert. The cornerstone of a nutritious rock lifestyle.

We got all this crap on camera...maybe about 6 hours worth of footage so far...I don't know how to get around to going through it all. Maybe some elves will.