I've spent the last few days in the studio with New Hampshire artist Amy Petty helping to navigate the production of her new record. I'm not sure if it's that I'm tired or that I'm getting my first dose of sunlight in what feels like months but something has me mulling over the process of record making. It's been a few years since the release of 'Mystery Keeps You'. Last Spring, Amy and I started toying with the idea of embarking on her second record. Directionally, our biggest concern was that the new record not be a remaking or re-inventing of 'Mystery'.
Fast forward almost a year, skip over the week I spent in New Hampshire wading through Amy's catalog of material to me sitting at my console, listening to possibility. I'll be honest, here - making records from scratch takes a strong stomach. It's not a job for those uncomfortable with uncertainty and being uncomfortable. Even after steering dozens of records to completion, I still find the process a bit unnerving.
While a great amount of care is taken to select and then tweak the source material (songs) , each tune must still endure quite a bit to reach completion. The right part, played by the right instrument, performed by the right player, captured by the right microphone positioned at just the right place all impact the end result. A well written song aside, the above things are what make or break a song's ability to elicit an emotive response from the listener.
At the end of the day, about all that comforts my record making anxiety is the team of people surrounding me. I am at best, an average musician with a few good ideas. My strength has always been in surrounding myself with amazing musicians; selfless players that aspire to make great, emotive records. I like to call them all 'ultimate character actors' in that while each of them is brilliant, skilled and accomplished in their own right, they choose to play whatever roll necessary to further the story. They truly play for the song.
Beyond their art, they are all easy people. As session drummer Joe Meyer told me once: "We make records here. If you are here, the expectation is that you can play. From there it's all about donuts and coffee. Can you sit and make your client feel at ease and as if everything is under control? Can you hang?"
Instead of trying to remove discomfort from the process, my new goal is to get more comfortable being uncomfortable. After all, great art is born at the fray of normalcy; reaching into the unknown is always a bit scary. And too, have the courage to let other people (the right people) into the process. It's difficult to create something new and other worldly when creating in a vacuum. And most important (most obvious and often overlooked) let the team know and feel their value.
It's an honor and a privilege, guys. It really is.
It's pretty comboggling (a great word created by my friend Josh Meng - which in Menglish means confusing / mind boggling) to think that the portion of my life spent making recordings now exceeds time spent NOT making recordings. Over the years, it's fair to say that I've recorded on nearly every format available and in just about every environment imaginable.
In the early days, I'd hole up in what used to be the old coal room in my parents basement with my Yamaha four track recorder writing and recording several songs a week. On occasion I'd even rent a Tascam PortaStudio from my local music store for a month at a time. I would use these machines until they literally stopped working... And while at the time I knew nothing technically about recording and even less about gear, the whole experience was an immensely valuable learning in songwriting and process.
Since then, in addition to owning several of my own work spaces (I never liken them to world-class recording facilities) I've worked in a myriad of spare bedroom studios, semi-commercial rooms and full-on pro facilities.
Several years ago, I stumbled on Sear Sound Studios in NYC. Both Sear Sound and owner Walter Sear are mainstays in the studio world and have been for many years, advocates for the professional studio environment. And while I find myself far less rigid than Walter in his insistence of working in a world-class facility, I do find a great deal of wisdom in the analogy he draws. I decided to repost this blog because as of a few months ago, www.searsound.com was redesigned, eliminating Walter's 'articles' page.
I guess too, I decided to blog about this after discussing the decline of music qualitatively with my new-found friend George Howard (@gah650) over dinner. And while I don't think either of us really arrived at a definitive answer to the question, advances and the proliferation of music technology did get strong mention. But I think beyond everything, what's often omitted from the record making process these days is experience. And the decline in experience and wisdom throughout the recording process is at the heart of Walter's blog. Again - I'd link to the blog, but it's no longer available; the following is from a web clipping I grabbed long ago.
I'm not very technical but I just love doing brain surgery. I couldn't see wasting all that time to get an undergraduate degree in science, then wasting four more years in medical school and another three or so as a resident, but I'm sure that I can make up for the deficit with my enthusiasm and my love of brain surgery.
First of all, you really don't need to be in a big fancy building like a hospital. I use my ping-pong table in the basement to do my surgery. (I do throw a plastic sheet over it to preserve the paint). By doing it at home, I save on rent. I admit that sometimes the neighbors complain about the occasional screams that they hear, especially late at night.
Next thing is the equipment. They have all of that shiny stuff in the operating room and believe me, you don't really need it. I equipped my Operating Room at my local 99 cent store. At the hardware department, pick up a hack saw. This is very handy for cutting off the top of the skull. If you want to get fancy, pick up a cross-cut saw, for emergencies. A good claw hammer is handy for removing any extra bone that you missed with the saws.
Move on to the housewares department. Here, for $.99, you can get a whole set of steak knives. These are very sharp and they are good for the fine work. For the rough work--get a bread knife.
In the sewing department, you can pick up a sewing kit with all kinds of needles and different colored threads This is handy to sew the scalp back in place. You can also get a set of three different-sized scissors. Sometimes they come in handy.
There! For $7 to $8, you can completely equip your operating room.
On TV, you see the OR full of assistants. This is a waste of space. If you really watch them, they are all just standing around doing nothing. In my home operating room, I have eliminated all of these unnecessary people. I do, however, engage the family dog to sit under my operating table to clean up the scraps.
You see how simple it is to do brain surgery at home? Anyone with a love of brain surgery can do it. I never read Grey's Anatomy although I did see a copy once. Very nice pictures but half of it was in Latin. Who wants to bother with that! If you really want to be a brain surgeon, all you need is the desire and enthusiasm.
My prices are very cheap since I don't have all that stupid overhead.
ANYONE NEED TO HAVE A BRAIN TUMOR REMOVED? CALL ME.
My partner Lauren Markow mentioned in passing conversation that in addition to blogging about the goings on in my musical world, I should begin scripting short utilitarian blogs about the record making process. As with most things, getting started is always the hardest part and at first attempt at writing, I got stuck in the usual places: What do I know about anything? Where would I begin?
Here's a novel idea - how 'bout at the beginning?
Making records is an often cathartic, emotional experience for artists. After all, it's in many ways akin to the birthing process; watching a song enter the physical world, growing from nucleus of an idea into a full on art piece. That being said, I feel it critical when considering the record making process, to set those feelings aside and honestly assess what the record needs to do for you and your career. Are you making a record as a keepsake or benchmark of your artistic growth? Or are you crafting a tool that will serve to further your career? Answer dependent, you should then decide direction, approach and ultimately the budget for your project. This considered, the following are things I frequently run into as a producer/engineer which have potential to make or break a project:
Songs are everything (songs are boss!):: Send me your demos sooner than later. And while at it, send me everything! Songs are obviously the cornerstones of a good record. No amount of polishing, gear or playing can change that. I like to be involved in helping make play list decisions and working thru re-writes if necessary. I have a gigantic imagination, so don't bother making clean demos; if I can hear chord changes and words, I'm usually fine. If I tell you a song is 'weak' it doesn't mean I don't like you or your songs. It simply means I think you have better material in you.
Right part, right instrument:: Nothing will impact the sound or landscape of a recording like the right part performed on the right instrument. If I had a dollar for every time a drummer loaded in a 27 piece drum kit complete with piccolo snare drum and roto toms and proceeded to tell me he fancies John Bonham-esque drum sounds I'd be a wealthy man. Despite what you might think, you cannot make something sound like something it's not. Carpenters and mechanics all adhere to a simple philosophy: Use the right tool for the job, people!
The studio is not your basement:: Playing in the studio is a honed skill. For drummers, studio work is far more about playing the room and self-balancing the kit (kick to snare, snare to hat, etc) than it is about chops. Be organized about your ideas and execute them in an articulate, organized fashion! This means, don't noodle; play parts. Most brilliant session players I work with are systematic in their approach usually playing just time and fundamentals for the first several takes followed with crazier approaches after we're sure we have the part. Listen to your favorite records and REALLY assess what you hear. Here's a secret: You don't hear drum fills, guitar solos and noodling. Instead, you hear organized, memorable parts and usually, SONGS.
Listening is an art, the studio affords perspective:: Making records allows you to really hear what works and what doesn't. If you come in too sold on your own parts, you often lose the benefit of perspective that the studio offers. My guess is this is why the great players, engineers, producers and mixers all say that making music is truly the art of LISTENING, not playing.
Make your best record, not a record that's already been made:: People often ask me what happened to the music business. While I could give you a million answers, - I think the most accurate one has something to do with artists defining their success relational to something else they know as successful. Writing and making records has become a winnowed process much like a funnel. As you pour your ideas in - the options are abundant; you have creativity in writing, arrangement and engineering. But as you apply the 'success filter' to your process, you start trying to make your art sound like something else already deemed successful. You in turn choose from a palette of five 'successful' guitar sounds, three 'hot' snare and kick drum samples and you abandon your own creative, sonic signature.
Plan your work and work your plan:: In conversations with artists over the last few years, I've been offering the following advice: Assume the record itself will change nothing and that it's everything else that will make or break your career. Trust me, as someone that makes records this is tough for me to say. However, I truly believe that success with selling a record has far more to do with support/sales systems created than the creative/sonic perfection of your recording. Spend time planning about how to increase your visibility, ability to sell product and merch both online and off the stage.
It's been a busy, busy few weeks. Beyond pushing ahead full on with Javier Mendoza's new record, I've also started working with brilliant singer/songwriter Caleb Travers.I started receiving demos from Caleb several months ago. After working thru material, writing and re-writing, we decided to move forward with a handful of tunes. We've spent one evening in pre-production thus far with one more evening scheduled before we begin tracking. Most times, beyond getting MP3's emailed to me, I have very little time to do pre-production on material; it was nice to sit with Caleb, drummer Joe Meyer and bassist Eric Grossman and hash out tempos, feels and parts.
I also had the pleasure of mixing a song for my good friend Taylor Mesple'. Hailing from Portland, Maine - Taylor is a great, great songwriter and amazing pianist/multi-instrumentalist. In addition to being a great songwriter and performer, Taylor owns two Portland mainstays - The Maple Room and Old Port Records.
I've also continued to work on Nashville pianist Chris Walter's new record. My last session with Chris included drummer Jim White and was completely amazing. Chris recorded saw player Natalia Paruz for one of the tunes - video of that session is amazing and can be seen, here.
A few weekends back, Drew Johnson and I embarked on the journey of making his new record. As I have been talking with Drew about this project on and off for quite a long time, it was really great to finally get everyone in one room and start hashing our way through ideas and material.
The beginning of every record is always hard; it's always a bit scary. As a producer / engineer, I am always a bit shocked and bewildered that an artist would entrust me to make their record?!? At times it's overwhelming - juggling so many ideas, personalities and most of all, managing the environment in which the songs are crafted. Of all the things I've come to learn (which extends far beyond faders, knobs, eq's and even performance) it's that interpersonal environment is everything when making a record. Great work happens when artists - both songwriters / artists and session players - feel safe to explore. Great recordings are made when people trust and have faith that the process will not fail them.
Sometime last year I received a phone call from Nashville singer - songwriter Josiah Rosen inquiring about working on new material. For those of you that are not familiar, Josiah was one of the founding members of the band Augustana and holds some amazing writing credits for songs such as 'Boston'. After leaving the band, Josiah settled in Nasvhille and is currently working on his own material along with co-writes with several major label artists.
A bit over a month ago, Josiah and I finally made good on our promise to begin sketching his new record. Lending supporting performances to the tune were drummer Joe Meyer, multi-instrumentalist R. Scott Bryan, pianist David Aholt and yours truly.
After tracking and mixing the song, I took a trip north to Milwaukee, Wisconsin to visit friend and engineer J. Christopher Hughes and mastering engineer Trevor Sadler.
One tune down and plans in the works to start sketches of several other songs. You can follow progress on my blog or by friend requesting Josiah on Facebook, Myspace or by visiting http://www.josiahrosen.com.
If your memory servers you well, you might recall a blog I wrote several months ago about a record I was working on for singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist R. Scott Bryan. For those of you that don't know about R. Scott Bryan - you should. Over the last decade or so, Scott has shared both stage and studio with a very, very impressive list of 'A-listers' such as Petery Mayer, Mac McManally, Russ Kunkell, Levon Helm not to mention a long stent as utility player Sheryl Crow.
After a year plus in the works, Scott and I have put the finishing touches on his second full length release entitled 'It's Your Life'. The record features brilliant songwriting as well as Scott's ability to play a wide range of instruments namely percussion and Hammond B3 Organ. 'It's Your Life' also offers stellar supporting performances by Drummers Joe Meyer, Dennis Stringfield, Grover Stewart, Pianist David Aholt and saxophonist Jim Stevens. I produced, played, engineered and mixed the record which was mastered by my dear friend and mentor M. Brad Sarno at Blue Jade Audio Mastering.
Given Scott's history and pedigree in this business, working on this record was a real honor and priviledge. 'It's Your Life' will be released by Lauren Markow and me on the Red Pill label and will be available for purchase the first week of December via iTunes with hard copies available at Nimbit and CDBaby. Grab your copies and spread the word - thanks for supporting independent music.
I mentioned several months ago that I've been working on a new recording for singer/songwriter and all around 'I can play anything-er' R. Scott Bryan. Fact, I think I remember even telling you that the 'R' in his name stands for Roy. I did tell you that didn't I?
I wanted to give you all an update on the recording as we actually have audio for your review posted and available for you listening pleasure. At this point in time, the record is about 76.4% done with five tunes tracked, mixed and released in a promotional EP format. We have several other tunes heavily under construction - which should be all wrapped up shortly.
A few days ago - Scott calls me bustling with excitement about a new tune fresh off the press. The tune is entitled 'It's Your Life'. A song about taking life as it comes - accepting all things; Life's blessings and hardships. It's an interesting tune in that the arrangement and recording of the song thus far has been very stark and simple - very dark in moments with subtle lift in others.
I digress.
I'd love for you to take the time to listen to some of the new record. Tho I have a few tunes on my myspace and facebook pages, you'd be better served by visiting Scott here.
Multi-instrumentalist Jacob Detering entered the music business both as a songwriter and performer. After performing on stage and in the studio, Detering ultimately settled into the role of producer, engineer and mixer for a myriad of local, national and international talent(s). Logging thousands of hours in the studio, Jacob yields strong command of large format analogue mixing consoles, and tape and digital recording formats.
Beyond all things technical, Jacob brings a sense of comfort and ease to the recording process allowing the artist to safely explore unchartered creative territory.
I've spent the last few days in the studio with New Hampshire artist Amy Petty helping to navigate the production of her new record. I'm not sure if it's that I'm tired or that I'm getting my first dose of sunlight in what feels like months but something has me mulling over the process of record making. It's been a few years since the release of 'Mystery Keeps You'. Last Spring, Amy and I started toying with the idea of embarking on her second record. Directionally, our biggest concern was that the new record not be a remaking or re-inventing of 'Mystery'.
