It’s so amazing how sounds work. All the same rules that I learned in colour theory and composition still apply. If you add more orange, the blues become more intense. Add more yellow to a green and suddenly reds will fade to the background. Pull the highs from my guitar and Heather’s voice is suddenly over the top and far too bright.
We’re working on our cover of “We Can Work It Out” for the new album – I think we might have to go back in and have me put a damned harmony line on it, because it’s kind of pissing me off that it’s so conspicuously absent – SCREAMING “rob can’t do
Watching Matthew work makes me think of how I work in Photoshop – very native to the program, very familiar and (if I do say so myself) ultra-fast. Watching fingers fly without hesitation. He’s faster with the trackball, I’m faster with key commands. He hesitates rarely, fiddles constantly, and is only as slow as his processor.
We’re recording Heather’s tune “Ask For Me” right now, which is a surprise addition to the new disc. Even just the guitar gives me shivers – I Love this song dearly. She wrote a Love song that has soul and longing and beauty and every day I thank the gods for our muses.
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA Sharif tuning his bass to redo the bassline on Oklahoma Revival, 1933.
Coming to the studio through threatening skies. I sneak a five minute nap in the car before walking to the fine arts building at UMBC and savour the welcoming sound of their soda machine. The moment I open the front door it’s deep sci-fi growl embraces me along with the welcome air conditioning. It’s so good to have that worrying the moisture of the day away from my skin. The absolute exhaustion I was fighting a couple of minutes ago vanishes even as I climb four flights of stairs to where I can already hear rearview thundering from the control booth.
We’re closing in on the end of mixing, fixing problem spots, finalizing sounds. Extra sparkle for my guitar in Baliset, adding an ominous growling to Sharif’s bass in rearview – a delay to Kristen’s cello – reverb and a creamy EQ to Heather’s voice – rolling off the highs on Rowan’s djembe and finding the full range of his bohdran. My difficulty in fingerpicking a particular passage is causing Matt to loop a particular passage over and over again, ingraining and echoing. It’s a special kind of Hell, I imagine it’s the way a supermodel feels, having every flaw picked at and examined up close and slowly, painstakingly eradicated – but amplified and forever remembered in the process. I’m fortunate enough to have dated an underwear model once. The angst of uber-editing her photo shoots took its toll on her and I’m sure brought lines to her otherwise flawless face.
Sharif and Joanna are sitting on the couch, jumping in when they hear something specific, but in general just adding to the presence to the room. The smiles are enough, nods or tapped fingers or toes. Small movements that let us know they’re still conscious and approving. Sharif’s doing his cute cat-belly rub thing and … well… actually… wait – I have NO idea what he’s doing. Grabbing at dust motes or something. Freak.
Sheesh. I Love my band. But yeah. Freak.
(ooh – now we’re editing something HEATHER did wrong! Thank God there was SOMETHING!!!)
Notes from the session: balls up the guitar, grind up the bass, give Rowan less head – someone needs to fix Sharif. Also, please isolate rob’s moistened lips.
