Great Magnet at SharkBite studios

We went into the studio on Saturday with the goal of laying down 3 more songs. After a hefty breakfast at Nation's, we cruised down to Sharkbite studios to meet our recording engineers Adam S. and Adam M. The studio is pro and very well laid out. Legend has it that the monstrous mixing board was used to record Steely Dan's Aja album as well as mix tracks on Pink Floyd's The Wall. Yowsa.

We loaded in and got mic'd up. Jose's drums got the full treatment, with mics on every piece of his kit, including one room mic that captured the live essence. Ollie's and my amp were run into 4x12 speaker cabinets placed in isolation booths and covered by two mics each. Martin's bass went direct in to the board through a tube DI box.

We got our tones and started rolling. First up was The Lesson. We all played together in the big live room, and then went back for vocal and guitar solo overdubs later. We pretty much nailed it in three takes, and then continued on to Groove and By Your Side. Time between songs was minimal thanks in part to very subtle changes in amp tone; there wasn't much to adjust as far as our instruments went.

After recording as a group, we all shuffled into the control room as the Adams set up the vocal mic, complete with pop filter screen, in the big room. They played back The Lesson as Ollie sang the lead vocal lines. We watched from behind the double-paned glass. He dubbed over himself on the chorus to thicken it up.

I was next and headed in to sing lead on Groove and By Your Side. Jose came in after me and sang back up on Groove, followed by Ollie singing backup on By Your Side. Relieved that we were done with vocals, I started to prepare for my guitar solos.

I played solos on all three songs. Live, I stick with a few rough patterns, but recorded, I had to be consistent and precise. I dragged my Rectoverb into the control room and grinded through all three solos. It was not the most historical moment in guitar history, but I was pleased with the final outcome.

We wrapped things up and headed out into the night. The next step is to truck back up to Santa Rosa for final mixdown and last-minute overdubs. It was a good day.

We're rolling...

We are finally heading back into the studio this weekend to record a couple of more songs and touch up some existing tracks. This time we will be at SharkBite Studios in Oakland, with Adam of Great Magnet as our engineer.

We are becoming accustomed to the recording process, and realizing each time the huge disparities between playing live and laying down tracks. Somewhere in there lies the balance- the fine line between sounding too raw or too sterile. The trick is to maintain the energy of a live show while exhibiting the precision and timing of a studio session.

The process itself can be a little nerve-wracking, but we love every minute of it. It's like everything else that looks easy until you try to do it yourself. One more rehearsal, and we are ready to put it on wax!

Workin' on the CD... still

It's slow this time of year. The weekends are booked with holiday events, and there are no gigs in sight. The recording process has been dragged out for months. But that's okay because once we get that bad boy pressed, we will have a nice product to present to our friends, fans, and potential promoters. Hangin' on to the dream, baby. By a thread... Can't wait to get out of the studio and back on stage!

In the Studio

The MHB is in the studio. We are in the process of completing our first self-titled CD. We have been trying to iron out our schedule with Adam of Great Magnet recording, but the end of the year is upon us, and our goal of stamping a CD before 2008 is starting to slip away. We have individually been travelling, leaving no time to jam or woodshed. This year may be coming to a close, but we are ramping up for a good 2008. Time to start planning!

Takin' a break this week

The MHB is lying low this week and maybe next week too, since we are all kind of unavailable. We are most likely going to spend the remainder of the year concentrating on finishing up the cd and working on some new tunes. Stay tuned.

MotherHumbuckers + Blogging = MotherHumblogging

Aaaaah, the MotherHumbuckers. A motley band of musicians who have formed to bring the world together with their interesting style of music. The fame and fortune that they will achieve is unfathomable. They are destined for greatness.

Ok, I'm done with my narration. On to the meat of it all. Our band has been together for about 1.5 years now. We have played at some pretty cool San Francisco venues such as the Rockit Room, Hotel Utah, Pier 23, El Rio, 12 Galaxies, and the Great American Music Hall.

We've got Jose on drums, Ollie on rhythm guitar and vocals, Martin on bass guitar, and me (Rocky) on lead guitar and vocals. We like to describe our musical style as rock, and we cover a wide range from blues to pop to hard rock.

I will be using this blog to chronicle our adventures. Or misadventures. I'll have to go back and tell some old stories as well as current events. Stay tuned.