MotherHumbuckers - SF Bay Area Original Rock

Hotel Utah Saloon, SF

2010-12-29T22:01:00.000-08:00

Despite the cold, rainy weather, we had a great turnout at the Hotel Utah Saloon in SF. It was an honor to share the stage with Mr. Mime and Evolution Eden once again. Also rockin' out that night was Live Evil and Face on Straight. Thanks to all that came out!

Here is a video of Your Tattoos, captured up close and personal!

MotherHumbuckers at the Hotel Utah SF!

2010-11-20T12:15:00.000-08:00

Hey Bucker Lovers!

We will be playing at the Hotel Utah Saloon on Saturday, November 20! We will be joined by our good friends Mr. Mime and Evolution Eden along with Live Evil and Face on Straight.

Cover is only $10, and the doors open at 8PM. We will go on at around 8:30PM.

Hope to see you there!

Another great night at the Rockit Room

2010-04-09T21:55:00.000-07:00

We found ourselves at the Rockit Room in SF once more on Thursday evening, April 1st. Big thanks to John Enghauser for inviting us to play with his band and Frobeck. We had a great night at one of our favorite venues and couldn't have done it without our faithful friends and followers!

Oakland Running Festival a Huge Success!

2010-04-03T11:20:00.000-07:00

The inaugural Oakland Running Festival was a big hit amongst the runners and the community of Oakland! Thousands of runners took to the streets to run the Marathon or Half Marathon on Sunday morning, and we were playing on the main stage to greet them as they came across the finish line!

Next year will be even bigger, and we hope to be a part of it again!

MHB at the Inaugural Oakland Running Festival!

2010-03-24T21:45:00.000-07:00

Hey all, the MotherHumbuckers will be performing on the main stage of the Oakland Running Festival on Sunday March 28 from 10AM to Noon. Run fast, and you can catch the show! See you there!

Rocked it at Roosters!

2010-03-01T19:51:00.000-08:00

Hey all, big thanks to everyone that came out to support our show at Rooster's Roadhouse on Saturday night! Thanks also to Bender, Plasterkatz, and Evolution Eden and all of their fans for making it an awesome night!

Rooster's is a hidden gem of a venue that offers great live music, dynamic stage lighting, and a great menu that includes lumpia! It was a pleasure to work with Joselyn and we will definitely be back to play there again.

Here is a video of one of our new songs, "Better Days". Enjoy!

MotherHumbuckers @ Rooster's Roadhouse in Alameda!

2010-02-04T22:27:00.001-08:00

Hey all, we are putting on a show in Alameda! Many times we would play a show in SF on a weeknight, and anyone from the other side of the bridge would not want to come out due to logistical reasons. Well, here is a show just for you East Bay folk. It's on your side of the bridge, and it's on a Saturday night!

We've got some great SF favorites playing with us - Plasterkatz, Bender, and Evolution Eden! Hope to see you there!

Rock Against Leukemia was a great success!

2010-01-25T20:31:00.000-08:00

Thanks to all of you that came out to support the fight against blood cancers! We had a great night of entertainment starting with Bender rocking out and ending with DJ Patrick getting the crowd on their feet and their hands in the air!

We played a set consisting of old favorites that are found on our current CD, and new tunes that will be on the next one. We had the entire upstairs venue of Beale St. packed wall to wall with positive energy and a good vibe flowing throughout the house. All in all, it was a great night to celebrate life!

Bender

DJ Patrick

Rock Against Leukemia

2009-12-12T21:59:00.000-08:00

Hey there friends! We are coming at you strong in January, with our first fundraising gig of the new year!
We hope you can attend Rock Against Leukemia and help fight blood cancers while jamming to our music! Also featuring Bender and DJ Patrick!

www.rockagainstleukemia.org

Putting the FUN in fundraising

2009-11-16T08:39:00.000-08:00

Hey Y'all! It's a great time of year, we are all gearing up for the holiday seasons, and it's a great time to give! Which brings us to our next subject! Our resident endurance athelete/lead guitarist Rocky is once again raising funds for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society! Which means - Fundraising Gigs!

Stay tuned for dates/times/locations! In the meantime, please take a look at Rocky's fundraising page:

Rocky's Going Iron!

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-29T22:54:00.000-07:00

We had a great night at the Red Devil Lounge! Thanks to all our peeps for coming out, and to the other bands that braved the roads despite the Bay Bridge closure! We did out best to dress for the occasion by wearing scary face makeup. Ollie and Martin were painted up like skulls, and Rocky had the classic vampire widow's peak. Jose wore the scariest black vest he could find. We probably didn't scare anyone since we ended up looking like Eddy Munster, kung fu panda, a crackhead raccoon, and Mr. Belvedere. But that didn't matter because we rocked our set as usual, and picked up a few new friends and fans along the way!

Thanks to Stefan of Mr. Mine for adding us to the bill, and for the staff at RDL for their hospitality. Thanks to Tib for doing a killer job on the sound board too. He's been doing sound for us at various clubs for a few years now, and always manages to get the perfect mix.

Now it's back to the studio to polish up a few new tunes, and we'll see you next time!

MHB at the Red Devil Lounge SF this Wednesday 10/28/09

2009-10-26T17:42:00.001-07:00

Hey MotherHumbucker followers! We will be playing a pre-halloween show this Wednesday night at the Red Devil Lounge with Mr. Mime and other bands. Come on out and get in the spooky spirit! Show up dressed like a vampire, in some other costume, or in all black and get in free!
Otherwise cover is $7.

We are hitting the stage at exactly 8PM! Hope to see you there!

Red Devil Lounge
1695 Polk @ Clay
San Francisco 94109

Guitar Heroine

2009-09-30T09:49:00.000-07:00

Hey 'Bucker Nation, we are fine tuning a few of our new songs and getting ready for some Autumn gigs! Stay tuned for details. We are currently in talks with some of the best venues in SF, and have a few great bands lined up to play with us.

As you can see, we love PRS guitars, and as soon as our endorsement with PRS actually happens (waddya say, Mr. Smith?), we will continue to drool and admire. Rocky's Custom 22 will keep us satisfied for now! PRS artist Orianthi will drop her new album on Oct. 1st, and we are expecting big things from this little lady from Perth, Australia.

Whether you are a Michael Jackson fan or not, you have most likely spotted Orianthi in the video footage from MJ's final rehearsal sessions. She also backed Carrie Underwood at this year's Grammys. We have been following her for years and it's great to see her getting the recognition she deserves. Check her out! Then check us out!

Woodshedding

2009-08-27T23:48:00.000-07:00

Hey 'Bucker fans! You're probably wondering what we have been up to in the last couple of months. OK, maybe not since there are more pressing issues to attend to. But, we'll tell you anyway!

We've been hitting the studio working on new material and tightening up things. We've got 4 new tunes that we are currently rehearsing and polishing up for your listening pleasure. We are also experimenting with some different equipment in an effort to further shape our sound. We're hoping you will like what you hear at the next show. Speaking of which, we are planning a gig in October, so stay tuned and keep 'buckin!

RIP Les Paul

2009-08-13T14:43:00.000-07:00

Today we lost one of the most important figures in the music world- Les Paul. He may not have been perceived as an icon, but his famous guitar design most assuredly is. The Gibson Les Paul guitar is, along with the Fender Stratocaster (RIP Leo), one of the most recognizeable instruments in any genre of music.

Les Paul was an inventor and innovator, creating many of the recording techniques that are still widely used to this day.

Burnin' the candle

2009-07-13T23:33:00.000-07:00

Had a great night at Lennon Studios! We worked on two new songs and a potential third. We nabbed an early spot so we all got home in time for supper!

The first song is tentatively titled "Play The Fool" and is another riff-driven, hard rocking tune with a saucy wah-filled guitar solo. The second is yet to be named but starts out softly and features the brothers' subtle duet. As this song crescendos, heavy chunk is in abundance! The third is a funky, crunchy, groovy thing that may one day find itself as background music to an, um, 'artistic' film.

It was a good night!

RIP Michael Jackson

2009-07-07T23:26:00.000-07:00

Farewell to the King of Pop. MJ has influenced artists of every genre. Including us.

MHB rehearse

2009-06-21T14:41:00.000-07:00

After each show, for whatever reason, people often ask how we rehearse. How often, what songs, methods, etc. Well to answer that question, I'll just say that you can find us on any given night at one of the legendary rehearsal studios in SF. We load in, plug in, and indulge in exotic treats before we start the organized noise that we call music.

When we get the big rehearsal stage, it looks kinda like this:

RDL was a hit!

2009-06-17T00:08:00.001-07:00

It's been almost a week since we played the Red Devil Lounge, and our heads are still spinning! The vibe was great, and our set went off without a hitch! Thanks to Mr. Mime and Evolution Eden for sharing the stage with us on this amazing night! Thanks also to Lisa, who performed her glow-in-the-dark hula hoop act during our set!

Big thanks to all that came out to support us and buy our CDs! We are currently working on new tunes and formulating our next gig, so stay tuned!

Red Devil Lounge!

2009-05-18T22:59:00.001-07:00

We will be playing at another great San Francisco venue this June- The Red Devil Lounge!

Details to come, but we will be joined by our ol' friends Evolution Eden, Mr. Mime, and Zen Vendetta!

Stay Tuned!

Springtime and the swine

2009-05-04T11:57:00.000-07:00

The MHB camp is grinding away in the background - we just had a really great set at the Beale St. Bar in SF. We opened for Solcraft for their CD release gig. We pulled in a good 65 peeps that night, and the place was packed! It's an intimate venue with a smallish (though newly expanded) stage and vocal PA only. We pulled off our set as flawlessy as could be while still bouncing around and having fun! Huge thanks to all of our supporters for coming out!

We are working on a couple of new songs and prepping for our next gig at the one and only Red Devil Lounge in SF on June 17.

We are preparing our packet to submit to the San Jose Rock N Roll Half Marathon this year. Hopefully we will be chosen to play on October 4th at one of the coolest races in Nor Cal.

Stay tuned, and thanks for checking in on us!

Beale St. Blast!

2009-04-20T23:22:00.000-07:00

This weekend's gig at the Beale St. Bar was pretty dang awesome! We packed the little joynt and had a lot of fun up there playing for our beloved audience. The stage was a little tight, which cut down on our dance move shenanigans. I kept stepping on the mic stand that was aimed at Pmastre's kick drum. The sound system was basic and provided just what we needed, nothing more nothing less. OK maybe one thing less- the second floor monitor was in the shop so I had to share with OP.

When we started up with Groove, all the barstools in the place were taken, and towards the end of the song it was standing room only. It is always a treat and a real motivator to look out into the crowd and see faces lined up as far as the back wall. And when posing the question "How's everybody doin' tonight?" returns a roar of screams, whistles, and whoops, we get even more fired up to deliver a quality show.

Everything clicked that night- no technical difficulties, no flubbed lines, no missed notes (OK maybe there were a couple), and no dead spots! We kept the show rolling, though I was a tad disappointed that I did not get to use one of my one-liners and have Pmastre follow up with a rim shot.

Sack's bass lines were right on, and he was grooving in his corner as if playing in a dance trance. Ollie's vocals were excellent as usual as he took center stage and wooed the crowd. Pmastre's and his vintage Ludwig kit sounded tighter than a (insert R-rated metaphor here). Me, I just played the PRS to the best of my ability, though I felt that my delay pedal just did not sound right. More tweaking to be done.

Solcraft followed with their barrage of hard rock melodies that are featured on the CD that they released that night. Always a pleasure to share the stage. And amps. And drums. We pretty much backlined the show! I didn't mind as I got to hear my Mesa Rectoverb in action, and from where I stood in the crowd, it sounded sweeeet!

Thanks to all you die hards that came out to see us. We are working on some new material, and will debut a couple of more songs at the next show. Which is still TBA. In the meantime, enjoy the video below!

April 18, Beale St Bar & Grill!

2009-03-18T10:02:00.000-07:00

Hey 'BuckerBusters!

We will be playing at the Beale St. Bar & Grill in San Francisco on Saturday, April 18th. Time to be announced, but I'm pretty sure it will be around 9PM or later.

We are going to be supporting our good friends Solcraft for their CD release party! You may have seen us play with these guys before, and they rock!

Pencil us in and I'll get back with more details!

See you all soon!

Nu Tunes

2009-02-28T19:22:00.000-08:00

We are between gigs right now, and are taking this opportunity to write and rehearse some new tunes. We are hoping to bring our music to the next level. May not be a quantum leap, but we are definitely working on bringing more musicianship to the overall flavor of our sound.

Stay tuned, and keep an eye out for our videos on YouTube, we may just be posting rehearsal sneak peeks of our new material!

Bottom Of The Hill 01/27/09

2009-02-17T19:40:00.001-08:00

Our last gig at the Bottom Of The Hill was just awesome. Great set, great crowd, and just great overall vibe. Thanks to Evolution Eden for putting together the show with us and Forget About Boston. Barrett, the sound tech, did a great job on the fly, as we did not have time to sound check. Big thanks to all of our friends and fans that came out to support us once again, and thanks to the followers of the other bands for sticking around to listen to us complete our set at 11PM on a Tuesday night!

Coming up next... Bottom Of The Hill!

2008-12-28T10:33:00.000-08:00

Our good friends Evolution Eden invited us to rock the stage with them again at the Bottom of The Hill on January 27th! yea, it's a Tuesday night, but we will put on a show that will make your Wednesday morning hangover well worth it! More details to come!

MHB at the Rockit Room with Evolution Eden!

2008-11-12T10:21:00.000-08:00

Our CD release was a hit, and we are coming back to the Rockit Room again to share the stage with our old friend Evolution Eden!

The MHB on KFOG

2008-11-01T17:40:00.000-07:00

So Ollie is crusing down the road at around 3:45PM today and turns on his car stereo to hear "Go Ahead" already in progress. The levels seem a little bit off, so he goes to check the display and instead of "CD" it reads "104.5".

He checks the CD player only to find no MotherHumbuckers CD loaded. He switches back to 104.5 to catch the ending of the song and a fade into the Police's "Murder By Numbers". The Police are followed by Gavin Rosdale, etc, etc... If you check the KFOG playlist at 3:59 on 11/01/08 you will see that order of songs. So Rosalie must have slipped us in between Lucinda Williams at 3:52PM and the Police at 3:59PM. Makes sense since our "Go Ahead" is only 3:47 long and Lucinda's "Can't Let Go" is only 3:28 including fade in and fade out.

KFOG is a great supporter of local music, and we are sure glad they liked our track enough to air it! Props to Ollie for representin'!

CD...Released!!

2008-10-14T09:33:00.000-07:00

We finally had our CD release party at the Rockit Room on Friday Oct 10! It was a total blast, and couldn't have been any better. We had great support from Solcraft, Plasterkatz, and Hey Young Believer. Ben did our sound, and everyone had a great time! A big debt of gratitude goes out to our friends and fans for making the evening as great as it was.

Solcraft opened the show with their explosive brand of power funk rock and set the tone as spectators filed in. Friends, family, coworkers, ex-coworkers, teammates, acquaintances, and total strangers packed the floor as 10PM rolled around. The lights went out, the announcer introduced us, and we busted into "The Lesson" as the lights blasted back on. Ollie integrated our now infamous chant "When I say Mother..." into the song. With only seconds between songs, we promptly rolled into "Fightin'" then "Groove". I introduced ourselves to the crowd and at that point someone threw their underwear onto the stage! Unfortunately it was a pair of not-so-white men's briefs. The crowd howled while I started the intro to "Go Ahead" and Martin came in with his funky bass line.

We followed up with "Nacho Lover", where the audience gleefully sang part of the chorus before my guitar solo. Ollie dedicated "Live Again" to Jay, and then we invited Kookie up to sing "Thunderstorms & Rain" in which she appears on the CD. We then did our slightly modified version of "Diamond Rings" where Jose busted a nut after the subtle intro and then wished M a rock n roll happy birthday.

The open chord led into "How Bad Do U Want It" followed by "Devolver". We bopped into "Don't Waste My Time" and creeped into "Horcrux". We ended the experience with the venerable "Propaganda", and then made our way off stage to mingle with our peeps.

Overall the performanced felt solid, though i know I flubbed a few of my guitar parts. But hey, that's the beauty of flying through the air without a safety net.

Leading up to the show, we had mention in the SF Chronicle and on KFOG's morning show. We will most likely gig at the Rockit Room again on Nov. 22.

We even got blogged about on Gemma's website!

Good times...

"The Lesson" CD release Oct. 10, 2008

2008-09-22T19:41:00.000-07:00

Hey all, the time is here. Our CD is now in existence and in full circulation. You can get your copy at the release party! With support from Solcraft, Plasterkatz, and Hey Young Believer, this show is going to be off the chain. Be there!

MHB featured on Wine World TV

2008-08-19T09:03:00.000-07:00

Your MotherHumbuckers have been commissioned to provide tunes for the immensely popular Wine World TV spoof series. Watch renowned wine critic Steve Heimoff poke fun at himself and his industry in this installment:

And they're off!

2008-08-18T15:36:00.000-07:00

The CD Master and artwork have been sent to the duplicating shop. We should have a hot batch of CDs ready to serve in the next couple of weeks. You know what that means: CD Release!!! We'll keep you all posted!

CD Artwork

2008-07-13T20:51:00.000-07:00

Just working on the artwork for the CD now. I am experimenting with different layouts, fonts, etc. Brings me back to the graphic design days as SFSU. We should have something cool really soon!

Stay tuned!

Rocked the Rockit Room

2008-06-25T08:55:00.000-07:00

Friday night's gig at the Rockit room kicked major ass. Every band in the lineup had the crowd enthralled, and we fed off of that energy when it was our time to play. It was super hot that evening, and after a long day at work I was a bit drained. We arrived at the club at around a quarter to eight and loaded in. We were using the house amps that night, and we had to help haul the half stacks on stage and set them up. That littel bit of manual labor helped us get our soundcheck done first.

After that, Sack (oh yeah, did I mention he is back? No more Star Searching for a bass player) went back home and Pmastre, OP, and I went to the Thai restaurant across the street. I chowed down on some pad thai while we talked about how good this show is going to be. I asked the guys if I should wear a shirt over my tank, or change to a t-shirt. Pmastre looked at me and said "You're asking ME for fashion advice??" He had a good point, so I turned to OP, who said I should just go with the black wifebeater. We headed out onto the street where masses of summer-clad people were wandering about. After making final wardrobe decisions, we dispersed only to meet again at the club.

Rayzed started the night off strong by getting the house jumping to their eclectic blues-rock set. They had a pretty good draw, and most of their fans stayed for the duration. Hey Young Believer was next, and they gained a bunch of new fans with their female-led pop-rock style. We were next, followed by Solcraft, a foursome that rocked heavy on the bass and guitar a la Rage Against the Machine.

I felt that our set was pretty entertaining. "F**king rockin'!!" as one spectator put it. Behind the scenes was another story! Just before the set began, OP gets the crowd going by chanting "When I say Mother, you say Bucker!" and everyone was playing along. In the meantime, I was fumbling in the corner, getting no sound whatsoever from my amp, doing my best not to freak out. As OP starts getting ready to play the "prelude song", I discover that my cable was not plugged in to the amp input! And I am an IT professional?? Duh'r. All systems were go, but the amp was still a little bit unfamiliar to me. [note to self: Bring my own Mesa rig next time!]

As the set went on, my stupid (but good-looking) guitar kept going out of tune [note to self: Play the PRS next time!], and I think someone else was going out of tune too, so my confidence was waning, and it showed on a couple of solos. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Sack looking at Pmastre for assistance with something, and Pmastre just looked back at him like "what do you want, I'm trying' to keep time, dammit!". In between songs I was playing the oh-so-amateurish "tu-ning" song, since I didn't have a tuner in my chain. [note to self: Get an inline tuner!]

It was hot to begin with, but being upstairs, under the stage lights, and jumping around like a maniac really pushed my thermostat to it's limit. I was sweating like I was running a 10k in the desert, and the Red Bull knockoff I was drinking was not putting it back. I had a track workout the night before, and my quads started to remind me of that. I was starting to fade, but the set was almost over.

At some point, OP called out the wrong song, and we all argued with him for a second, doing our best Abbott and Costello. It entertained the crowd, so maybe we'll keep it in the act.

We clunked our way through our 2 new songs, as we always do when introducing our latest hits ;-)! In "Devolver" I have a guitar solo that goes through 8 measures and then cuts into the chorus, but the fellas inadvertently cut to the chorus after only 4 and I was stuck on the front of the stage doing my best Nerdie Van Hagar to the crowd and I had to slyly walk backwards to my mike and jump into singing the chorus without anyone being the wiser. The funniest part about that was that the guys were giving me the stank-eye even though we agreed not to look at each other during flubs!

We ended the set with the big bang of "The Lesson", and we were all sweaty and spent! Despite the technical difficulties, we laid it on the line and shot our wad with conviction. All our friends/family/fans came up to pat us on the back and tell us how great the show was, but I was just glad to be done! OP's stong vocals, Sack's much-improved basslines, and Pmastre's relentless pounding reminded the crowd what the MHB is all about.

A big thanks to everyone that came out and filled up the Rockit Room even during what Marco calls the "slow season"!

As goofy as the set was at times, I loved every minute of it! Our next big show will be our CD release party some time this summer. Our CD has been mastered and now just needs to be duplicated and packaged! Sample songs are already up on the MotherHumbuckers MySpace page! Stay tuned!

MHB at the Rockit Room, June 20, 2008!

2008-06-18T11:01:00.000-07:00

We have been rehearsing our two new songs, Horcrux and Devolver for the upcoming gig. Of course, we have been jamming on our old tunes as well. Here is some tasty rehearsal footage from Lennon:

Pickup Swap

2008-05-27T08:49:00.001-07:00

Since I had some time to kill, I decided to swap the Dragon II pickups in my PRS Custom 22 with EMG active pickups, 85 in the bridge and 60 in the neck. You can't coil tap these particular EMGs, so I also replaced the stock 5-position rotary switch with a 3-way toggle. I want to experience the difference in active pickups vs. passive. Since the PRS is built as an innovative instrument, I figured the EMGs, which are innovations on the conventional pickup, would be a good fit. Plus they look kinda badass.

The built-in preamp on the EMGs has me intrigued. We've all heard these in action with metal bands like Metallica et al, but I have read that they also work well for hard rock and jazz. I'm banking on the increased definition and clarity.

Playing at low volumes, I notice right away that they are very quiet; no hum or buzz when strings are not played. I also noticed that they are very sensitive, picking up every little string movement. As far as tone goes, I won't really be able to tell until I crank up the amp at rehearsal this week.

What I am looking for is the signature EMG hot lead tone with lots of sustain that can make me play better than Steve Vai. We'll see how that goes.

Holding Pattern

2008-05-23T15:21:00.000-07:00

Despite the issues in the bass dept., we are still writing new songs, jamming, and fantasizing about Konocti Harbor. Just sitting tight and putting our bass guitar star search on hold for now. In the next couple of weeks we should have our bearings back and be MoHumbuckin' full speed ahead.

Lookin' for bottom

2008-05-14T22:32:00.000-07:00

It's been a challenge writing fresh material these days, but we are faced with another dilemma: Marty Mart is taking his Fender Jazz bass on an indefinite sabbatical, so we neeed to find someone to step in and fill the shoes. Know any aces of bass? If so, send 'em our way.

Next up... Mastering

2008-05-13T09:34:00.001-07:00

At this point we have everything recorded and mixed. The tracks have been sent to Chicago for mastering. That process should be done by the end of the month, then we can send it all out for duplication. After that, we will start gigging again, and getting our music out to the masses. As soon as we have one CD in every household in the US, we will move on to world domination! Or maybe just play some local watering holes.

In the meantime, we are working on new material. The next batch should be more intense and focused. Stay tuned!

Great Magnet again

2008-03-03T10:17:00.000-08:00

OK, we are getting closer and closer to our final goal of completing our first CD. We went to see Adam of Great Magnet at his new digs in Santa Rosa. We originally intended to just go and adjust levels on our previous recordings, but we wanted to redo some parts and overdub others, so the process took much longer than expected. We completed 6 of 11 tracks, and will return to finish it off. Slowly but surely, we're gettin' there!

Great Magnet at SharkBite studios

2007-12-09T22:05:00.000-08:00

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...

2007-12-04T09:11:00.000-08:00

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

2007-11-21T08:51:00.000-08:00

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

2007-11-08T09:32:00.000-08:00

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

2007-10-10T19:56:00.000-07:00

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

2007-09-28T12:05:00.000-07:00

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.