Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Lookin' for bottom
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.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Next up... Mastering
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!
In the meantime, we are working on new material. The next batch should be more intense and focused. Stay tuned!
Monday, March 3, 2008
Great Magnet again
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!
Sunday, December 9, 2007
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 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.
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
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!
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!
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
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!
Thursday, November 8, 2007
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!
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