Tag: studio

  • Touch In The Studio

    Touch In The Studio

    Come in the studio with me as I work with George Leger III at his Utopia Parkway studio to record the final vocals on my upcoming new single “Touch”. Get a sneak peek of what it’s like in the studio and working with a good friend from Canada who helps create some awesome magic.

    Find out who I got one of the guitars used on the song from. Figure out a particular guitar riff I play while waiting for George. Hint, it’s from an amazing guitarist out of Texas.

    Enjoy the video:

    YouTube player
    Transcript:
    We’re in Los Angeles. Taking off in a moment in the car. To get over to the studio. Time to start recording some vocals.
    Ok, here’s the humor. I’ve just rolled up to the parking lot of the studio where I’m recording with George Leger, over here, the third. He’s got sore feet. So, we’re walking in. About to get started with doing some recording and having some fun. Of course I’ve got to have some tea before I start yodeling out of my mouth. [yodel yodel] But it will be an awesome day of having fun in the studio. Enjoy. See you soon.
    Currently we’re working through some issues that George has with playing the mix back, before we get into the concept of me actually opening my mouth and making some more vocals. That are not just demo vocals.
    Bonus points to YouTubers who can figure out where that riff comes from.
    We got the mics all set up and what we’re gonna do is we’re gonna test out this particular setup to make sure it sounds, fucking brilliant. [fucking brilliant].
    Turn back the click on?
    Don’t you love that? That’s George’s dyslexia in action, right there.
    That’s Canadian speak isn’t it?
    Canadian speak, ha ha ha.
    Eh?
    Just for those out in YouTube land. This is a Parker Fly guitar.
    Yes, very nice guitar. Wish I had one actually.
    It was given to me by somebody that is very big in the independent music world. Or at least was at one point in time. He’s now kind of retired. His name is Mr. Derek Sivers.
    Derek Sivers, thank you very much for your contribution to this song. That we’re using with your Parker Fly, that is, well apparently it’s now my Parker Fly.
    We’re doing a little production work at this point. We’ve decided to nix the pre chorus, which you’ve already found out. And we’ve decided to nix some vocals in the chorus there were, uh, filling too many holes. After we do a bit more production work, we’re going to ad some ad libbers. Ad libbies. No? We’re not, we’re not doing any? Oh, cause there’s not enough holes. Not enough room. So much for ad libs.
    You know what they say about ad libs? Fuck ad libs.
    You say you want to try another octave higher. I’m not sure that’ll be overkill, but I’m certainly willing to try.
    Well then, shall I double the other choruses first?
    Ah, no. I’m just going to use this part for all of them.
    No, no, no.
    Yes, yes, yes.
    No, no, no.
    Yes, yes, yes.
    I don’t like cut and paste.
    Dude. I don’t care. This is not really that important.
    It is.
    fuckin prima donnas.
    I don’t feel like a prima donna, but thank you.
    You’re a fucking leo, what are you talking about.
    That doesn’t make me a prima donna.
    Yes it does.
    No, it just makes me king of the jungle. Or my jungle anyway.
    It has been an awesome trip. The vocals are done. It’s time to do the mix. Back to the studio. So long LA, it’s been fun being back. It feels like a slice of home. See ya on the flip side.
  • Seventh Song Finalized Is "Love Takes A Holiday"

    Seventh Song Finalized Is "Love Takes A Holiday"

    With some steps forward, there are some steps backwards. Such was the case this past week. Despite the setback, I’m happy to relay that the seventh song finalized is “Love Takes A Holiday”.

    Yes, I had managed to spend a little time away from my release to work on a film trailer track in a dubstep style. I mentioned in the last post that initial reaction was awesome. Even the client finally got back to me stating I nailed it. That’s enough to put a smile on the face. Still awaiting word from the studio…

    LTAH – for short, required a fairly good amount of thought. The original demo was a little on the dragging it’s feet side. That doesn’t stop it from being a really good song, but it did stop it from being a great song, or even a possible hit. Thus I reworked it with a faster tempo. This gives it a livelier vibe that bounces a little more – without taking out the nature of stomp it has. I also reworked the lyrics, shifted the verses around and gave it a more focused perspective.

    In the re-recording of the track, I reconfigured some of the guitar parts and added more elements to it. One of my favorite new bits is a “talking bass” sound that I picked up from doing the dubstep track. I think it’s going to add some cool character to compliment the Clavinet I have in it.

    You’re probably wondering, what the hell was the setback? Well… I have a really nice microphone that I’ve been using to record the demo vocals with. It decided that right now, or rather last Tuesday, was the perfect time to crap out and stop working. That’s rather unfortunate for such a pricey mic to do. Good thing I’m on good terms with the company. They’re going to give it a checkup and get it back to good health. In the meantime, I’m picking on songs that I need to tweak with more than just vocals – gives me time to really think through the arrangements. That’s always a good thing.

    Even LTAH got a slight change in the arrangement of things too. Added some cool stops to two parts and also gave the intro riff and reprise. Keeps the song from motoring too fast through the parts now that the tempo has made a pretty good jump. These changes signal that the seventh song finalized is “Love Takes A Holiday”. Stay tuned. I’ve got another 11 more to tweak before studio performances and perfection are up to bat.