12/13/18

C&P! Rebuild
Spent a few hours last week helping Johnny at Crackle & Pop! with some soldering. They are in process of rebuilding their vintage Spectra Sonics console and a implementing a new system wide grounding scheme. It’s a huge undertaking, and they flew in Timothy Herzog from Montréal. He is an expert on vintage Spectra design (also the drummer for Godspeed You! Black Emperor) and together with Johnny, they devised a plan to get it back to spec.
Was a fun time, listened to a lot of new-to-me music, had good conversation, and heard some great stories. My soldering skills are a bit rusty, but got back in the swing of it pretty quick. I don’t really understand the technical aspects of what was happening, but if you tell me what goes where, I can usually do it up proper. Had one solid mix up, soldering the wrong leads to some transformer ins and outs, but luckily Jon Roberts was there to help me remedy the situation.
I know I have said it before, but it bears repeating, I know some fine people, and this crew certainly fits in that category. So glad I get to do what I get to do.

10/15-22/18

Sprint To The Finish
Was a whirlwind final week on the 13 Finches project. Two solid days tracking more guitars & vocals, an afternoon of rehearsal, full day travel to shoot video, start mix, play show, 3 more days of mixing, and done.
Video/photos were at the Satsop Nuclear Facility. It’s a daunting place, huge, dark, and a little spooky. We had access to most of the areas and it was exciting to explore. I am personally not much into videos or having structured photos done, and this event pushed me well outside of my comfort zone.
The show was at the Parliament Tavern with Shawn Smith (who is simply amazing) and the Memphis Radio Kings (great band, so much fun). The Parliament is a nice place to play, we had a really good crowd and played pretty well.
Mixing took place with Johnny at the new C&P!. He runs a hybrid system, coming out of Pro Tools into their Harrison console, using both plugins and outboard gear, onto 1/4” 2 track and printed back to Pro Tools. I am fond of the Harrison, I spent many hours soldering its patchbays and interconnections back when it was being readied for install. The new control room sounds really nice and the mixes translated very well. Johnny is good at what he does and cool to work with, glad this project went through him.
Next up is a trip to Resonant Mastering to visit Ed and Rachel.

This has been an interesting project, and has consumed well over a year. Tal and Shannon have written some very nice songs, and I believe this record will be a well received. The core group are all very talented, professional, and rewarding to work with. Was nice to have the opportunity to create with some dear old friends, and to make some new friends along the way.
A lot of fine people have been involved in helping see this to completion; big thanks to Johnny Sangster, C&P!, Patrick Holderfeld, Gaye Feighner, Studio Litho, Resonant Mastering, Jon Roberts, and everyone else that made it possible.

10/5/18

Recording Guitars at The New C&P!
We had a great day recording Tim’s guitar parts for a few 13 Finches songs at the new Crackle & Pop!
The new studio space is super impressive and sounds great. It is still in the final days of completion, but was close enough for us to get in the inaugural session.
As per usual, Tim was ready with a multitude of well thought out parts for the songs. It was fun listening to his descriptions of the ideas, and then to hear them executed (no matter how bizarre the description was, it made sense when he played it). He is a unique player, remarkably skilled, and with a very defined style.
Johnny is a great session manager, he kept things rolling at a fast pace; some really fine moments were captured. The songs are starting to take proper form and the coalition of individual styles/parts are making for a very interesting whole.

On a side note, I am really impressed with what Crackle & Pop! has become. I was one of the founding partners and spent the first 8 years helping it evolve. This was a big step for them, and it saw the music community, family, and friends really come together to make an exciting new home for C&P!. Johnny and Andy should be very proud, I know I am proud of them. I have no doubt it will become a favorite for many bands and engineers.

10/1/18

13 Finches Mix Prep
Spent a nice day with my friends Don Gunn and TAD at Don’s studio, The Office. The task at hand was reamping all my bass parts for the 13 Finches project. I brought in my Aguilar rig (a TH500 and two DB112’s), my pedalboard, and some vague ideas on the tones I wanted for each song.
Don was ready with a very nice selection of mics, and a bunch of really cool mic pres. We ended up using a U47fet, an SM7b, a Soundelux U195 (fat switch in) and a DIY C12 clone he had recently built. They were sent into his Squarewave and Vintech mic pres and it sounded great. Lots of new tones to choose from when it comes time to mix.
Original recording chain: 2010 Custom Shop Closet Classic ‘64 Jazz, strung with TI flats, DI’ed into a UA Apollo.

I am lucky to have met so many wonderful people in this business, and these two characters are particularly strong allies/dependable friends.

8/17-19/18

Arctic Sleep Recording Prep
Had a chance to help Keith D get demos and guide tracks ready for the next Arctic Sleep record. They are heading to NY soon for sessions at Nada Recording. I spent a couple of days consolidating files and getting them out of Cubase and into Pro Tools. Was cool to be involved, hear the demos, and examine his writing process.
Arctic Sleep is a band I love (Passage Of Gaia is in my top 20), and Keith is someone I respect and find very interesting. His talent is staggering, his thoughts run deep, and he is a good person to have as a friend.
This next record is going to be a great.

Give a listen to their past recordings: https://arcticsleep.bandcamp.com/music

Thirteen Finches at Studio Litho
Phase two started this week at Studio Litho. We went in with a goal of capturing all of the lead vocals, as much of the backing vocals as we had ready, and the majority of the acoustic guitars. Four days were booked, we had nine songs to tackle, and everyone was feeling prepared. Ambitious? yes; doable? maybe… Luckily for us we had Johnny Sangster at the helm, both engineering and producing, so that “maybe” tipped a little more towards “possible”. We also had Jon Roberts assisting, he provided invaluable help, is a super nice guy, and very skilled/knowledgeable, hire him, you’ll thank me later.
As I mentioned in my Revisiting The Delstroyers notes, I really enjoy Litho. It's a comfortable studio, relaxed, and well equipped. It never seems rushed, and doesn't come across as delicate or too pristine; has a working environment feel to it.

Day 1:
Johnny and Jon had set out a beautiful assortment of mics to test. The C12’s were up, couple of U67’s, a Sony C800 was brought out, I saw a Coles 4038, an ELA M 251, and various others. I didn't poke around too much, but it looked like Johnny had a lot of the mics coming up on the Neve sidecar.
By mid-afternoon we were set up and dove into some of Tal’s acoustic guitar parts. He made it look easy, like he does with most things, and the first 2 songs tracked without issue. He switched between his tried and true Takamine and a recently acquired Rainsong carbon fiber, two very different sounds, both with excellent results. Shannon jumped in next and tracked one of her acoustic parts. It sounded good and she was playing well. Everyone was starting to relax a bit, and we were having fun. Recording can be intense and rather taxing at times, but Johnny keeps a good pace with his sessions, and has a nice levity that is much appreciated.
After a dinner break we switched gears and moved to some of Shannon’s vocals. Johnny tried a C12’s and a U67, both sounded great but the C12 was a bit cranky, so the 67 won the job. Shannon was well prepared, but I imagine recording vocals is always a bit nerve racking. We learned as we went and it didn't take long to find a good working method. She tracked full passes and spot fixed any parts that needed help. Shannon has a beautiful voice and it was on point, she sounded great. There were some new lyrics and phrasings that I had not heard and we were all impressed with where she had taken the songs.

Day 2:
We kicked off the day with more Shannon vocals. She checked another song off the list and we decided to have Tim track some electric. He had set up a stereo rig and tore it up on his old Tele, was fun to watch/hear. He wrestled the most technically challenging song we have and won. Tim is an accomplished player with a style all his own (and good ears). I appreciate his abilities and contributions, he even helped save one of the songs with a great idea for the bass line.
After a break it was back to vocals. Tal got in on the action and took a couple off the board. It seemed that as the day progressed, we started dragging a bit. Performances were fighting us and everything was taking a little longer than expected. I think the focus was so focused that we were losing focus, know what I mean? It was still a productive day, and everyone remained positive.

Day 3:
We came in with a “let’s get after it” attitude and went straight into Tal’s acoustic parts. The tracking came at a good pace and he was playing well. Before we knew it, he had 4 songs finished. I think everyone was starting to settle in and see the big picture, it felt good.
We went back to vocals and started with a song that features both Shannon and Tal on lead vocals. Johnny setup Tal in the booth and left Shannon in the main room so they could track together. This seemed to work well, and all of a sudden things really started to roll.
By the time we called it a day, Shannon had finished all of her vocal parts* and Tal had tracked his acoustic parts for all but one. We felt like things were back on schedule.

Day 4:
This day was all about getting Tal’s vocals finished up. He was up to the task and quickly wrapped up the last of his lead takes. His voice is unique, engaging, and very strong, it's always inspiring to hear him let it go. After a few congratulatory words, both of them jumped on backing vocals and finished off the known parts. We were having fun and felt good about where things were.
It was time to get Tim playing again. He auditioned guitars, found the tones, and got on it. Was nice to see Tal and Shannon relaxing and enjoying Tim’s time in the booth. By closing time Tim had 2 more finished, a smile on his face, and everyone had a sense of accomplishment.

Four consecutive days can be a test and is probably as long as I’d want to go without a day off. The espresso machine got a solid workout, the days went late, and we knocked most everything off the to-do list. I feel like we are on track and that this is going to be a really good (and interesting) record. Can't wait to see it complete.
Next up we visit Crackle & Pop! for more of Tim’s guitars, some remaining harmony vocals, and an acoustic track or two.

*bingo, you win a chicken dinner

Revisiting The Delstroyers
Late 2015 I was invited out for an informal jam with Todd, Andre, and JJ, old friends from the Rattletrap days (90/91). Todd and Andre were bandmates of mine during my short stint with Rattletrap; JJ was in a band of close friends that played shows with us. It was the first time in over 25 years that we had played together. We had a lot of fun, told stories, and were introduced to the project Todd and Dre were working on, The Delstroyers. They were just finishing up “Here Come The Delstroyers”, a totally kick-ass 4 song EP of high octane instrumental Surf Rock. They had both embraced the Surf scene and were really digging in. The record is fun and exciting, and as it turns out, Dre is a surf riff mastermind!

Not long after the EP was released, Todd called and wanted to meet up. Their friend and current bass player, Jimmy, had taken a job out of town and they were now in need of a replacement. My first thought was, I’m not really a “Surf” type of player, but I knew they were both great musicians, and it would certainly be a good challenge. I left the meeting with a copy of the EP and a list of covers.

Transitioning into the band was easy, I loved the way they both took pride in what we were doing, and the songs came together fast. New material started flying off of Dre’s fingers and just a couple months in, we had a solid set and were ready for our first gig. It was around this time we hooked up with Thom Head, and if you don't know him, you should, as fine a person as you’ll ever meet. Thom got us set up with our first gig (and many others); the ball was rolling!

Let’s jump ahead to the end of 2016. Todd decided we needed to do a full length record and I had no doubt that Johnny Sangster was the right guy for the job. We demoed some songs and Johnny gave us solid direction, next thing you know, we were booking a day at Studio Litho.

First session was very exciting, and Litho is a great studio. They have a lovely old API desk, and a Neve sidecar to boot! The Mic locker is unreal (we had a vintage pair of C12’s in a Glen Johns, and a beautiful RCA 44 a few feet out on the kit), I really enjoy working there; the room sounds great, and it is very comfortable. We knocked out 4 songs, live from the floor, straight to tape, and they sounded great. Johnny is wonderful to work with, super smart, efficient, and totally engaged. He understood where it needed to go, and got us there fast.

In early summer we went back into Litho for a day and tracked another 4 songs. By this time we were really clicking as a band, and it was showing up in the songs; there was an attitude, a swagger, it was a great feeling. Eight songs were done, and the finish line was in sight. We rallied to fine tune the last of them, and were back tracking the final 5 by the end of August. It was really impressive to see it all come together so well, 2 or 3 of the songs on the record were first takes, and I doubt we ever did more than 3 or 4 on the others.
Recording chain: 2010 Custom Shop Closet Classic ‘64 Jazz, strung with TI flats, sent to an Ampeg B-15 Heritage RI (mic’ed with a Sennheiser MD 421) and an Aguilar TH500 + 2 DB112’s (mic’ed with a vintage U47fet) both into Litho’s Neve sidecar.

By September we were mixing at Crackle & Pop!, booking mastering with Ed Brooks at Resonant Mastering, and finalizing artwork. It was also around this time I had decided to move on. As I mentioned earlier, I’m not really a surf player, and even as much as I had enjoy all of this, I knew they needed someone much more devoted to the scene/genre. Luckily the right bass player was already in the crowd, a great guy named Lukas. He had been at all of our shows, loved the band, and quickly got up to speed on all the songs. The transition was very smooth and I felt really good about it.

When the record came out, it sounded fantastic; fast, aggressive, and totally fun, something I am very proud of. Check the Music page for a couple of songs from it, or head out to the Bandcamp page and pick up a copy!

Team Cluster
This all started back in 2010. I had just begun using social media and was looking up old music friends and bandmates. It was very inspiring (and slightly surprising) to see that many had continued on as active players. I had fun catching up and hearing about where life had taken them. We talked about families, jobs, bands we had been in, music we had been a part of, and the many interesting curves we had navigated. Some of them I had not seen or spoken to since my late teens/early 20’s; was nice to know that most everyone was doing well.
One of the first people I got in touch with was John Yanes. I’ve known John and his family from very early on, they lived on the farm next to my grandparents. John is one of my favorite singers, and was living on the California coast by SLO, playing in a cover band.

~Short backstory: In Jr high and into high school, my best friend was Robert Jones (more on him later), he was really cool and played guitar. The coolest guy we knew was Brian McLaughlin, he was a drummer. It was the two of them convinced me to be a bass player. I moved away from CA not long after, and the both of them later formed bands with John. I always felt I got cheated by not being there to play with them, something I deeply regretted.~

John and I thought it would be fun to do a song long distance, I could provide a click track and bassline, he could do guitars and vocals. We got him set up with an M-Box mini, a copy of Pro Tools, and we started emailing files back and forth. Not sure how, but we settled on a cover of BOC’s ETI, a fun song with lots of harmony vocals, something John is really good at. I asked my friend Jeff Grove if he would be interested in knocking out some drums on it, he agreed and totally nailed it. Jeff and I had been working on a record together and this was a nice break from it. The whole thing came about nicely, and we all had fun.

This is when I got the idea for Team Cluster. With it being so easy to do projects from different locations, why not pair up players from my past/present and see what happens? I have many friends from differing styles and backgrounds, how could it not, at the very least, be interesting.
It was also around this same time I found Scott Taylor. He was a great friend when I went to high school in Nevada, and we played together in a few bands. Taylor is one of my favorite people, smart, funny, and an excellent drummer. I had heard a record he played on and was blown away, his skills had continued to improve and he was doing some remarkable work. He was using an E Kit (Electric) and that allowed us ease in working. He could play parts, capture the midi, send it to me, and I would reproduce parts with a sampler. He joined in on a cover of BS’s Neon Knights John and I did, was really fun.
Later that year, with John’s help, I was able to reconnect with Robert Jones, he was back living in our hometown of Porterville CA. We had not been in touch since the mid 80’s and it was great to hear he was doing well and still playing. Robert was one of my very best friends and much of the music I grew up on came through him. We got him the same Pro Tools/M-Box setup, he quickly put solos on a couple covers we had done, and we started tossing original riffs at each other.

TC v1 was formed.

We went with an “anything goes” framework, building from the ground up on riffs, and refining as we went. There was a lot of trial and error, but eventually we settled on four song ideas and John came up with a concept to tie them all together.
Getting the song finished was easier said than done, and with everyone having busy schedules, progress was painfully slow. We continued to hack at it over the next 4 years (yes, 4 years) and finally got all the parts in place. By this time I was too married to the parts and pieces to ever have an objective view toward a mix. Not that I didn’t try, I did, but ended up chasing my own tail.
I turned over mixing duties to Don Gunn, a truly gifted engineer and friend. He made quick work of it, couple days and it was done. Don also added some wonderful ambient transition parts that really tied it all together. For artwork and packaging design, I worked with my friend Patrick Holderfield, he understood to concept and ran with it. He is so good at what he does, and is such a wonderful person!
Next up was getting the discs manufactured, and for this, another old friend came into play, Gaye Feighner at Disc Makers really helped us out. A month or so later, CD’s were in hand and turned out better than expected, it is something I am rather proud of.
Since that time not much has really happened with this lineup, and I think that was to be expected. It was a labor of love for me, and one I am glad I undertook. In my mind, the concept is a good one, and I may again pursue it with a different cast in the future. Reconnecting with friends via music is very rewarding, try it if you get the chance!