Current Listening:
American V: A Hundred Highways by Johnny Cash
One Take Radio Sessions by Mark Knopfler
Graceland by Paul Simon
Girlfriend by Matthew Sweet
Spacey and Shakin by Pete Droge
15 by Buckcherry
July 14, 2006
After the recording session on Wednesday, I met with Jerrry Short to discuss ideas for the album packaging. We went over the process of designing the package and also discussed pricing. It looks like I should be able to stay within my budget on this part of the project. Jerry has a graphic design studio right next door to the recording studio. It’s a convenient set-up for musicians recording at Beartracks. I am looking forward to working with Jerry on the packaging aspects of the album. We are scheduled to meet again next week after my recording session.
July 13, 2006
We started off yesterday’s recording session with a production meeting. Rick and I discussed the album and went over what still needed to be accomplished before he started the final mixing. Everything is coming together on time. We just need to do a little extra work in the next few weeks in order to finish by August 1st. I have 2 more full sessions in the studio and Rick will work on the album when he is available during the week.
After the production meeting we recorded backing vocals. Rick sang on a couple of songs and then Chance came in and sang on a few other songs. Everything sounded good and the session went smoothly. After we finished with the backing vocals we listened to some of the songs that Rick had already started mixing. Just a few more weeks and everything will be finished. I’m really looking forward to completing the album!
July 7, 2006
Current Listening:
Solo Acoustic: Volume 1 by Jackson Browne
9th Ward Pickin’ Parlor by Shawn Mullins
Put the “O” Back in Country by Shooter Jennings
This Time Around by Jamie McLean
Demos ’03 by Crosby Loggins
All the Roadrunning by Mark Knopfler & Emmylou Harris
July 6, 2006
I had a rare day off from the studio yesterday. Rick is out of town this week - playing his annual gig in Ocean City, Maryland, so there was no scheduled recording session. Instead, I spent the day working on other aspects of the project. I worked on the graphics and the packaging of the album for a couple of hours. I sent e-mails and made phone calls. I also turned in my application for graduation. If everything goes as planned, I will graduate next month. I have a ton of work to do over the next three weeks in order to meet the August 1st deadline for the project. I’m looking forward to getting back in the studio next week to finish up some vocals and work out some final details.
June 30, 2006
After the recording session, we hit the open mic at Mick & Keith’s Electric Ice Cream Shop in Chesterton. Chance hosted the open mic that featured about a half dozen local musicians. This was the second time this summer that I have played at Mick & Keith’s. The usual performers were there to play their original music and a few cover songs. Chance and I both played several songs from our upcoming albums. There was a pretty good turn out and the audience seemed to be having fun. The ice cream shop is a great place to play and it is always fun to play for the local crowd. I’m sure we’ll play at Mick and Keith’s several more times this summer.
June 30, 2006
I started off Wednesday’s session with vocals on “After Awhile”. I was a little apprehensive of the new version that Rick had recorded with a click track. It didn’t seem like I was going to be able to sing along with the music, and the faster beat of the song was throwing me off. Once we started recording the song though, things went fine. The song is a little faster than how I normally play it, but the consensus was that the more upbeat version of the song sounded much better. To Rick’s credit, the new version has a better feel and will fit perfect on the album.
The second half of the session was spent on drums and percussion. Bill Romer was back in the studio to add some rhythm to a few more songs on the album. He played hand drums, guiro, afuche/cabasa, and get this – cardboard boxes! At the beginning of the session, “Waves” had nothing more than rhythm guitar and vocals. When Bill was finished adding all the drums and percussion, the song had a brand new feel. The session turned crazy when Bill stacked up some supply boxes and used brushes to get just the right sound we were looking for. I never knew cardboard boxes could sound so good. Bill was awesome and the session was a total blast. The drum sessions were some of my favorite times in the studio. We should now be finished with this part of the recording process.
June 27, 2006
I was in the studio last week to work on the 2nd round of lead vocals. We recorded the vocals to 4 more songs during the lengthy studio session. This session was more difficult than the previous recording session. I had a tough time with a few different parts. I seemed to get out of breath early in the session and I felt drained toward the end. The songs that were left to sing were faster and more upbeat than the songs we recorded a week earlier. It was fun to sing “Where Have You Been” and “One More Time Around” but these two songs really wore me out. I’m pretty sure they both turned out okay though. I needed a few takes to nail some of the hard parts. It was easier to sing “Amy” and I had no problems singing over Chance’s vocals on “Waves”. With a little editing and some additional music, I’m confident that the songs will sound great.
June 27, 2006
Rick spent a good part of last week adding more music to the songs on Lost Highways. It’s like having a built-in studio musician the whole time the album is being recorded. He added electric rhythm guitar and electric lead guitar. He also recorded some organ parts on a few of the songs that needed more backing music. The electric guitar really adds to the overall sound of the song, especially on “Maybe” and “One More Time Around”. The album is going to have a good mix of acoustic and electric guitars. 
I like the stripped down versions of a couple songs, but I also wanted the album to be more upbeat in certain places. Sometimes less is more and other times – more sounds cool. We’ll have to see how everything sounds when the album is ready to be mixed. I’ll have to make some decisions on how I want each individual song to sound in regards to the overall sound of the album. For the most part, everything sounds good and the album is coming together.
June 26, 2006
Current Listening:
Peaceful Amnesty by The Crawpuppies
Live on the Rocks by Blues Traveler
A Blessing and a Curse by The Drive-By Truckers
Smile by The Jayhawks
Trace by Son Volt
Classic Hits by Jim Croce
