In the Studio

I know you see the title, and think: in the studio? Isn't the new CD not even out yet? And you are right! However we have an opportunity to record, and as you all know, I have a plethora of new and unreleased materials, so back in we went. I won't say yet what tunes we were working on, but they are sounding delicious so far! We still have at least another session to go.

The session was a late one to say the least. When Charlie and I finally left the sun was up, and we were in the midst of rush hour traffic. But they had coffee at the studio (thanks to Michael - though no donuts - thanks Dominic), so it all worked out. We kicked off at 10pm, so yes, it was a very long night. But Michael brought some trail mix, he called GORP, which was peanuts, m&m's, and marshmellows. Apperently it was tastey. For me it was a treasure hunt to get get the peanuts and put the rest back, but still hitting the spot!

My friend and top-notch photographer, Bruce, came out to hang and photograph us in our natural environment. He crammed himself into the vocal booth, where I was situated, to get some great pics. He was moving around, and they have a little window in there, so you can see into the live room. It had a curtain and curtain rod on it, and Bruce knocked it down getting one shot. It may have been this one. (www.brucehicks.com)

We got to record differently than we had in the past. It was what we'd been wanting to do since before Atlanta, but have never had the chance. So we jumped on it here. We all recorded live to get the drums and bass tracked, and then overdubbed the rest. The result is a very high energy take!

Studios tend to get hot. They can't turn the air on because it makes noise that is picked up by the mics. But they did have this awesome green curtain in the main live room. And Bruce got this awesome action shot as Charlie was tearing up a solo. I'm glad Bruce got shots early in the night - at the end, the few shots I got off of my camera show us as sleepy, beat, and kinda hungry.

We tried out this new amp - Charlie, Neil, and Michael will all be running through it for this recording. It's an Acoustic head from the late '60's-ish. It has an unbelieveably amazing sound! And it was a face-melting accomplice in Charlie's solos and tones. I got to drag out my Fender Twin and turn it up to 6! I know! (So, if you have no idea what that means - 6 is really really loud!)

More to come, I'm sure. Also, if you missed the Ohio Brewing show, you missed it. That's all i can say.