We're Rolling
When music fans purchase a new CD, they rarely think what went into creating the 45 minutes that will soon blare over their speaker system. Most of us think that the band just went in the studio, played their parts, and walked out with the next chart-topping album. This impression is most often completely wrong, and nowhere is it more apparent then in the studio with an independent band.
I had the chance to spend four days in Pus Cavern, a professional studio in Sacramento, California with the metal band Conscender. During my stay I realized that there are many factors that go into producing a record, and not all of them are pretty. There are struggles for creative control, performance mistakes, and the realization that certain parts simply don’t sound as well recorded as they do live.
Everything started well as the band tracked the drums, bass, and rhythm guitars on day one. There were few problems and little time wasted, except for the hour and a half it took for set up. There were a few small mistakes, but they were quickly remedied by the computer.
On the second day, however, the band really began to find out what parts of songs worked and which ones did not. Time was consumed listening back over newly recorded parts and trying new licks to spice up the tracks. There were many disagreements over what sounded right in which part, but for the most part members were willing to listen to each other’s criticisms.
After two nights of sleeping on the floor of the studio’s live room, the ten hour sessions were beginning to wear on everyone. The focus of the third day was to be vocals. On one song, drummer Marc Davis was not happy with the outcome of Nick Bonauro’s screams. Later that night after the session, Marc tried to convey his dissatisfaction with the vocals, while Nick argued that they were perfect. Marc soon gave up and spoke of the frustration he had been building up for a long time.
Through the night Marc remained upset and even mentioned that he may quit the band. More arguments broke out when guitarist Anthony Sullivan and Marc discussed the vocals and the fact that he had missed a few practices.
By the final day the atmosphere had changed from the optimism of the first day, but the band finished up its demo in time.
From this experience it was clear that recording is no walk in the park. Bands can be made by their record, but they can be broken by it as well. When the amount of time a band can afford without label support is short, tensions run high and the pressure to perform can lead to conflict. So the next time you throw your favorite CD in the car’s player, realize that a lot more went into the record than is entering your ears.
I had the chance to spend four days in Pus Cavern, a professional studio in Sacramento, California with the metal band Conscender. During my stay I realized that there are many factors that go into producing a record, and not all of them are pretty. There are struggles for creative control, performance mistakes, and the realization that certain parts simply don’t sound as well recorded as they do live.
Everything started well as the band tracked the drums, bass, and rhythm guitars on day one. There were few problems and little time wasted, except for the hour and a half it took for set up. There were a few small mistakes, but they were quickly remedied by the computer.
On the second day, however, the band really began to find out what parts of songs worked and which ones did not. Time was consumed listening back over newly recorded parts and trying new licks to spice up the tracks. There were many disagreements over what sounded right in which part, but for the most part members were willing to listen to each other’s criticisms.
After two nights of sleeping on the floor of the studio’s live room, the ten hour sessions were beginning to wear on everyone. The focus of the third day was to be vocals. On one song, drummer Marc Davis was not happy with the outcome of Nick Bonauro’s screams. Later that night after the session, Marc tried to convey his dissatisfaction with the vocals, while Nick argued that they were perfect. Marc soon gave up and spoke of the frustration he had been building up for a long time.
Through the night Marc remained upset and even mentioned that he may quit the band. More arguments broke out when guitarist Anthony Sullivan and Marc discussed the vocals and the fact that he had missed a few practices.
By the final day the atmosphere had changed from the optimism of the first day, but the band finished up its demo in time.
From this experience it was clear that recording is no walk in the park. Bands can be made by their record, but they can be broken by it as well. When the amount of time a band can afford without label support is short, tensions run high and the pressure to perform can lead to conflict. So the next time you throw your favorite CD in the car’s player, realize that a lot more went into the record than is entering your ears.
posted by in2thegapagain85 at 10:19 AM
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