Let the Countdown Begin

Not to sound repetitive, but as you may know or not know by now, we are in the process of recording our first EP.  It will be 4 songs and serve as an appetizer for the release of our first full-length record.

You can count on some more frequent blogs from this point in, as I want to well-document the process.  Even getting to this point has been tough- and I want to attempt to remember as much of what happens as possible.

I suppose I have often put unnecessary pressure on myself when it comes to recording these songs.  There are many routes we could have gone for the recordings, but a major influencing factor for me to choose the path that we did, was the quality and sound that we would be getting, with the patht that we have chosen.  I dont want to put these songs through anymore “workshop” quality recordings.  They are ready, and we are ready to give them a “final” quality.

We are going to be going into Phase One Studios in Toronto.  I went into Phase One a few weeks ago with our producer, Steve Skratt, to check the place out, and see if it was right for what we wanted to do, and of course, see just how much a recording session would cost us.  I have to tell you- walking into the studio and seeing all of the gold and platinum records tastefully plastered all over the walls was incredible.  At first, it was definitely intimidating.  But after I got over the initial reaction, a rush like no other welled up inside me.

Phase One studios has I think 3 main studios- A, B, and C.  All of the studios have world-class acoustics and equipment…but Studio A…Studio A, Steve and many others  have told me, is the Shit.  It’s a fully loaded Cadillac.  Steve wasn’t lying.  We walk in, and the rush I get is even bigger.  The control room is Enormous with a massive mixer board like the kinds I’ve only ever seen in movies about huge bands making monster records.  And the recording room, too, is Sweeeeet.  It’s big and the acoustics are great.  There are also 3 isolation booths.  Isolation booths are much smaller rooms within the larger studio space that give you the space and environment needed to allow you to focus on just your part, while mixing what you are playing over just the way you want it.  If I’m singing, and I want to hear more bass because I feel it will help my performance, I turn up the bass track.  All that music comes in through headphones I’d be wearing, and I sing into a mic to record my vocal track.

We are working with a Engineer by the name of Michael Jack.  From what I’ve heard- Michael Jack is the Shit.  I’ve looked him up online and he has a very impressive resume having worked with some of the best and most talented artists on the planet.  On our visit, our contact mentions that just a few weeks ago, Bono was in Studio A doing some recording with Michael.  When you hear things like that, it’s pretty hard to keep from being intimidated!

Part of me is scared- but a big part me feels an excitement I’ve waited many, many years to feel.  Somehow I am not as intimidated as I definitely would have been a few years back, and that’s because I’ve lived with these songs for so long.  Both Devin and I have brought them into existence, nurtured, and given them a place in the world.  And it seems now that we have done that for as long as we can remember.  We know them inside out, almost with parental instinct.  And we have tremendous faith in them.  The point is- you put me in that studio to play on any other record, and with any other person’s songs, and the truth is that I dont belong.  I wouldnt be able to handle it or cope with the demands, and I would be far too intimidated to give good performances.  But with our songs- I know I belong.  I know that just like us, our songs have waited a long time for this.  I know they are ready.  I know I am ready.