back to chicago

a couple days ago i got back from chicago. i'd been there for about a week and a half recording and producing a project for a worship band named Before Morning. I knew some of the guys from back when i used to live there. in addition to playing at their own churches, they travel around to conferences, youth camps and other church sunday services pretty consistently.

after a few days of pre production, we started with drums at my old stomping ground, chicago recording company (www.chicagorecording.com). we were in studio 4 on the Neve VR72 console. there have been a ridiculous amount of records and major artists recorded here. so much that i'm not gonna even try to list them. they have them on the website if you wanna check.

that big box in the foreground and under the console is a mackie powered sub....a sub usually used for live sound. and you can't see it, but there's an identical one on the other side of the room. this is in addition to the two 18" subs behind the console. when we came in a hip hop session had just ended and apparently two 18's weren't enough bass so they had to hook up these two babies to really bump.

and check this out:

that right there my friend, is a toothpick. why do we stick toothpicks into consoles that cost six figures? well, these Neve VRs get really hot. and they don't have the same cooling fan systems that other consoles do. back at CRC we have a saying that a session is going good when the "neve is cooking". it literally means that after you've been working a while, you could feel the heat coming off the console. anyway, these analog monsters burn through caps like my attention span burns through things to pay attention...what was i saying?? oh ya, the heat also over the years has melted some of the plastic that holds the buttons down and so the assistance of a toothpick is needed.

the drummer, stevie harmantas, was using a vintage ludwig kit that sounded amazing. and what's great about stevie is that he really knows how to tune a kit. he also brought along a ludwig black beauty, a maple snare, a copper snare, and some other snare that didn't sound good so i didn't even bother remembering it's name. here's a pic of the drum setup:

if you can't tell from the pictures, here's what we used:

Overheads - vintage Neumann U67s

Hat, Ride - AKG 451

Toms - AKG 414

Snare top and bottom - Shure 57

on the kick we used three different mics:

here we have a Shure Beta 52 on the inside, a Neumann FET 47 on the outside and a Yamaha Sub Kick also on the outside. i know the D112 is kinda the standard that people use for inside kick, but i just like the 52. i don't know, i guess i'm weird. the FET 47 is like a great sounding U47, but it can handle the level better than the tube mic.

and here's the thing about the sub kick. i've tried sub kicks before. or so i thought i had. on two different occasions i've been at studios here in nashville and asked if they had one. their answer was yes. then they came back with a handmade sub kick which is basically a yamaha NS-10 woofer wired up in reverse as a mic that looks something like this:

i was skeptical but decided it was the same thing. and ya know what? it didn't sound great. after this happening two times, i decided i didn't like it. but this time stevie brought his own sub kick - but the real sub kick, not some cobbled together facsimile of the original. anyway, this thing sounds great. it accurately captures the low sub kick frequencies around 60 - 80 hz without the accompanying muddiness from the low mids. i don't know if the casing makes a difference or what, but the real sub kick sounds better.

and for rooms mics:

vintage Neumann M249s in X-Y pattern

and...

B&K 4011's in X-Y pattern

after the tracking day, we spent the rest of the week at a smaller studio out in the suburbs closer to where the band lives.

we used a geddy lee jazz bass for all of the bass parts. i love jazz bass's. joel from tfk plays them except he switches out the stock pickups. they're one of my favorite jazz basses.

for guitars we had a decent little setup.

in there we had a few tele's, an '89 les paul (it's hard to think '89 is more than 20 years ago), a brian moor guitar and a PRS.

and here's amps and cabs:

we primarily used the Divided by 13 head, as well as the marshall Plexi and that tiny little head on top of the rack is a new offering from mesa that actually sounds pretty good. my scribe skills are lacking because i don't remember the model numbers of the mesa or the divided by 13.

as for Pre's, we used the avalon 737 and the API with distressor.

here we have two different divided by 13 cabs - one closed back 2x12 and an open back 2x12. the third cab had been refinished so i don't know who made it. again, my note taking is unacceptable.

and for vocals, it's the tried and true Neumann U87

well, that's all i've got for now. hope you enjoy. if you have any gear questions about details i forgot, just hit up the comments and i'll try to answer them all.

utter comedy

the best comedy comes from real life. truth is stranger (and funnier) than fiction. one of my favorite comedies right now is a poorly made low budget movie that's so bad it crosses the line into humorous. it's a movie that was originally put out in 2003. It's called "The Room" (the title has nothing to do with the movie) and it's the brainchild of a European immigrant named Tommy Wiseau who apparently loved american cinema so much that he spent $7 million of his own money to produce this film which he wrote, directed and starred in. and here's the thing - it's utterly horrible. bad writing, bad directing, bad editing - everything about it is horrible. so horrible, that it's funny to marvel at the fact that it was ever made in the first place. anybody can cobble together a CD in a home studio. but a full fledged movie takes crews, actors, producers, directors, catering, city permits, etc. how did everyone involved work on it with a straight face? the trailer is hilarious. here it is:

i especially love how they say it's the "best movie of the year" with a straight face. i mean, isn't that a joke from talladega nights?

Ricky Bobby: wow, i feel like i'm in highlander

Jean Girard: what is a highlander?

Ricky Bobby: it's a movie. it won the academy award

Jean Girard: oh for what?

Ricky Bobby: best movie ever made

the movie has garnered cult film status as they periodically have midnight showings around the country. apparently there was recently one here in nashville at the belcourt theater, but i missed it. what's even funnier is that the guy is now trying to say that he meant it to be so bad it's funny all along. he calls it a black comedy. so we're supposed to believe his movie is the kind of comedic genius that's on par with wes anderson? hmmm...sorry bud.

anyway, i managed to get a copy of the movie. don't see it. it's got boobies in it and a bunch of awkward sex scenes. just go to youtube. all the funny scenes are there without having to wait through that acting that's just bad and not funny at all.

oh, and here's a homework assignment for you all. usually the disclaimer is for kids not to try this at home. but i definitely recommend trying this:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY.

the next time you're at a birthday party or some event where you need to sing happy birthday with a group of people, have some fun with it. whenever it's time to sing the birthday song, there's always an akward start because no one wants to be the first one to start singing. there's always someone who courageously blazes a trail and the rest follow. well, whenever i'm around, i like to be that someone. except my motives are more devious. you see, the happy birthday melody starts a full octave below the high note. if you choose a starting note that is fairly high, then that means the high note will be a full octave above that and as your voice fades into the background, you enjoy the hilariosity (i know it's not a word) as people awkwardly try to hit the high note. i mean, the average person already feels a little weird singing in front of others, let alone trying to hit an uncomfortably high note.

ok, i just re-read this whole blog and it really sounds like i have a seriously sadistic sense of humor. i promise i don't always laugh at the misfortune of others. i'm not that big of a jerk. oh, and speaking of dark comedies, i found out a friend of mine has never seen a wes anderson movie. if any of you haven't yet, go see bottle rocket, rushmore or the royal tennenbaums. ok thats all i have for now. i wish i had a funny last line to leave you with, but sometimes the witty endings just don't show up. even in a blog about comedy. how ironic.