Tales of the Treadmill
Tales of the Treadmill
And So It Begins
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Well- first- I suck at this blog thing. I was really into it for awhile there at first, and now I’ve just completely forgotten about it. I’m pretty sure the 10’s of readers don’t really care, so that’s good.
But, I have news. We have officially stepped foot into the studio and the results are quite heartening. No, let me rephrase- the results have me psyched up as a mother. Because of our last album, we (well- tony and I) have this unrelenting hatred of our last record- because we just were so unhappy with the way the drums sound. It’s not the playing - the playing is good- which makes it even worse, and everything else on the record is sonically pretty damn good- but the drums- ahhh! They just sound like total bung. Every time Tony and I put on the album- which is never- but the first song is Velveteen and it starts with guitar, and then when the drums kick in, a little bit of throw up always comes up into our mouths. We swirl it around and swallow it again. The drum sounds on that stupid record are like the super-posse of bastards that relentlessly chased Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Well, let me tell you. This record is Tony and I jumping into the gorge. So fuck you super-posse. Of course later, we get slaughtered by federales in Bolivia- but we’ll deal with that then. I hear there’s lots of pain relief in Bolivia.
Point is, I have pretty high hopes for this record. The songs have grown on my like a bitch. I really love most of them. And I really like all of them. Not a stinker in the bunch. And at first, I was a little bummed at our inability financially to walk in to a bad ass studio with a cappuccino machine and a pool table, and relax and do a little civilized recording. And somehow- like anything else in America, there’s that sense that if you don’t spend an assload of money, you’re not going to be able to get quality. Which is bullshit, of course. But I’m a proud American, and it’s a hard idea to shake. I don’t know- you just get a certain idea of what recording as a band is, and it’s hard to shake that out. But it’s freaking 2008, and there is no reason I can think of to do a record in a big studio these days. I mean, other than an endless supply of lattes - which isn’t completely unimportant. But this style of making a record opens up for us so many opportunities to do absolutely whatever the hell we want, it’s mind-blowing. Especially because I think we know what we want to do. There are just no constraints. No financial constraints because we can always do little things that need doing at my home studio.... And no creative constraints because we don’t care about being famous, selling records, getting on the radio or anyone liking us. We just don’t give a toss about anything at all, other than making something that we will like. Can I tell you how awesome that is? Can you imagine? The vibe of the first and second records was so different. There was so much on the line, or we thought there was. I mean, our entire futures rested on those getting us where we wanted to go (you remember how that worked out, don’t you?) Anyway, this time is going to be much more enjoyable. Of course, there will be a little friction and stuff between us- but it’s between us. There are no outside forces applying any pressure to us at all. And I think overshadowing any friction like a Pterodactyl under a pen light will be the cool ‘let’s make this together’ vibe that is part of what anyone in a band (or on a construction crew, or on a football team) likes about it.
To get back to the subject, the drums sound awesome. They sound like what a boxer hears when he gets hit full force in the side of the head right before hitting the canvas. They sound like an approaching stampede of dinosaurs. They sound like a huge circus muscle man with an enormous mustachio chopping up an elephant with a dull machete. They sound really quite good.
I know I’ve promised that we will chronicle the recording process, and um, well- we will. Really. But on day one, this is all I’ve got. Here’s Kenny at the controls. And I’m sure this will be a continuing theme from here on out, but Kenny rules. Maybe Tony can expand on that here in a sec.
I guess I could put a drum track up here... but I’m growing tired of the blog again.
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