Notes from the Studio, Days 1-2
Hey hey, it’s Vivian Darkbloom reporting from an undisclosed location in Southeastern Massachusetts, where we’ve been hard at work recording material for our first full-length album. Scott Riebling’s new studio is pretty freaking sweet — it’s so new it doesn’t even have a name yet — and, incredibly, everything has worked right so far, with the exception of one speaker cable in the bass room which decided to sacrifice itself so everything else could stay perfect.
Come along with me, won’t you?
Most of the recording happens in the drum room:
Drum kit
Another angle on the drum room
The cheese stands alone.
Next is my favorite room in the studio, the bass/bathroom. Notice the Ampeg 8×10, which I risked my life helping Scott carry down from the garage.
We can also use these mics to record people when they pee.
Here’s Cristiano in the control room. Notice the stack of amplifier heads, working in concert to demolish you with bass tone.
Recording is pretty grueling, and it’s hard to break momentum to go in search of nourishment. Luckily, we found a good sub shop down the road, and it’s named for my favorite state!
Clearly an auspicious beginning to the process.
We’ll spend a couple more days recording basic tracks, then get to work on overdubs, mixing, etc. etc., and then in a few months we’ll work on the next batch of songs. You should never, ever trust a rock band when it tells you when it expects its album to be finished, but let’s say it will be “spring”…ish.
June 15, 2010 at 3:19 pm
Vivian –
How’s it going? This is a generally random place to comment, but what the hell. I’m doing market research for a group of fellows who are an artist management consulting firm and stumbled upon “Cold War” at the #1 on http://www.garageband.com. Congrats! I’ve been scouring everything you have to offer ever since.
The band is great. The anagrammatic name and literature reference is a great start, and, more importantly, I like the care you all take with your music. Rob, I saw a comment you made at an interview re the way you write about songs, i.e. with fastidious attention to detail. The best songwriters craft their songs. You hear stories about bands getting high on a variety of substances and completing whole albums in 30 hours, but I think those cases are either false or the exception to the rule. Also, I loved the note you made about guitar tone. I’m a little new with that myself (Who needs distortion when there’s gain on your amp? Just kidding). I’m finding out just how elusive an animal it is with every passing day. In any case, It’s great you’re aware of it and it’s great you’re doing your utmost to pursue it.
I think every band needs a “You guys are doing great” post every now and again. Keep going. I’ve fallen in love with the band in a matter of 24 hours. Probably an omen of good things to come! I’ve put myself on the mailing list and I will definitely try and come see a show if you’re nearby.
Care for music is what music needs these days! We need more Vivian Darkblooms!
Best,
John
PS you should be aware that your band’s acronym is VD. Yikes.