Back in studio D where we did the first sessions on the record back in October. Here's a recap of this week's recording:

Tuesday (Day One) : Perk set up drums and got sounds with Brian for the first part of the day. We all got in and started with "Awake" around 4pm. Perk was right on the money. After working for a while, and him getting so many takes right off the bat, we started thinking that this room is just "luckier" for us. He got "Awake" on the first take, but we got a few more for good measure.

Next we took on "Teahouse of the Spirits". We found a good common tempo for this one, and laid it to a click so that it's rock solid. The charm of this song is the unchangeable riff pushing on and on, then when the choruses open up and hit, there should be a welcome release. The click was good for this.

Again, Stephen got good take after good take, and we settled on the third one, I believe.

Wednesday (Day Two) : We started at just after 1pm with the drums to "Blue Bruises". This one is a brand new one that we got together last week. It's a real thrill writing songs then recording them right away, and getting to hear them take shape so quickly. The only drawback is that with some tunes, they need some more attention to get the arrangement just right. "Blue Bruises" is musically a really simple song, basically the same progression in the verses and choruses, and the only change is the B section and the post chorus. Because it is so simple, having the right parts that fit together just right is very important. It's a strange principle of songwriting, that the most simple songs are usually the most difficult to put together, because everything is so naked. Every part means more because there are fewer of them.

At dinner break we watched a French bootleg DVD of Rush's "Exit Stage Left". We all sat in hushed amazement of these guys playing the most complex parts EVER ...just like the recorded versions and flawless. Man, say what you will about Rush, and then watch them play "Xanadu" live. If you still have problems with it, I invite you to go fuck yourself.

Chris got to work on the bass parts. As usual, he smoked them in rapid succession. Chris always does alot of creative re-examining of his parts in the recording process, often he will do a perfectly great part, then get an idea, do that, scrap the first one, then have a whole different part in a matter of minutes. It's a good thing not to be too married to your parts, so that they can always improve. After Chris got all his bass work done, I started up on my tracks.

First I got my rhythms on Blue Bruises done, then tackled "Teahouse". For both I am using my Mesa/SG combo. Virtue and I had a good time putting these together, and they went pretty quickly and well.

Monday Showcase:
We started one day late so that on Monday we could play a label showcase at S.I.R. in Hollywood. Our prospective record company wanted to see us (the main guy hadn't seen us live yet) before we sequestered ourselves in the studio. We invited some friends and Panic Community friends to see it. Without going into detail, I hated it. The actual room had about 5% of the vibe our rehearsal room does, and Dave and Chris had problem after problem getting their onstage sound right during sound check. For once, my setup sounded good from the get-go with no hassles! (I was using my rental Mesa Triple Rec and Dave's SG). That pleasure would be short-lived.

We were all set to rock the new songs and some of the favorites, then right at first downbeat, ...no sound from my guitar rig. That lasted until song 3, my cord had died. Then for the last two songs, I was completely out of tune, and couldn't hear myself so I didn't know until after it was over. No excuses, it was just a drag to play this music that we have worked so hard to write and record come out so far under the level that we are used to. Hey, "it is what it is" as Dave says. It was just nowhere near a "Zen" show.

Meanwhile, back in the studio...

Today, Thursday (Day Three):
Dave started up on his guitars. First he got his chugging rhythm part to "Blue Bruises", then the main part of "Teahouse". He used a Gold Top Les Paul for both. Once Marc Vangool arrived we could really dig into the serious guitar tone research for the more unique parts. On Teahouse, Dave fleshed out the main riff with some Telecaster, and then wanted to do the bridge part with a weird echo-ey tone. It got into the "Tone Hunt" section of the day, then Brian said the magic phrase: "How about a Leslie??".

A Leslie is an amplification device that (I hope I explain this right), is very old and very heavy. It's a large wooden box with a rotating speaker that when used, makes an old-school flange-y psychedelic sound. The flange comes from the simple fact that the sound is emanating from something that is rotating around. Not too sophisticated, but it's very unique, and sometimes just the right sound for the job.

...but not this time.

We spent the rest of the night working on Dave's parts on "Blue Bruises". Again, this one we are crafting track by track and building up in the studio. (Clay sculpture). Dave came up with some really cool melodic pieces. I think we are going to spend a little time tomorrow and get an acoustic version ready to play when we host Camp Freddy radio on Saturday. 

Gummo filled in the empty spaces of the studio day with episodes of  "Aqua Teen Hungerforce".

We lefft around 12:30pm.