Holding The Wolf By The Ears...Experiments In Home Recording

Hey Junkies!

This is Sam. I've appeared in a few video posts on SPACE JUNK in the last couple months and now I'm really excited to be a contributer blog-wise. Joel actually sent me the invite some time ago, but I've put it off for various reasons, most of which were either procrastination or stage fright (well maybe not stage fright...maybe just plain old laziness!) Anyway, I think I have something to offer to this discussion and I hope that we'll see even more artists and creators up very soon!

Before I get into what I'd like to present to you today, let me tell you a little about myself. I'm one of those music fiends that has always been involved in sounds and melodies since I could make noise. It's something that was in me always vying for my attention. I was already writing and performing when my dad first explained to me what a 4-track recorder was. Up until then, me and a friend had been bouncing takes between two tape decks and a mixer! The idea that you could have 4 tracks with independent control over volume, eq and effects rocked my teenaged brain! I saved up money for a long time and bought a Tascam 424MKII (I'll have to blog about that machine sometime. I still have it.) Having a recording unit in my bedroom almost instantly changed the way I created music.

After a few years and couple cassette tape releases later, I realized that I was at a crossroads - I could put my creative energy in learning how to engineer and record or I could perfect my writing and performing. It made sense at the time to choose the latter. I still fooled around with recording at times, mostly out of necessity, but it was on the back burner.

Recently, I've come full circle. The direction of my music has led me back into the studio and not very gently either. The main difference now, is that I'm not interested in going it alone anymore. My close friend and co-writer, Jimmy Britton, has enlisted to produce and co-engineer the bulk of the record. We tracked drums in December performed by Dave Czerny and engineered by John John Katsafanas. I've pulled in Ross Christopher for violin and a little cello. The collaborations won't stop there. I'm actually working on getting Joel in there as well as a few other friends. As the recording sessions progress, I'll be posting highlights and experiments here on SPACE JUNK. I am definitely approaching this like a mad scientist with just enough knowledge to be dangerous.

Check out the first micro movie below of our insanity at what I affectionately call reckless abandon studio. Some key points are tracking a glockenspiel and Jimmy producing a cello and violin session over iChat! The bit at the end is some true geekery involving a VOX AC-15, Les Paul Studio, Little Big Muff π, BOSS RE-20 Space Echo and a Digitech Whammy. Enjoy, and please comment and repost this entry.

Until the end of the world,

Sam Wade