The Recording Sessions

We entered the new studio to record our second single feeling very optimistic. This was a much nicer place, with much better tools, and we had the benefit of a new confidence in ourselves, our music, and the recording process. We had done this before. It was much more "familiar" territory. What we did have to adjust to was the larger new facility, recording with all of our stage gear, and the acoustic properties of the new room. That took a few hours. The band and the crew were there, as well as Peter, and a few close friends. When we recorded, we liked to be in "our element", so we scheduled our sessions from 8:00PM to 4:00AM...that way we could lock the studio doors, and basically have the place totally to ourselves. There was usually as much cocaine and pot as anyone might need, and if someone wanted to get high, they did. We had a very relaxed attitude in the studio...it made for better and more natural recordings. We spent the first three hours just "dialing in" to the room and getting levels set, so that when that was done, we would be able to just keep rolling tape...sometimes a few takes were necessary to get the basic tracks right. It was around 11:00PM when we actually started playing seriously, and at about midnight, the program director from WCCC showed up and was let in. We stopped, and spent a half an hour or so talking and getting high, and then we left him in the control room with Peter, and began laying down the music for the "A" side. It took about 90 minutes to get a track I was satisfied with, and it was sounding really good. As Peter set up the vocal mics, the guy from the station pulled me aside and told me he was really impressed. Since it was after 3:00AM, he told me he had to be at the station early, so he was leaving. He thanked me for including him in this process, and the last words he said to me before walking out the door were "looks like you've got a real winner with this one". As he left, I felt really confident that the second single was going to be a lot bigger than the first one had been. I just wished he would have stayed to hear the vocals too...and as it turned out, it was a disaster for us that he didn't...