Changes In The Plan

During the next couple of weeks, I had the opportunity to listen to the rough mixes of the two songs that were already recorded, and to contemplate any changes I wanted to make. This was all new territory for me...and looking back on it today...I realize that I still wasn't always making the best decisions. The one thing that was clear to me then, was that I was used to hearing a higher level of intensity from the musicians in the original band than I was hearing on these recordings. Although I knew the speed of the process, and the lack of familiarity with the songs had a bearing on Tommy and Michael, and the energy they put into their playing on those two songs, I also knew that part of the equation was that they just approached music less intensely, which was probably part of the reason they hadn't been considered for the original band. I also decided that the more I played the songs with whoever I used, the better the songs would sound. Rather than have two guys sitting around for two of four days watching me during the overdubbing process, I decided that I would spend more time in the upcoming sessions rehearsing the basic tracks while the guys were in the studio with me, and would then go back into the studio on other dates, to work on things like solos, vocals, harmonies, etc. I thought of the original band, and how the more we had played something, the tighter and more confident the music had become...and I was sure that this would make a difference with this project, too. I became aware that I was rushing the process, and that to do this right, time was an essential ingredient, regardless of the extra cost. I had never believed in cutting corners, and I told myself that I wasn't going to start doing that now. And I also thought it was time to try two new guys on the drums and the bass, to see whether I could hear a difference in the finished basic tracks by making changes there. I knew a drummer that I had played with in the band I had with my brothers in my high school days, who had continued to perform, and had developed into an excellent drummer, and was now living in Boston...and I decided to give him a call. He told me he'd be happy to come to Conn. to do some sessions, and that he knew a bass player in Boston who he suggested I might want to try. I set up the dates for the sessions, worked out the salary and hotel arrangements with him and hung up...wondering what new changes in the music of Avalanche might be coming with two new musicians in the equation.