Fitting the Pieces Together

By the time I had finished recording all the basic tracks of the album, I had been in the studio for three or four days per week, nearly every week, for almost three months. I was very happy with what I had gotten on tape, but it had not come cheaply...between studio time, salaries, hotel expenses, and the drugs I freely shared during the sessions, I was spending at least $1200 dollars every week, and often, even more . Each reel of 2 inch tape cost over $100.00, and was only good for about four or five takes of a song at the speed the tapes were moving over the recording heads. In order to get maximum sound quality for the album, new unused tape was necessary, and bulk erasing the unselected tracks was only practical to do once or twice at the most, before there would be a loss of frequency response...so even the tape costs were high. Once I was finished with the basic tracks, the expenses dropped considerably, because I no longer had to pay for tape, or for salaries or hotel costs for the musicians...their job was done. A lot of the overdubbing process was often done with Peter and I being the only ones in the studio, and that also cut down on the party expenses, too. When Peter and I were alone, with no distractions, we got a lot of work done, and although we got high, we often spent hours working on certain things without a break. Peter made a huge contribution to the album, often working with me until four in the morning, even on days when he had to be up early the following morning. He got to the point where he knew when I was nailing a lead track, or a vocal part, or if it needed to be redone...simply because we had spent so much time together that he became aware of what my standards were. There were also times when I might have thought something was OK, and he would call me in to the control room to listen to a playback, because he knew I wouldn't really be happy with it later on. We were a good team, and we both knew our jobs very well. Listening to the playback of the basic tracks, through headsets, at high volume, while I recorded guitar solos or vocal tracks as overlays that were mixed right into the headphones...almost felt like the band was still together...and right there in the room... and because of the studio environment, Peter was always able to get the mix of instuments exactly the way I wanted to hear it...andwhen I heard everything...I played my best. It was very cool to sing three and four part harmonies with myself, or play twin guitar leads with myself, because I always knew exactly what the "other guy" was doing...because I was the other guy. I got a chance to add  keyboard parts on a couple of songs, something that I could never do with the original band, and I also added acoustic 6 and 12 string guitar parts to compliment the electric guitars that had always been the core of the Avalanche sound...to a couple of the songs. I even invited a well known Hartford guitarist to play a "guest" solo on slide guitar for one of the songs, and as the recording process began to wind down...and all the pieces of the puzzle started to fall into place, the final versions of the songs were, in many ways, more textured than the songs had been when the original group was performing them. The last thing left for us to do was the all-important mixing of the album, when the fine-tuning of levels and effects would give the songs that finish and polish that is so necessary to having a product that would be taken seriously. I knew that we would spend as much time mixing as we had with all the recording, and I couldn't wait to get the opportunity to really spend the time to develop my skills in that area of the process. I had gone to The Recording Institute of America to learn how to do that, but this would be the first time I would actually have the freedom to put those skills to practical use over a period of many consecutive weeks, and I knew what I wanted to hear...and now, the music was all there...just waiting.

Addicted to the Studio

For the next eight weeks, Gene, Doc, Peter, and I spent three to four nights per week, every week, in the studio...rehearsing and recording the basic arrangements and foundation tracks of the remaining songs on "Going For Broke." I loved the intensity of the schedule, the feeling of momentum, and the sense of accomplishment I felt when I pushed myself...and I loved the creative environment of the recording studio. Every day that I spent in there, I learned new things about recording and producing...and how to use the studio as a catalyst for the creative process. I learned how changing the microphones, or sometimes, just the mic positions only a few inches could completely change the sound of a recording. I learned how to rehearse in a studio, and how the recording of rehearsals helped me get new ideas as an arranger and producer. I learned how to take creative risks behind closed doors by having more of an open mind, and listening to suggestions from Peter, the guys, and other musician guests who stopped in to observe the sessions. I could feel and hear each successive song we rehearsed and then recorded... being a little stronger and better produced than the one that had preceded it. In fact, by the end of the final sessions recording the basic tracks, there was such a noticeable improvement in the recordings we were capturing that I actually considered re-recording some of the earlier songs again, because I was afraid the differences in the recordings might make it difficult for the album to have that consistent sound from song to song that I was looking for. In the end, I decided against it for two reasons. The first was...the obvious expense of continuing to have to pay for the players and for the additional studio time for what might end up being minor differences. And I knew that if I kept learning to use the studio at the rate I was, I could keep feeling the need to re-record everything, and there was still a great deal of music and vocals to be added to all the songs. I have always been an expert at second-guessing myself...and an album really is the process of capturing a musical moment in time...and music always changes. The second reason was...I knew that I could improve all the songs during the overdubbing and mixing processes, so I decided against re-recording, and concentrated instead, on adding all the remaining musical and vocal tracks  to the songs, which I knew would be even more work, and a more time consuming and expensive process than these sessions had been. I realized that at some point, I had to say "OK that's it"...because it was never going to be what I had grown accustomed to hearing from the original Avalanche. The foundation for the album was laid, and as far as I was concerned, now the real fun was about to begin, because I had decided to do things on the record that the original band had never done live...I was going to explore my own musical ideas now, and see where it would lead, and I didn't care how long it took, or how much it cost...I think I was getting addicted to studio...and when I was there, with the doors locked and the tapes rolling, and the drugs flowing...it was like being in a world of my own making...and I loved it.

Momentum, Impatience, and Poor Judgment

By the time I had spent a couple of weeks in the studio with Gene and Doc...a couple of things seemed clear. Gene was doing a very good job for me, and I was very happy with his playing and committment. But I was only luke-warm about what I was hearing from Doc. He was getting the job done, his playing was adequate, but it was unexciting, and the difference in his energy compared to Gene's and mine was becoming noticeable to me. The problem was that Gene and I weren't really close friends anymore, and I wanted him on the project...and he and Doc were close friends, and I didn't want to alienate Gene by insulting his friend. The only thing I was thinking about was getting this album done, and we were doing that. But my judgment was off, probably because of my impatience and my drug use. When I look back on it now, I think that Gene on drums and Michael, the bass player I had used on the first two sessions might have been the best combination for what I was trying to accomplish...but I completely missed that at the time. I was looking at the rhythm sections as teams, and it never dawned on me that as the manager of those teams, I could make substitutions any time I wanted to, and that Gene would probably have been OK with the change, even if Doc might not have been. I hadn't even met Doc before these sessions, and I really didn't owe him any special consideration, but I guess I felt I wanted to keep Gene happy, so it never dawned on me to ask him how he felt about the possibility of a different bass player...I think I just assumed he would be unhappy about it. I regret not having that conversation with him then, because today, I believe Gene would have been willing to do whatever the job situation called for. Once again, hindsight is alway 20/20, and although Michael was the better choice for bass, and Gene was the better choice on drums...not once, during any of the recording sessions did it ever cross my mind to try them together. The only explanation I have for that oversight is that, once again, my drug use impaired my thinking and my judgment, and although I'm grateful I actually got the chance to record a lot of Avalanche music during these sessions, I believe the album could have been considerably better with that one simple change.

Little Miss Sad Eyes...again

The following evening, we were all back in the studio at 8:00PM, and after a short discussion and a few lines and joints, Peter set up the recording mics on the gear and got the mixing console ready to begin recording. I knew that a number of "takes" would be required before we'd get the tracks we wanted, and I wanted to begin recording from the very first attempt, because sometimes...the first one is the charm. That wasn't the case on this night, however, because I just wasn't happy with what I was hearing from Doc. We did numerous takes...and would often stop playing to go into the control room and listen to the playback to determine what needed to be different. In the end, I had to accept that what I had gotten so used to hearing from Charles on that song was never going to happen without him, and once I was able to adjust my thinking accordingly, and became aware of what Doc's limitations were, and when he was playing at his optimum, the session seemed to move more smoothly. In the end we probably played and recorded seven or eight versions of Sad Eyes, and I recognized that we had a final take on more than one of those versions. We went back into the control room to listen, and after narrowing down my choices to two different takes, I spent the better part of an hour deciding which one best represented the song on tape. After I had made the decision, Peter got a new reel of 2 inch tape onto the recorder, and after we took a short break and got high again, the three of us went back to work, rehearsing the next song. I had selected an old Deep Purple song, "Hush" because again the guys knew that song, even though the arrangement was quite different from the original. This had been the only cover song Avalanche had ever done live, and I believed having a cover song on the album would improve its marketability with some listeners...besides, I had always liked the song. One of the problems I had anticipated happening all along, appeared during the rehearsal of that song. I was the only person who knew what the final version would sound like...and since this version was different from the original, Gene was at first, very resistant to some of the parts I insisted he play. He had his own ideas about what was happening in the studio three-piece and live, and I had to remind him that this was not a three piece band, there would be other guitar and vocal parts added later that would change everything he was hearing while we practiced the song, and laid down the foundation tracks, and that he would have to trust that I knew what I was doing. After a little grumbling he came around, and slowly the song started to take shape...although it would take another two days in the studio before I thought the band was ready to try recording it. I delayed all the overdubbing on Sad Eyes for a future session, and would do that on all the remaining songs to maximize the usefulness of the players and the studio time, since I was paying for both. And slowly but surely the project began to take shape...and gain momentum. 

Back To Work

The recording of "Going For Broke" went on for many weeks, and the actual order in which I recorded the songs during those weeks is a little blurry. The first song I taught to Gene and Doc was a re-recording of Avalanche's first single, "Little Miss Sad Eyes." On the single, although the original band had played the song very well, I had never been happy with the quality of the recording, and I knew that in the newer studio, I could do a better job on it. I also knew that Sad Eyes had to be on the album, and for the album to sound consistent, the song had to be recorded again. Since I had the original recording to work from, I also thought that it would be easier for the new guys to get used to the feel of this project if the first song they played on was something they could hear in finished form. Gene picked it up immediately, but Charles' original bass line on that record was very distinctive, and I didn't know exactly what he had done when he had played it, so I couldn't teach it to Doc. He did the best he could to duplicate the bass line, but Charles was unique and irreplaceable at times, and so I had to settle for "close", but not the same. I didn't hold that against Doc, because the part that he couldn't copy...I'm not sure anyone could have. The two new guys did play well together, and Gene had a lot more energy and fire in his drumming..right from the start, then Tommy had. By the end of the first night, I knew Gene was going to make a very positive contribution to the project...but I was a lot less clear about Doc. I decided to give them both more time to get comfortable with me, the music, and the studio before making any decision. We pretty much duplicated the same process I had used on the earlier sessions...with one exception. We rehearsed for six hours on "Sad Eyes" and never ran a tape. I decided I wanted everybody fresh and rested before we laid down the tracks, and the extra rehearsal time allowed us to get very tight before doing that. Since I had agreed to pay for hotel expenses for Gene and Doc while they were doing the sessions, driving back to Boston on a daily basis wasn't necessary for them, and they were able to be rested and alert for each session. It was more expensive, but in the end, it was a good decision, because the sessions were long and exhausting, and road fatigue would have affected the quality of  their playing. We left the studio just after 3:30AM, and went out for breakfast and discussed the song. We were all looking forward to the following night, when we would actually start recording the track...and we were all anxious to hear what the song would sound like on tape.

Gene and "Doc"

After I paid off the balance that I owed the studio, I booked more recording time there, so that I could get back to work on the album. I was curious to see whether or not changing the personnel on the rhythm section would bring about noticeable changes to the basic tracks of the next few songs. The new drummer for the sessions was an old bandmate, Gene, who I had played with years earlier in my high school days. He had a very high energy level, and was a heavy hitter, and had developed into a very good drummer since I had last worked with him...and I hadn't really played with him since I had removed him from that earlier band, and had replaced him with Tommy, the drummer who I had hired for the first two sessions. I hoped that enough time had gone by for Gene to have let go of his anger over having been replaced in a band he had worked hard in. At the time, although it had been a difficult decision, it had seemed like the right decision for that band...since Gene had very strong feelings back then that drums were the focal point of a band, and his playing reflected that, even though that often conflicted with what the rest of us in that group believed...and were trying to accomplish. Ten years had gone by since then, and we had both grown up a lot, but Gene was still a very aggressive drummer, and for the Avalanche sessions, I thought that might be just what was needed. The fact that he had been living in Boston for a number of years had kept him from seeing Avalanche in performance. Although he knew that the band was well respected, I knew there was a possibility we could still have some lively discussion about what the drum parts should be. When I had first met Gene, we were in elementary school together, an although he was just starting to play, and I had been drumming for years...and in some ways I was an early mentor for him, but his talent soon became obvious, and I had strayed from drumming to play keyboards and guitars, and he developed his own style and views regarding the role of drums in a rock group. Although we disagreed on some points, there were a lot of areas musically that we agreed on, and after Gene got to the studio and we had talked for a while, I was confident that we'd be able to find the common ground we needed for the both of us to be comfortable. Gene was a pro, and realized he was being hired to do a job, and that as his employer, I would have the last word on what went on the record...but I let him know I was open to any ideas or suggestions he might have as the sessions progressed, as long as they didn't compromise the arrangements on the songs. His energy and enthusiasm were great, and the big question mark in my mind was the bass player, "Doc", that he had brought with him for this first session. Doc was a stranger to me...I knew nothing about him or his musical skills, but I had decided to take Gene's opinion of him on faith...at least for the next few days anyway. We all met for the first time at the studio, on the first night of the session, and after talking for a while with the both of them, I knew the only way to see what was up musically...was to start practicing the first song, and see where it led...so after an hour of talking and getting a little high, we walked into the main room of the studio and began rehearsing.