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.