The Band Who Came In From The Cold

Friday night was another long one. Rehearsals have now started again for the upcoming live dates and there's quite a bit of "recording rust" to be worked out.
We also took the time to film the video for our upcoming single, How Come I'm Never Around. Like the recordings, we did this all ourselves. A word in your shell-likes though - filming outside late at night in the first week of February is ... quite chilly! Our rehearsal room is pretty much in the middle of nowhere, so we decided to film it all here. Kind ties in with recording everything here and by us too. An interesting point is that some of the footage if of the actual recording, rather than a restaging. A lorry driver who had parked up nearby though must have wondered what the hell was going on when we started carrying all the kit out and setting the cars around with full beams on...

Happy days. I think I have thawed out now

Still for the video.

Apparently cats have problem with 2d ...

In an otherwise 3d world ....

Before anyone feels obliged to comment, I am well aware that this picture has nothing whatsoever to do with recording an album. It just amused me.

Put what right was wrong ...

Friday night we got together to nail half of the remaining lead vocals. It was a somewhat surreal atmosphere as we convened at Grahams and Kate's house which had become a sort of NFL Grotto. It was bitterly cold, that sort of cold that you can sense even when you inside in the warm ... we'll nonetheless we did the vocals for If This Is It, I Know Your Name, Bring It On and All Or Nothing. 2 old ones and 2 new ones, Bring It On and If This Is It having both been recorded for the original demos, it seemed strange to have down the "definitive" versions of songs that we have been playing for so long - in fact If This Is It predates my joining the band and was, I think, possibly the first song of the band.
With recording old songs like this it poses the difficulty of trying play it as energetically as the newer stuff, to avoid all the "live cheats" as it were and try and find some new bit of creativity. I have been mixing the tracks since and can say it is a pleasure to approach them from this angle though...
All or Nothing and I Know Your Name are quite the opposite though in the sense that they have never been recorded, and its nice to hear them "for the first time".
A long trip back due to road closures completed my Friday night. I always though Friday nights were for partying. Guess I was mislead...
Viva la Derci

Chris gets distracted by a wall full of cheerleader photos. Those are balloons above his head by the way, not thought bubbles

Radio Edit

Decided it was, by all those concerned, that a radio edit of How Come I'm Never Around needed to be made, to meet the requirements of the lovely radio people that will refuse to play any songs with even slightly suspect words or references. So last night I knocked up a new version with the offending passages removed. It also simultaneously gives us a comedy version, ideal for children's parties, funerals and clown conventions.
Its easy to become indifferent to technology these days, but the ease of putting this edit together really makes me appreciate it anew ...

An unimpressive pic of the studio where it all goes on


The Radio Edit

Guitar recordings

And, without pausing for nary a breath nor to chew on a kitten, its on with the guitar recordings the next day. All solos and rhythm parts are now done, which just leaves the vocals and mixing.