We started around 6 with Heather in the main room on violin and Stacy at the upright piano in the room where Don sets up his gear pirate radio station style (it's a shared space), which let us record the piano and violin together to save time. There's a plexiglass-covered doorway between the two rooms so there are sight lines for hand signals and such, and the mics let us all talk to each other. I went back and forth to play musical director/work out final parts/hold a light so Heather could see her music. I had a couple good ideas for doubling the violin in a few places that she was excited about (the doubled part is one she originally told me she thought was cheesy, but I think she's finally warmed up to it now). The ladies hit each song in just a few takes. Heather went home and the rest of us ordered takeout. Then it was time for the backing vocals, which Stacy nailed even at 9 months pregnant, having just eaten a lot of tacos. She really is a pro.
We had talked about using organ instead of piano on Be My Man to bring out the soul sound, so at about midnight (totally cracked out after a full day followed by 6 hours of recording work), we moved into the room upstairs where there's a little Hammond organ. It looks like something you might find in a churchgoing grandparent's basement, and it runs on a motor that forces air through valves to make the sound. It doesn't get much more analog. We eventually figured out how to turn it on and messed around with the stops and switches and Don miked it up and Stacy did her thing.
I listened to what we had afterwards, the rhythm section tracks from the other night plus Heather and Stacy's new parts, and these songs are starting to sound awesome. Next up: the horns!
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| Tuning the violin to the piano |
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| Heather adjusting her parts |
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| Stacy at the Hammond |
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