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The Progression Express
Progression is like a train, it can go and go for a long time as long as there are plenty of tracks. If for some reason those tracks come to a stopping point, the new tracks need to be built as soon as possible. Josh and I have no problem doing that and in 2010 we built some new tracks.
In July 2010 we happened to be at a barbeque at Josh’s brother’s house and as luck would have it we stumbled across a fantastic discovery. This is how it happened.
Guy had invited the whole family to a cookout at his house. Every time that Guy is involved with a barbeque it is always special and delicious. Damn good BBQ chicken! YUM!! This was during the 4th of July weekend and about three months prior Josh and I discussed the idea of recording a new album.
The problem however was we needed a place to record and the location scouting wasn’t going very well, but we didn’t give up and we never do. We knew deep down inside that eventually we would find some place. At the time we didn’t know that the someplace would end up being Guy’s garage.
Guy happened to be all dressed up (when Guy does a barbeque he totally looks the part chef’s hat and all) and he was standing in front of the garage with the door open. I happened to notice that there was a lot of space and it made me curious. I asked Guy if he wouldn’t mind me looking around and his response was “sure Jay man”. He likes to call me Jay man. So, I did some exploring which took me to the very back of the garage and this place is huge!
Now, the back section is a little higher so you have to be very careful when entering. I tripped a few times so take my word for it. As I entered the back room I noticed that the sound had changed drastically and I really started to wonder. When you are doing a recording it is very important to have a good controlled environment, if not it can make the process more difficult especially in the long run.
So here I am and Guy is still standing outside talking no more than 20 feet from me and I can hardly hear him. Now get this, not only is the front garage door open but the door to the back room is open as well and you would think at that distance you would be able to hear anyone or anything as clear as day.
Hmmm…. I thought. I was even more curious so I looked around and I happened to notice that the walls had a good amount of thick insulation. I snapped my fingers to do a little test, it’s a great way to see how a room sounds and it sounded mint. There was no echo and echo can be harmful to the recording process. When there’s no control over the room itself it makes it more difficult during the final mix.
Insulation helps to absorb any extra ambient noise that could interfere with getting a good sound. Needless to say that when I continued to look around in Guy’s garage I saw the possibilities. Suddenly Josh approached the garage and started having a conversation with Guy and then it hit me… oh my fucking word. “Hey Josh” I called, “you’ve got to check this out!”. So Josh followed me to the back room and he too could see the potential of Guy’s garage.
So we both agreed that recording here would be the best option. Now all we had to do was get his permission to do so. After discussing it with him he graciously allowed us to use his facilities and do what we do best, create!
The first day was clean up day due to all the clutter and bags of stinky trash laying around. Thank goodness for incense, oh and thank goodness for fly traps too because that garage had fucking hundreds of them. And we mean hundreds of them! It started out as mildly annoying but progressed to flat out war.
We actually had to make a special trip to purchase fly swatters and flypaper. Several times throughout the recording progress the flies would dive bomb both Josh and I. During line-in recording only I could hear Josh killing flies with the notebook cover he had been using as a mouse pad. Eventually we had that garage spic and span and were ready to start setting up equipment.
The backroom was used specifically for drums, percussion and vocals. Josh set up his computer and mixing board down in front which allowed proper separation from the other room. Even the doors were big and thick which also added to sound absorption.
Getting good drum sounds is the most important part of a recording. It’s kind of like a foundation of a house. If you don’t want your house to fall down while you’re building it (which I’m sure has happened to a lot of people at some point in time) then you need a solid foundation that will withstand anything. At Guy’s garage we got great drum sounds and then some.
That room worked out so well that we did another recording the following year. Rhythm Doll was almost like a practice recording. It was preparation for Candy Eyes. When we finished Rhythm Doll we knew that the “Progression Express” was ready to ride again.
Rhythm Doll and Candy Eyes by far are the best two recordings that Josh and I have ever done. There were two key factors that contributed to Rhythm Doll and Candy Eyes. Guy’s garage and Fleshology.
Fleshology became a stepping stone and really opened a gateway to many more possibilities creatively. Guy’s garage became a stepping stone in the way of how to record and we are so grateful for both.
It’s amazing what people can do when they just go and do it. Hell of a concept if you stop and think about it. We’ve said this before and we’ll say this again, it’s who’s behind the equipment that matters. A tool is just that, a tool. If you don’t know how to use it you won’t be able to get the job done.
A million dollar studio has no value if you can’t use it to it’s full potential. Guy’s garage isn’t a million dollar studio and it doesn’t need to be. It served it’s purpose for us because we knew how to use it correctly. With that said these albums didn’t cost a million bucks, but they sure sound like it.
- Jason.L
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