We had Chinese food de
livered (if the rock-n-roll lifestyle is about subsisting on delivered pizza and moo shu pork, I will be a Grammy contender by the end of this month) and then Mic warmed up in the studio on "the device" and Peter, Rachel and I ran through the vocals upstairs. It quickly became apparent that I should have chosen more songs that feature, as "Superfreak" does, 1) back-up singers, and 2) lyrics like "yeow" and "blow, daddy!" Interestingly, I should have known this from my novel, when I had my characters choose songs based on the fact that the lyrics contained whooping and shouting.
livered (if the rock-n-roll lifestyle is about subsisting on delivered pizza and moo shu pork, I will be a Grammy contender by the end of this month) and then Mic warmed up in the studio on "the device" and Peter, Rachel and I ran through the vocals upstairs. It quickly became apparent that I should have chosen more songs that feature, as "Superfreak" does, 1) back-up singers, and 2) lyrics like "yeow" and "blow, daddy!" Interestingly, I should have known this from my novel, when I had my characters choose songs based on the fact that the lyrics contained whooping and shouting.It was just plain fun. We married it all together for a few live -- and lively -- run-throughs, then sequentially recorded keyboard (including a drum beat), vocals, and back-up vocals. It did take longer than expected. We were supposed to wrap up by 10:00; it was 10:45 by the time we finished. I'm sure my neighbors were delighted.
Unfortunately, that's when the fun kind of dwindled a little. I was supposed to play with the software the next night, but I was in a gloomy mood, so I let it go. Then last night Mic was the only band member available, and he and I spent lonely hours trying to pick out the piano notes and chords in "Happy, The End" because we couldn't get the sheet music. We only got about half-way through, but KEIT was supposed to have finished that song. I am not sure how the grueling schedule is going to accomodate spending more time on it to whip it into shape. Sigh.
So the latest lessons learned about one-month album recording are that you should pick songs with sheet music, back-up singers, and super-freaky lyrics, 
and it is important for band morale to get as many band members as possible together simultaneously for some jam sessions, even if you are recording their pieces separately.
and it is important for band morale to get as many band members as possible together simultaneously for some jam sessions, even if you are recording their pieces separately.Incidentally, I should mention the band dress code, as the pictures of Peter and Rachel sharing a set of headphones might raise some questions on that point (and other points, but I digress...). Band members are encouraged to dress like Beyonce or Snoop Dogg to the greatest extent possible, but business suits and pajamas are also acceptable. At least Peter took off his tie.
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