Diary of an album (Part 5)

Sat 16th August- we ventured back in to the studio for another weekend recording our debut album. After a late night the evening before playing the acoustic gig in Hemel, we opted for a late morning start. The plan for the day was to re-amp the bass parts that Sonny had recorded from the last sessions. Shane was first down, setting up the bass amp, and assisted in putting the mics in to position by Stee.

A couple of hours were spent positioning several microphones around the bass cab, with the intention of auditioning and using different mics for variations in bass sound for each song, and even sections within songs. Having experimented with positioning we achieved a variety of sounds that we were then able to try out within the context of the songs.

Marc arrived at the studio early afternoon, having been busy working on band promotion earlier in the day. Shane and Stee were busy re-amping the bass guitar for ‘Perfect Soldier’ and after some tinkering with compression and eq, we achieved a great bass sound with the desired punky feel. We then moved on to ‘The Chalice’ which we thought would suit a driving 70’s bass sound. The sound we settled on reminded Marc of ‘Ace of Spades’ by Motorhead. For ‘Tied to Shadows’ we decided to go for a mellower bass sound that worked with the softer sections of the song, and a more beefy, slightly distorted sound for the heavier sections. The plan had been for Sonny to make a start on recording the remaining bass lines, but unfortunately he wasn’t too well, so we postponed that until Sunday; Shane finishing off the session by doing a bit of editing of the takes before we called it a night.

Sun 17th August- Shane arrived in the studio mid-morning to finish up the previous days’ editing; ensuring the tracks were all ready to work on by the time Marc and Stee arrived at the studio. Fortunately they came armed with sufficient sustenance to get them through what was to be a monster session. Sonny although still suffering a little, put his bass takes down ready for re-amping.

With bass parts put down for Tama Connection, Coked Up Russians, When the Karma falls and Tied to Shadows, Sonny headed home for some much needed rest. Whilst Shane sorted through and edited the recorded bass tracks, Marc and Stee headed off for an hour in search of a backup hard drive from the nearby shops.  A failure of an old backup drive meant that some earlier sessions needed to be restored, and with us about to revisit those tracks, we needed a backup drive to send off with the broken hard drive.  Fingers crossed we can get the sessions back, or else it’ll mean re-recording what we had for Old Street, No Easy Target and Alarm.

The next task was to re-record the guitar verses for Coked Up Russians.  Marc decided to use Stee’s Brian Moore i8.13, instead of the vintage Fender telecaster he’d been using for the majority of the album, to get a metallic, modern aggressive sound. Stee had to turn guitar tech and open up the back panel before we could start recording the guitar parts, as the battery in the Brian Moore was dead, and then again to re-string after Marc broke a string. After Marc stretched the strings out and tuned up, he got a couple of good takes, before switching to the piezo pickup to achieve a slightly fatter sound that would give Shane more options sound and tone wise when mixing the track.

With the guitar parts for Coked Up Russians finished in just over an hour, we took a short break for dinner and had a quick chat about the vocal ideas. Shane discussed the microphones we would be using to record vocal takes and the reason for their suitability when recording different types of voices.

Shane wanted to try backing vocals on The Chalice, which began with doubling up the falsetto vocal in the chorus of the song. This process involved us listening back carefully to the two vocal takes together to ensure that the vocals were the same length, had the same phrasing, and complemented each other in terms of dynamics and volume. Shane thought that the bridge vocal may want thickening up too, to match the intensity of the music, but having listened to it double tracked, Stee thought he may try a backing harmony instead.  The harmony part seemed to work well, and when listening back Stee came up with a second harmony to sing over the top of the one that he had just recorded. The harmony vocal takes sounded great, but Stee was in a particularly creative frame of mind and despite the late hour, a further vocal idea began to formulate in his head which he immediately put down. When we listened to the vocals all mixed together but without the music, it sounded very much like a barber-shop quartet.  Although the new parts took a little getting used to, after a few listens we all agreed that it could definitely work if lowered in the final mix of the song.

We were starting to feel pretty tired, but that didn’t stop Shane from rallying the troops to carry on into the early hours. We decided to record Marc’s backing vocal for Had I Known What You Know. After about four takes, Marc was starting to feel quite fatigued, and left further takes for another day when he had the energy to deliver the vocal.  Stee with a sudden second-wind decided to ad-lib the breakdown section, resulting in him belting out the last ‘Go’, which from out of nowhere he held for over 20 seconds!  Something he couldn’t normally do live as he’d be too busy throwing himself and mic stand around the stage.  With the time approaching 2.30am we decided to call it a night after what had been a pretty productive weekends recording.

Our 1st acoustic gig

Last Friday we played our first ever acoustic gig which took place at Boxmoor cricket club in Hemel Hempstead. It was a great evening with a very laid back atmosphere with people singing and clapping along to our songs. We had planned to play the gig as a 3 piece with me on electro-acoustic guitar, Sonny on acoustic guitar and Stee on vocals, however our drummer Shane was in the audience watching and by the time we were on stage for the first song he had got on stage with a bongo drum in his hands ready to play.

This was very amusing to myself and Stee as Shane had previously said he would never play an acoustic gig! After we finished our 8 song set which included a few new songs the crowd wanted more so we had to work out which songs we could play acoustically that we hadn’t already played. After much deliberation we ended up playing ‘No Easy Target’ and a punk/folk version of ‘The Chalice’ which we thoroughly enjoyed playing. We will be uploading a few videos from this gig so keep checking back regularly for updates.

Marc

Recording plans & acoustic gig

Shane is back with us, and Monday night we got together to look at the recording schedule, go through the album production notes that he’d been making whilst he was away, plus sample another night down the Amber Rooms in Watford for Camel Club. We’ll be continuing to document the recording of the album on here as we go along; from the sound of some of Shane’s production ideas it should hopefully make interesting listening.

Friday sees us play a charity show at Boxmoor Cricket club, our first ever acoustic show, and the chance for you (and us) to hear some Dear Acetate songs played live with a slightly different twist. We’ll be debuting a couple of new songs, which we’re looking forward to trying out. You can pay on the night only if you’ve reserved a ticket. You can reserve a ticket by emailing the promoter – lukehinton@hotmail.com

We’re back in the studio all weekend, so will update you all soon. x

Brown Booze, Tequila and Radio Interview

With Shane whisked away for a birthday weekend, and acoustic rehearsing out the way on Friday; Saturday saw Marc and Stee take a trip in to London for boozing, music and a catch up with friends. First stop was Earls Court, normally a pretty straight forward trip by train from Watford… when they’re not digging up the tracks that is. So rather than 45 minutes we were looking at around double that door to door. Marc parked up at Stee’s and off they set. Having just missed one ’slow’ train, they sat around waiting for another. There was plenty of time to chat about band stuff as the train proceeded to lose time, but finally got to Willesden Junction where we had to take the replacement bus, and by now it was raining fairly heavily. Not only that, we’d just missed a bus by about a minute. We decided to while away the half hour wait by asking at the ticket office about an Oyster card for Marc, pretty thoughtless considering the counter staff were busily playing their DS Lite, which they eventually put down to answer our query. Two and a half hours from leaving Stee’s and we were off the bus and definitely ready for beer.

A quick wander in the rain and we were finally inside Earls Court for the Great British Beer Festival, meeting up with friends, and making a b-line to sample the 2008 Champion Beer of Britain. And so it continued for several hours, sampling beers from all corners of the UK, finishing off with a rather potent Italian beer. Next stop Farringdon, to take in a Delete All Demos night, and yet more travel fun on the way with a slight detour as a fire alert had closed King’s Cross. A short wander from the station, passing the Betsey Trotwood (I still can’t believe we played such a small venue once upon a time), and we found our way to the Wilmington Arms. It wasn’t the free jelly babies and tequila that tempted us down, but rather to watch Watford band the Fullertons. Although it was still raining, the benches outside were covered, so we took the opportunity for a bit of fresh air, clearing our heads a little before heading back inside to watch the bands.

The Tequila was flowing freely, the first band even necking it from the bottle on-stage; the rest of us making do with shots from the passing tray. Next up the Fullertons, and after a well received energetic set from them, and time ticking on, we said our goodbyes and headed back to Watford. It was a relatively simple trip back, no major delays, and only crossing paths with one mentalist on the way back. Back at Watford Junction, and Marc spotted an old friend, and drummer from a former band outside the Flag pub next door. They had a bit of a catch up, before heading back to Stee’s, where Stee spent the remainder of the night drooling over the prospect of a new mic and pre-amp.

Sunday came and fortunately the heads weren’t too heavy from the previous day’s excesses. A bit of a review of some of the new songs ideas, and Marc headed off home. Stee had a radio interview to look forward to with Radio Victoria, who being Blackpool based chatted to Stee about the band generally, about him coming from Blackpool, and the gig in the resort supporting the Proclaimers. Dear Acetate tracks Old Street and Tama Connection were also played on the show. We should hopefully have a clip from the show in a week or so, which we’ll make available on here.

Acoustic gigs & a welcome back to the birthday boy

It’s been a little while since the last update, perhaps because there hasn’t been that much in the way of news, but that’s not to say we haven’t been busy.  Shane flew back from his holidays last night, and we had a bit of catch up on what we’d all been up to.  Rather than just lying in the sun, he’s been busy writing production notes for the album, and is eager to push on with getting it completed.  Today is his birthday. Happy Birthday Shane!

I jokingly mentioned to Shane that we’d written half the next album whilst he’s been away.  It might not be that far from the truth, as Marc and I have been throwing around quite a few new song ideas.  It’ll be interesting to see how they turn out when we work them with the full band. You probably won’t hear most of them for a little while as we’re trying to get the album finished off, although we might air one or two acoustically, perhaps even capturing a video of one or two if we get chance.

Which brings me on nicely to mention a couple of acoustic shows that we’re going to play over the next month or two.  First off is a Charity gig at Boxmoor Cricket Club, Hemel Hempstead on Friday 15th August.  It’s £5 entry, ticket only, but tickets can be reserved to pay for on the door by emailing the promoter (check myspace listing for more details).  Our other gig is at Amber Rooms in Watford.  It’s a venue we’ve been frequenting of late, for the Camel Club nights which after a bit of a hiatus, have found a new home.  We’ve caught some cool bands doing stripped down and acoustic sets the last few weeks, so hopefully see you down in the basement there on Monday 22nd September.  It’s quite an intimate setting, so rather than risk your ears we’ll most probably be playing sans-drums.

Stee J.