recording studio

The recording session in Richmond Hill yesterday afternoon took place in a studio was called The Percussion Section, run by a very nice fellow named Seppo who likes Marvin the Martian and 50's memorabilia. A storage room beside the recording booth had an old-fashioned hairdryer, the kind Lucy Ricardo used in at least one episode. Seppo said his hairdryer even works! I wanted to try it, but there were too many musical instruments blocking the way. There was even an ashtray in one arm of the hairdryer - talk about days of yore.





But I digress. The recording session was, as I mentioned yesterday, for Allison and me to add a vocal and instrumental to Chris Conway's upcoming CD, and went pretty well.

I normally improvise my flute instrumental when we perform Alien Jellyfish, but the instrumental on Chris's version is longer than ours; I didn't want to screw up partway through, so I wrote it out on manuscript paper. It's nice to have the part written out; it'll make it easier for me when we perform the song live, and I still have lots of room to noodle about.

I remember being terrified the first time I was in a recording studio environment, back when we recorded our first album (Castles and Skyscrapers). While I'm still far from a pro, I do admit that I actually enjoy the general process now. It's kind of cool, laying down a single instrumental track and then having it become an integrated part of the final piece after all the recorded bits and mixing and mastering have been done by someone who knows what they're doing.

I've recorded in five professional recording studio environments so far (Sound Techniques, Watchmen Studios, Taxi Stand, The Percussion Section and a studio used by Lloyd Llanda and Karen Linsley for their album), as well quite a few casual recording environments (hotel rooms, Allison's living room). The last studio recording project I did was for Lloyd and Karen. The CD was released in 1999, a year before Lloyd died of a sudden heart attack. :-(


For those of you who have never recorded in a studio but are planning to, you should be warned that it's quite a different experience from recording in your living room, or live in concert. For one thing, the equipment is way better, and you are therefore made aware of every glitch and inaccuracy with brutal clarity. Most sound systems are designed to make recordings sound better than they really are. In a recording studio, nothing is hidden. You hear every lip smack, every microsecond lag behind the beat, every minute wavering of pitch.

Oh my god, I remember thinking the first time I truly heard myself play the flute through a mega-expensive microphone and headset. I sound awful. I can't play the flute. I suck. But you gradually learn to stop cringing (for the most part, anyway) and focus on the overall performance, crossing your fingers that your engineer will manage to make you sound good anyway.

I find that that the best way to cope is to overprepare, to practise the heck out of my part so that by the time I finally head into the studio, my usual studio jitters settle down as I warm up. And then I start having fun and am able to focus on getting the best possible performance onto the recording rather than hoping I merely make it through to the end without falling (musically, that is) flat on my face.



I also realized yesterday that I had never recorded a song like Alien Jellyfish in the studio before, a song where I generally moved around a lot while I was playing. The song's very upbeat, swinging, bluesy and WAY fun to perform. Seppo, however, had to keep asking me (very nicely) if I could please stopping moving, to keep my mouth close to the microphone. I obliged as well as I could, though it was incredibly difficult to restrain myself from bouncing around. I comforted myself by doing my bouncing between instrumental bits as the song was playing, and twirling my flute. I'm sure Seppo thought I was nuts.

Another challenge I faced yesterday was the untimely appearance of a GIANT MAN-EATING BLACK WASP IN THE RECORDING BOOTH WHILE I WAS LAYING DOWN MY PART. Ok, maybe the man-eating bit is an exaggeration, but this little bugger was pretty darned big.





It was kind enough to hover high up near the ceiling until I'd finished a take, and then Seppo came out with a big fly swatter to hunt it down while my supportive music partners sniggered in the other room. :-)

I did three takes of my long instrumental. I asked to do a third take because of a slight crack on one note 2/3 way through in the lower register. The others didn't notice it, but it would have driven me nuts to at least not give the instrumental one more shot. By then it was getting a bit warm in the recording booth, and my fingers were slipping on my flute keys....not good. But the take went well, and I was glad I did it.

Anyway, Chris, I hope you'll be pleased with how it all came out. Thanks for letting us play on your CD, and thanks for all your work so far on our CD!





I'm hoping to eventually learn Logic Audio well enough to start doing some recording at home. My Logic Audio videotape tutorial and Logic Audio book arrived recently, so I'm going to make it a summer project to learn this software well enough to make some simple recordings by the fall. Wish me luck. :-)

Still pretty humid in Toronto. I forgot to mention that the smoke from the fires in Montreal was so bad on the weekend that the daytime light was noticeably darker, and the sun was a bright red disk during the watergun party.

I went running early yesterday morning. It was okay heading out, but the run back was deadly because of the heat (and the morning sun shining directly ahead of me). I still prefer it to treadmill running. My current running music: Jim Boggia, The Maggies, Aimee Mann, Hawksley Workman compilation on my Rio MP3 player.






Today's Blatherpics:

	Allison in the recording studio.
	Seppo's hairdryer.
	I knew Seppo had to be a decent sort when I saw the giant Marvin on his wall. I'm a big Marvin fan, as those of you who have heard my Marvin song already know.
	He had a little Marvin hanging from the screen door, too!
	Seppo manning the console (he was using Cubase).
	Me in the recording studio. Photo by Allison.

Urban Tapestry

Allison and Jodi came downtown last night for an Urban Tapestry practice. We ran through our concert set for Conchord as well as practising some other songs we might do in open filk that we haven't played in a while.

We've accumulated so many songs in our binders that we've decided to bring a subset to Conchord, leaving behind songs we wrote and sang back nine years ago that we will likely never sing again, for example, or songs that we don't like well enough to keep practising. I estimate that we've learned at least 200 songs over the years we've been together, maybe more. It's reached the point where it's physically impossible to bring all our music to conventions, or at least without risking serious physical injury. :-)

We'll be going into the recording studio on Monday to add some flute and vocals to Chris Conway's new CD, on his "Alien Jellyfish" song. Urban Tapestry covers this song pretty frequently because it's fun to do and gets a great audience response. Chris (who writes as "christo" in Blatherchat) is an incredibly talented songwriter and musician, and one of the only filkers I know who makes a living as a full-time musician. He's played with Peter Tork (ex-Monkee!) and members of Jethro Tull and Fairport Convention. You can listen to some of his music on his site.

Chris Conway is doing the mastering and most of the mixing for our next CD, which will be a selection of live recordings from various concerts we've done over the years. Chris Croughton helped with the initial mixing process and also did the recording for our UK concert. We're pretty excited about this project, which will be our first new product since Myths and Urban Legends in 1997. To avoid the high-stress time crunch of last time, we've avoided committing to an official release date for this CD. It'll be ready when it's ready. :-)

Both Chris's are in the UK; Jodi's been exchanging MP3s with both of them through e-mail, then working with Allison and me for feedback and comments. I love the Internet.

---

Today's Blatherpics:

Annie and Sara watching "Shrek" on my laptop at the cottage during some downtime.

leaving for cottage

Turns out I didn't find the right trailer for the next Lord of the Rings movie after all! Here's the real info from Allison:

"http://www.movie-list.com/l/lordoftheringstrilogy.shtml

NOTE: Go to the Quicktime teaser links listed first (the ones below the photo of Frodo and Sam), not the preview links listed beside them. I think what you watched was the preview, Deb."

or you can go directly to this smaller screen version.

---

Had a good practice at Jodi's place last night, doing prep for Conchord.

Allison, Jodi and I are all hoping to make Concertino in Massachusetts next July 18-20, when Jeff and Maya are GoHs (other guests will be Erica Neely, Priscilla Olson, and WGBH host and writer Ellen Kushner). It'll depend a lot on finances and scheduling. Congrats also to Jeff and Maya re: their impending expansion of the Bohnhoff clan! Their baby is due in December.

Cafe Annick now has a feature on the Bohnhoffs. To see it, go to their Web site, click on the "Baha'i Musicians" link, and then on the image of the Manhattan Sleeps cover. Hey and while you're there, BUY THEIR CD! I've been listening to their CD every day since it arrived; it makes great running music, too. :-) For more info about the Bohnhoffs and other places where you can order their CDs, see their Mystic Fig site.





Going to the cottage today with Jeff. Originally we were going to go so Larkin and Rick (who are at the cottage on their honeymoon with Brittany) could have a romantic dinner alone at Arowhon Pines, but it turns out that Arowhon was all booked up. :-( Rick says he wants to cook for us.

Still not sure if I'll be able to Blather while up north since the phone lines aren't working. If not, I hope everyone has a great long weekend, and I'll catch up when we get back on Tuesday!

---

Today's Blatherpics:

	This photo was taken on a camping trip with friends at Sibbald's Point, summer of 1983 (yikes, almost TWENTY YEARS ago). From left to right: Andy, Pontus Hedman, Nick Graham, Reid. The guy standing behind Andy is my friend Andrew.
	Reid in '83.

manhattan sleeps

My copy of "Manhattan Sleeps" arrived yesterday after I posted my Blathering about it. I really, really love this CD. Jeff and Maya are both SUCH talented songwriters and performers. Jeff, by the way, produced, engineered AND mixed the CD.

I was surprised (and deeply touched) by a mention of my name in the "Thanks" section of the liner notes. When I was visiting Jeff and Maya last year, Jeff played me a guitar riff he had worked on. I loved it, and told him so. Apparently my encouragement helped convinced him to finish the song when he had almost given up on it, and it became the last song on the album, "Not Now".

And after hearing how the final song turned out, I am REALLY glad he decided to finish it. :-)

Looks like Alisa Garcia got her CD as well. Her Blatherchat entry: "Debbie - got my copy of Manhattan Sleeps today, too! Have been doing the same thing with playing it over and over. It's so good! Forgot to turn it down once when I answered my work phone and got laughed at by a co-worker. Can definitely echo your recommendation to have people get ahold of a copy."

You can order a copy RIGHT NOW, if you'd like, since DAG has received their shipment.

Manhattan Sleeps has all original songs:

Road To Jerusalem
Never Mind
Manhattan Sleeps
Scarecrow
Dance in the Darkness
Lord of the Dawn
Shiraz
Wounded
Turn the Page
Spirit and the Stone
Persian Rose
Not Now

Jeff wrote the words and music to most of the songs. Amazing instrumentals. They also have some really talented guest musicians on some of the tracks.

My personal favourite is "Road To Jerusalem", but I reserve the right to change my mind a zillion times as I listen to the CD a zillion more times. The title track, "Manhattan Sleeps", has always made me teary-eyed. The song was written before Sept. 11th; I find it even more moving now.

Wow, does Maya ever have a gorgeous voice (Jeff doesn't sing, for those of you who haven't heard them perform before), incredibly versatile, multi-textured. I could listen to it forever.

Okay, I promise to stop raving about this CD now.

At least for today.





So I packed up my harp in its case last night in preparation for the trip to Orangeville. This is the first time that Gwyneth Paltrow has travelled anywhere since the move home from Philadelphia! And of course now I'm paranoid about strings breaking at the last minute, Gwyneth not liking the Orangeville air and deciding to crack, bla bla bla.

I feel like an overprotective mother about to send her child off into the world for the first time. Except I can pack my child into a nice soundproof case during the journey, unlike other mothers. (Debbie ducks as mothers bristle in horror, including her sister who will probably decide never ever to let me babysit her daughters again)

I will probably not be posting Blatherings until Sunday, but will catch up on Saturday's when some photos from Larkin's and Rick's wedding.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

(and if anyone's going to Contata, please do tell Tom and Dave that I yearn for them tragically)

---

Today's Blatherpics:

	Annie peeking in the window at Fune.
	Me, Annie and Sara waiting in the North York Public Library for Sara's recital.
	Me, just after packing poor Gwyneth Paltrow into her case.

poll: childhood candy

(Update 10:05 am EST: Hey, the new Harry Potter trailer is online in its entirety! Thanks to Allison for the URL)

My sister-in-law Larkin and her fiancé Rick are getting married this weekend. Jeff and I are heading up tomorrow morning for pre-wedding festivities. Larkin is treating the Ridpath clan women to some pampering at the Millcroft Inn spa. I'm getting a "Nutritious Exfoliating Body Wrap".

I've been practising harp in preparation for playing during part of the reception, and am excited about my first public harp playing! My other sister-in-law Debbie and I will also be performing a song together during the signing of the register. Originally we were going to do John Lennon's "Grow Old With Me", but a few weeks ago Larkin decided on Shania Twain's "You've Got A Way" instead. I'll be playing guitar accompaniment since there isn't time to work up another harp arrangement.

To all of you going to Contata in New Jersey this weekend: hope you have fun! Sounds like it's going to be a wonderful convention, with Dandelion Wine as GoHs, Steve Brinich as Listener Guest, Solomon Davidoff as Toastmaster, and Andrew Eigel as Interfilk Guest.

Today's Blatherpics are from the JUST RELEASED CD from Jeff and Maya Bohnhoff. I am super-excited about getting hold of a copy. I was lucky enough to hear some unmixed tracks while visiting them last year, and was completely blown away.

"Manhattan Sleeps" will be available very soon (they were just shipped on Wednesday) from DAG productions, from Southern Fried Filk, from Bill and Gretchen Roper, from Random Factors, and Cafe Annick. You can also check the soon-to-updated Mystic Fig Bohnhoff site; Jeff and Maya won't be selling directly, but will be putting up links to the sites that do. If you want to contact Jeff directly, you can send him e-mail.

I highly urge you all to go out and order/buy one of their CDs right away! You won't regret it. You can find out more about the Bohnhoffs in this Dandelion Report interview.





Finished my July column for Writing World yesterday, sent it in. It's amazing how much more productive I am without the audit hanging over my head. I still can't believe it's over; I think part of my brain is still waiting for another phonecall or letter requiring me to drop everything and spend more time hunting through old financial records and phoning accountants and tax lawyers.

Made lemon chicken schnitzel last night; I felt like making something with a "z" in it. I also was overcome by a craving for Jell-O, so made some. I've always associated Jell-O with my childhood, as well as church potluck dinners. Remembering those potluck dinners made me dump in some canned mandarin oranges to complete my culinary nostalgia trip.

Which prompts me to ask the following new poll question:

What were your favourite childhood desserts or childhood candy?

Answer in Blatherchat

I liked anything with Cool Whip. Another church potluck dinner dessert I always liked was a recipe involving melted marshmallows and fruit. Can't remember the name of it, but I'm sure it was wonderfully unhealthy.

Speaking of wonderfully unhealthy, I can remember making a weekly trip with friends (sometimes Ruth and Jim) to a neighbourhood candy store, clutching my allowance. My favourites included:

- Lick'n'Dip (or maybe it was Dip'n'Lick? Fun Dip?), where you take a piece of candy, dip it into sweet powder, suck it off.

- Wax pan pipes. The thought of this grosses me out now, but I remember loving this. I'd play the pipes first, then chew up the wax. I don't think we were supposed to actually EAT the wax, just chew it and then spit out. Eugh, even more gross. What was I thinking?

- Candy necklaces. We used to walk around for a day or two afterwards with sticky bits on our necks from nibbling on the necklaces while we wore them.

- Lolas. I think they were called Lolas. Big frozen things in different flavours.

- Pop rocks.

- Pixie Stix. Long paper straws full of sweet, flavoured powder.

- Bag-O-Gold. Small cloth bag full of "gold nuggets" made of chewing gum.

- Candy Cigarettes. The one with Popeye on the front. I notice they've replaced the word "cigarettes" with "sticks" nowadays.

Dear lord. It's a wonder I have any teeth left.