After a sold out album release party with Runaway Sun at The Continental Club in Houston (http://runawaysun.wordpress.com/2009/10/15/lp-release-party-sold-out/), with The Bridge LP in the can and our new web site almost ready for launch/tour plans under way, I found some time to make my way back home to SugarHill Studios for my second solo album recording session.
My first session and the Runaway Sun sessions were done in Studio A, but for my second session I opted for Studio B. Every room in the recording studio has a different feel, and Studio B felt right for what we were getting into, namely songs that will be strictly acoustic and vocals.
Chris Longwood is once again the engineer, he did such a great job with the Runaway Sun album and half the fun of recording the solo project is that I’m playing songs he hasn’t heard before. Gina Miller, friend and marketing director for SugarHill, also sat in on the session and took these photos.
I record at a really fast pace. My rules for the studio are:
1) Go in prepared (well practiced, set list written out with notes)
2) Be honest (if there is anything about the take that doesn’t feel right as it’s happening, stop, start over)
3) Be bold (try new things at the risk of ruining a take)
4) Wear comfy clothes that don’t make a lot of noise
In the first session, I recorded sixteen guitar/vocal tracks in six hours, and this second one I did ten guitar/vocal tracks in four hours. I’m now at the point where I have the takes I want for the guitar and vocals, and we’re ready to proceed with recording the other instruments. There are ten songs with a range of instrumentation – cello, violin, upright bass, mandolin, banjo, pedal steel, and drums/percussion, and a bunch of songs that are only acoustic guitar/vocals.
Vocal takes. I love this microphone.
For more information on SugarHill Studios, visit http://www.sugarhillstudios.com
Excerpts From Daydreams 