Mark's album was released today! Check it out at Mark's site.

Anyway, we played a promo spot on our local Fox News affiliate this afternoon. It was a great time!

Work continues on The Return of Spring. It's a real treat to be able to record in a nice space. I'm glad my wife and I built it. She also uses it for Spanish Club on Wednesday evenings.

Bass is, for me, one of the easiest things to record. Subtlety is key. My philosophy is this: record a good player on a good bass and you'll get good results. On these tunes, I'm playing for the song, so being a "good" player isn't my focus. I'm just locking in with the kick drum and playing as well as I can. The mid-70's bass I'm using has a pleasant tone.

A signal chain that works for me is starting with a tube preamp (Avalon 737) and then adding a compressor. I set the Avalon to the slightest limiting setting (10:1 with the needle moving -1 or -2 db, with fast attack and fast release). Then I set the second box to a more traditional compression setting (4:1 with medium attack, medium release and -2 to -3 db of reduction). This way, I'm limiting peaks and getting really close to the bass tone I'll most likely be mixing with. If in mixdown, more compression is needed to sustain the notes, I'll add it. But, rarely have I needed more than this.

The next step is editing the bass that hasn't been edited. I'm at the point now where I'm curious to hear how the acoustic guitars will interact with the rhythm section. So, next, I'll be tracking guitars. Then, I'll revisit the bass to hear how it all fits together.

In between the commercial sessions and personal recording I'll be doing this year, I'm also eager to get the first Garrigan Bros. album recorded. Joe and I began today.

Jay will be tracking his stuff on his rig in Charlotte, NC. It's amazing what you can do by email now-a-days.

If you've been to a Garrigan Bros. show. You might have noticed that it errs on the side of ridiculous and heavy. We strive to embrace the inane. Joe wants to be a little more serious, but, what's the fun in that?

We tracked one of the more complicated tunes first, "Imaginary Jumpsuit." A live version appears in the latest free download bundle, available here. The song has a lot of changes and tempo shifts. It's a recording nightmare, but it came together after 14 takes. We needed a lunch break after that. Long live the deli.


Joe has a sweet kit. Not a lot of B.S. I got to try out a new kick drum technique. I won't bore you, but it's pretty neat.

After lunch, we got into some of the more "punk" numbers. "Tom vs. John" and "I'm Frustrated" were tracked together, with no guide track. We tried a click/tempo, and it didn't sound uneven enough. Go figure.

All in all, it was a good first day of tracking for this needed recording. I don't anticipate spending a lot of time on it. I'll be sending the tracks to Jay for guitar and vocal overdubs.

Shed time.

Athenaeum played a reunion show at Amos' Southend on Saturday, February 7, 2009. Drop D and The Stellas opened the show.

We've been doing about four or five of these get-togethers each year since a few years ago. I've particularly enjoyed playing them. This past engagement was perhaps our best played reunion show, in spite of the complete lack of rehearsal. I'm not sure if it's the "riding a bike" factor or if it's the fact that we all just had a genuinely fun time. Either way, it was a great way to spend a Saturday night.

The set list was something like

Plurabelle
Flat Tire
On My Mind
She Alone
Damage
Spotlight
No One
Unnoticed
Away
Sour Milk
October
Frozen in Time
Wonderland
Hourglass
Comfort
What I Didn't Know
Automatic
Summertime
Sweeter Love
Revolution
Little Red Corvette

...give or take a few songs in probably a different order.

I got a free the Stellas t-shirt, too. I don't mind wearing pink.

Mark posted a few flyers around the club for his new CD. He played it over the PA during the first opening band and second opening band set break. The response was overwhelmingly positive. I walked through the club as it played just to hear it. I got a few photo-ops and autograph requests. I forgot what those were like. I don't mind posing for photos and signing stuff, but it's not my day-to-day reality anymore. I'm still flattered, so thanks for asking.

I enjoyed the tapping solo I did during Little Red Corvette. I recognize its futility. It's just that 80's metal guitar is so completely FUN. Thank you for putting up with me.

All in all, it was a solid two hour set. I didn't get the official count, but in excess of 500 or so were in attendance. I hope everyone had as good of a time as we did.

See you next time!

Meet my brother, Joe.

Bass tracking is underway. The final drum edits didn't take too long. "Two Shadows" was the most difficult, but only because of its tough rhythm. "Hey Angel" and "Rip V" were really easy to edit. It seemed that the final take of each song was the best of the bunch.

The icon above is a doodle from when the edits were rendering. It has nothing to do with the album, but it kind of looks cool.

I finished bass tracking for "Don't Join the Army." At the end, the rhythm track was exciting and vibrant to play to. It'll be a joy to track guitars and vocals to this one.

"Rip V" has a basic bass track recorded, too. I'd like to edit and pocket the bass on a later day. I want to make sure I'm getting enough done each day, but not too much that it gets tedious.

I like the sound of a felt pick on the bass. It gives me the rigidity of a plastic pick, but the tone of fingers.

Stay tuned. The tracks are progressing on time. I hope to have all of the bass tracked for these tunes by the end of the week.