Thursday, November 24, 2011

In the 17th Avenue Studio and some studio horrors

So, I told you guys that I was working with Plinky(Salvatore)Giglio,two time Dove Award producer/engineer For Brides album in 2001(Not sure of the year).Plinky is a very humble guy who basically works with a ton of artist but doesn't like to name drop.When I asked him about the different popular artist he's worked with he was alittle hesitant then told me that he doesn't like name dropping.Well.I name drop,but only to let people know that some of the people I work with are well experienced and yes,have worked with alot of known arist/musicians.I actually felt like an idiot after his reply but,I just wanted to know. When I work with Thomas Reock,at his Squirrel Ranch Studio,Thomas is the same way,very humble and casual.You know,these guys are true musicians and absolutely love their art and,are very good at producing and emgineering,as well as being musicians on top of that.When choosing an engineer/producer always check their credentials first.When I was twenty two years old,I went into an elaborate studio in New Jersey,to record afew songs with my band Roulette.I know there was another band called Roulette at the same time as well but, we weren't aware of that at the time or,did we care.Anyway,we recorded two songs,we were a new wave/rock band,pretty good at playing.Well anyway,the engineer,come to find out,really wasn't that good.My bass player,Roland Majer,a great and inovated bass player,had to show the engineer there,how we wanted the song to end on the engineering board.I mean,it wasn't cheap to record there and,the quality could have been alot better.We were there for almost two days ,without leaving the studio.It cost us $875.00 and,the recordings were very crappy.So beware,just because its a recording studio and looks good and all,doesn't mean the engineer knows what he is doing. My first recording studio experience was pleasant and,we didn't pay a cent to record there.I was in a new wave band called High Fashion.The year was 1982.We enjoyed all the new wave and punk music that was coming out and, that was around before we even had an idea about this New Music.Roland Majer and Rich Schlaugh were great and keen on the new music scene.I was amazed at their knowledge of new music.They were an inspiration to me and helped me to find my way around bands like The Police,XTC,The Smiths,The Cure,Duran Duran,Kraftwerk,Berlin,The Fixx,OMD,Joy Division,U2 and many others who I still consider to be great artist.Anyway,the recording studio was literally next to Rich Schlaugh's home(Our Drummer) on Falmouth Avenue,in Yardville,NJ.His neighbor,John,owned the studio.The name of John's band was The Antics.Awesome band.John was a great engineer/producer and very humble.We recorded one song"I Don't Mind you".A play on words,about a girl, I liked at the time who,was separate from the world in which I was experiencing at that time.In other words,wasn't the typical bitchy girl,which there were plenty of at that time or,so it seemed.The song took us alittle over an hour to record and,sounded great.John gave us the reel to reel and really enjoyed working with us.I spoke to my engineer,Thomas Reock about him awhile back and,he told me John is now living in Las Vegas producing Vegas shows.That's awesome how all these engineers know each other and,respect each others work. I just was talking about this same topic with Plinky Giglio on Tuesday(11/20/2011) for almost an hour.That's why I am rambling on about it now.It's fresh in my mind.I just really admire all these guys for what they do and, giving them props because with out these guys,I wouldn't be able to present or sell my music the way I do today.I'm sure alot of artist/musicians have the same type of stories of their recording studio experiences.Good stories and probably some horror stories as well. Hey,Thanks for checking out my blog.You guys Rock! Happy Thanksgiving to all. Sean Patrick