November 2, 2006: "Bad, Bad Man" Session #2

Thursday evening found Mike, Doug and Bob back in the studio, along with soundgirl Debbie, to add some touches to "Bad, Bad Man", as well as to hear Alan's first stab at a mix. John's bass part was solid the first time around and did not tweaking, so no work was needed on his track. Bob's mission was to add a mic'd hi-hat and some cymbals. Mike wanted to add some 'crunchy' lead accents at the end of the third verse, plus a few bars of lead at the end of the song. Both additions were accomplished, as well as some minor balancing of the mix and an echo effect added the end of the song. Doug had visions of replacing his lead guitar tracks, but in the end the decision was made to let them stand as is. We were happy with the additions tonight and Alan's last mix sounded great.

We are quickly finding out what studio-experienced musicians undoubtedly already know, which is that you cannot hear yourself the way others do. As a result, it's too easy to become your own worst critic, which results in a tendency to want to re-do everything ad infinitum. Knowing who's judgment to trust and, just as importantly, knowing when to stop tweaking are as essential as playing skills. It's all part of the journey and it's all good.

We left the studio with CD copies of the latest mix in our hands. We know that the sound we hear will vary greatly depending on what equipment the recording is played on, e.g., in the car, on the home stereo, on the iPod, etc. We'll listen closely to the latest mix for the next week or so, take notes on anything that might need adjustment and do the final tweaking of the mix next week so we can consider this first song 'in the can'.

We are anxious to move on to the next song, another Mike Casey original called "Listen To Your Heartbeat" aka "Favorite Position", which we plan to record Sunday, 11/12/06. In the meantime, tightening up the song will be the focus of practice this Sunday.

And the journey continues . . .