What It's Like to Play on a National Release

Being a musician on a record that has national/international distribution is a tremendously invigorating and humbling experience. I have been fortunate to have this experience as a bass player many times over the course of my career; the latest of which was last week, June 4 and 5 for Rounder/Philo artist Carrie Newcomer (www.CarrieNewcomer.com, www.Rounder.com). Carrie has forged a successful career landmarked by great lyrics and honesty in her art. I have been fortunate to have played on several of her records. She has a very loyal following. Oh and by the way is quite a nimble guitar player; able to employ altered tunings, finger styles and capos all for the better of the song.

Background on people:

The studio is Airtime located in rolling hills north of Bloomington, Indiana. It is 15 miles from the nearest gas station and a great place to create music. www.airtimestudio.com. This facility was designed by Wes Lachot but built by owner, founder and engineer Dave Weber. Dave is as handy as he is talented and he is extremely talented.

Gary Walters is the piano/keyboard player. Gary is professional jazz pianist who over the past several years has embraced Carrie’s music and become a real partner in her career.

Jim Brock is the drummer. Please see the credits page at www.JimBrock.net. Jim is a master. He is also the nicest guy you would ever meet.

Guitar, Keith Skooglund. Keith and I have played music together since we were 15 years old. We have followed each other to and through Berklee College of Music and played in many bands in the course of 25 years.

Myself - bass.

Preparation

Preparation for the session is crucial. I know the caliber and professionalism of the others on the team, so I truly only have to concern myself with how I am prepared. Starting about two weeks before the session, my process was to listen to the demos and let the melodies and key lyrics soak into my mind. At the same time I was working on my chops: upright technique, bass guitar exercises. In particular I was concentrating on my gliss and controlling the length of each note (gliss is short for glissando, a slide from one note to another). The week before the session I charted each tune and memorized the chords.

Session: http://www.airtimestudio.com/photos/pan_studio.html

Day One:

The goal was to be ready to record at 10 AM…this is on the early side for many musicians but not for this bunch of mature daily grind players. I arrived at 9:40, unloaded my ’41 Kay Upright and exchanged greetings with my friends. Dave and Jim were working on some drum sounds. By 10:30 I was all loaded, wired up and nestled in my booth complete with custom tube direct box for bass guitars and mic for upright.

We gathered in the control room and Carrie mentioned the first song up, “A Mean Kind of Justice”. Everyone agreed this was a good choice. The first tune sets the tone for the session. You NEVER know what will happen, how easily or how much art will be created or captured. All you can do is rest on the combined professionalism and preparation.

Bass selection…no time to wade into the water, ’41 Kay Upright bass! I treasure this bass, but recording upright is an earned achievement not a given.

Having played with Jim before I knew I had no worries. As a player I work from the kick drum up through the kit. Visually and aurally the very first note from Jim’s right foot on the bass drum pedal offered all the security I would ever need for this session. It took maybe 30 minutes for Dave to reign the headphone mix in, us to find the right tempo and get good bead on each other’s parts. For me this song is all about the root note and raw emotion. We molded our thoughts and efforts for a few takes and then gathered again the control room to listen. It takes hearing the whole through the studio monitors to truly know how certain aspects are working for the song. Within 15 minutes we had the take…phew, a good start and the time was about 12:15. Interesting note, due to drum leakage into the upright mic I had to recut my part immediate after the take was captured. This was the process for all upright parts and was actually a cool thing to get a “second chance” while still being in the same head and hand space for the song. I enjoyed this opportunity.

To break or gain momentum was the next conversation. My immediate vote, get another tune going. We had the opportunity to test our “greatness” and really see where this record is headed. So the demo version of “Where You Been” came on the monitors and we started talking about directions and tones.

It was “41 Kay” again for me and I was already seeing the project unfolding in front of me. This song took some effort in terms of the bass part, like raw clay without a defined shape to strive toward it became elusive. I rested on the immediate which was a “2-Feel” in the rootsy country folk vein. By 2:20 we were done with song #2. I had recut my parts while others fixed some sandwiches and veggies. *See day two for the rest of this song’s journey.

Next was a stand-out tune for me personally, “The Clean Edge of Change”…Listen to demo, talk about thoughts and tones, start finding tempo and parts and feel. Upright bass again. Phew, keep stance correct with feet in “V”, keep left elbow raised, arch the fingers, and “PULL” each note out of the instrument. This song presented some intonation as well as part challenges. It just seemed that the natural part didn’t help the whole track. I gladly took suggestions from my friends and we carved out yet another gem. * See day two again for the conclusion of this track…hmmmmmmmmmmm…

The time on day one is now 4:00 PM and we have three down with a goal of four or five for the day. Seemingly we are well on pace. Next song is “Tree”. A Celtic influenced piano dominated song with startling lyrics, the type that bring your life into clear view in front of you. Bass, ’41 Kay. In less than one hour we had all agreed we had the take and it was magic.

Getting right to the next song, we started “Leaves Don’t Drop”. This is a dreamy song and I selected my fretless bass guitar (’76 Fender P-Bass). This really clicked quickly and the session was on a major momentum swing. We tracked two in less than two hours and everyone’s ears were in sync.

Sitting on the day’s goal at about 5:45 PM, the choice was to push forth of call it. We voted to go forth. Sessions are a mysterious thing. Sometimes you get a “second wind” but often there is a dramatic point of diminishing returns. The last thing anyone wanted was a bad taste left on this great day. We chose what seemed to be the “brainless” track, “Don’t Push Send”. This track is a ragtime feel with very quirky/fun lyrics…but not a complex track, so we thought. We embarked on what had been successful approach for this day: get tempo, parts, communicate and trust. I pulled out my “silly” bass, a DeArmond Ashbory. This is a small scale bass with silicon strings designed to sound like an upright. This should have added a cool twist on otherwise predictable tones. We tried a bright tempo, we tried gathering and agreed on a slower tempo….tic, tic, tic, still no magic. At 7:30 we decided to wrap day one and start first thing tomorrow on this song. I liked this approach. I knew we were close and having the chance for my subconscious to mill around on a part was exciting.

Day Two:

My big mental thought for day two was to make SURE I was delving deep into the raw energy that a truly great record needs. There is a place beyond playing in tune and in time that is pure emotion and this place was needed. The only way to get there is by trusting and letting all stray thoughts pass.

Back to “Don’t Push Send”. It was 10:30 AM. We all had required amounts of coffee, we talked about where we needed to take this song and went out to try again. I changed horses and tilted up the ’41 Kay bass again. 30 minutes later we had it…an awesome feeling to get back on the confidence track and topple this hurdle.

Right into the next, we selected “Shadowlands”. This is an earthy but contemporary tune. I played my fretless bass guitar with a pick. The tone really helped drive the track and I had some fun with fills and movement in my bass line. 11:15 start…12:05 end and on to the next.

We are now in a different phase of the record where we are not building from ground. Carrie had three tracks with all vocals, guitars and keyboards recorded to a click track. We were to add rhythm section to these tracks…a different challenge all together. At 12:20 PM we started Biscuits and Butter. Jim played an amazing percussive palette using the rim of his floor tom, some chains draped on his knee and some type of mallet. Immediately I got it….Jim’s experience led him to not play drum set. Myself, I confirmed some of the harmony with Gary and then pulled out my fretted P-Bass. This tune needed all my gliss preparation. It took awhile to marry the new to old, but we did and at 2:00 PM moved on to the next track.

“One Woman and a Shovel” is another personal favorite. I played ’41 Kay again and Jim played a tambourine…not just a tambourine but one that sounded like a full drum set complete with bass drum…unreal and inspiring!!! By three o’clock we had captured the feel and track and I had re-tracked my parts.

We listened to the next song named “Healing Waters”. Jim decided that there should be no drum or percussion. I wanted to try upright…it just didn’t fit.

One of the great things about today’s technology is how quickly you can make cd’s. Carrie had listened to the previous day’s tracks and felt that the bass on two of the songs was not pointing her music in the right direction. Not that the parts were bad, but they weren’t right….yet.

So I delved back into “Where You Been”. I needed to stay away from anything country…hmmmmmmmmmmmm, stay open, listen to others…hmmmmmmm…Jim then offered in is sage tone, “play it like a Charleston” and he mimicked the rhythm. That was it! Minutes later the song had a fresh feel and a drive that matched the lyric. Phew…

Next, “The Clean Edge of Change”. This song has a very active harmonic rhythm meaning the chords change in an actively rhythmic manner. My original part followed the rhythm of the chords. I tried finding a new part on the upright as the tone was nice…nope, not going to be the upright. I pulled out the fretless again and garnered a legato “midrangy” fretless tone. I played in a middle register and was able to add melodic fills. Wow! Everyone knew this was “the son”.

4:30 PM of day two…I was done with all my parts for this very special record.

Final Thoughts

There will be another five or so songs on the record that I have no involvement. All final vocals need to be recorded. There are going to be fiddles and cellos, mandolins and banjos, French horns and others still to add. There will be days and days of mixing and finally mastering before the audio is completed. The record label intends on a Spring ’08 release. I’m sure we’ll check back in with a review of the disc at that time.

For me this is a very special opportunity not to be taken for granted. You never know when the next call will come. I have been working on the craft of bass for 32 years and to get to apply my skills on such great music and with these tremendous musicians goes beyond words! I trust you enjoyed this “insider’s” view of a session and take some of this into your next listening experience.

Jeff Hedback is not only the bass player as described above, he is also Chief Designer at Hedback Designed Acoustics, a full service acoustical design and support firm specializing in small rooms.

See www.HedbackDesignedAcoustics.com.