And the Beat Goes On
Topic: Lee Harris 3 Recording
Monty is building a new Lee Harris 3 Website, and he's requested a tour journal from me from the gig we had a week and a half ago, so whenever that stuff gets cranked up I'll post a link.

I've ended up with 2 paper routes now, so the money situation is much better than it was in November. I spent 2 days in the studio trying to wrap up the LH3 album-Corey redid some vocals a week ago Monday, and I went in the next day for some mixing.

I came down with a case of sleep anxiety and ended up staying up more or less for 36 straight hours. That didn't make me much help at the mixing session, but I did get 2 DVDR's of the wav files of the sessions, so I've been mixing what we couldn't finish here on the computer-and I must say, it's all coming together nicely. I'm thinking in the future I'll pay for tracking time down at the studio and mix it myself here, then get it mastered there. We'll have to wait and see. I've gotten some new mics here for the home studio, so I might just record stuff here and mix it there. Who knows.

I've been following the presidential primaries and have yet to decide whom I'll vote for in Virginia's 2/10 primary. I actually need to look up some of that stuff and figure out where I cast my vote.

Now I need to look up all my previous tour-journals on live-journal and email 'em to Monty for the new website.

Over and Out.

The Studio
Topic: Lee Harris 3 Recording
Well, last Thursday we met at the Studio around 3 PM. It took about 3 hours to get all the mics set up and the levels adjusted and such-I plopped down in the "soundproof booth" with a nice $2,000 Neuman U-97 microphone and my keys, Monty was across the room and through the soundproof glass at his drumset, and Corey was off to my right with his amp securely placed in another soundproof area. We all had on headphone and proceeded to make rock in this unnatural way.

It soon became apparent that I sing too loud for the fancy mic, so I was downgraded to a $700 dynamic mic and we proceeded to roll through the songs live. We went back and patched a note here or there, but other than that it was all the way live.

Pizza break happened around 9 or ten, then we continued on, wrapping up around midnite for the tracking session. We managed to plop out 10 songs, and upon listening to the playback I decided I'd like to do my vocals over again. Corey spent an hour or so on the harmony vocals, I got a rough-mix disc, and blasted it all the way home. I got home around 5 AM.

The rough mix sounds great, and I really don't think we're gonna need to add too much to it-a touch here or there, but I think it'll end up being pretty raw, and hopefully it sounds like "us."

Now I have to save enough paper route money for a 3 hour vocal session, then a 6 hour mixing session, and we should have it ready to go. I might even save some money to make it a "real" CD as opposed to a CDR.

Cross that bridge when it gets here.

When I got to the studio there was a fella there picking up a disc who started talking to me about I don't know what. Something about "music on the radio" and "having fun with music." Not sure why he was talking to me-I guess he figured I might "be somebody," which I am not. I nodded my head and said "ha ha" every once in awhile, but was glad when he left.

Then another man, an older gentleman who referred to himself as "Mr. Flapjacks" was wandering around saying things like "I need you fellas to help me!" He has some sort of "novelty song" he has recorded on a cassette and he wants to put it on a record. Or something like that. Two good reasons I don't work in a recording studio-people are crazy, especially when it comes to what they percieve as "the entertainment industry."

And of these dreams, madness is born.