During the early days of 2015, I was fortunate to be staying with Maria in Vancouver. If you’ve read some of the earlier blogs, you know she moved there in 2014 to pursue her career in acting. It’s called North Hollywood as a lot of major shows choose to film there…the closest viable filming location to LA that can employ foreigners. The American visa and immigration laws are particularly strict and it means that somebody like Maria has to jump through a ton of hoops to be a starving actress in LA…or a paid, working, active actress in Vancouver.
We had made some friends and found ourselves living in a furnished studio near Granville and Davies. We landed here with the help of Pauline, perhaps one of the kindest people I’ve ever met. She reignited my faith that you should “Work Hard and Be Kind” to make it in this world. She was/is making it, one of the most successful upstart actors in the city. By the way, if you haven’t seen her short, PLEASE do yourself a favor and watch Through The Pane.
Anyway, the fallout from The SingOff was quick, and we’d been chosen to join Street Corner Symphony and VoicePlay on The SingOff Live Tour. It was set to cover 56 cities in 62 days, and we wanted a new product to sell on the road, especially something a cappella. So, we flew to Myrtle Beach, our home for recording music, and got to work.
January 7, a week after the year started, I took made my way there, albeit a little early to get things started. I spent the first few days making a sound booth out of plywood and studio foam so we could record as cleanly as possible. A trip to Home Depot and a few coats of paint later, we were in business.
I stayed in the 1-bedroom condo that I renovated last summer while the other 4 guys stayed in my dad’s 2-bedroom condo and the nearly identical condo a floor below. In the month it took us to complete the new a cappella cover album, I got to witness the unique ability of Alfredo. He was able to sit in front of his computer and record/edit anybody at any time for hours every day. I marveled at his focus and attention, and most importantly his attitude. He never snapped or changed his demeanor, despite certain exhaustion.
I also got to experience the creative power that Christopher holds. He is somebody special, and to get the most of his spirit, he needs a supportive environment. Unfortunately that is hard to come by, even in the arts. I tried to make a point to work with him and respond to his thoughts often and promptly because in his head and heart, there are infinite and beautiful creations to be discovered. I think not even he has seen them and it would be a shame to let them go unfound because of administrative dysfunction. He is a treasure.
During our time here I struggled to work with Aaron and Jamal. The age difference between them and Chris, Fredo, and I became more and more evident. It also dawned on me that they had never endured the struggles after college of finding jobs, chasing passions, paying rent, and balancing heartbreak with direction of life. Most of the in put into the album came in the form of complaints or disdain for this or that. We are the only creators-the 5 of us-and we need building blocks from everybody. It felt like we’d build something and they’d come to knock it down. This rift will destroy our band.
To Fredo’s credit (or perhaps partly due to the time constraint), we soldiered forward, often making snap decisions based on convenience or instinct. Somehow, unsurprisingly, this approach yielded an album we hold in high esteem as our best work to date.
The recording process usually started with an arrangement that Fredo would send out or we’d hire out to Rob Dietz or Ben Bram. I’d peel off and record the drums on my own, hopefully in advance of the rest of the group. Once they had the drums, or at least a tempo, they’d record upstairs with Fredo in the booth.
As a side story, we started recording with the home-made booth on the east wall of the condo and switched it halfway through. Ed Boyer, who mixed the album, commented that he had to cut out a weird, steady background noise in the earlier recordings. We determined that on the east wall, you could hear the ocean in the background. See if you can hear it 🙂
We’d listen through and make tweaks and reharmonizes a few things. Then we’d re-record a few things and send them off to Ed. It was a tight schedule, as usual, and we did our best to get everybody recorded. The last thing we waited on was Fall Out Boy’s people. They’d agreed to send us Patrick Stump’s lead to Uma Thurman so we could make an a cappella cover. Days before the press of the album, they pulled out, citing our lack of a label as a deal breaker. Indie bands – 0, Record Company – 1.
Oh well. Aaron recorded it a few times on his own and sent over the tracks after he’d returned home. We pressed the album as a double CD featuring our originals album in the package. The Sing Off was only going to allow us two pieces of merchandise, and with 2 CDs, this was our compromise.
On February 8, we all returned to our respective homes for down time before the tour. I flew back to Vancouver for a pseudo-Valentine’s Day date (it was a week early, but who’s checking) before making my way to upstate New York to get ready for the Sing Off Tour.
Check out this awesome time-lapse of my bootleg recording studio! https://www.thisisbot.com/wp-content/uploads/RichardTimeLapse.mov