Remember way back at the beginning of this trip when we recorded drums? Yeah it feels like a long time ago to us too. That first creative collaboration with Aaron Sterling went so well that when he suggested we come back at the end of the trip to work on vocal production in his home studio, it was easy to say yes.
Before we even started our travels, I had written about 90% of the lyrics for our three songs, but there were a few verses in particular that were still giving me trouble. Thus, whenever we had downtime in a coffee shop or airport, I would pull out my notebook and jot down some ideas, looking for the right combination of words that not only conveyed the meaning I had in my head but also sounded pleasing and fit with the instrumentation. Finally, during our flight from New York back to Los Angeles, it all came together. *Whew*
Here’s a taste test...
Our slow steps in protest
'Til the words we’re saying, are worth the silence breaking
With the lyrics finished, we got to L.A. and relaxed a bit, then went into the studio with Aaron for two days to add the vocals on top of the song structures we had already recorded. Aaron had arranged for us to use a beautiful microphone (a Wunder Audio CM7 for all you nerdy people) and, coupled with a Avedis MA5 preamp and a glass of wine, it was the perfect fit for my voice.
For each track, we began by recording the main melody lines until we had takes we liked. Once those were in place, we started experimenting with parts, effects, and layers to fill out and back up those melodies. Despite some protest, Ben even got behind the mic to add some harmonies into the mix! After working on the instrumentation sans vocals for so long, it was thrilling to hear the project coming together to sound more and more like a finished product as we sang.
When we had finished up recording with Aaron, Ben and I had a few days to enjoy L.A. before heading back to Kansas. We drove around Hollywood, got a view of the city from the Griffith Observatory, and even got to hang out again with my brother and his family who had driven up to meet us for a few days. On top of that, we were able to experience a bit more of L.A.’s creative community as we went see the Gungors play a laid-back, improv show at the Hotel Cafe, toured the impressive collection at Vintage King L.A., and enjoyed a few random conversations with other creatives at a local park and coffee shop.
With our final recording session finished, we wrapped up almost a month and a half of traveling with a flight back to Kansas.
Stay tuned for more as we near the finish line with this project!
