Second Album Diary: v3

Time for vocals. BTW the song has a title now..it's called "West Grand"( This is the street where the ugly thing happened.)

After conversations about conspiracy theories and horror books we set up the ADK Area 51TT for the lead vocal.

Next I tried different vocal approaches as I'm not exactly sure which way the chorus melody should go. So we try different things and see what sticks. The song is less aggressive than its original version so I'm trying to figure out the best way to hit it.

Turns out the best way was the original melody in my head, so we forged ahead and banged out all the parts. Pretty simple 3 point harmonies..Easy peasy-japaneasy.

Then I changed my mind...again. We killed the harmonies to keep the feel intimate. This approach makes more sense as this song is far from rock bombast. I'm not sure how much rock bombast we will have on this album actually...then again.

An hour later...All vocals are deemed keepers..Onward

Next we worked on the arrangement, placing the key elements of the song and giving it a form in Pro Tools. Otherwise known as cutting and pasting. Message to sonic purists that don't like modern recording techniques: go fuck yourself. I loathe those arguments..Its basically like two carpenters arguing about what hammer is best. Shut up and pound the nail already?

Next we busted out the Melodica and the Trumpet. These two instruments love each other...out of tune lovers. This combo is made even more odd by the fact that we have a pretty messed up trumpet..but Craig picks out the notes well enough to make it all work. I love the fucked up sound anyway.

We then added two counterpoint melodies with the Trumpet/Melodica on the B section before the chorus. We will figure out later where these fit into the arrangement. They do sound cool though..very old drunken sailor vibe.

Time to go home, meditate and then play Halo 3 in my underwear.