Word: matthew
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...told. Don't get too close though, don't touch. You wouldn't want to disrupt its vibe. The Neumann did not err in translating our voices to tape, day in and day out. And there were many days, endless days during "overdub hell," as our producer and engineer Matthew Ellard commonly refers...
...Despite the time crunch, the overdub period allowed for the most spontaneity. Matthew would say, "this bridge needs something," and we would whip up vocal harmonies or horn lines on the spot. We plucked out banjo parts on three or four songs, though we kept only one sample. The beloved glockenspiel was a spur of the moment decision, which proved difficult, as the studio's version of the instrument was a few blocks short of a glock (the thing looked like the grin of an unlucky hockey player). This improvising was exciting and nerve-wracking. It was creative energy...
...Mixing, on the contrary, was our calm after the storm. More accurately put, the band caught a bit of listening R & R, while Matthew skillfully flipped through dials as if he were bringing down a 747 in an ice storm. We listened to each instrument and voice in isolation to get the right sound. Slight changes in the EQ of a vocal track can affect the whole tone of a song. Should it sound bittersweet but with leather jacket and tattoos, or bittersweet like a lone man in an ice cream truck with a broken horn? Pre-dawn or post...
...damn, did it sound good by the end of the week. It was thrilling to hear these tunes completed, etched onto tape, all the parts in place and all the notes sounding just right. My account of mixing, then, in short: Matthew flipped this and that, we discussed this and that and suddenly, we had an album. It was a brilliant moment, albeit late at night, when my exhaustion only allowed me to register it with a dull thud of a smile. Needless to say, we still managed to make it over to the Hong Kong for a scorpion bowl...
...power will cripple the cause for equal rights and crumble the wall of separation between church and state. The party that mustered Congressional majorities for posting the Ten Commandments and holding mandatory prayer in schools but failed to pass sensible gun regulation after Columbine or hate-crimes laws after Matthew Shepard's murder is itching to appoint the next few Supreme Court justices...