Tom on drums, Shawn on bass - photo by Chris Lundeen
Song: Empty Beer Can
Details:
Recorded early 1994 in Spokane, WA at Jello Tree Studio by John Salvo. Co-released on Nervous Wreckords late 1994 as one of two songs from Side B of 7" record.
Here is another example of our lovely little sound. Empty Beer Can features my immature lyrics about a girl, coupled with the proverbial "la la la" vocals on the chorus. I owned a really special Telecaster-style guitar at the time and this is definitely it. And I must say, that listening back to these recordings brings me right into the physical space in which they were recorded. I was positioned to the right of Tom while Shawn was to the the left. I used to prop my amplifier up on my old red, white, and blue roller-skate case. Because of the volume we created as a power trio, it must have been difficult for the engineer, John Salvo, to manage all the guitar and bass bleeding into the drums. I must admit, however, that I prefer recording this way to this day.
And this was also the beginning of my interest in recording. The vocals and a few additional guitars were overdubbed and I specifically remember John placing the AKG 414 microphone at or around the 12th fret of my acoustic guitar. He asked me, "Do you mostly want to hear the strings?" I guess my answer was "Yes!"
Technical Specs:
Machine: Tascam MSR 16 1/2” with Soundtracs MRX 24x8x16 console; mixed to Tascam 32 two-track machine; backed up on DAT
Microphones: AKG 414, EV RE-20, Sure SM57, Groove Tube MD 1a, various Audio Technica
The room was a large spacious warehouse up a few floors from the street in downtown Spokane, WA.
Special thanks to Warren Gardiner for mastering this track. You can find him at www.gardineraudio.com