The Magic Of The Parts – Studio Journal Entry

Hello, my most fashionable and excellent friends! How are you today?

I, with the help of my good friend and master engineer Lynn Graber, have been feverishly at work on my “much anticipated” {smiley face – lol} solo debut EP. We’re near the end, I suspect, and thought that I should post an update on how the recording process is going. I am pleased to report that Somewhere Between Nicaragua & New York (the now official title of the EP) is turning out splendidly. We still plan on meeting our deadline and with a quality product in hand no less. Quite impressive considering we’ve lost a few nights of recording time due to random scheduling conflicts.

I’m at the studio with Lynn a lot and though both of us are extremely interesting and engaging people there are times when we grow bored. So by employing notoriously bad puns, Lynn and I have kept ourselves entertained through the occasional monotonous (no pun intended – although it has potential) parts like multiple takes and editing. So far it’s working and we’re becoming seasoned pros. So a few tips for you aspiring punsters: consistency is the key here. The trick is never let a phrase leave your mouth unless it has a pun somehow worked into it. It usually works best to follow it up with a nod and a wink or a forced laugh so that it’s clear you’ve deliver a tasty morsel of bad comedy. Groans and sighs are telling signs that you’ve really nailed a great pun.

Seriously though, I’ve had a lot of fun in the studio. I love seeing the big picture come together and how all the little pieces help make the magic happen. There’s something about the way all the parts add up to be something greater than what any one part could do alone. “The whole is greater than the sum of the parts.” As far as I’m concerned, there’s no better place to see the magic of the parts coming together than in the studio. And speaking of parts, I’ve managed to cram lots of little goodies into 5 songs. The list of instruments played on the EP is nearly as long as the hours we have spent recording, sampling, chopping, mixing, and grilling. (Gotta have a decent meal every now and then, right?) It’s a veritable smorgasbord of instrumentation. Delicious.

A few of my friends have dropped in to help me record. In addition to Lynn on the kit, Megan, Erin, and Jessica can be heard lending a hand and Don plays some horny parts. (See paragraph about puns above.) Since the EP has been a bit of a rush, I didn’t have time to call in a lot of my friends that I would like to record with me. However, I will be calling you all in for the full length album which I’ll begin work on soon. Expect a call.

Throughout this process I’ve managed to weather the inevitable storm of bi-polar-ish emotions that I’m sure all recording artists go through. It ranges from, “This is total rubbish. Complete and utter crap. I am a failure not only as a musician, but as a human being as well. Why am I doing this?” to, “This could quite possibly be the best song the world will ever hear. Wait until I unleash this on the unsuspecting public! Muwahaha!!!” Truth being told, the EP will probably end up somewhere in the middle of those two extremes, but the egotistical maniac inside of me hopes that you will declare, with lots of obvious fanfare, that I truly belong in the realms of Lennon & McCartney. On a side note, they say that there’s a very thin line between genius and idiocy. Hmm…

All considered, it’s been a very good time for me to be back in the studio doing what I feel I do best: writing songs. I hope you enjoy what I’ve made. You’ll be able to hear it all very soon.

Until then, in the words of Conan O’Brien: “Be cool, my babies.”

Scott

P.S. This photo was taken by Lynn with his phone. It’s me playing the B3 and switching the Leslie cab with my foot while my hands were occupied with some sweet chords. Whatever it takes, right?