"Sacred Weapon" Sessions Diary

Here is the original version of my Arizona Sessions Diary. This version is complete with song titles (which were previously omitted in case they changed). Note that you will see songs referred to that did not make it onto "Sacred Weapon". These songs may eventually be released on a future album, or through Nils' web site...

One of the hardest questions to answer is: "exactly how do you make a record"?
There are as many ways to make a record as there are songs to be recorded! That truly sums it up, but it's not very enlightening. Some people are interested in how songs are written and arranged, while others want to know more about the technical side of things. I still find it fascinating that we have the ability to turn just about any idea one could have into music (for better or worse), and that music has the ability to move people to feelings. All from a single idea...

As we've all grown older and moved to different parts of the country, logistics are a big part of making a record as well. The improvements in technology have, for many years, allowed us to make records in our homes (or virtually anywhere we would want to work). This makes it a bit easier on the pocketbook, but it doesn't always fix the logistical nightmare that comes with moving people and equipment

13 May
Was due to leave tonight for AZ, but a change of plans...
Yesterday, a fellow in our complex called the FBI claiming he had a pipe bomb and asking snipers to come shoot him! Well, they came - and evacuated everyone @ 10:00 AM.
I was running errands, heard something on the radio, but paid no attention. Came home @ 4:00PM to multitudes of police, fire dept., SWAT teams, and TV news crews. Totally surreal...
Tam and I took a hotel around 8:30, only to see on the news they'd gotten him out. It would still be several hours before they let anyone return home, so I spent the evening @ the hotel, changing flights, etc. Hooray for Southwest - great customer service (and no extra charges)!! Leaving tomorrow @ 12:50. Drums to arrive @ Nils' around noon.
BONUS: New Premier kit arrived at JK's from the UK earlier today! He say's they're in fine shape and beautiful - can't wait to play them on the Triplicity dates...

14 May
Nice flight to Phoenix - interesting conversation w/ a real estate fellow... Gear arrived safely and off the plane quickly. Meet NL at airport, check in @ hotel, then off to his place... Boomer, Jamie, and Alex @ Nils', getting studio into shape. Drums there, ready to be set up. Beautiful Kit!! Premier Artist series maple. The new hardware is real nice and not too difficult to suss out. Change heads to Remo coated Ambassadors, tune kit - bit of a ? at first but once assembled, amazing sound. It's my sound, right out of the box (save for swapping out the heads). That's why I play these drums!
Meet Kevin McCormick (Melissa Etheridge, Jackson Browne, John Mayall, Nils from the "Wonderland" period) who's playing bass on this record. He's a guy I've always wanted to play with someday. Reminds me a bit of WM...
Finish set up, then a birthday meal for Boomer prepared by Amy. Wonderful Italian! Good conversation whilst watching the Wizards lose to the Heat...
Afterwards, we play a bit - cool version of "All Over Now" (hope we can remember it like this to do as an encore on the next tour). Then, we play around with a new tune for the record. Kevin and I seem to lock well - this is going to be fun! Boomer gets a bit of it on disk, and the sound is superb for the very first shot. And, it will only improve...
Back to the hotel - comfortable and quiet. I think it's going to be a good week to make a record...

15 May
At the studio for 11:30 AM. We complete the drum kit adjustments (tuning the new snare, tweaking the kick and toms). It's a very relaxed atmosphere...
By early afternoon, we're playing through new tunes, finding our way with them, adjusting headphone mixes, etc. Kevin is very easy to play with. NL sounds great (as always!).
There are about a dozen tunes in the works, and we're going over each one a bit, then moving on to another. In the past, we've learned a tune, then tracked it almost immediately, so this is a new way to work for me within the NLB. In fact, I can't remember doing much pre-pro on any record I've done in close to a decade. I'm digging it...
After rehearsals, a great Mexican meal by Maria (with Amy and Judy assisting). It's cool enough to eat outdoors.
Then, band and engineers watch a Thai kung-fu movie Nils wants us to see. I'd never seen a Kung-Fu film before, so I didn't know what to expect. I really enjoyed it! The star (a fellow named Ting) was amazing - what control of his body! This film didn't use ropes to lift the fighters (ala The Matrix), and I was stunned at how high this guy could jump. The plot was predictable and the English subtitles occasionally questionable, but it was definitely worth watching. Another good way to bond for the making of a record - watch a movie. I'll have to remember this for future projects...
Hotel by 11:15. I'm pretty tired tonight. Tomorrow, we'll rehearse the remaining tunes...

16 May
Good day of rehearsals in the A.M. So good, Nils decides to start tracking a 1/2 day earlier than planned. By 7:00 PM, the first tune - "You're Not There" - is in the can. It's a cool song, played with baritone guitar. A little dark, and the groove reflects the plaintive, brooding quality I think the song has. I've never heard what I believe to be a sad song sound so uplifting! Of course, the whole tone may change once the overdubs are finished...
It's wonderful to play with Nils and Kevin - every idea is tried and respected and that allows the ideas to flow freely, without self-censorship.
Early day tomorrow, and I'm at the hotel by 9:00PM. Tough to sleep - I'm pumped, ready to keep tracking...

17 May
An early day, tracking before noon! Working on more baritone guitar songs. I love bari-guitar. It reminds me of DG playing the 6 string bass, tonally.
1st tune today: "When You Are Loved" - this is the first time I've tracked with Thunder Rods, even though I've had them for years. Cool sound, closer to sticks than the other Rods, and they're a bit thick to hold on to. Even thicker than the marching sticks of my youth...
I think we did 10 takes, slightly varying feels on each take, adding and subtracting ideas, etc. Ended up with a great take with beautiful feel...
2nd tune: "Mr. Hardcore" - very funky, driving tune. Nils heard this one in a "Police" style originally, but it morphed into a half-time groove. Reminiscent of Little Feat on steroids! This one started out with busy drums, almost like a "live" version of the tune, but it was too much, that's for sure. Gradually "devolved" into the powerful groove we ended up with. I love the lyrics to this one...
3rd tune: "The Comfort Your Love Brings" - kind of an Appalachian style, with dulcimer on the demo and brushes on a bongo. A subdued groove. I began with brushes on the snare, but Kevin suggested Rods on a floor tom covered with a towel. We explored this for a while, getting a nice take. Then, we tried it with mallets instead of Rods, and different bass drum pulses. Good takes of those, as well. In the end, Nils chose the earlier take with Cool Rods. It breathes well with the vox and guitar. Because of the odd positioning in playing the 2nd floor through the entire tune, I ended up playing the kick with my left foot! Overdubbed the hi-hat afterwards to add some momentum... Done at 10:00PM.

18 May
A long day today, yet very relaxed and productive... After a kick drum head change and some phone business with Premier, we start tracking around noon.
1st tune today: "Come A Day" - Nils calls this one our rock spiritual and I'd have to agree. Another great lyric. Real strong rhythm track, very driving drums and bass. Keeper track in no time!
2nd tune: "Fat Girls Dance" - the title belies the message of the lyric, which I think people will understand easily once they hear it. I heard the drums as being "Steely Dan-ish", very in the pocket; driving, yet subdued. Kevin's bass part is fascinating to me - he convolutes different lines from different tunes from different eras and makes something unique. The pocket is locked! Can't wait to hear the finished product. Note: broke a stick on the keeper take, did a little "studio magic" to fix it...
After another great dinner, we move on to the third song of the day, "You Are The Melody". This groove is what I like to call "Reggae Swing". Kind of Ska, very in the pocket. This, combined with the melody and style of the vox makes for a unique sound, I think. This one, too, comes together pretty quickly. After doing a few takes, Nils listens for feel and chooses a keeper. It's fun watching his mind work - seeing what he wants to achieve from the finished rhythm track. Each record you make is always and education in so many ways, but it's made better by learning new things about people you've with for a long time (like I have with Nils). And we're having a great time, too!
It's 10:30PM by the time I get back to the hotel, tired but excited by the day's work. Another 3 tomorrow, plus a chiropractor appointment...

19 May
A long day today...
Chiropractor @ 11:00AM, then directly to the studio.
We start quickly with the first tune: "Frankie Hang On". We've fallen into a nice groove of tracking a couple takes, listening, revising, tracking a couple more, etc. Since we've rehearsed the tunes, even the first takes are pretty good - everything is a possible keeper. It's more about which take has the certain attitude that Nils is after. Ideas are explored freely. It's a nice way to work. We wind up with a keeper pretty quickly, then move on to "Midnight Heart".
The demo for this one was a really cool country swing, with Glen Campbell's drummer and other stellar country players. We explore duplicating that feel, try a few different things on the drums. Kevin mentions trying an upright bass on it. Nils makes a call and a Zeta electric upright is soon on the way.
While we wait, we decide to do "Pay Your Woman". A funky, New Orleans style "second line" groove. It's a fun tune to play. I work the snare tuning a bit to trash up the sound (so to speak). It works well with the song. The upright arrives - beautiful instrument! Kevin's up and running on it in no time, and decides to use it on PYW. It feels great with the upright, and we wind up with a keeper quickly.
We return to "Midnight Heart", which continues to evolve from a drum perspective. We decide to depart from the original demo's feel, and I try a "Buck Owens" style drum groove - it seems to fit well. We take a few, then break for dinner...
When we resume, I think we did 4 takes, keeping the second (which needed a slight drum punch).
Done for the day @ 10:00PM... ended the night at the hotel watching trick shot pool on ESPN, followed by a History channel show on Mt. Vesuvius - a typically boring night of TimmTV, as my wife would say. Tam's in tomorrow night! It's supposed to 110 degrees plus tomorrow through the weekend. She'll get the full AZ experience for sure...

20 May
Started at 10:30 AM with "In Your Hands" and had a keeper by 11:30!! A bit different from the version we've been playing live in the drum dept. Rather than explore the double snare, bongo type pattern I've been doing, I opted for a double snare "swish and time" pattern with brushes. Swishing on a different snare allows more flexibility at mix time, and it was an interesting way for me to play. Lots of new concepts on this disc...
Moved on to "The Holler Understands" ("Whiskey Holler"). This is a piano tune that defies explanation, other than it's very slow. Ended up with a great feeling track, which I thought would be harder to accomplish at this tempo. I'm very proud of the drum track! A real cool song...
Next came a song Kevin and I hadn't heard called "Trouble". Pedal steel with frantic drums and the bass played with a Cool Rod. We rehearsed it a time or two, then did a rough take - which became the keeper! At first, I really wanted to have another go at this one, feeling like my ideas didn't quite come together in the way I wanted. Nils loved the take and, after listening a couple time more, I came to love it, too. I understand his wanting to keep it - the fact that my ideas weren't totally together impart a feeling to the song that fits the lyrics perfectly. It's one of those special performances that couldn't be duplicated, even if it were bettered. If any of you have the "All Madden Team" record, the song "The Wind" was exactly the same situation - the take that you hear is the first (and only) time I ever played the song. I wanted to re-cut that one, too. Nils said I could do it all I wanted, but that was the keeper for him. After listening to it a few times, I agreed with him. I still hope to get a chance to play that one again at some point in the future, but I know I'll be playing "Trouble" on the next tour...
Basically, that finished all the tracking. We took a break around 5:00PM, then listened back to all the tracks briefly, deciding to try another pass of "When You Are Loved" tomorrow...
Jamie and I went out for Thai food - yet another super meal. Picked Tam up at Sky Harbor around 9:30PM, headed back to Nils' to say hello to everyone. Ended up hanging with Nils, Amy and everyone else until midnight.
A perfect end to a great day of tracking...

21 May
Studio at 11:00AM, begin re-cutting "When You Are Loved". About 6 new takes, a bit faster than we'd originally done it. The keeper ended up being #4 or #5. Nice breathing to the track. It should be beautiful once it's finished...
Another listen through to all the tracks, making notes for mix possibilities, etc., and it's officially a wrap!!
All in all, I think it's going to be a great record. When I combine the ideas I heard Nils play on the demos with the rhythm tracks Kevin and I laid down, I hear a very powerful, yet diverse album. Different styles, new approaches, classic Nils!
Tomorrow, I wrap up the kit, pack my gear, and spend the rest of our time here hanging with everyone. It's extra special with Tam here - really makes it feel like family time...

22 May
Arrive at the studio around 1:00PM to pack up the kit. Boomer's taken some nice photos throughout the sessions, and I ask him to take a couple of me and the kit for Premier. He graciously does so and burns them to disc for me. Then it's back to the hotel to get ready for the "wrap dinner". A couple days ago, Jaime made the now famous statement - "This is the best record I ever ate". This meal was no exception! I'd arrived in AZ hoping to shed a few of the pounds I've put on since my back troubles began last October, but I think I actually gained a few more. Kevin leaves early in the AM, so this is my last chance to see him for awhile. I hope we get to play together again in the future. It's rare when you find someone you lock with so well and so easily. I'll miss him, that's for sure...

23 May
Chiropractor at 11:00, then back to the hotel to finish packing. We head to Nils' (courtesy of Boomer) at 2:30 and hang a bit with Nils. Then, we say our goodbyes to Amy, Dylan, Judy, Boomer, Jamie and Nils. A quick ride to Sky Harbor, swift and painless check-in and security, a snack before the flight, and we're off...
It'll be good to get back and get on with the studio construction and prepare for the Triplicity shows. It does look as though we won't be touring with the NLB until 2006, but there's a lot of ground to cover before then...
It's been a wonderful experience doing this record - one of the (if not the) easiest record I've ever been a part of.
Certainly the best record I ever ate, too! I hope everyone enjoys it when it's released...

Thanks to: Boomer (engineering and photos); Jamie (engineering); Andy@ Mass Music (drum rentals and procurement); Jeff Kushner (management and logistics); Alex (running and driving); Colin Schofield and George Frederick @ Premier Percussion (kits and support)

 

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