exertion, elation, repose
June 2nd, 2008
It’s been the busiest month inÃ? recent memory,Ã? but I’ll do my best to re-cap. Please forgive me if I miss anything!
First, thanks to everyone who came out to the show at El CorazÃ?³n this past Saturday. It was our first all-ages show in years, it seems, so we weren’t quite sure what to expect, but it ended up being a great night, with lots of new friends made and CDs sold…so thank you all! Special thanks to Teitur and Jessie Baylin for having us on the bill! It was great to get back onstage.
We’d spent the three weeks prior in frenetic rehearsal mode, leading up to a whirlwind six-day session at Soundhouse Recording in Ballard, wherein we tracked all ten songs that will comprise the next Red Jacket Mine album, masterfully assisted byÃ? producer Ken Stringfellow and engineer Kip Beelman. The objective:Ã? track all ten songsÃ? to glorious, exorbitantly-priced two-inch tape, recording all instrumental tracks live in the room (with few or no overdubs, just like Grandma made) and tracking the vocals immediately afterward, also to tape. Our modus operandi left little room for error and/or indecision, but that was the idea.
Lucky for us, we had good help! The best, even. Ken pitched in on keys (also tracked live with the band…so nice to have a fifth Beatle…or Ian Stewart!), background vocals, and frighteningly-good tambourine, while Kip handled most of the knob-twiddling and Facebook-prowling. Our good friend Ian Moore even dropped by with his ‘56 Les Paul Junior and a crusty, lovely tweed Deluxe to lay down some ferocious guitar licks and spook-tacular background vocals.
It was a daunting task, but we did it! And we simply could not be happier with the results. Seriously—I know this kind of bravado is expected any time a new album is in the works, but I truly believe that we’ve got something magnificent on our hands. Everyone was on top of their game, and we are extremely proud of the result. Immense thanks are due to Messrs. Stringfellow and Beelman, without whom this surely would not have been possible. We can’t wait for you all to hear their tremendous craft(s) at work!
I intend to post a characteristically-verbose account of the session in the next week or so, but feel free to consult Ken’s blog in the interim for his take on the proceedings…we’re in there, amidst tales of the Posies‘ 20th anniversary shows and other highlights of his Seattle visit.Ã? Thanks for the kind words,Ã? Ken! We can only hopeÃ? you enjoyed the session as much as we did!
We’ll spend the remainder of the summer licking our financial wounds and chipping away at the album’s loose ends (a few string arrangements from our pal Eyvind Kang, et cetera).
We’ve also got some incredible shows coming up, the first of which will take place on Thursday, June 26 at the Tractor Tavern. We’ll be sandwiched between the lovely Miss Kristen Ward and our aforementioned pal Ian Moore, who will be playing a very rare (around these parts, at least)Ã? full-band show. Advance tickets are available from TicketWeb. Get ‘em while you can!
In site news, I’ve updated the Press page to include a recent review of Hello, Old Cloud from Hugh Miller’s excellent Unfinished web zine. I’ve also updated the Favorites page with nods to my recent obsessions…dig!
Speaking of obsessions,Ã? everyone go out tomorrow andÃ? buy the new Centro-matic/South San Gabriel split-double album, Dual Hawks. These kind-eyed Texans continue to inspire and excite me about the prospect of making American rock & roll music, and this album promises to be their best yet. So check it out—you won’t be disappointed.
Me, I’m going to tuck into this bottle of Punto Final malbec and enjoy an evening of hard-earned quietude. Thanks, as always, for listening and caring about what we do. Hope to see you all at the Tractor on June 26th!
xo
LB
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