Record Your Friends!

RECORD YOUR FRIENDS!

 What could possibly be a better learning tool that sitting on the “other side of the glass”?

 I got into the practice of this a few years ago.  Not only is it great for learning from a different perspective, but it can also make you more money.

Some drummers I’ve recorded a bunch are Matt Musty (Train, Grace Potter, Keith Urban), Matt Johnson (Jeff Buckley, St. Vincent) and Adam Christgau (Tegan & Sara, Ingred Michaelson).

These guys are already great players so in one sense it’s really easy.  But the fact that I get to sit on the side of the room with my gear and knobs and work in real time vs. before and after (when I’m alone) has been really valuable to me.  Tweaking compressors and EQ in real time with a different player than myself.  Not to mention to hear how these guys approach recording from feel, touch, timing, layering percussion.   Most times it turns collaborative but it’s their session and I’m definitely “the engineer”.

The other benefit of this is to practice putting on your producer hat.  Even if you’re silently producing in your head…is this the right beat for the song, is this the right sound, what kinds of percussion or rhythmic movement is good for this song?  Is the drummer playing “drummy” fills and beats or are they appropriate for the song?  What can I be doing to help this all go smooth for the person I’m tracking?   

You can use all this knowledge to improve yourself when you’re back on your own.  You’ll be faster with your gear, you’ll be smarter about how to get a song tracked quickly and musically, and you’ll know how things sound from the other side of the glass (producer or audience member) which is what you’re striving for as musician. And…last but not least it could expand your business to other drummers and other musicians outside your sphere.  And last, last…you get to hang out with your friends while working.  Win, Win.

Put the word out…come record in my space!