Saturday, August 23, 2008

Christmas EP/ Home Studios and Commercial Studios

CHRISTMAS EP BEING RECORDED
Last Christmas tour (December 2007), after every show people ended up mad at Future of Forestry for NOT having any of the Christmas songs recorded. So I started promising fans I would record them for next year’s tour. As life goes, December is coming sooner than expected. So I figured it was time to get some studio sessions going.



I thought I would point out how the Christmas spirit was invoked by our choice of Christmas colors. This is a red acrylic drum set by Truth, and a custom designed snare made by my friend Preston of Vessel Drums . After looking at the pictures, I regret not put tinsel or at least some paper snowflakes on the set to complete the picture. But regardless, when you hear the Christmas album, if you feel the drums sound quite “Christmassy,” then you will know it is our insightful choice of colors to match the season.

HOME STUDIO VERSUS A COMMERCIAL STUDIO
I had someone ask if and why we are recording in a home studio. Sometimes I get so stuck in my world of music and recording that I forget that people outside of that world may wonder what or why the heck? I thought I would start a few series of blogs that would especially encourage a lot of new artists out there trying to make it in the industry

FUTURE OF FORESTRY’S RECORDING HISTORY
Many of you know that the first band I started was called Something Like Silas, but that we changed the name to Future of Forestry about 6 years down the road. During the history of the band, we have recorded in various settings from studios in Los Angeles and Nashville to tiny bedrooms in people’s houses we borrowed (thanks Julio!). Here’s a summary of where I recorded the last 2 full lengths:

Divine Invitation (Something Like Silas)
Tracked – Everything on ProTools Mix (not HD) at The Sound Kitchen in Nashville
Mixed – Sound Kitchen in Nasville on an SSL console

Twilight (Future of Forestry)
Drums Tracked 1) The Steakhouse studio in L.A on ProTools HD 2) I recorded “Thinking of You” on 2 inch tape at Exum in Escondido CA.
Guitars, Vocals, and everything else – 1) Recorded in Ken Andrews home studio 2) Recorded in various places that I had my home studio
Mixed – In a converted bedroom all in a computer on ProTools HD

Summary: Thousands of dollars went into Divine Invitation at an expensive commercial studio, yet I think that the sound of Twilight only evolved and improved being done MOSTLY in home studio spaces.

Check in the next few blogs for some specific comparisons.

1 comment:

O Dog said...

Hey, it's awesome to see you guys are still going strong! You are amazingly talented, and your music is a pleasure to listen to. I pray that your lodging problem will resolve itself well. God Bless!