Studio/Recording Anecdotes

[-mjk-]

I thought it would start at the thread about the funny stories that have happened to us while recording in the studio or other environments.

Stories like the time I had a band come in for a 24 track session.... As the different musicians were laying down their parts as overdubs, the other members of the band were saying things like "Is that what you've been playing all this time?" The band was particularly concerned about the keyboard player's parts. He swore that he was laying down tracks exactly the way he played the parts in rehearsal many times over. Arguments ensued, to which I just sat back in my chair and listened. Before they even finished laying tracks for one complete tune, the band broke up right there in the studio. They paid the outstanding bill, and didn't even want a copy of what they had recorded thus far.

 

[Arjan P]

Nice, I've seen this many times (without bands breaking up right there and then) - band members only finding out what the others are playing as they are recording.

I have a small one for now: I had this Irish Folk band coming into the studio for their first album recording. 20 minutes after the agreed time, they came in - first carrying in two crates of Belgian beer. Only after the beer was in the fridge it was time for them to get their instruments. It was a fun recording session

 

[-mjk-]

Oh yeah! We should always make sure of the most important things first - that's Scripture!

More, more! This is going to be a fun thread!

 

[-mjk-]

Sometimes the client acquires a little bit of studio knowledge and ends up being dangerous for the session. A Boston recording artist that I worked with on many sessions was sitting in the control room while her backup band was doing basic tracks in the studio. Just as the band had struck the last note and was letting it ring out, she grabbed the talk back remote and said "that's a wrap" before the note had finished ringing out to the end. We had to do the take completely over because the end was unusable with her booming voice coming through the monitors in the studio and into every single mic on the drum kit and the guitar amps etc. She had pressed the "talk back to all" button instead of "talk back to cue." Lol

 

[BazzBass]

We were recording in a studio when our drummer decided he needed more "oomph" so the engineer boosted the fader on track 12, Drummer was happy, "see, told you". There was nothing on track 12 lol

same drummer, at a gig in a small boomy front bar, demanded we mic his kick. After explaining that it's not needed, he insisted. So I got him to play the kick whilst I turned it right up in the mixer til it was booming. He was happy. "see? told you". I then turned the fader all the way down, lol.