Due North have begun recording a new album at Drifting Sun. We set up drums on Sunday (thanks in large part to Doobie Bros. Stage Manager/Drum Tech, Tyler Habrecht) and got some killer drum sounds in my living room.
Tyler making some adjustments on Jordan's kit
The new house with its vaulted ceiling sounds great!
Jordan laying down drum tracks as Eric cues him with the lyrics
We finished drum tracks for six songs on Sunday (sorry new neighbors), and we plan on finishing four more on Tuesday in order to do a ten song album.
Allison Hanna, AKA “The Gator,” of Utility Monster fame, has started working on some new tracks. Her intention is to produce an entire album’s worth of material in the coming months. Her arrival at Drifting Sun Sound has helped me motivate to get the sound treatment finished. We will also continue mixing the second Utility Monster EP, perhaps with the addition of a few re-cut guitar and vocal tracks.
Allison doing some critical listening (note the new acoustic treatment - the "ping" is gone and the room sounds good)
I finally got to see my guitar hero play live. Uli Jon Roth played the Token Lounge in Westland, MI, and I was lucky enough to stand right in front of him during his entire set. Uli looked a bit disappointed when he came out on stage and saw the tiny crowd, but he put on a guitar clinic I will never forget. I was close enough to him that if he had reached out his hand and I stretched out mine, he could have handed me his pick. At one point I yelled “play Drifting Sun!” (the Scorpions song he wrote for which my studio is named) He motioned toward his band and said “they don’t know that one yet.”
Uli Jon Roth
The only disappointment was that the meet-and-greet after the show was $20. I have never been to a show where I had to pay to meet the artist (if there was a meet-and-greet), so I skipped it just on principle. I had a stack of Scorpions records and solo albums with me that I had hoped to have signed, but just could not bring myself to pay for such a thing. I would have loved to have my copy of Fly to the Rainbow signed and framed to hang on the wall at Drifting Sun Sound. Oh, well…
I closed on my new house last week… Moved into a nicer area in Ypsilanti. The new house has a bigger spare bedroom that will serve as the studio control room and a great-room with a vaulted ceiling that should make for a great recording environment. Hopefully this will be the last move for many years to come.
Tyler sympathizing with the filth that needs to be cleaned
Work on the second Utility Monster EP has been suspended in the mean time. It will take a while to get the new place painted and set up. Stay tuned…
Mary and Joe stopped over on January 14th for a quick recording session. They recorded a song Joe had written two days prior. Mary threw something unusual down over this acoustic country track. This is take 4, recorded live in my living room with 2 mics and a direct line off the acoustic pickup.
Dave, Dylan and Tyler came over on Friday and Saturday for a little living room jam session. Two songs emerged on Saturday… here they are in rough form:
Title: Coal Miner’s Lament Artist: Dave Dylan Tyler
