Yesterday, my boss needed a ride to the train. Why you ask? He was attending a session at Sear Sound. If there had ever been a point in my life where I thought of pulling some crazy mind games, switching identities a-la Face Off, this might have been one. I have 2 important New York music related goals in life. One is to make an album at Sear Sound.
This is by far the greatest studio ever created. The dude who owns it believes fully in the analog side of things, owns the 2nd Moog Synth ever built, and has truckloads of vintage gear, which he has owned since before it was vintage. The 2track tape machine for mixing down (quick exp; in a studio, you record instruments to separate tracks, then using a mixing board and various processors, sum these individual tracks down to a Left and Right channel) comes from Abbey Road. It was one of the ones The Beatles used on a little thing called Sgt Pepper. I would kill for 3 hrs in there. He also told me the day rate….$2000…ouch. Now, don’t get me wrong, its perfectly possible to make an incredibly shitty sounding album in any studio. Gear will only help something good sound better. But I mean…I just want to play with the stuff anyway.
Well, this inspired me to listen to my favorite album recorded at Sear…a band which I occasionally like just a bit…Wilco. They did 2004’s A Ghost Is Born there. Its one of the most delicate and quiet records I have ever heard, but its got this incredibly mysterious quality to it. Maybe thats because this was the height of Jeff Tweedy’s pain killer addiction…who knows. Either way, they made an amazing piece of music. The greatest rock show I have ever seen was the debut of their new lineup, just after The Tweed got out of rehab, just before this album was released. It hits you hard on the opener, some intense guitar riffs a la Neil Young…then vaporizes you with a crazy ass stun gun, into “Hell Is Chrome” one of their 4 greatest songs, one I have often overlooked. Listen to this vocal performance. If it doesn’t give you some chills, there are problems with you. His voice is shaking all over the place, basically whispering, yet still attacking your ear drums with the fury of a thousand buffalo, galloping on the planes. yeah, thats right.
So, I’m going to need to make this goal happen, sooner rather than later. I think i lost my train of thought, so lets just end this right here, I’ll see you later compadre.