Welcome to the latest installment of The Dailey Weekly, the newest feature at www.willdailey.com. Each week Will talks with pop culture writer Al Norton about what ever crosses his mind, from radio to guitars to space to favorite movies to stories from the road to how he chooses with what song to close a show.

Al: If you can think all the way back to Goodbye Red Bullet and then compare it to your most recent time in the studio, how has your approach to recording changed, both in terms of performance and production?

Will: Well, with GoodbyeredbulletI recorded in the studio when I had money to record. So it took me over a year to get it done. It was also recorded with 16 track analogue tape and no automation in the mix. Hands on to say the least. With GBRB there were a lot of first takes. It was a cathartic and educational process. I haven’t really used tape since. It has been all Pro-tools/computers. I look forward to getting back to some tape soon. Now that I have some backing for recording and working with CBS records we have the ability to buy out a studio for a length of time. We usually get a song done a day. That is what we’ve been doing for the material coming out in 09.
I love to read biographies and whenever I am reading a bands bio there are all these stories about re-tracking tunes. Trying it different ways and spending a week or more on one song. That blows my mind. I have never had the opportunity to do that but I would be interested in seeing how that would come out.
But there is something to say about having a day to track one song and having to make definitive decisions. You make some of your best choices when time and money aren’t on your side. I think Axl Rose should record his next album that way.

Al: So it is time for Thanksgiving. What are 3 things you are thankful for this year?
Will:
1. Tina Fey
2. Neil Young Archives coming out
3. That we won’t have to hear about Chinese Democracy being released anymore. The album marks the death of decadence and gross overspending in album production (I am at least declaring that is does). This hopefully means more artist development and less dropping/ignoring new talented artists. (Ya, I’m talking about you GS)
*those are the simple things I am thankful for.

You can read Al Norton’s Two Tivos To Paradise every Friday at 411mania.com

Will’s Link of the week: Neil Young saves more than music.
Will’s Video of the week:The Chicken Police

But First!

Welcome to The Dailey Weekly, the newest feature at www.willdailey.com. Each week Will will talk with pop culture writer Al Norton about what ever crosses his mind, from television to the musician lifestyle to plants to favorite songs to stories from the stage to how he chooses what to obsess over.

Al: I know it’s got to be difficult to answer this in a few sentences, but can you give me a idea of what your typical day in the studio is? Do you spend more time recording or mixing? Do you do the vocal tracks with the band playing live or does everyone record separately?


Will: I would have to say all of the above. We have done songs live in the studio and we have done them by building up one track at a time. Usually starts by deciding which songs would be best to track live and which ones would benefit from the microscope. They first two days are dedicated to Dave Brophy (drums) and Joe McMahon (bass) and making sure the basic tracks are solid which is never a problem with those two. Though they might be done after those two days they usually stay in the studio the rest of the time and will put down some percussion (tambourine etc) at the end, along with some vocal harmonies. We’ve recorded every which way but the path is dictated by the song. On Back Flipping Forward, for example, the song Good To Me was tracked live while Hollywood Hills was tracked one instrument at a time. On Goodbyeredbullet I recorded the opening acoustic guitar to Casual Friday first by itself for the whole 7 minutes and then added one thing at a time.

Al: We talked a couple of weeks back about song writing but I am curious as to how the process continues once words and music are on the page; how much can a song change once you get in studio and hear it? Can you give an example of a song from Back Flipping Forward that came out of the studio much different than how it came in? Maybe some info about a new song?


Will: The most exciting part of the evolution is when a song, going in, isn’t the general focus of the session, people on the whole aren’t as excited about it and then by the end of the session it is a stand out track and everyone is flipping out. On Back Flipping Forward the song Eliza is a perfect example of that. It went in as a little folk song and by the last night in the studio we were all sitting around listening to it over and over. On this last session a song that went through a lot of transformation before we settled on how to do it is a track called “So Many Wrong Ways”. Once we found the right way to record it it was immediately apparent to everyone and it is a gorgeous song that I am very excited for everyone to hear.

You can read Al Norton’s Two Tivos To Paradise every Friday at 411mania.com

Will’s Link of the week: Actual food for thought.