Terry Gomes

Greetings,

I'm enjoying tracking the stages of my recording with the changing landscape. As you can see, we are still in the depths of winter. It was another morning with a -30 degree windchill.

About 20 hours were spent getting all of the bass and drums completed for the seven tunes. The guys worked very hard to get good results for me and I’m optimistic that things will turn out well. There was a bit of experimentation, especially with the drums in getting specific sounds and in filling out the arrangements on certain pieces. There was a nice balance between myself and Ross, each taking over to direct various parts of the pieces and I was thankful for the collaboration.

Producer Ross is a little blurry here doing a double take regarding a drum part. This was while recording my quirky piece, "If It Walks Like a Duck". Jeff was very patient and professional.

Happy New Year! I hope that everyone had a great Christmas & holiday season.

Today was the first of a three-day marathon back in Chelsea. We didn’t expect the -30 degree wind chill but everyone’s vehicles managed to make the trek without incident. As you can see the landscape has changed considerably.

As promised in my last blog entry, here is a little snippet of the first piece we recorded, “BG Bound”. I’m not at all satisfied with the mix but it will give you a rough idea of the piece.

BG_Bound_Web_Mix_1.wav

For me, the Argh Factor is what occurs when things are going along smoothly for the most part and then everything crashes. The parts you’ve played well while rehearsing, suddenly become a pain to play. Either this happens, or you can’t get that certain sound, nuance, or phrase the way you want it. As a result you yell out, “Argh” or whatever expletive serves the purpose.

First, a little background…I managed to get into the studio on Dec. 8^th and yesterday, Dec.10^th. My goal was to get as far as I could on my piece, “They Went That-a-Way”. I knew this one would take longer and would be harder to play than most. It’s not the sort of piece you play from start to finish as it is quite intricate. There are lots of parts (for example, eight guitar parts are playing during the finale) and I’m the only one playing them.

In today’s session, things started a little rough (I guess I was tired), and went downhill from there. Thankfully, after about 2 ½ hours, we were finally getting some good takes and sounds.

I’ve now put eight hours into recording this piece and it’s not done. However, I have taken a good dent out of it and I am pleased with the results so far. I hope that you will find it to be a lot more energetic and dynamic than the demo version on Youtube.

Most creative projects tend to go past deadlines and go over budget. This one will be no exception.

I hope you’re all doing well preparing for the holidays and that you’ll experience as little of the “Argh Factor” as possible.

Terry

Hello again,

I had a bit of a break between recording sessions. In the last couple of weeks, Ross and I shared the same sentiments expressed by the Grinch when he complained about the noise from Whoville. In our case, the noise emanated from my amp and guitar and made recording not possible. Thankfully, some solutions were found and I was back in business.

Here is the same landscape after yesterday’s first snowfall of the year.

Going into a studio to record your own music is always a bit of a gamble. Here are a few of the factors that can affect how you will play:

*how well rehearsed you are

*sinus congestion/allergies

*stiff finger joints

*wide awake or dead tired

*feeling well overall

*temperature of the room

*your mood

No matter how you feel or play during the time you’re in the studio, you still have to pay the piper. This adds more stress but can also yield better results as there is a sense of urgency. It’s also nice to have immediate feedback from another set of trained ears.

As is turned out, today began as a beautiful November morning in Chelsea....

11:00 am

Day two began with Rene working on the additional guitar parts for, "BG Bound". We worked for awhile to get the right sounds and rhythm I wanted. Here he is after spending two days of listening to me complain about every single guitar nuance.

1:00 pm

Today marks the first day of recording for my new project. It’s a wet, fall day and I’ve just made the drive to Chelsea, QC to oversee the recording of bed tracks (rhythm guitar, bass and percussion), for two pieces, "BG Bound" and "Gone". Happy Rock Studio is located close to the Gatineau River as shown below. It’s a beautiful, rugged area. Although I always enjoy coming up here....