Pulp Fiction Moment
"The Spider has caught a fly". If you know the scene and the movie i'm referring to, you might find this story interesting. So, I am currently in West Virginia visiting my relatives, but this isn't a story about them. On the way to my relatives farm, I'm driving thru the mountains in my rented convertible with the top down, and just before the turn off there was a little art and pottery gallery right there in the middle of nowhere, so i had to stop in and see if there was anything good. Indeed there was. Lots of beautiful pottery and paintings all created there by the family who ran the shop. Excellent work. While i was admiring some of the pottery, the owner came up to me and struck up a conversation. When he asked what i did, and I told him "i make records" he nearly let out a scream with excitement and says "REALLY!! Follow me!", so of course i did.
We walked back behind the store and along a dirt path, past a couple ponds, into the woods, up a hill and arrived at a small shack. Now, its enough of a leap of faith for me to follow this complete stranger all the way back there in the first place, but he seemed very nice. At the shack however, there were steel bars on all the windows, and steel bars protecting the door. At this point i begin to ask myself what could be so valuable in this shack to warrant the security? I mean, i doubt you even have to lock your doors in these parts let alone put bars on the windows. I began to wonder if i was about to become "the Gimp" from Pulp Fiction, and if i was about to step into the dungeon, but i said what the hell, you only live once, so he opened the door and i followed him in.
Once inside, it was a small one room structure with a full recording setup, drum kit, guitars, percussion, etc... This will sound insulting at first, but none of the gear was what i would describe as "pro" quality. the mixer was an old Peavey PA board for live gigs, the mic's were all relatively cheap, they had one budget reverb box, and they recorded onto 8 track ADAT tape. He asked if I'd listen to some of his music, (him, his wife, and i believe two or three other musicians), and politely (with a strong dose of curiosity) i said "sure". I didn't expect to hear anything special, but then ya just never know.
The music was wonderful. A complete throwback to the 70's, like i was listening to Jefferson Airplane with Grace Slick singing. I mean real authentic 70's music, vocals, and most remarkably, tones. I commented (hoping it would be taken as a compliment) "Wow, this stuff sounds straight out of the 70's", which was met with a very big approving smile from him. I mean, the playing, the parts, the sounds, everything, even the digital reverbs sounded straight off a record from the 1970's. I was impressed.
Now, the whole reason I'm telling you this long, drawn out story is that there's always been this great debate about "That 70's Sound" and how all the old gear sounds so amazing. Yadda Yadda. Well, these guys were recording onto ADAT, using mics like CAD, RODE, and a bunch of the other budget line gear from the musicians friend catalog, and these recordings sounded great. I've debated the question with people "Why dont records sound like they used to", and a large part of my answer is that the you need the players who know that style and feel to be playing. If your trying to recreate a 70's soul record and your using synth strings and drum machines, its never going to sound the same. but if you have the right players, and correct people writing and conducting the strings, etc... you run a high probability of capturing that magic. These guys who recorded in this little shack in the backwoods, they were the 70's and no matter what mic you put in front of them, or what format you record them on, it was gonna sound and feel like the 70's.
There were also lots of fender rhodes, Hammond Organ, and Wurlitzer parts on these recordings, and i thought for sure they had used real instruments for those parts. I was shocked when the guy told me "Oh, our keyboard player is blind and he plays all of those parts on a synthesizer". it was his FEEL that brought those parts to life, his selection of notes, rhythms, parts that brought out the vibe.
Anyway, it was quite eye opening, and ear opening, and reaffirmed my belief that you can make great recordings with very average equipment, as long as you know how to get what your going for, and these people certainly did. After hearing several songs, i did breathe a subtle sigh of relief when we exited the steel caged shack and began walking back to the shop........... until he said "I've got to show you the kiln that i fire the pottery in".
I lived to tell the tale, and I also bought a beautiful ceramic pouring pitcher from him. Its as beautiful as his music. What a talented guy. A hidden treasure in the mountains of West Virginia.
- Ken Lewis
We walked back behind the store and along a dirt path, past a couple ponds, into the woods, up a hill and arrived at a small shack. Now, its enough of a leap of faith for me to follow this complete stranger all the way back there in the first place, but he seemed very nice. At the shack however, there were steel bars on all the windows, and steel bars protecting the door. At this point i begin to ask myself what could be so valuable in this shack to warrant the security? I mean, i doubt you even have to lock your doors in these parts let alone put bars on the windows. I began to wonder if i was about to become "the Gimp" from Pulp Fiction, and if i was about to step into the dungeon, but i said what the hell, you only live once, so he opened the door and i followed him in.
Once inside, it was a small one room structure with a full recording setup, drum kit, guitars, percussion, etc... This will sound insulting at first, but none of the gear was what i would describe as "pro" quality. the mixer was an old Peavey PA board for live gigs, the mic's were all relatively cheap, they had one budget reverb box, and they recorded onto 8 track ADAT tape. He asked if I'd listen to some of his music, (him, his wife, and i believe two or three other musicians), and politely (with a strong dose of curiosity) i said "sure". I didn't expect to hear anything special, but then ya just never know.
The music was wonderful. A complete throwback to the 70's, like i was listening to Jefferson Airplane with Grace Slick singing. I mean real authentic 70's music, vocals, and most remarkably, tones. I commented (hoping it would be taken as a compliment) "Wow, this stuff sounds straight out of the 70's", which was met with a very big approving smile from him. I mean, the playing, the parts, the sounds, everything, even the digital reverbs sounded straight off a record from the 1970's. I was impressed.
Now, the whole reason I'm telling you this long, drawn out story is that there's always been this great debate about "That 70's Sound" and how all the old gear sounds so amazing. Yadda Yadda. Well, these guys were recording onto ADAT, using mics like CAD, RODE, and a bunch of the other budget line gear from the musicians friend catalog, and these recordings sounded great. I've debated the question with people "Why dont records sound like they used to", and a large part of my answer is that the you need the players who know that style and feel to be playing. If your trying to recreate a 70's soul record and your using synth strings and drum machines, its never going to sound the same. but if you have the right players, and correct people writing and conducting the strings, etc... you run a high probability of capturing that magic. These guys who recorded in this little shack in the backwoods, they were the 70's and no matter what mic you put in front of them, or what format you record them on, it was gonna sound and feel like the 70's.
There were also lots of fender rhodes, Hammond Organ, and Wurlitzer parts on these recordings, and i thought for sure they had used real instruments for those parts. I was shocked when the guy told me "Oh, our keyboard player is blind and he plays all of those parts on a synthesizer". it was his FEEL that brought those parts to life, his selection of notes, rhythms, parts that brought out the vibe.
Anyway, it was quite eye opening, and ear opening, and reaffirmed my belief that you can make great recordings with very average equipment, as long as you know how to get what your going for, and these people certainly did. After hearing several songs, i did breathe a subtle sigh of relief when we exited the steel caged shack and began walking back to the shop........... until he said "I've got to show you the kiln that i fire the pottery in".
I lived to tell the tale, and I also bought a beautiful ceramic pouring pitcher from him. Its as beautiful as his music. What a talented guy. A hidden treasure in the mountains of West Virginia.
- Ken Lewis
posted by Protools Mixing at 2:41 PM
3 Comments:
nice post, but where's the link to his site?
He doesnt have a website. He's in the middle of the middle of nowhere in West Virginia and isn't what i'd describe as internet savvy.
-Ken
Great story. And you didn't think of getting them involved? This story alone would sell records!!
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