Monday, February 18, 2013
A Taste of What's to Come...
This is our first video. Filmed by Nancy on a drive from Saco, Maine to Eagle Lake Maine. We hope you enjoy The Shadows.
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Nancy's post
With our debut album near completion I've gotten in the mood to reminisce. I'm listening to the final passes of our master & I find it really hard to believe that it's really Dan and I that made this record. It's not that it doesn't sound like us, or it's a huge production, but it's much better sounding than I imagined it would be when Dan and I came up with the crazy idea of recording an album about a year ago.
While Dan and I are a duo, we had a lot of help from our friends. There were the members of our other band, Labor of Giants, who's musical abilities filled the gaps and pushed each song's arrangement into the "sweet spot". And I couldn't thank them enough. It was fun for all of us, but it was also a lot of work, a lot of weekends given up, and a lot of playing the same thing over and over again. It's a good thing we all like music as much as we do!
If we needed keyboard, in came Tim Braun. He not only put meat on the bones of a bunch of the songs, he changed a bunch of the songs for the better. Whenever we play "What About Me?" I keep wishing he was around to play the piano solo. He really made that particular song reach another level.
Kevin Hugh is an amazing drummer and we are lucky he was willing to help out. We originally asked him to play on just a couple of songs that we thought needed drums. On the day he came in to record, he did such an incredible job, we just kept on going. All the songs needed drums! A lot of the songs he played to had no click track. Listening to the album, I can't distinguish which ones they were.
For electric guitar and everything pro tools, we had the help of Ed Sabourin. He certainly put more time into this record than Dan or I. He made it sound so much better than I expected without overproducing it, or masking our mistakes. He cleaned it up without making it plastic and generic sounding. He was exceedingly patient with Dan and I, who were like exited little kids most of the time.
We also had and extra vocalist in some of the songs. Ruth Kennedy would bust out harmonies on command, which is not something anyone can do. On the day she came in to record with us, I would just come up with a part quickly, tell her to harmonize with me, and she'd do it. I've sang with a bunch of people, and heard a lot of singers. Ruth was a quick study. Even though she was shy at times, she knew what she was doing.
I just finished listening to the whole thing, and it sounds done to me. It was quite the learning experience and a lot of fun. I'm sure we won't be famous because of this record, but it will be around a lot longer than either of us. I hope at least a few people will listen to it, enjoy it, and maybe even be moved by some of the songs. We put a lot into writing them, and the recordings are the to the best of our abilities (at least I think so). If we keep at it, we're probably going to make other records that are better than Stories, because we'll be better musicians. For now, I think we did pretty good. I hope you think so to.
While Dan and I are a duo, we had a lot of help from our friends. There were the members of our other band, Labor of Giants, who's musical abilities filled the gaps and pushed each song's arrangement into the "sweet spot". And I couldn't thank them enough. It was fun for all of us, but it was also a lot of work, a lot of weekends given up, and a lot of playing the same thing over and over again. It's a good thing we all like music as much as we do!
If we needed keyboard, in came Tim Braun. He not only put meat on the bones of a bunch of the songs, he changed a bunch of the songs for the better. Whenever we play "What About Me?" I keep wishing he was around to play the piano solo. He really made that particular song reach another level.
Kevin Hugh is an amazing drummer and we are lucky he was willing to help out. We originally asked him to play on just a couple of songs that we thought needed drums. On the day he came in to record, he did such an incredible job, we just kept on going. All the songs needed drums! A lot of the songs he played to had no click track. Listening to the album, I can't distinguish which ones they were.
For electric guitar and everything pro tools, we had the help of Ed Sabourin. He certainly put more time into this record than Dan or I. He made it sound so much better than I expected without overproducing it, or masking our mistakes. He cleaned it up without making it plastic and generic sounding. He was exceedingly patient with Dan and I, who were like exited little kids most of the time.
We also had and extra vocalist in some of the songs. Ruth Kennedy would bust out harmonies on command, which is not something anyone can do. On the day she came in to record with us, I would just come up with a part quickly, tell her to harmonize with me, and she'd do it. I've sang with a bunch of people, and heard a lot of singers. Ruth was a quick study. Even though she was shy at times, she knew what she was doing.
I just finished listening to the whole thing, and it sounds done to me. It was quite the learning experience and a lot of fun. I'm sure we won't be famous because of this record, but it will be around a lot longer than either of us. I hope at least a few people will listen to it, enjoy it, and maybe even be moved by some of the songs. We put a lot into writing them, and the recordings are the to the best of our abilities (at least I think so). If we keep at it, we're probably going to make other records that are better than Stories, because we'll be better musicians. For now, I think we did pretty good. I hope you think so to.
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