Tuesday, February 9, 2010

In the Studio...Again

We've just gotten home from another day in the studio.

Note to all parents of 11 month-olds...If you're thinking of bringing your baby into the studio, then do it. A pack and play, a good friend/nanny and some toys will get you through an 8 hour day. At least it worked for us back in November when we recorded the first 6 songs for the new Elizabeth McQueen record. It was actually pretty fun.

Note to all parents of 13 month-olds...If you're thinking of bringing the baby to the studio, think again. I don't know if it's just because Lisel was older and wiser, or maybe she was just having one of those days, but she was not having the "separated from mommy by only a door, " deal. It was the same set up as last time. Claire, toys, a pack n play. And yet, this time, there were tears. Lots of tears.

I think the bean is getting much smarter. Out of sight, out of mind is no longer working.

And tomorrow, I think the bean shall not be coming to the studio. No need to make her hang out all day in a windowless, dude-intensive environment.

Once again, I'm in awe of the guys who are playing on this record. John Doyle, Lindsay Greene, Andrew Nafziger, Floyd Domino and my own sweet Dave Sanger...they are very, very good players. And the engineers, Sam and Will..they are very good too.

I want to tell you all about the session. About how the first song I chose was a song called "Love"-- a song I learned from Lena Horne -- and how it was such a bear, with key changes and ridiculous chord progressions that it took three people just to chart that sucker out. And how we played it through so many times that Dave started to think of its title as "Hate" rather than "Love." And then after a couple of hours, the arrangement went from kind of an amorphous jingle jangle to something that we all dug.

And how the next song I chose was one that I'd written, and I'm always terribly embarrassed to play songs I've written for people other than family members, especially good musician types like the ones I was with today. And how my friends didn't laugh at me, but listened to the song and took it in and how by the first take the arrangement had coalesced into this really perfect and sweet song. And how even though we recorded it three more times, we all agreed that that first take was the one.

Or how about at the very end of the day, John and Lindsay and Andrew and I took a shot at the Magnetic Fields song "You're My Only Home," a song I've loved since before I loved Dave, and how within a half hour we had it.

I want to tell you how a good day in the studio, a day like today, is fairly magical. At least it is for me. Because what is magic if not the act of creating something from nothing.

I want to tell you all about it, but I am pooped and scooped, and like any good parent of a 13 month-old who has to go to work tomorrow, I'm going to bed.

But we'll talk about this later, I promise.

3 comments:

Joanna said...

Can't wait to buy a copy of the new CD!

Anonymous said...

So glad to hear you will have solo product out...and that you are so honest as an artist. Brava!!!! -Charlie & Lisa G.

cindyred60 said...

Thanks for writing that! It was like a pretty ride to read. You need a nanny-helper like the one in PeterPan ;)