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Tuesday, August 2nd, 2011

Daytrotter

It was a hot and muggy Monday morning when our van rolled in to Rock Island, Illinois to record a DayTrotter session. We grabbed coffee at a local coffeeshop and then loaded up three flights of stairs into the studio. The third floor was an oven that day. The tiny swamp coolers had no chance of keeping up with the 90+ degree heat and 90+ percent humidity. But God Bless them for trying.

The studio looked like those other nondescript studios that have been home to thousands of recording sessions: an out of the way space filled with instruments, posters, chairs, recording gear and a growing collection of weird things you collect and carry with you on the road (tour talismans). It feels like one of those utterly authentic places that has no idea how special it is until years later, when you step back from the body of work recorded there. And then it hits you: look what we were a part of.

Daytrotter's idea is simple, and beautiful: record bands when they're ON THE ROAD. Then write about the music like a poet. Then connect it to a piece of original artwork. Then give it away for free. So smart.

Music is like any other religion... it has holy places. Chess, Sun, Muscle Shoals, Hitsville. This studio felt like it might be one of those places eventually, if it keeps playing its cards right. We were (and still are) totally excited to be there... To add our music and vibe and intention to the place. To sweat a little into it's wooden floors and be a part of it all. It was an honor.

There have been over 2,000 Daytrotter sessions recorded there. Mike, the sound engineer, has run most of them. He was a prince of a man -- great to work with. We recorded totally live (to 2-track tape) versions of "Wide Open World", "Can You Hear Me", "Go to Hell (With Me)" and a new song named "Your Man".

What a great experience. We'll let you know when our session gets released.

Posted By John Common at: 3:08 pm

Blog

Tuesday, August 2nd, 2011

Daytrotter

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