Hey RANCH\HOUSE Friends, Fans, and Supporters
We spent last weekend, March 25,26,27, at Fast Horse Studio in Austin, TX recording the essential tracks for our new album, "Book It To Sundown." We recorded 12 songs in 3 days which was an incredible marathon in the studio. By Monday night, we were completely exhausted from three 12-14 hour days back to back, but we are incredibly excited by the result so far. We have shared the rough tracks with our collaborators, who will join us on April 14th & 15th at San Antonio Sound Garden to record overdub tracks which will include: Fiddle, Accordion, Pedal Steel, Lead Guitars, Backing Vocals & Harmonies, French Horn, Cello, and possibly Baritone saxophone. We have been listening to the rough cuts this week and preparing to make any last edits or improvements before final mastering.
The recording session was so fun and focused. Working with David Beck is an incredible pleasure. His skill in recording, mixing, audio-engineering, and creative collaboration is inspiring and efficient. We worked very hard and cracked up laughing the entire time. I don't know anyone else that could help us produce this level of artistry in such a condensed time frame. He is a great coach as well, never allowing a mediocre take. We recorded Guitar, Bass & Drums all together live in the studio and did it over and over again until it was a great take. It was essential to have David's motivating & determined attitude to coach us on nailing the songs to bring out their full potential.
Dylan Ilseng was a clever collaborator on the bass as well. We worked together to give each song a unique bass tone; he used an octave pedal on "Cabin in The Clouds," and muted his strings with foam for a "Clunk-a-dunk" tone on "This World Alone." He overdubbed bowed bass fiddle on a few tunes that really brings out some dramatic emotions in the composition. Also, he used standup bass on several songs including; "My Mountain Home," "Her Recipe," & "Hit The Ground." This album will benefit greatly from his musicianship.
Matt Carrell was hard at work on the drums all 3 days. The marathon of 3 days, take after take, fell heavily on his drumming shoulders, and he handled it incredibly well. He nailed some of the tunes right off the bat, and other tunes he was graceful in spirit to work collaboratively with the group to explore the best, creative beats. He brought a can-do spirit and solid drumming skill to this record. This was his first time to record in a studio with the tyranny of the metronome, and he did an awesome job. I can wait to go on a cruise and bounce my head to Matt's phat beats:)
Brady is writing this article. I will tell you that I had an incredible experience making music with my friends in the studio. I am so grateful that these guys were willing to work with me to bring the songs that I've written to life. They are patient with me and help me unravel the ideas in my head. I pushed myself very hard, my voice was horse for a few days after the sessions from all the vocal tracking, my fingers were worn from the guitar shredding, but I have nothing to complain about. Making music with these guys was the most fun I can imagine.
We also had a blast on the last day when we invited Dees Stribling & Marshall Anderson into the studio to record a talking track on the song "Blood Murder," which is a tune about going to see a heavy metal band that blows your mind. They essentially improvised a duo comedy routine that we mined for clever nuggets to record in the dialogue. It is just a simple part of the song, but it is really classic and cool. and it was awesome to have them there. We also talked Dees into recording bongos on "Wear The Hat." It is so friggin cool;)
We still have one more recording session that we will do in San Antonio at San Antonio Sound Garden on April 14th & 15th to get all our San Antonio friends to do overdubs which will be delicious icing on the this beautiful cake that is the 2017 RANCH\HOUSE album, "Book It To Sundown."
It will be here before you know it. RANCH\HOUSE is coming! Catch us at the Maverick Music Festival in downtown San Antonio, TX on April 8,2017 at the Arneson Theatre in La Vallita at the Riverwalk. get your tickets now http://maverickmusicfestival.com/
Love,
S. Brady Dietert