Day III. The Good, The Bad, and We're Ugly.

.Tuesday, March 29

(Drums - Half of track 3 and tracks 1, 6, and 4.)

If you've never been involved in a band for a recording session, especially one with limited time and resources, you will never know the indescribable relief of being done with your tracking.  Drummers, I think, have a very intimate relationship with this sensation because, customarily, we track first.  Additionally, the overall tightness of the recording is based on everyone else needing the best drum recording possible.  I've talked to a few drummers about the initial pressure when entering the studio, and the concensus is that there is almost always a certain level of stress to perform.  Most of the people I've related to on this are in metal bands, but I assume it isn't genre specific.  I know for a fact that no matter the style of metal, be it tech death, sludge, progressive, doom, grind, whatever, drummers go in there knowing they "can not fuck this up."

With all of that in mind, on the second night of tracking drums, I'm finished with all six songs.  They're done, and they're stronger than ever; they sound better than I could have predicted two days ago.  Each song has some quality, whether intentional or accidental, that enhances it beyond what I'd planned to do.  All the stress and pressure, through to the relief of being done, has culminated in a level of satisfaction that I urge everyone to work towards.  


If you don't, you're probably a huge pussy.


As a footnote, for anyone who might find themselves in a studio with a drummer tracking first, you should do whatever you can to make them comfortable.  This means they're hydrated, fed, and most importantly laughing as much as possible.  It's those times when we take a beat or section far too seriously that we have problems nailing it.  Just crack some dick jokes and it gets worlds easier.

- C