I
have heard it said many times that recording apps for the iPhone and iPad are
not going to replace more elaborate forms of recording any time soon; that the
majority of musicians, djs & self-proclaimed sound artists do little more
with these apps other than create simple home demos and loops. This may be the
case right now. However, I am willing to wager a lifetime of madness on the
likelihood that there are plenty of clever and talented minds out there that
will disprove that theory in less than a few fortnights. It's not always easy
to dig through the virtually endless junkyard of barely listenable, un-promoted
crap that floods the Internet. If I had a dollar for every "unknown"
artist I discovered trudging through the bilious swamps of castaway sludge that
actually pricked up my ears and made me pay attention, I would probably have
barely enough to buy myself a proper alcoholic beverage at a reputable
establishment. That being said, I know there are some incredible artists
waiting to be "discovered" out there making great music with nothing
more than their ipads and iphones (or Androids, etc. if you go that way).
I
entered my first studio thanks to my father back in 1978 at the ripe young age
of ten. It was a 16-track analog studio that charged something like $160.00 an
hour. However, you also got an experienced engineer, soundproof booths,
ridiculously expensive high-end microphones and all the dream-gear you could
ever hope for after spending a minimum of several thousand clams. As a
ten-year-old musician looking to get in the game uncomfortably early I was
blown away. After several similar experiences along with the realization that I
wanted to be Brian Wilson, Brian Eno, Brian May and any other genius named
Brian I could emulate, I knew I would have to become infinitely wealthy in
order to afford making the masterpieces I had in mind. At that rate, which
increased substantially through the 80s and 90s with the advent of more
numerous tracks, higher-end equipment, and eventually, digital recording, I
would have to be Jay-Z rich.
I
bought my first 4 track cassette recorder in 1987, a Tascam MT2X, along with
several thousand dollars of assorted equipment to make my first album ever
without the constraints of time and without "know-it-all" engineers
and producers breathing down my back. I was still a teen at the time and wanted
to prove myself to my peers that I could make an album that would make Prince,
Bauhaus, or even the fucking Beatles proud. In March of 1988, I completed my
first DOG album. This would be the prototype album against which all my future
recordings would be judged upon (mostly by me). Although there were certainly
some magical moments and some crazy, but useful techniques that I still use to
this day, the album is largely laughable as far as sonics and recording
technique go in comparison to what would have been possible in a 1988-era
state-of-the-art studio. It is a charming little representation of that time in
my life, however, and probably the most important recording I have ever
produced in the grand scheme of things.
Fast
forward to 1993 (no pun intended); this was the year of my first studio upgrade
after finally figuring out a way to bring my show to the New York City &
New Jersey club circuit. My band-mate and co-producer, Andres Karu, and I saved
up all our cash from working day jobs to buy an 8-track Tascam Portastudio
which promised to take cassette-based multi-tracking to a new level back in the
early 90s. A shitload of other goodies became available then as well, such as
more sophisticated and affordable drum machines and sampling synthesizers. We
went fucking balls-out nuts and bought, borrowed, and nearly stole whatever we
could to turn our Doghaus studio into the studio of any young musician's
dreams.
During that period and prior to our first record deal (with
Warner/Reprise), we recorded 5 nights a week and I would sneak down into the
studio whenever possible, since it was built in the basement of my parents'
house, to record my own unsavory ideas as well. By the time we signed with
Reprise records in 1995, we had accumulated over 30 albums worth of DOG music,
most of which I am still quite proud of to this day. Thanks to those recordings,
Reprise records eventually gave us full creative control and did not hesitate
to give us a shitload of money to build our own $70,000.00 dream studio in
1997. The album we recorded during that period under our new name at the time,
Love in Reverse, was a sonic nightmare ride recorded on 24 tracks of Tascam DA-88 digital multi-track tapes. This was only a few years prior to the era in which
it became possible to record endless tracks onto hard drive with the use of
Firewire and other fledgling technologies. We literally recorded our own
self-proclaimed sonic masterpiece for that era. "Words Become Worms"
would be our last album with Reprise due to circumstances which I will surely
cover in future posts. However, although it sold virtually nothing thanks to
our shitty marketing department and incompetent management team, it was a proud
moment for us as recording artists and garnered quite a few favorable reviews.
Jason Corsaro, the guy we hired to mix the seemingly endless tracks of guitars,
bass, drums, drum machines, samplers, synthesizers, layers of vocals and ambient
tracks once told me that he thought this was the most exciting project he had
ever worked on. This statement from the guy who worked on albums ranging from
Soundgarden's "Superunknown" to the Rolling Stones' "Tattoo
You" and Madonna's "Like a Virgin" to albums by Clutch, Robert
Palmer and Duran Duran, was a pretty bold one and a proud moment for me as a
recording artist. He also brought Howie Weinberg on board to master the album.
Howie's discography is far too ridiculous to even begin to mention, but feel
free to Google it if you're so inclined. I can't be bothered with any further
name-dropping at this point.
After that, I had the good fortune to record a few more albums in our
major-label financed studio as well as the chance to record with other talented
producers and engineers in various ball-dropping studios. However, at the turn
of the millenium, I found myself digging up the old Tascam 8-track once again.
If I learned anything from those years of expensive recordings with
world-renowned producers and engineers, I learned this one thing, again from
Jason Corsaro: The secret to great recordings has little to nothing to do with
the equipment and the so-called expertise, but rather it is about capturing a
moment of inspiration. He further flattered me by stating that his favorite
recording on "Words Become Worms" was a song called "Night the
Witch Came Home" which was one of 2 tracks from the album recorded on our
trusted 8-track cassette recorder. I have to admit that I agree with him. It is
still one of my favorite of our recordings to this day. It was one of those
tracks that just came together with all of the right elements and despite being
recorded on a dinky little device, sounded as big and as dynamic as anything on
that record recorded with expensive digital equipment.
Next
I reinvented myself as an
experimental/ambient/horror/callitwhateverthefuckyouwanttocallit recording
artist and dubbed myself BEDTIME FOR ROBOTS. I recorded a shitload of BFR
albums on the Tascam between 2001 and 2009, all of which are slowly being
released independently and all of which explore the various twisted catacombs
of my brain. The Tascam Portastudio finally dropped dead of exhaustion in the
summer of 2009. I still can’t believe that machine lasted as long as it did and
for as many recordings as it did without ever having to replace a single tape
head or moving part. It served me well and I bow to the Japanese manufacturers
for creating such a wonderful piece of invaluable equipment. RIP my friend.
I
took a three + year hiatus from recording between that summer in
which my loyal analogue friend passed on into the afterlife of recording
machines and the winter madness of January 2013, my 45th tumultuous year on
planet Earth. During that hiatus I worked on finishing up a degree in
neuroscience and began a master's program in health science, my second passion.
During my rotations in various hospitals and clinics it became apparent that I
was going to have to finally give in and convert to a smartphone in order to
have access to medical apps that would make my life much less of a living hell
and much more productive in the art of medicine. Little did I know that that
very same handheld device would change my life as an artist and reignite my
excitement and passion for recording since being inundated by endless hours of
dissecting cadavers, analyzing journals and memorizing volumes of
medical-related literature. I purchased the iPhone 4S on New Year’s Day of 2013
and since then I have recorded 5 full-length albums in between study sessions
and hospital rotations. If you have the time and if you are interested, I have
previous posts describing some of these recordings in great detail.
"Rites," the first of these full length recordings is now available
through various outlets including iTunes, Amazon.com and CD-baby.
Although I am quite sure now that ANYTHING is possible if you have enough
hard drive, RAM and the right software and hardware, there are only so many
seconds in a day, and by the time one learns to use the equipment, fifty
thousand or so ideas are now out the God-damn window! App recording is a
fabulous alternative for those of us who want great sound quality along with a
virtually endless array of possibilities. I am going to make a list of interesting
recording and performing apps for both the iPhone and iPad (which I have also
recently added to my arsenal) as well as some of the hardware you will need
(Android users and other freaks, I am sorry but I am not sure about the
availability of these apps in your various worlds and I am far too uninspired
to find out) in my next installment. Until then, I am just going to say that if
you keep an open mind and if you are willing to accept the touchscreen as an
entirely new instrument with endless possibilities then I guarantee you will
not be disappointed. Of course, you will not have to give up performing on your
instrument of choice. They have apps and hardware for that too. The best thing
about recording this way is that any space you can imagine can become your
studio. As long as you have your battery charged you can record your next album
in the middle of the fucking woods or in a God-damn igloo if you are so
inclined. I also found that the greatest way to mix an album is on the
equipment you know best. In other words, the speakers that you use to listen to
the majority of your favorite music should be the same speakers in which you
mix your own work. You will very likely know the depth as well as the
limitations of the bass and treble ranges of those speakers. I like to do an
entire mix through my headphones, a relatively inexpensive pair of Sennheisers,
as well as one in my car system (which is a basic Toyota Corolla pre-installed
system) since I spend the majority of my music listening time there. Remember
that some of the greatest recordings in existence were made long before we had
access to any of the technology available today. In fact, some of the very
"flaws" we try so hard to eliminate are what made those recordings
special in the first place.
Good luck creating the future…
MF
