Last weekend
was a memorable one for me. Friday, I headed down south to attend a recording session
with the very talented producer Andre Wahl. My somewhat undefined goal for my
next album is to include other local artists to cover a few of my songs. Andre
graciously agreed to produce three of my songs, piggybacking my recording
session with another he was scheduled to do at a studio in Washago. Last
weekend marked my first experience in a proper recording studio, and it was something I've dreamed of doing for the past forty years.
I was nervous,
because I did not know what would be expected of me, but I arrived in the Orillia
studio, and was immediately greeted by four friendly musicians. Within ten
minutes, my butterflies were gone and then it was down to business. We began
with a love song I wrote for Shauna many years ago entitled “Time We Found”,
which Andre and the band unanimously agreed should be the song I sing. I had
given the crew a rough demo I’d made, and from that demo they charted and
arranged the song. Performing with these obviously seasoned studio musicians
was such a pleasure for me, because they are so intuitive and creative. As we
ran through the song, I heard the arranging process unfold before me. Each
successive take was a little more refined than the last, and it was fascinating
to hear musicians and their producer interacting and discussing what worked and
what did not. By the third or fourth take the song began to come together, and
I could feel the energy in the room as we built an interesting arrangement from
a rough demo. We ran through the song eight or nine times before it was the way
they wanted it. Fully rehearsed, the
song was then recorded. There may be some minor overdubs, but the song will be
essentially as it was recorded off the floor. I then went into a separate booth
and recorded several takes of the vocals. Thankfully, I will have a chance to
re-record those, because after an hour of singing the same song, my untrained
voice was not at its best. Although he has his work cut out for him, I am
confident Andre will extract an acceptable vocal from me.
My friend
and country singer-songwriter Paul Lagandyk was up next to record a country
ballad “Deeper I Go Into Blue” which I’d written over two decades ago. He has a
little more experience in the studio, has recorded his own album with Andre
Wahl, and is a far better singer than I. The song came together well, and the
relaxed atmosphere in this private studio made the creative process all that
much easier. Including two meals, which the owner of the studio graciously
provided, we were in the session for almost ten hours. For me, the time flew
by. My friend Jamie Clarke, band leader for a local band called Myrle, was in
the studio Saturday to record my song “White Car”. While I was not in attendance
for the Saturday sessions, I ran through the song with Jamie a week or so ago, and
I am confident that he will knock that song out of the park. Jamie is a
seasoned musician/songwriter as well, who most recently recorded an album with
the uber-talented Ron Hawkins. I don’t know what will come of these sessions,
but it was my dream come true to record with such a well-known producer and
these skilled studio musicians (Tom Juhas on guitar, Rich Levesque on bass,
Craig Harley on keyboards, and Ken Post on drums). After recording in a vacuum for decades, I am
finally giving life to some of my songs. Given the direction of the music
business lately, I no longer aspire to any widespread recognition, but I have
created good recordings of some of the songs which I am proud to have
written. It has taken me almost thirty years to ignore the rejection I have
experienced as a songwriter, and to prevail. No matter what anyone says now, I
have established some credibility with the people I respect in the music
business: songwriters, musicians, and producers.
Saturday
morning, I met my friend Bob in Toronto, and he and I attended the RV show in
Mississauga. We try to meet for one show per year, and it used to be the boat
show. Then it was the auto show, and one year we attended a motorcycle show. As
an amusing side note, when we arrived at the RV show, we noticed that there was
another concurrent convention: “Sexapalooza”. Perhaps it is indicative of our
advancing age, because, while we used to go out for a few drinks after the
show, we neither of us drink anymore. Now, we simply go out for a nice dinner
somewhere and complain about our degenerating health, followed by a marathon
session of “IPod DJ”. It works for us. Old friends are the best.
Written by Jamie
Oppenheimer c 2017 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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