Recording our music with a great team
It has been an amazing experience to play lead guitar and work with Andy, Carlos, and Carl of Driven to Clarity. We are blessed to have worked with such amazing people.
Ian Richter at the Peabody Conservatory - engineer "Be Alright"
Steve Steckler at Asparagus Media - co-producer / engineer
Tyler Lefebvre - mixing genius
Zach Herchen - golden ears mixing engineer
AMP by Strathmore, Mike Morper, Throwing Wrenches, and Jocelyn Faro for making our album release absolutely epic!
OUR FANS = thanks to an Indiegogo campaign where we raised over $3000 our album "Heading Out" is available on iTunes, Amazon.com, CDBaby, Spotify, and more!
Ian Richter at the Peabody Conservatory - engineer "Be Alright"
Steve Steckler at Asparagus Media - co-producer / engineer
Tyler Lefebvre - mixing genius
Zach Herchen - golden ears mixing engineer
AMP by Strathmore, Mike Morper, Throwing Wrenches, and Jocelyn Faro for making our album release absolutely epic!
OUR FANS = thanks to an Indiegogo campaign where we raised over $3000 our album "Heading Out" is available on iTunes, Amazon.com, CDBaby, Spotify, and more!
We have more to share in the following links if you want to check out our videos, show dates, and more:
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| Andy, Dave, Steve, Carl, Carlos |
The process of making this album
You can't beat making an album live in the room with great musicians. We rehearsed these songs to perfection and played them live many times before recording them. Because we did this prep work, we didn't have to edit more than a couple of passages of the bass and drums. Andy re-recorded his acoustic and vocal parts after the initial tracking session. We kept some of my scratch lead parts but re-recorded most of them afterwards.
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| Drums and Bass with Carlos and Carl |
Andy on Songwriting
Writing for me has mostly gone like this: I write an initial chord progression. Then, I scat/hum/mumble melodies until I fall in love with all the lines. After that, lyrics come to me pretty quickly. When the core of the song is created, it's ready for the rest of the band's input. Dave will often help shape the song and add a lead guitar line. Carl and Carlos will shape the song further and solidify the tempo and grooves. |
| Andy Branigan recording on his Taylor Acoustic |
Dave, did you improvise your solos, or to write them ahead of time?
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| Dave playing a Les Paul Standard |
I wrote the rest of the solos note-by-note ahead of time. I spent some time with our co-producer Steve Steckler to work out where the solo in "Wanna Say" was going to go. Being the sage that he is, he gave me this advice: "PLAY FEWER NOTES! We all know you can play fast, but we want to hear some meaningful whole notes and half notes once in a while." Because of his help, this solo took on a very melodic approach. The solos in 'See it in Your Eyes,' 'Be Alright,' 'Weigh Me Down,' and 'Heading Out,' have the blistering, lots of notes in your face approach. This album helped put into perspective where these kinds of solos are appropriate and where they might not be so much.
There were a bunch of cool amps and guitars to choose from on the walls of the studio. It was a little overwhelming! The guitars I chose to use are below. Some were Steve's, Carl's, and borrowed from a friend.
Guitar Pedals and Accessories:
In a true old-school fashion, we recorded with guitar effects going into the amp. We were thinking that we'd get the sounds we wanted in the room and do our best with the mix later. Some of the pedals we used were:
Dave's Keys to Melodic Soloing
Quarter notes, half notes and whole notes
Match the emotional and musical quality of the vocal line(s)
Show off, but do it "here and there" and tastefully!
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| Custom Fender Strat |
Guitars, Guitar Amps, and Guitar Pedals
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| Ibanez Artist AM 50 |
- Gibson Les Paul Standard - 'Heading Out' solo
- Gibson ES 339 - 'Heading Out' rhythm parts
- Fender Custom Strat - 'Wanna Say' rhythm parts
- Fender Traditional Strat - 'Wanna Say' solo
- Gibson Les Paul Studio - 'Weigh Me Down' solo
- Ibanez Artist AM-50 - 'See it in Your Eyes'
- PRS Solidbody - 'Rest of My Life'
- Fender American Telecaster - 'Be Alright'
- Fender Twin
- Hayseed
- Marshall Stack
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| Hayseed Guitar Amp |
Guitar Pedals and Accessories:
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| Digitech Delay with Kickdisk |
- Digitech Delay
- Dunlop Crybaby
- Fulltone OCD
A favorite piece of gear is the kickdisk. It allows you to control pedals with your foot. It's awesome!
We'd love for you to hear the album. Check out the links below, leave a comment, and share on facebook/twitter!
Do you have songs you want to record? Visit songmindstudios.com to master the guitar and release your own album!
