We Got it On Lock

John on drums, Athena on keys/guitar, and Nik on bass

So...I'm in a band. This opportunity fell into my lap and I'm running with it. We are aiming to create set lists full of top 40 songs to play in dance-like venues. Yesterday we laid down some demo tracks at
Omega Studios. I had such a GREAT time.

We demo'd California Gurls by Katy Perry and Bad Romance by Lady Gaga. (Just don't tell my undergraduate opera teachers, okay?) Pop music is not a style that I have a lot of experience in, but I tried to keep the same basic vocal technique but add a lot of varying stylization.

The Vocal Booth

The studio recorded us on tape, which is apparently the older method of mixing (I personally don't know much about recording technology other than what is on my MacBook). The resulting sound was extremely clean and professional.

We first focused on getting the bands general track correct, while I sang along lightly from the vocal booth. Afterwards I sang a new vocal track, or in the case of Bad Romance, I was able to go back and rerecord just certain sections that I thought sounded messy and the technicians were able to dub the two tracks together.

A note about the vocal booth - I loved the experience. It allowed me to focus on singing instead of being drowned out by the general loudness of a live band and push too hard. Now I know what it feels like to be correctly singing with a band, and I can focus on that feeling/technique during rehearsals and shows, instead of trying to listen to the vocal result (which always produces sub-par results).

Master Board

We also added in harmony, extra guitar parts, and even a shaker. I can't believe that is actually my voice on these tracks. I hardly sing pop, and I've never had a clean recording of my voice! Its almost an outer body experience to be able to hear what everyone else hears when I sing. We get the fully mastered tracks back in about a week and I cannot wait to share them with you!

A final big THANK YOU to the folks at Omega. Great people and great equipment, all in the neighborhood.