What Have Your Learned From Your Past Recordings??

[brandondrury]

I'm trying to gather information for an upcoming article.

The Question:
"What have you learned from recording and releasing records in the past?".?

Another way of looking at it. "What have you done right and what you have done wrong when recording and releasing a record?".


I understand the question is very general, but we could sort of hit the "most important" points, I think this could be an mega valuable thread.

Brandon

[dach]

I'll eventually reply to this....

[brandondrury]

I'll go first then. I've learned that on the local level, only your friends or friends of friends will buy your record. You have to do something drastically different to get total strangers to buy it.

Brandon

[dach]

I don't have a relevant reply but I look at it like this... almost everything I've heard from no-name bands, local, circuit, even touring openers... was just not that good... the music wasn't too bad but something's always lacking... they just don't stand out.... perhaps the songwriting was lacking... maybe performance or arrangement issues etc... or the vox just didn't have character.... or the band is just plain ugly! Some genres of music- especially when the market is already saturated have any chance of selling... Rarely is it overly bad production... even locally. The only exception I've seen in the last year was the Pat McGee Band... they had a single on the bottom of the charts somewhere and their performance was pretty good... not to mention there was no lack of 18 year old hotties tossing their panties up on stage.... I bought their CD... very good songwriting but so over compressed and muddy, it's almost un-listenable. As you can guess, the 18 year old hotties all left when the Indigo Girls got onstage and were replaced by a bunch of middle aged, overweight, bowling shirt wearing dykes... but... lesson learned about why those people went to the shows and bought discs....

most likely the problem is the bands themselves - telling themselves that it is good enough and don't want to spend the extra effort or $$$ to improve their performance... or they just can't tell the difference... they could hire a producer but I don't know of any truly competent people who will toil with stuff that just isn't up to par to begin with. People give me their discs all the time... I don't play any of them except when I need an ego boost or are drinking...

It seems that stuff that's done without someone competent behind the wheel has zero chance of doing much at all... even selling locally... very rare is the band that can self produce and turn out something that I'll listen to more than once. Even bands like the one I talked about had a budget, a producer, a studio and a video... I wish them well because they ARE good, but I doubt I'll ever hear anything about them again... which is sad....

just what is it the local bands expect? Most everyone I've ever been involved with just does not have the determination to make it happen... then there is a little thing called talent.... Look at Jessica Mellot... she is busting her tail to make it happen and she expects no less than success... She's making it happen... one step at a time..... The people I've known all talk a big game but only run the first play.... no wonder they're not selling discs... It's about so much more than the studio!

[dach]

To quickly answer the original question.... OBJECTIVITY...

When I listen to some of the stuff done by the top producers... I rarely find myself thinking - gee... this sounds empty here or this just doesn't make sense or stuff's fighting each other or the climax doesn't climax!.... whatever... I may not care for the music or the overall timbre of sound but the presentation is key... they just present everything in an almost perfect fashion with no stones unturned... what would I change about the presentation of these songs??? nothing!

Directing that objectivity back at your own work is difficult and a separate process from writing, engineering and mixing... it's almost akin to arranging except that you are "arranging" or directing the writing, arrangement, performances, natural flow of dynamics, engineering and mix towards the best possible presentation.

A good song is a good song period... but a good song can be a great song if it's presented properly... what do the people expect to get out of this... how do I get there with this.... etc... are questions I'm always asking every step of the way...

just remember, what musicians think does not count... what engineers think doesn't count... what really counts is the people who have no concept. Remember, 9 times out of 10 they will want to spend their time with something that actually "does something for them"

[brandondrury]

Great mega post, Dach!

I'm going to summarize some of the things, Dach said for a few reasons:
1) To re-enforce what he is saying and hopefully drive the point home.
2) To make sure that those who haven't read the whole post (which everyone should) at least catch the main points.
3) Because when I use this for my upcoming article, I can quickly get to the best quotes.

I don't have a relevant reply but I look at it like this... almost everything I've heard from no-name bands, local, circuit, even touring openers... was just not that good... the music wasn't too bad but something's always lacking... they just don't stand out.... perhaps the songwriting was lacking... maybe performance or arrangement issues etc... or the vox just didn't have character.... or the band is just plain ugly!

Solve this and you make zillions!

When I listen to some of the stuff done by the top producers... I rarely find myself thinking - gee... this sounds empty here or this just doesn't make sense or stuff's fighting each other or the climax doesn't climax!.... whatever... I may not care for the music or the overall timbre of sound but the presentation is key... they just present everything in an almost perfect fashion with no stones unturned... what would I change about the presentation of these songs??? nothing!

The value of a great producer is illustrated well, here. Very nice, Dach.

Directing that objectivity back at your own work is difficult and a separate process from writing, engineering and mixing... it's almost akin to arranging except that you are "arranging" or directing the writing, arrangement, performances, natural flow of dynamics, engineering and mix towards the best possible presentation.

Another reason why the big boys almost always use producers!

A good song is a good song period... but a good song can be a great song if it's presented properly

Again, I couldn't agree more.

what do the people expect to get out of this... how do I get there with this.... etc..

This illustrates that writing has to cater to people. If you write only for yourself, the odds are great that no one else will like it...for obvious reasons. This doesn't mean that you can be personal and put your own heart into your music. It just means that if no one else gets the same feeling you do, then you screwed up.

most likely the problem is the bands themselves - telling themselves that it is good enough and don't want to spend the extra effort or $$$ to improve their performance

This is a big reason why I'm moving toward exclusively writing and colaborating with other songwriters using a sequencer. At least when I work with another songwriter, he has to impress me. That's at least one person down. Even though, I'm still very new to producing, I won't except anything I don't think is awesome. (Although now that I think of it, I've had to compromise from time to time or risk a mutiny).

rare is the band that can self produce and turn out something that I'll listen to more than once.

This is just another way of stating what was listed above. If you haven't considered working with a producer...good luck!!

just what is it the local bands expect?

This is another great question. Do you seriously think you can compete with the big boys of your genre? You can, but odds are strong that you'll need to use your noggin a little bit and work differently.

Most everyone I've ever been involved with just does not have the determination to make it happen

If you don't have something wrong with you that makes you completely sickened by the fact that you don't have hit songs, you probably won't make it. You may want to consider just doing a live recording in the studio and calling it a day.

just remember, what musicians think does not count

Most of the bands I work with are 100% concerned with what the other local bands in the area are going to say. This is NOT the crowd you should be going for!

Brandon