Bout It

(1) Tony or Don or I [Matt] play some drum parts at The National Crayon Museum (the “studio”) in DC(Michael’s basement, specifically); this is usually done over an extended period of time.

(2) Michael takes the drum part and hammers it into something resembling a song, usually editing heavily for tempo issues (ahem — Tony) or just to make it make sense with the song he’s written.

(3) Upon hearing what Michael’s done — either at the studio or via email — Dave, Don, and I [Matt Byars] ruminate.

(4) Upon listening, we come up with ideas.  I [Matthew] tend to assume a gatekeeper function (vote thumbs-up or -down on whether the song’s a keeper), then we come in and record at the studio.

(5) A new wrinkle on this record is me (M.B.) recording at home in Baltimore.  My studio is called Easterns; it consists largely of me lying on my back with a laptop on my chest, watching TV and tinkering intermittently.

(6) After the tracking is done, we spend some time removing things.

(7) We bring the finished tracking into Silver Sonya where Chad Clark amplifies the work into a Parade of Sound (“raise the roof” gesture here).