Holy moly, did we have a lot of guests in the studio this week! Band tracking started a few days ago, and leave it to Brad Jones to assemble an all-star crew of musicians for this record. I am absolutely honored to have these guys playing my songs.
First up — the insanely talented multi-instrumentalist/artist/producer Ross Rice. Ross is somewhat of a legend in my hometown of Memphis. My husband grew up sneaking into clubs to hear him play. It was a dream of mine to be able to collaborate with Ross, so having him in the studio this week has been a bit surreal, and a real joy. On top of being a fabulous musician, I discovered that he also happens to be one of the most positive, easy-going guys you’ll ever meet. And, it was a great week to have another Grizz fan in the studio (Grit ‘n’ grind!)
Tearing it up on drums was Jason Cheek (Terri Clark, Sara Darling). What a nice guy and enthusiastic player. Jason just came off a tour with one of my favorite indie artists Matthew Perryman Jones, so I geeked out pretty hard over that.
I could try to list all the credits on Pat Buchanan‘s guitar-slinging resume, but it’s hard to know where to even begin (you really should check out the whole list HERE — wow). In his 30+ yrs career, Pat has played with just about everyone, and couldn’t be more humble about it.
Jonathan Trebing is the guitar player in Rascal Flatts, not that he ever mentioned that to me while we were tracking (where did Brad Jones find all these crazy-talented, humble musicians?!). What struck me about Jonathan’s playing was how lovely and delicate it was. He really made these songs beautiful.
For our last day of band tracking, we got John Deaderick in the studio. John is the keyboard player for Patty freakin’ Griffin — take some time to process that……..I KNOW!!! John’s wurlitzer part on a song called “Just Us” is absolutely killer. Can’t wait for y’all to hear it on the record. It was so much fun playing with him, and being entertained by his dry wit (sorry about the clown, John).
…and of course, our producer Brad Jones! laying down a lot of the bass tracks. My husband originally turned me on to Brad’s bass playing on the Josh Rouse records, then I just found out he played bass on Sheryl Crow’s “Cmon Cmon”. Good grief dude.
What made this experience especially fun was the fact that we recorded the bulk of the tracks as a band, everyone in the same room. Most of my previous experience with recording has been where each instrument cuts separately, one at a time, sometimes even in an isolation booth. Being able to track as a band gives everyone a chance to feed off each other. It also takes some focus off of each individual, which makes everyone a bit less self-conscious and was a great help to me personally.
Overdubs start next…stay tuned!
The rest of the band gets here tomorrow, so I’m soaking in the last few moments of having the place to myself before we crank into high gear. Absolutely can’t wait to hear these songs brought to life, and for y’all to hear them later this year!
