well we got 4 songs done this morning before tommy's willie nelson session. it was a song with willie and lionel ritchie. tom said it was his first time with willie but that he had done several for lionel in the last month or so. tommy said he considered getting willie to sign his guitar but didn't out of reverence and respect. so, in hindsight i am glad i didn't try to tag along. but it would have been cool having willie say something like "buy gatewood's cd, it's great!"
anyway, tonight we just worked on "i need you now" for several hours. tommy likes it alot and wanted to get it right. so sarah buxton, his lovely and talented wife had worked on the song and brought her work to the studio to pitch in. how cool was that. she really is a great writer and has a fantastic voice. i invited them both up to put-in-bay whenever they can make it.
tomorrow we will start recording even though the pre production isn't complete. there are like 12 songs tommy hasn't even heard yet, but be not afraid i told myself, these people know what they are doing.
i just helped joe vitale carry in his equipment into the hotel. it's the least i can do, not only because i like the guy alot, and he's used to people doing that for him, and for crying out loud it's joe vitale, but he had to drive all the way down here to help me make this record. what a guy. i am so lucky he is involved.
ok i better get some sleep because breakfast with joe is in 7 hours and then we start to record hopefully tomorrow afternoon. wow. ok goodnight!
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
started pre production this morning
going to tommy's studio is a great experience. for starters it is in a really nice place on a hill and his is the last one wasssy up at the top. the studio has double walls and killer recording equipment, everything you need to make a great record.
the storage areas are filled with some amazing equipment. he showed me an amp that the exact model that was used on sgt pepper. it's ultra rare and he has to by it from england.
anyway, the facility has great security with a nice guard. the building is old enough to look really cool but you can tell it is not tun down, it just has soul. it's filled with really state of the art equipment and the walls are speckled with gold records from his work with rascal flatts and such. it certainly was not all of them, tom is not a guy who likes to show off.
sarah buxton, his wife and recording artist herself is a very charming lady and happened to be there and offered to help on one of the songs that i could use a little lyrical help on. i also got to hear her new cd that they made at the same studio. it sounds great. i hope my record sounds half that good, but i can only hope.
we got 4 songs run through, 2 of which needed very little, "at least i'm not working for the man", AND "getting to know her", although we might need to alternate the 1244 chord secquence with something else just so it doesn't get boring. the last one is walled "i need you now". it is a really pretty song in the key of A minor, 6/8, which for you non music majors means a sad fast waltz. there, he made the chorous's first half go twice as long, cut out a c chord i was doing, gave that inemitable buk groove on it and it is spooky good. that's the one sarah might have a look at the lyrics. that would be great.
anyway, we had to take a break because tommy needs to go cut a single with willie nelson! it should only take a few hours and we will begin work again around 5 or 6. i guess i could have asked to tag along to meet willie. tommy is very generous and probably wouldn't have minded but at this point i am just doing what is asked of me when it is asked and trying my best to do exactly that. poor willie just got busted for some pot. arresting willie neslson for pot i think is rediculous. he is a national treasure. i think george washington grew it for pete's sake.
anyway, i will stay here a little longer and work on some lyrics.
joe vitale who will be joining us on drums will arrive tonight. you might have heard of joe, he is a legendary drummer. some of his drumming you might remember are on songs like rock'n'roll hootchie koo, rocky mountain way. i mean the list goes on and on. he played on every joe walsh record, the eagles live, and even has a song writing credit on hotel california album because he co-wrote prety maids all in a row. what a beautiful song. oh, and of course he has been the drummer for crosby stills and nash since just after woodstock. if you woulkd like to take a look at the really long list that earned him dozens and dozens of gold and platinum records clink on this address joe vitale's allmusic credits.
davis santos will be on bass he is john fogerty's bass player among many other things. a great guy and a great bass player. i rememeber that bucolic, serene strong bass line he played on "blades on the water" from my finally home cd.
last time i made a record with tom, a lot of cool musicians stopped by to say hi and maybe the same thing will happen again, so, if i didn't meet willie this time i am not worried. and besides, i am down here to come home with a great record, that is my only purpose.
so, talk to you after tonight's session.
the storage areas are filled with some amazing equipment. he showed me an amp that the exact model that was used on sgt pepper. it's ultra rare and he has to by it from england.
anyway, the facility has great security with a nice guard. the building is old enough to look really cool but you can tell it is not tun down, it just has soul. it's filled with really state of the art equipment and the walls are speckled with gold records from his work with rascal flatts and such. it certainly was not all of them, tom is not a guy who likes to show off.
sarah buxton, his wife and recording artist herself is a very charming lady and happened to be there and offered to help on one of the songs that i could use a little lyrical help on. i also got to hear her new cd that they made at the same studio. it sounds great. i hope my record sounds half that good, but i can only hope.
we got 4 songs run through, 2 of which needed very little, "at least i'm not working for the man", AND "getting to know her", although we might need to alternate the 1244 chord secquence with something else just so it doesn't get boring. the last one is walled "i need you now". it is a really pretty song in the key of A minor, 6/8, which for you non music majors means a sad fast waltz. there, he made the chorous's first half go twice as long, cut out a c chord i was doing, gave that inemitable buk groove on it and it is spooky good. that's the one sarah might have a look at the lyrics. that would be great.
anyway, we had to take a break because tommy needs to go cut a single with willie nelson! it should only take a few hours and we will begin work again around 5 or 6. i guess i could have asked to tag along to meet willie. tommy is very generous and probably wouldn't have minded but at this point i am just doing what is asked of me when it is asked and trying my best to do exactly that. poor willie just got busted for some pot. arresting willie neslson for pot i think is rediculous. he is a national treasure. i think george washington grew it for pete's sake.
anyway, i will stay here a little longer and work on some lyrics.
joe vitale who will be joining us on drums will arrive tonight. you might have heard of joe, he is a legendary drummer. some of his drumming you might remember are on songs like rock'n'roll hootchie koo, rocky mountain way. i mean the list goes on and on. he played on every joe walsh record, the eagles live, and even has a song writing credit on hotel california album because he co-wrote prety maids all in a row. what a beautiful song. oh, and of course he has been the drummer for crosby stills and nash since just after woodstock. if you woulkd like to take a look at the really long list that earned him dozens and dozens of gold and platinum records clink on this address joe vitale's allmusic credits.
davis santos will be on bass he is john fogerty's bass player among many other things. a great guy and a great bass player. i rememeber that bucolic, serene strong bass line he played on "blades on the water" from my finally home cd.
last time i made a record with tom, a lot of cool musicians stopped by to say hi and maybe the same thing will happen again, so, if i didn't meet willie this time i am not worried. and besides, i am down here to come home with a great record, that is my only purpose.
so, talk to you after tonight's session.
Monday, November 29, 2010
arriving in nashville
after leaving the island, having thanksgiving at my inlaws and doing a show in cleveland, we were on our way. about 9 hours to get to nashville except for the huge amounts of traffic and accidents over the holiday weekend. wow, people shopuld sloooooow down.
i know i'm in nashville because we just had breakfast at the wafle house. i know i could have found one more north of here, but i waited. and, boy, was it good. more butter than a 100 pound wedding cake.
today i am getting ready to meet tom bukovac, my producer, former calabash band member, and acm award holder as the best guitarist in nashville. (wow, really?!? how great at guitar do you have to be to get one of those?)
tommy used to tour a lot with winona and tanya tucker, john fogerty, but now just pretty much makes what they call master session recordings. those are the ones you hear on the radio all the time, like keith urban and sugarland. i always listen to see if i can recognize his work on the radio. most likely, if it is a country song these days, it's tommy playing on it.
how did i get tommy to produce my last record FINALLY HOME, and this one? shhh! i don't want to jinx it,,,, but i don't know, just lucky i guess. by the way tommy just got married to sarah buxton, a talented singer song writer who just had a hit on the radio called OUTSIDE MY WINDOW.
so, today i must get organized. i need to have copies of all the lyrics and songs i have written and make it not a waste of tommy's time when i get to go see him later tonight. he is doing a session all day.... hmmmm, wonder who it is he is making hit records for today.
this is what we call PRE PRODUCTION.
i hope my blog writing gets more interesting as i go,,, and i sure hope my song writing is more , uh ,,, better than this!
i know i'm in nashville because we just had breakfast at the wafle house. i know i could have found one more north of here, but i waited. and, boy, was it good. more butter than a 100 pound wedding cake.
today i am getting ready to meet tom bukovac, my producer, former calabash band member, and acm award holder as the best guitarist in nashville. (wow, really?!? how great at guitar do you have to be to get one of those?)
tommy used to tour a lot with winona and tanya tucker, john fogerty, but now just pretty much makes what they call master session recordings. those are the ones you hear on the radio all the time, like keith urban and sugarland. i always listen to see if i can recognize his work on the radio. most likely, if it is a country song these days, it's tommy playing on it.
how did i get tommy to produce my last record FINALLY HOME, and this one? shhh! i don't want to jinx it,,,, but i don't know, just lucky i guess. by the way tommy just got married to sarah buxton, a talented singer song writer who just had a hit on the radio called OUTSIDE MY WINDOW.
so, today i must get organized. i need to have copies of all the lyrics and songs i have written and make it not a waste of tommy's time when i get to go see him later tonight. he is doing a session all day.... hmmmm, wonder who it is he is making hit records for today.
this is what we call PRE PRODUCTION.
i hope my blog writing gets more interesting as i go,,, and i sure hope my song writing is more , uh ,,, better than this!
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