Members Lee Flier Posted June 7, 2006 Members Share Posted June 7, 2006 OK so it's not even summer yet, and it was actually fargin COLD everyplace we went. And OK, it wasn't even really a vacation, because we worked our asses off. But cut me some slack here. Anyhow, among other things, we visited Abbey Road... ... recorded most of the tracks for 5 songs at a SWEET studio in the Netherlands... all analog baby! ... and played at the freakin Cavern Club! Woohoo!! All in all, pretty amazing trip! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members vanlatte Posted June 7, 2006 Members Share Posted June 7, 2006 Wow, that looks like a great trip! That studio looks amazing. You guys need a bass player? j/k I wonder how many people have made that Abbey road walk...not that I wouldnt be out there hopping around like a school girl. weeeeee! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Lee Flier Posted June 7, 2006 Author Members Share Posted June 7, 2006 Originally posted by vanlatte Wow, that looks like a great trip! That studio looks amazing. It really is. We did all the tracks just playing together live, no headphones. Did the vocals that way too. It was awesome. I wonder how many people have made that Abbey road walk...not that I wouldnt be out there hopping around like a school girl. Yeah exactly. It was raining, we thought we were going to get run over, and you think "Boy do we look like dorks, every cheesy tourist does this" but in the end you JUST DON'T CARE. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Blackbelt1 Posted June 7, 2006 Members Share Posted June 7, 2006 THAT ...is awesome! Just being in that crosswalk would give me chills (good chills). Nice doublecut by the way! Tell us more about how that all came together (no pun intended, really). ~Blackbelt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators BATCAT Posted June 7, 2006 Moderators Share Posted June 7, 2006 The awesomeness of this post has left me speechless... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Lee Flier Posted June 7, 2006 Author Members Share Posted June 7, 2006 Originally posted by Blackbelt1 Just being in that crosswalk would give me chills (good chills). The thing is, when we were actually there it didn't seem like it was really THAT place. But when looking at it in a photograph, it does! Very odd thing. Nice doublecut by the way! Thanks! I kinda feel like I was cheating on my '52 gold top , as I've played almost nothing else for over 20 years, including on the road. But I didn't want to risk taking it overseas... too many chances of something happening to it on public transportation and such. So I bought the LP Faded... the neck feels fairly similar, it's got P90's like my gold top, and it's much more easily replaceable! I think the '52 is OK with it, and I gave it lots of extra attention when I got home. Tell us more about how that all came together (no pun intended, really). LOL... well... long story short, we were invited to play at a pop festival at the Cavern, by the organizer of said festival, who'd seen us play in Los Angeles at the same festival a couple of years ago... then one thing led to another and it ended up being several shows in the UK, as other promoters in the area started booking festivals around the Liverpool one. My friend in Holland who owns the studio, I've known him for years through the forums (perhaps he'll poke his head in and say hello) and we've always talked about us going there to record. I'm not sure we ever thought it would really happen though! But we figured if we were going to be overseas anyway it wasn't too far away, and we have this ambitious plan to do our next CD by travelling around to different studios that are all great sounding rooms, and recording all the tracks as live as possible. Kind of the antithesis of how most recordings are made now and more in the "band" spirit of things. So this was the first stop and it was awesome! I will be writing an article for EQ about these sessions actually. We're still buzzing from the trip, we met so many great people from all over the world, the gigs went over great, recording was awesome, everything was awesome. Even the day we got stuck standing for hours on a train when we were already dog tired from lack of sleep, crammed into the overcrowded hallway staring at the bathroom - we ended up meeting a well known songwriter, just because he had to go to the bathroom. He was really cool and bought a CD from us right there in the train corridor. Pretty nuts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Marlin in Minn Posted June 7, 2006 Members Share Posted June 7, 2006 That sounds, and looks, like you all had a blast! And you made it back safely! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BlueStrat Posted June 8, 2006 Members Share Posted June 8, 2006 Man, that is so awesome, Lee. Did you get to sign the wall at the Cavern? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members philbo Posted June 8, 2006 Members Share Posted June 8, 2006 Wow, Lee, that looks like a great vacation! What excellent photos! And great memories to go with them! :thu: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Kendrix Posted June 8, 2006 Members Share Posted June 8, 2006 Looks like it was a fun and productive trip. Where ever did you find that Hendrix-esque shirt. Its fab. So, you gonna import some pro tools tracks .wav into your AW4416? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members John Sayers Posted June 8, 2006 Members Share Posted June 8, 2006 :thu: Thanks Lee for the pics - sounds like a wonderful trip - I'm so happy for you. How about a trip downunder next time??......please. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members P.A.T. Posted June 8, 2006 Members Share Posted June 8, 2006 Cool that you came across the ocean and by the looks of it you had a great time! nice studio, what's the name and location? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Han Posted June 8, 2006 Members Share Posted June 8, 2006 Well, I have a strong feeling that I've been at that studio before, it looks quite familiar. Let me tell you one thing guys, that band of Lee is absolutely great, awesome.............. I'll post some photo's tonight. We've been recording live indeed, the backing vocals live as well in an overdub, music on the tracking room speakers, no cans. And these guys can sing in tune, it sounds like an organ. And bleed? Who cares about bleed? Bleed has a nice color, red and it turns in a warm brown after some time. :thu: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members LiveMusic Posted June 8, 2006 Members Share Posted June 8, 2006 Originally posted by Lee Flier we ended up meeting a well known songwriter, just because he had to go to the bathroom. He was really cool and bought a CD from us right there in the train corridor. Pretty nuts. This is a really great story. The thread story. But this songwriter buying a CD thing... how did that happen? What exactly went down with that? Who said what? Interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members maxnew40 Posted June 8, 2006 Members Share Posted June 8, 2006 Man that is all just so cool. What a great trip. Max Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Lee Flier Posted June 8, 2006 Author Members Share Posted June 8, 2006 Originally posted by Kendrix Looks like it was a fun and productive trip.Where ever did you find that Hendrix-esque shirt. Its fab. Heheh yeah I love it! I found it at some online Indian shop. So, you gonna import some pro tools tracks .wav into your AW4416? Pro Tools? Bah - we did everything on 2" tape! But we're gonna have everything transferred to WAV and do some additional overdubs on the AW, then I will mix in the computer... there are quite a few plugins out now that are better sounding than the now-ancient effects in the AW... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Lee Flier Posted June 8, 2006 Author Members Share Posted June 8, 2006 Originally posted by John Sayers How about a trip downunder next time??......please. We would love to, but it's such a long way that we'd have to spend quite a bit of time there to make it worthwhile... we'd have to do a pretty long tour and at least break even $$ wise. It'd be tough. But maybe one day we'll manage it... we seem to get around to most things we want to do, eventually. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Lee Flier Posted June 8, 2006 Author Members Share Posted June 8, 2006 Originally posted by Han Well, I have a strong feeling that I've been at that studio before, it looks quite familiar. Hi Han! (Han is the studio owner in the Netherlands in case you haven't figured that out And anybody who's anywhere near him should seriously check out his place... it's worth going way out of your way as we can attest!) Thanks for all the kind words... it was so cool to finally meet in person and we're so happy with how the tracks came out! You really know how to record a band as opposed to just "some people playing." For those who know the difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Roy Brooks Posted June 8, 2006 Members Share Posted June 8, 2006 That sounds fun. Did you rent amplifiers?I am probably going to go over that way in the next year or two. Although I may probably visit Abbey Road the main reason for my visit will be to wander around checking out old graveyards and tombs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Lee Flier Posted June 8, 2006 Author Members Share Posted June 8, 2006 Originally posted by LiveMusic But this songwriter buying a CD thing... how did that happen? What exactly went down with that? Who said what? Interesting. Well as I mentioned... we were stuck on an overbooked train from London to Manchester... nearly a four hour trip and we had to stand in the corridor the whole time, staring at the bathroom door. And there was more room in the bathroom than where we were standing. We were really bummed out as we'd been hoping to catch up on some much needed sleep on that train... but it wasn't gonna happen. It didn't take us long to notice that 1) it was tough to figure out how to operate the bathroom door and this seemed to confuse most passengers, and 2) the water in the bathroom sink didn't work, and some poor souls were soaping up their hands before they discovered this and then had no way to rinse off. So in a desperate attempt to amuse ourselves, whenever somebody went to the bathroom we'd give them instructions for operating the door properly, and inform them that the sink didn't work. Sort of self appointed bathroom attendants. And of course it didn't take said people long to figure out by our accents that we were American. Most of them then proceeded to apologize profusely for the train system, as if they were personally responsible for us having to stand the whole time. Just about all of them were seriously nice folks, the English. We dig 'em. So anyhow, one of these guys, like a few of the others had, noticed we were American and asked why we were in England. So we told him we were musicians there to do some gigs, and he said "Oh really? That's great... I'm a songwriter." He was in his 60's and very unassuming. Lyle asked him if he'd written anything we'd have heard of. He didn't expect we'd have heard of him, but he rattled off a few hits he'd written and then introduced himself by name, and we did in fact know who he was! Which really surprised him. He ended up talking to us for quite awhile and was obviously impressed with the fact that we had a good appreciation for all sorts of music. He told us some great stories about some of the folks he's worked with, then asked us if we'd released anything yet and we showed him our newest CD. He pulled out a ten pound note and asked if he could buy one, then gave us his contact info and said to look him up when we got back. Which we will. Nice guy. He's no doubt got lots of money, probably owns a car and could've driven to where he was going, could've at least bought a first class train ticket. But he was riding the train like everybody else, and seemed to really enjoy meeting people. Seemed like just about everyone we met there was a real character, and had a story to tell. Just goes to show, be nice to people, even in the bathroom , and you never know who you'll meet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Lee Flier Posted June 8, 2006 Author Members Share Posted June 8, 2006 Originally posted by Roy Brooks That sounds fun. Did you rent amplifiers? No, the festivals we played all provided backline, and Han's studio has drums and amps (and all kinds of other cool stuff) as well. To be honest, that was the one thing that was kind of a bummer for me because most of the clubs had crappy modelling amps. The Cavern Pub (across the street from the Cavern Club) had Fender Deluxe's and that was great... otherwise, it was hard for me to get any kind of decent tone. But I wasn't complaining, it was a small price to pay I guess, and we still played well and went over great... so, whatever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MDLMUSIC Posted June 8, 2006 Members Share Posted June 8, 2006 Originally posted by Lee Flier To be honest, that was the one thing that was kind of a bummer for me because most of the clubs had crappy modelling amps. The Cavern Pub (across the street from the Cavern Club) had Fender Deluxe's and that was great... otherwise, it was hard for me to get any kind of decent tone. But I wasn't complaining, it was a small price to pay I guess, and we still played well and went over great... so, whatever. The mark of a true professional. Work with what you've got and make it sound good. Sounds like you had a great trip. I'm jealous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators MrKnobs Posted June 8, 2006 Moderators Share Posted June 8, 2006 Lee - Looks like it was a great trip, thanks so much for sharing the pics and stories! Terry D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Han Posted June 8, 2006 Members Share Posted June 8, 2006 Well, here we go guys, our sister Lee as an engineer, mixing the rough mix: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JBJ Posted June 8, 2006 Members Share Posted June 8, 2006 cool glad you had a blast lee if you ever come back you should try and get yourself into king tuts in glasgow. its like oasis' cavern club. as for abbey road, i know some guys in a band that's label sent them to record in abbey's main room i was SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO jealous when they told me that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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