What Happens When I Spend 10 Hours in my Basement Home Recording Studio

It was a blustery and dreary Sunday today in Portland, OR. It’s the kind of day I love because there is no hope of wanting to go outdoors, even for a moment to run to the store or grab a bite to eat. This is hunkering down kind of weather where you crank up the heat, put on a cozy sweater and get to work on some forgotten arts and crafts project.

I’m usually at the Portland Saturday Market on the weekends but the wind and rain was so strong I opted out. I’m definitely one of those fair weathered vendors. I don’t do well in extreme elements like cold or direct sunlight. Even so, I love miserable rainy days. They are my absolute favorite.

There was an alignment of stars because in addition to stormy weather, both of my housemates were gone so it ended up being the perfect day to spend 10 hours in my basement home recording studio warming things up for the soundtrack I’m going to be cranking out next week.

I usually play a 1971 Guild Freshman M-65 hollow bodied electric guitar for my live shows and recordings but she is in the shop for the next couple of weeks getting her tuners replaced and her pickup rewired. I was so hesitant to let her go because the process takes about three weeks and I’m behind on projects, not to mention nervous about being without my special lady for so long.

With the Guild gone, I’m pretty limited with what I can do but I have a pretty sweet 1969 Gibson B-25 that is pretty fun to play. It has recently developed some string buzz on the low E & A strings though which makes it unsuitable for recording anything other than scratch tracks.

I still sounds pretty good even with the string buzz. I ran it through my Fender Blues Jr III and got some pretty cool sounds out of it.

The video at the top of the post is a clip of the song I was working on today called “Coming Up For Air” inspired by @Alexbeyman. I don’t want to post the whole song on here yet because it was only written a week or so ago and it isn’t finished yet. I sent an MP3 of this over to my bandmate, Steve Moore, who is working on a creepy underwater sounding lap steel part for it while he is in Nashville. I’d also like to attempt a self produced music video for it now that I have the space set aside. There will be more to come for sure but in the interim, this is just a teaser.

I really love producing songs more than I love playing instruments. I think that I have a great ear, good ideas and a pleasing aesthetic for sound design. I love playing with sounds after they’ve been recorded. That part is my favorite. Being good and not fucking up in the studio is not my favorite. I ’ve pulled it off many times (six albums and counting) but it can be pretty high pressure when you are paying someone $500-$700 a day to record in a great studio. That’s why I love home recording and production. It’s all fun (mostly) and absolutely no pressure. I can take as many takes as I want although if I don’t get it in three takes I tend to move on to something else for a bit.

Other bonuses to home recording include: wearing pajamas and slippers to the studio, snuggling your cat between takes, meowing in the background of your best takes, bathing and deodorant become optional and if you stock up on coffee and cheerios you literally won't need to leave your house for weeks at a time. Yes, these are all things that you can do when you have a recording studio in your basement. Go ahead and laugh, but it’s the truth.

Here is today's cozy lineup of Uggs paired with a radiator style space heater and electric blanket. Not pictured: Fuzzy sweater wearing engineer/musician/girl and cat.

Last winter I spent 5 uninterrupted weeks working on a 72 minute score for a documentary. There was this insane deadline that required me to work around the clock. It was nuts. I was like Gollum by the time I emerged from the basement. I had a single dreadlock that took near an entire bottle of conditioner to untangle because I hadn’t properly washed or brushed my hair in WEEKS. Musicians and artists are slobs when we get into the groove. At least I am anyway.

Grooving is what happened today. I’m so happy that I got to play with my toys on this rainy day with no one here to disturb me. If I had my way, I would live in a big house all alone and it would rain everyday.

In the mean time, I will steal these moments as they come. I hope you enjoyed my little show and tell.

xoxo,
Amanda