Music News

Guitars, Bass, Vocals and guest vocals?

So we spent half the first day allocated for guitars playing through nearly every amp you could think of. Some sounded terrible, others OK, but a few sounded ridiculously good. After agreeing on the perfect combination of heads and cabs (good luck figuring it out) and finding the best sounding guitars we got to work!

Again, Joe’s technique was quite different to what we were used to from recording 2 records with Adam D. Rather than sitting there looking at a computer screen and punching in every riff or note until it was 100% noise free precision, we’d be told to just have fun with it, feel it and play it the way we normally would. Then we’d go through and tighten it up but not compromise the ‘real’ and ‘natural’ sound of our guitar playing. The guitar tones we’ve got on this record are fucking huge. We’re so stoked with it and can’t wait to hear the final product.

Next was bass and since Jia wasn’t with us in the studio Jeff and I had alot of fun writing parts with Joe’s input and laying down some bong bong noises. This is the first time we’ve really picked apart what the bass is actually doing and it seems to be adding a whole new dimension to our songs. The breakdowns are so much heavier, fast parts more defined and the melodies are sounding as catchy as hell! Who would have thought bass was actually an instrument?

Winston’s time to shine. First song, one take, 15 minutes… next! We tried to listen back and go through shit but it was fucking perfect and heavy as hell so we just had to leave it. The good thing about recording guitars, bass and vocals all in one day (another new thing for us) is you really get to hear everything come together alot quicker. Everyday a new song or two is pretty much finished and we get so stoked on it and our spirits stay so high. We get home buzzing.

There’s a couple of interesting guest appearances on this record. Our label owner and Bad Religion legend Brett Gurewitz came in to the studio today and added a nice twist to one of our songs. Don’t worry, this is still the heaviest PWD record we’ve ever written.

So we’re about halfway through the rhythm guitars, bass and vocals at this stage. Here’s some photos to keep you guys happy and keep checking back for more updates and a video preview of our time in the studio. You may even hear some new music in there…

Luke

PRE-PRO and DRUMS done!

We arrived in LA only a day before our scheduled start in the studio and pretty much didn’t get a chance for any hanging out or Californian sun… it was straight to work!

After finding the studio, which is only 4 blocks from our apartment and displays a spray painted number on the front wall and fortress styled gate, we were greeted by our new producer / fart partner in crime Joe Barresi. The first couple of days we just played through the songs, talked shit over and figured out all the tempos for the songs. Joe was pretty stoked with everything from the start and the songs remained 99% as we originally wrote them.

Tracking drums was next on the agenda and the boys (Gaz, Joe and hired assistant Mike) set up the kit and got some pretty fucking huge tones straight away. The next 6 days were like Groundhog Day… wake up at 11am, studio at 12pm, track drums, leave studio at 10pm, have a spa, cook dinner really badly, watch tv / internet, sleep at 3am, repeat. Winston spent a good 8 hours a day playing Call of Duty and Jeff and I just sat around playing guitar here and there, hanging out with Joe’s dog and farting into the specially set up (at arse level) mic for recording farts.

Joe’s technique is something we’re not really used to in the studio. He’s very into keeping things sounding natural, organic and playing the parts the way you normally would. He doesn’t like chopping things up or punching in too much as it sacrifices the natural flow and feel of the song. This is something we had heard about him and a big factor in us asking him to work with us on this record. It’s challenging but I think the end result will show in this record. We changed up snares and cymbals quite a bit throughout the drum tracking, certain songs felt better with certain tones and working this way added a whole new dimension to what we were doing. Gaz nailed all the drum parts. The drumming alone on this record shits all over anything we’ve ever done before.

Jeff and I went through about 20 amps and found a few rippers we’d never thought would be good. We get to delve deeper and start getting serious with tones tomorrow. Once we’ve found the ultimate setup we’ll start tracking guitars, bass and vocals over the next couple of weeks. Stay tuned…