5 Things to keep in mind when Recording a garage EP

Normally this blog is a narcissistic ramble giving thought only to what is going on in my head but today I'm gonna try something different. I've Just finished recording a new EP for the band and whilst I have been recording EPs and demos and odds and ends for the best part of fifteen years it was Drews first time in a recording situation. This meant that I became slightly fatherly and doled out all of the sage like advice I could think. I'd like to share that Advice for anyone else who might be recording for the first time or for anyone who feels they are struggling to get something sounding just right. It might be useful, it might be a pile of drivvel. Let's find out:

1. Keep it simple.

I know a lot of people say this when giving advice but it is something to definitely take to heart. You can layer something as many times as possible so there is no need to try and do something needlessly complicated in any one track. Being overly technical can be a point of pride in many musicians (I'm looking at you lead guitarists) but play your guitar with your boner on stage, when recording keep things to the path of least resistance. It's best to think of a recorded track as the blueprint for your song, going nuts is for the crowd.

2. If there's doubt then there's no doubt.

If that title sounds like corporate bullshit it's because I stole it from a recruitment agent that came to a company I worked for, but it's pretty apt all the same. It's tempting to just accept a track as "good enough" especially after the 20th take and you're goddamned sick of playing the same 10 seconds over and over, but try to remember that you should still want to listen to your songs in 10 years time. If there is a niggling mistake or bum note then you need to push through and make sure you're definitely happy with it. I don't mean things need to sound clinical, but you need to be sure that the sound you have captured is exactly the one you want to hear. Remember that mixing is not magic and although many wonderful things can be done to a song in production what you played is what you played and it isn't going to change. One great resource for deciding whether a track is good enough is asking whoever is recording you. Although they may not "know" your song in the way you do they will know what works on a recording and will give advice whether another take is on the cards.

3. Be representative.

Does your band have a twenty piece horn section when you play live? Does it have a speedcore drum track? No? Then try not to throw it into your recording. It's really tempting to stick a bunch of extra stuff onto a recording because you think the bigger and more epic something sounds then the better the result, but often you can end up spoiling the original intention of the track. This isn't to say that the string track you want to use or the gang vocals in the chorus shouldn't happen, but what you record should represent what you sound like as a band when you play on stage. For an exclusively acoustic punk-pop band having three distorted guitars  on each track, screamo vocals and and orchestral arrangements would mean that anyone who came to listen to us would be at best confused and at worst really pissed off that the songs they have heard on an EP or album don't come across in a show. Re-workings and different live arrangements are the things of famous bands with classic songs. Lemmy can play Ace Of Spades differently because there isn't person at his shows or within a 1000 mile radius of that show who doesn't know it but for your breakout EP or album keep it sounding like it is when you play it on stage.

4. Sing like you mean it

This is really for singers so all you other superfluous musician types can probably skip this. Singing on stage to people who aren't paying attention is weird and can affect the quality of your vocals. Doing the same thing to a wall and then doing it another three times for luck is even weirder. It's really difficult trying to bottle up that feeling of playing an incredible show and letting it out in such a deliberately sterile environment. What makes it worse is that a lot of the time you're the only thing making a loud noise at that point and (if you're anything like me) you fucking hate the sound of your own voice when it's recorded. These are all natural psychological barriers that all singers, from the lead guy to the odd part backing singers need to deal with. In that moment you booming your three word backing vocal line can sound stupid and unimportant but it's important to remember that it's just one piece of an epic whole and that the more conviction you can give that bastard mic the better. To those who aren't musicians the vocals are the most important thing in a song and the more energy you can put into it the happier you'll be with the result.

5. Be Happy

This sounds a little stupid and in all honesty I didn't think of 5 reasonable things to talk about before I started writing this blog but after a little consideration I think this is a totally valid point. It's pretty easy to fall into a habit of phoning in each part of a song when you're recording. You become conscious of not fucking it up, this becomes especially prevalent when you get past four or five takes and you start to just make sure those notes are being hit rather than grabbing the song by the balls and kicking it in the face twice like you originally intended to do. The problem with not attacking the song with the same energy that you start out with is that it comes out in the record, even if you're not singing or banging drums which are the most susceptible to sounding lack luster. Recording a track is almost like taking an acting class, and you need to have the mind set of playing to as large a crowd as you like whilst ignoring the damping of your surroundings.

Cool I actually talked about five things. It's probably safe to say I didn't take my own advice on a single one of these points over the weekend but then again the amount of fucks I give are equal to the amount of perfectly recorded EPs I have ever done.

Shed acoustics and all the Maidstone best.

Bit mental really looking back on it but Red Rag Front as the dynamic duo we are these days hadn't played a full set together before Saturday. The last show at the birds nest Drew had managed to learn a few songs but of the few he did know we only got to play a couple because the set was cut short. That meant that some serious practicing was needed to make sure we had a half hour of almost all new material for our next show almost three months away.
Of course we procrastinated until the beginning of October before getting into gear and with Autumn closing in I had to clear some extra space in my shed so we could get down to business. I gotta say too that the sound in that shed is pretty great. I can hear everything that is going on at just the right levels and the ever so slight echo gives everything the perfect amount of reverb. From now on that is the sound I'm gonna be aiming for whenever we play a show! So new songs abounded, harmonies were learnt, cover choices were made and a set list formed from ash and sweat and blood.

Ready we were then to face playing a show I've personally been dreaming about since I started this band around this time last year. I've always massively looked up to the River Jumpers, being a band who really really passionately love what they do and have gone about making sure that they have done everything in their power to make the band as big a success as they can, and fuck me if in my eyes they've made that success. I don't know too many other bands in the Brighton scene who can boast overseas followings and a multi-coloured vinyl collection!!

So being that I have a pretty huge band crush on them I may have given Drew a little more shit than was strictly necessary in preparation but it did mean that we turned up on Saturday ready to crush it! after getting to the venue and getting a little more excited than we should have over our name being on the board outside we went inside and hung out for a while. Gaz (of ASBO Retard fame) runs this particular establishment and was super welcoming to us and he and his family made us feel like VIPs while we waited to go onstage.

That start was a tad later than we expected due to the unfortunate pulling out of The Liabilities, a case of gigantisism not allowing them to be fit for the show! so at 21:00 we went on stage and barring some slightly shonky sound that we tried and slightly failed to set up ourselves the show was pretty good. As a duo I think we're pretty in sync with each other which is great, and it definitely took some work to get there. All our hard work cramming into a dark cold shed seemed to pay off and nobody walked out the pub in disgust so overall another win for Red Rag Front.

River Jumpers were fully awesome, and I'm not just saying that because I love them and know all the words to their songs and screamed along like a tween girl the whole time they were on stage.... ok maybe I am biased but that doesn't stop them being totally awesome and the best! Much drinking and hilarity ensued and even though disaster loomed in the same of a spilt pint and some expensive looking pedals they showed just why they are the best band in town.

So all in all a great night spent with good friends old and brand new. Things are looking fairly rosy in camp right now and I think it's time to look into doing something to put us out of our comfort zone like doing a tour next year. We'll see.

Next up for us is recording a new EP. We still don't have anything official with the both of us on it so this should be really good for us. We have the tracks ready and practiced and we're looking to go all out in order to make sure it's something people will enjoy on their stereos. Good things seem to be in store for us and our rapidly growing group of excellent friends is who we have to thank.