December 18th, 2008
Production on PJ’s record has been quiet for the past few weeks. I know he’s been sussing out new material/lyrics, etc. but we haven’t tracked anything new. It’s amazing how the Holidays take hold of your schedule and ring you dry. Don’t get me wrong, I love this time of year. My wife and I bought a tree, we put some lights on the columns of our front porch…attended a few holiday parties..all that stuff. It’s been fun. But I feel like I’ve been going 110% for a few weeks now and am ready for a break.
During this past week, while setting up for the days work at the studio, I put on some Holiday music that a friend gave me. Not your run-of-the-mill stuff you hear at Macy’s, but something with a little twist. With no further adieu, I give you…
Cactus Jim and The Wranglers!
Wait For The Wagon (On Christmas Day)
So while this music may sound dated, it gets my wheels spinning. I love the texture of the music. I like how the band isn’t right in your face. It’s all about the vocal. The band is there to just support that and nothing more. These days with all the studio production tools at our disposal, it’s so easy to get caught up trying to make every instrument sound huge and perfect. The quest for a huge wall of sound. Listening to music like that on Cactus Jim and The Wranglers “Western Christmas” album (despite being a bit hokey) reminds me of what’s most important in a song…the vocal. It kind of makes me want to do a track on PJ’s album where we have the rhythm section all in one room, everything bleeding into one another, all a little bit muted, and then the vocal…right up front. While I don’t think a vintage Christmas album is what we’re after in terms of style for this album (or anything too 60′s sounding for that matter), I think there are approaches like this that we can call upon to get some interesting vibes on the upcoming recordings.
We’ll see how it goes.
In the meantime, stay warm… Here’s a little something to help.
O Tannenbaum (recorded in 1907)
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