Merrily we transfer files

The imperfect art of moving files from one recording system (Pro Tools) to another (Cubase). We spent a couple of hours with Stuart swearing and yelling at praying and lamenting. We manhandled two tunes into submission.



By the glow of the monitor...


James is a good little helper.

Ladies and Gentlemen we have drums

There is a new candidate for sainthood as far as I'm concerned: Jim White.

Write that down ladies and gentlemen. Jim White, Champion Drummer… Scratch that. Not "champion"- Herculean Drummer.

We finished up today by doing about six tunes. A record for us. The evening ended with all of us beating on lots of objects we pulled out of a dumpster for that slave-ship vibe that's so popular with the kids these days.

Naptime.


Hi Mom.


Done.

Are we still doing drums

Yes. As a matter of fact we are. Several more tunes finished today. Dinner at Baja Fresh. Stuart suggests that I put some spinners on the Saturn. This is given due consideration.

This is also the day Stuart insisted that we refer to him as Captaineer and Jim encountered a fellow named Haaht Shaat. Rich brought the beer…


The view from the Lido Deck


Keyboard flavor

Still Drumming...

Drums on about five more tunes today. The second trip to Baker Bro's for dinner. Cigarettes were smoked. A beer or two was drunked.


Jim. Jimbo. Jimmy. His monther calls him James


James. Jim. Jimmy. His monther calls him Jamey

Recording Begins

First day in the studio. Exciting. This is it. Are we ready? Are the songs done? Do we really want to go to the chorus here? Which part is the chorus again? How do you play this thing? What are all these strings for?

Lots of time setting up today. Lots of time putting mics on drums and getting great drum sounds. God bless Stuart Sikes.


This is what drums sound like

A couple of technical snafu's which we recovered from with the aid a quick run to Fry's to purchase a hard-drive. Approximately 4 songs were cut between the hours of 4 PM and midnight.

Great start.

A side note: There is a Chinese Proverb which states "If you wish to succeed, consult three people first." Great advice. Unfortunately we could only find two folks to consult, but we found the two people on the planet that are the best at what they do. Our fine, feathered new drummer, Jim White and the amazing and quite tall Stuart Sikes and His Amazing Powers of Concentration.


Jim White and Stuart Sikes. Next time you see them buy them a beer.

More Rehearsing and THE GIG!

A bit easier on the rehearsal tip today. A nice hang in the afternoon with engineer Stuart Sikes and a trip to his space to pick up his absolutely lovely Rogers drumkit. God bless that boy.

Our first (and so far only scheduled) gig as the "Real Deal" Shibboleth took place at the Barley House. We managed to play through about 18 of the 21 new songs. We also managed to run everybody out of the room and onto the patio. We'll blame that on a fickle (frat-daddy?) Dallas audience and not the quality of the songs.

Rehearsaling Begins

We started rehearsing today for the new record. We ran through about 15 songs over the course of about 10 hours. Add to that a series of phone calls trying to tie up loose ends in the drumset department and you have a very full day.

It's safe to say we were all a bit cross-eyed after this.

Jim White Arrives

Rich picked up Jim White at the airport this evening. After a celebratory dinner at Sol's Mexican House of Mexican Food they wandered over to Don's for to listen to the tunes. All excited. All hands on deck.

Beers followed at Meridian Room. Naturally.

All Songs Considered

Shibboleth is featured in this weeks episode of Open Mic on the NPR website along with some other fine music. This is a great little program that they run featuring unsung talent. Check it out.