The Recording of Weird Decibels part 2

More from our recent week recording in Kelso.

Monday 2^nd March

Woke up refreshed and went for my second and final run of the week. During his run I started thinking about the lyrics for quoted not voted. It was a beautiful morning; the sun was just coming up and the countryside was coming to life.

Distorted Guitars

I returned to find the rest of the band up and ready for the day ahead. You could tell that Stu was itching to play the guitar so we headed through to start. However before we could lay those tracks I wanted to back up our work so far and check the drums, that took a wee while so some records were made at Athlete Kings albeit the wrong athlete got the credit!!

Recording Stu’s distortion has been a bit of a challenge; we have different tastes in our sound so I was trying to ignore my preferences and do the best for the band. I started out trying to get a blend of the rode and the SM57 but the SM57 was coping far better with the dynamics of his sound. Every time I moved the rode from the amp the old phase cancellation was creeping in. Now I’d love to spend hours trying to sort that but time was precious in our week. So I stuck with the 57.

We tried a various number of positions (right on the grill to about a foot away) before opting for just of the centre an inch or so from the grill. It gave us a full sound which at first I though was muddy but by then my ears were shot. It was a mistake to go onto my guitars after Stu’s; I though I had my sound before coming to record but my amp just didn’t sound right so I switched back to my old trusted amp distort and ditched the pedal (that would be used later…).

My sharper sound blended nicely with Stu’s heavy tone; I recorded just under half of my parts but we got Stu’s finished at the lodge.

This was the worst day for my ears; the tinnitus was setting in despite trying to keep the levels low. We had a great night though; refreshed from our rest we went straight back into the drink and some silliness found its way onto the cameras.

Tuesday 3^rd March

I got up a little later with another bad hangover ( I swear I used to able to drink better than this). I started the preparations for the rest of Stu’s distorted guitars. Again the recordings were nailed pretty quick as we started from where we finished the previous day. We pressed stop at 2pm and decided to go into Kelso for a few drinks.

The Day In Kelso

Showered and refreshed with our best (ish) rags on we phoned for a taxi; a few minutes later we could see the taxi. Now usually when you see our taxi approaching its a mad dash to find the house keys however given the length of the dirt track we had time to make last minute adjustments to our attire!

Kelso is a lovely small borders town; we were dropped off outside the Queens Head and had a few fine pints of Best and Guinness. It was a strange pub, you had to walk through an outside close to get to the toilets. We headed out to the Black Swan which was the ‘local’ pub if you like. We didn’t stay long; the faint hint of bleach was creeping into the enjoyment of my rather drab pint.

Next up was the Cross keys hotel where a lovely lady was trying to make us feel most welcome in the rather sterile surrounds. When she finished her brief introduction Greg, as blunt as you like, asked ‘Whaurs the Red Lion?’.

A pint later we headed out; I stood in awe of the swarm of starlings that were forming amazing shapes above the square of the town. Dusk was setting and our stomachs were growling. We reached Cobbles.

Cobbles was cracking; we had our 20^th anniversary celebration meal in here. Fine real ales and a selection of fine steaks ( I had a burger, a great burger at that). Bellies full and satisfied we headed off into the damp night to find Greg’s Red Lion.

When we found said pub a slight air of disappointment descended upon us. The bar was split into two parts. It was dead apart from one man and his dug (no seriously). The barmaid, who could hold her own in a scrum, was nice enough but we decided to head off to the first establishment that served up fine ale, The Queens Head. After another fine pint and a whiskey or two we grabbed a taxi.

Let me take you back to the Weird Decibels 1 recordings. Back then we headed out on a cold frosty evening to the local pub in Ettrickbridge. We had a lodge that was located up a narrow track with a steep drop to the side of the road. Greg drove us in the camper van that night and as we headed down the difficult route Greg decided to wind me up. He switched off the lights of the van and drove in the dark… Now I’m a bad passenger at the best of times…I didn’t help when he put the hazard lights on for illumination…

Fast forward 3 years and the taxi driver who was kindly taking us home over heard us recall this tale; as we approached the dirt track to gain access to the lodge he turned off his lights much to the delight of my fellow band mates! Dicks.

We had a fantastic night in the lodge; four great mates belting out tunes and busting moves on our makeshift dance floor (the drum kit was packed). It was a classic night.

The final part here