I Lied.

We actually recorded eight songs last Tuesday. I thought that it was seven, but, as a bass player, I rarely have to count past six, and usually four. So, I can't count to eight--oh well.

I got the rough mix today and it's lacking in several areas (when listened to on my bass-infested computer and car--on the 1970s Sansui, I can EQ the badness away). I have to keep in mind that these are mere demos and far from perfect:

• The songwriting and arrangements really work, though. We did a good job with Ross' songs. I'm so proud of us.
  
• If we can tighten up the bass track's low end and carefully tweak the midrange, we'll be set. I think that if I did a DI track and we used an in-phase room mic for the bass a way off, it'll fix my floppiness, which is the worst part of all of this (still not playing like I need to for a three piece, perhaps). Maybe some crap was done to the bass track unbeknownst to me--Greg did it right with a DI and a room mic on the 8x10" moderately loud with a touch of limiting on the DI (the UA 1176 plug in rocks). Maybe I just need to record with a different setup entirely.
  
• The drums weren't terrible, but again, the low end is really loose. There's virtually no crispness on the cymbals. I'd like to hear more of that. I want the snare to crack a little more, too. The percussion just ain't quite as tight-sounding as I'd like.
  
• The guitar actually sounds much better than I thought it would after listening to the playback. It could use a little bit more presence, but basically, it's cool.
• The vocals actually are great, and that's what I think that the magical one was shooting for. Sometimes, they sit in a weird place, but I think that's because it has a really smiley EQ curve (no mids) on everything else. There's a couple of places that ADT would be cool, or RDT as the case may be.
  

I'm trying to not let this bum me out at all. This isn't for real, after all. This is just for (fuckin') Ronny to figure out if the arrangements will work. I think that we've made impressive progress in two months. Mostly, it's production problems that have shown up, which is the whole point of pre-production, I think. Some of the improvisation is brilliant, though. I love it when things happen.

The new and improved 'Army of Stars' is really the best I've heard since Last Man on the Moon. Somehow, we managed a rock 'n' roll fine, which I didn't think that I had in me.

This new one is great, with a little bass-cut, man.

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Now playing: Ross Etherton and the Chariots of Judah - Goodnight Everybody (5:01)