Hot Licks, Cool Dudes!

December 30th, 2005, by Vince

It's the penultimate day of the year and we remain positive despite various technical and health-related setbacks. We began the day with a late breakfast and then wished our departing friends a safe journey back to Savannah and Atlanta. After careful deliberation, the band has decided to put in a full day's work on New Year's Eve in lieu of partying. The real celebrating will begin when we have completed work on the album. Until then, we must stay focused and bear down to keep on schedule. However, we did finish early last night, since all our friends were in town, and had a great time hanging out with all of them afterwards. Here is a photo of some of the group at the studio last night, minus Ben, who went home early to take a nap.

Real Rockers
We spent the day at the studio fixing a few rhythms and began tracking clean guitar sounds with Ben's Fender Strat. Ben tracked parts on "Epic" and Eric did substantial work on "Phantom Jam." We plan to get an early jump on the game tomorrow, and plan to finish clean guitar sounds so that we can move on to lead guitars.

Get ready for this awesome selection of BLOGSCLUSIVE VIDEO!!!!
(Eric recording hot licks for a new song)

We'll be back tomorrow with much more blogsclusive content. Over and Out!

Touché, Angra!

Thursday, December 29, 2005 by Anthony
Today we got into the studio and started tracking cello overdubs on several of the new songs. This is when we got really pumped and rocked out hard. Mary Exile bowed the strings for nearly 6 hours! At this point Eric and Ben are dying to rip some awesome leads and solos! Unfortunately we have to patch up some more rhythm guitar parts and add clean guitars to some songs. I expect we will be recording guitars until the 3rd of January. After that we will record vocals and so on. Here are some more photos from today's studio recording session::::::::


Eric sits in the control room.



Mary Exile bees outside the studio.



Anthony!



Red Rocker.

Get ready for this.... BLOGSCLUSIVE VIDEO!!!!!!! (from last night's impromptu b-boy jam in the studio of rock!)

Today we took a late lunch break and ventured to St. Simons Island for a grand meal and a brief drive to Anthony's house and back. Then we got back to work on Cello and had a blast with all of our friends who spent the day with us at the studio! Huge thanks go out to Mary Exile for rocking the cello and adding another dimension to the album. Let us all hear it dudes! (blogsclusive audio)
Peace be with thou!

Back in Black

Wednesday, December 28th, 2005 by Vince

It's December 28th and we return to the studio for the home stretch of recording the album. The morning could not have started off worse, as Ben encountered ear problems and Eric awoke to vomiting for hours upon end. No heavy partying took place last night, so we suspect he ate a nasty oyster the previous day at his family's oyster roast hoe-down in Bluffton, SC. Vince and Ben left Eric to recuperate and headed to the studio to perform some minor changes and adjustments in the rythym and bass tracks. Eric pulled through like a starship trooper and made it to the studio in the late afternoon, where we discussed issues regarding the upcoming session and awaited the arrival of Mary Exile, who will be performing cello on the record. While we waited, we honed our skills on the elusive hacky sack, and watched funny videos on the internet. Here is a photo of us hacking that was snapped just as Mary arrived:

After a dinner break, we returned to the studio and prepared to record cello. Eric helped Mary with her parts by jamming on the keyboard:


Eric and Mary prepare for the onslaught of METAL!!


After much discussion of cello parts, we set up microphones and began to experiment with different sounds. Ben anticipates the need for a squeegie in the studio, as the sound is amazing. Tomorrow morning we will begin bright and early, and plan to finish all cello tracks, as Mary leaves on friday. Let's wail!!

Happy Christmas

Friday, December 23, 2005 by From Exile
Today we arrived at the studio and listened to yesterday's work. We fixed a few bass parts and then printed some rough mixes. We will need the mixes to finish writing lyrics and for close scrutiny of the guitar and bass parts. We have four or five more days of recording guitar leads and additional instruments. We also have vocals to do and then to mix. We are taking a short break for the holidays and an oyster roast with Eric's family, we will be back in the studio on December 28th. We are also planning to break on New Year's eve and head to Savannah for mayhem and fireworks. We hope you all have a happy holiday. We will update again on the 28th. Over and out.

These Tracks Got Served

Thursday December 22, 2005 by Eric.

It was a bad day to be a rhythm or bass track in From Exile's studio today because we laid waste to many a track. I laid down a few quick tracks, but Ben and Beau were the starship troopers; the execution squad. I basically listened in and distracted them throughout the day. We're one track away from having all the bass, rhythm guitars, and drums finished. The songs becoming more and more listenable has been very exciting, and things here are getting a little crazier.


We continued to drink a ton of Vault energy drink, as Vince served as soda bitch for the tracksters. As they were doing ALL THE WORK, after supplying us with Vault, Vince took a well deserved nap. He obviously did not drink enough Vault.

Out like a trout. Here Anthony offers some of his masterful advice to Beau on how to properly obliterate the bass line for the thrash-fest that Ben has tentatively named "Rocktober". This song is seriously going to brutalize you all when it finally hits the street.



Tomorrow we're going to finish whatever bass we don't nail tonight, get some clean guitars out of the way, and then break for the holiday. Christmas is Sunday, which gives us all a day to buy presents and get to our homes (and away from this god forsaken studio). Next week we have Mary Exile coming down to play cello for us, which should add another layer of badassitude upon an already wicked sick recording.

Rock and Roll McDonald's

Wednesday December 21, 2005 by Ben, intro by Beau



It's 1:30 AM and you know what that means, time for a recap of the day via the studio blog. Today was the first day we made it in to the studio on time thanks to Eric taking charge from Vince on getting everyone up. Luckily we started off with Ben on rhythm guitar so I could take a delicious nap. When I awoke, great progress had been made, which brought me joy. I then vaulted into action thanks to a delicious "Vault" beverage from our friends at Coca Cola. 15 and half hours later and we're done. We got a lot accomplished and are heading into tomorrow looking like we'll finish up all the guitar rhythm tracks as well as all the bass tracks. Now to Ben for the thorough recap. I'm gonna have a nightcap and head to bed.

Today started off quite sluggish at 10AM. Plans for an early sleep the previous evening were thrown out the window as the band deemed it a necessity to cut loose exceptionally hard. Following a night of booze and assorted antics, we staggered to our local McDonald's for a hearty breakfast, and headed to the studio.

Upon arrival at the studio, I began to lay down my rhythm tracks for "Thrash1" but got frustrated and ended up letting Eric cut his tracks first so I could wake up. Several hours, a lunch break, and many cigarettes later, the rhythms for "Thrash1" and "intro" were completed.

Anthony, who had not had a break in the action for a solid week, headed home for the evening around 7PM for well-deserved rest, and the band decided to stick around and push on. Vince took the reins and ran the session until the wee hours of the night. Beau laid down his bass line for "Thrash1" first. Here is a photo:



Next, Eric began cutting the rhythms for "epic":



While Eric was shredding away, I hyped myself up with an intense game of Quake III:



That's all from the Ben-meister. Z-ya tomorrow!

Power metal-nap

Tuesday, December 20, 2005 by Anthony
Today we arrived to the studio a little late because we were all exhausted. We worked so late last night and we have all been drained of energy from rocking out so much in the studio. So randomly throughout the day we have all taken naps. All except Ben, and he was starting to feel sick yesterday. I think we will all have decent sleep tonight.
We started the day with Eric finishing rhythm guitars and Ben rocking the bass on "Dougale". Then Ben recorded his rhythm tracks on "Rocktober" while Eric slept.




After a lunch break we started on "Finale" with Eric and Ben both recording their rhythm guitar tracks.
Here is Ben carefully listening to his recorded parts.



In between takes we stopped for a few minutes to have a mini two hand touch game in the library parking lot across the street from the studio.



In case you are not familiar with studio recording, here is a short rundown on course of action:
The first thing we do before starting a record is get together (the producer and the band) and talk about what the goal is for the album, We discuss the sound, the treatment of the instruments, the time frame, and the budget. Next we will organize a calendar that includes all of the recording dates as well as holidays, breaks, and other dates of interest or concern. All the while, the band is sending to the producer their demos of songs that may appear on the forthcoming album. The producer, in this case me, Anthony Stubelek, will listen to the demos for many months and keep in close contact with the band about changes and modifications that should be made to the song before bringing it into the studio. Eric and Ben are very good at recording their demos for new songs and it makes my share of work very easy.

Next the band will contact me with ideas about different instruments and effects that they may want to include on the record, and I will get these things lined up for them to use while in the studio. I will get the studio ready to accommodate the band for numerous weeks and work out a detailed schedule for recording times during the days of recording. The sessions for this record have been running about 12 hour days starting between 10 and 11 a.m. Ultimately I would like to have earlier days for several reasons: it is much easier to get dinner at 7 o'clock rather than midnight; I like waking up at 8:30a.m. as opposed to 2 p.m.; overall it feels like you have accomplished much more if you are done at 6:30 in the evening. I will continue this diatribe on a later blog. Peace.

Hot Plate! Ouch!

Monday, December 19th 2005 by Vince

Today we vaulted to new levels of six-string shredding thanks to the THD Hot Plate, which lets us get the unparalleled sound of a Mesa Dual Rectifier cranked to hell without actually turning the amp all the way up. It was an exhaustive day which began around 10 a.m. and did not end until after midnight, but it was well worth it. We found the elusive screaming guitar tone that had evaded us for so long, and completed the rhythm guitar tracks and bass guitar for "Ben1demo." After a dinner break, Eric finally stopped sulking and laid down some guitars for the intricate maze that is the tentatively titled "Dougale." Oh man this song is sounding awesome. Dude, did you just hear that?

Here is a photo of Eric tracking guitars on "Dougale."



Beau rocked the bass on "Ben1demo" and continued to work on lyrics.



We are all exhausted! Time to actually get to bed at a decent hour and get back to rocking early in the morning. Eric is no longer pissed.

LATER!

Hunting for Tone

Sunday December 18, 2005 by From Exile.

Today, we began by venturing to Credle's Complete Marine to celebrate Vince's completion of the primary drum tracks for the album. What better way to celebrate than by blowing up some clays with Anthony's 12 gauge and shooting some rounds from a Sig Sauer into a METAL plate.
After we ran out of clays Beau decided to do some killing, he doesn't call it hunting because that implies the possibility of failure.


Then we headed to the studio to begin working on the guitar tone for the album. We tried many different combinations of amps and rocked them on top of Vince's drum tracks. We also worked on the bass tone and after much deliberation found what we wanted.
Here's a photo of Anthony working on the guitar tone.



Tomorrow we'll be coming into the studio early to build some boxes around the guitar cabs to help maximize the tone. Here's a photo of the work in progress.




Check back tomorrow for more blogsclusive pictures and video!

Recording: D Day+3

Saturday, December 17, 2005 by Anthony.
Today we successfully met our deadline for completing the primary drum tracks. Vince recorded drums from the early afternoon until 10:45 pm. We had a great dinner break on St. Simons Island at Boda-Bing Pizza.



Everyone settled into their places at the studio today.
Ben found a home in between takes:



Beau focused on the latest From Exile demos:



Eric hung out near his computer:


And that was about it until 11:15 or so when I posted this awesome BLOGSCLUSIVE VIDEO!!!!!!!!! Vince tells all

Tomorrow we are going to start our GUITAR TONE ODYSSEY for the upcoming duel with two guitars and a bass. I will be seeking shelter from the TONE ODYSSEY BARRAGE! Bye.

Recording: D Day+2

Friday, December 16, 2005. by Anthony
Today started off early with coffees and some down time in the studio. I tuned the piano while Vince and Ben discussed several issues regarding the upcoming song. While we awaited Eric and Beau's arrival from Atlanta we started to make a tempo map for one of the album's most intricate songs (tentatively entitled "Epic"). This is what we looked like during the labor intensive process of beat mapping...



Eric and Beau arrived early in the evening and we ate burritos and then got down to business at around 8:30 pm. We have been trying to start early and finish early in the studio, however we ended up having a really late night. The drums for "Epic" took over 5 hours with a single 5 minute break somewhere around 12 am. I am glad that I do not play drums for From Exile!
Eric brought his computer into the studio and set it up so he can reference his demos while recording the guitar parts. Here is a photo of him and his setup:



Ben and Eric took turns playing the scratch guitar along with Vince during the night-long event. Here is what that looks like:



As I mentioned earlier, we did take a short break to blow off some steam, and this is how we do that:

HAHA! here it is again with no flash:
Sorry, no blogsclusive video today, maybe tomorrow. Peace out.
Anthony

Recording: D Day+1

December 15, 2005. by Anthony, Vince and Ben.
Recording day 2 has ended and we remain on schedule! Vince completed 2 full songs today- "Finale" and "Rocktober". Vince played drums for nearly 8 hours straight! Whew. Here is a photo of Vince behind his drum kit today:




During the day we took several moments to practice meditation. Minutes later, Ben demonstrated his break dancing as Vince beat-boxed. Here is photographic evidence:


Here is a From Exile Blogsclusive video!!! Rocktober
Eric and Beau are due to arrive in Brunswick tomorrow, friday the 16th.
Also of note, Anthony created a big-ass at-a-glance checklist for the entire recording, as seen in the photo at the top.

Recording Hath Begun

Wednesday, December 14, 2005 by Anthony Stubelek (Recording Engineer / Producer)
Today We started the recording of From Exile's first full length album. From Exile representatives Ben and Vince were in attendance and spent a full day in the studio. We have developed a very strict production schedule for this album which spans nearly a month.
Todays projects included constructing a isolation cove for a small tube amplifier used for recording scratch guitar tracks to accompany the drummer while recording, and putting the final touches on our drum sound.
Vince and Ben arrived at rockstudio early in the a.m. and after a brief warm-up, drum tracks for three full songs were laid with the precision of a master mason. Tomorow we will be recording more drums tracks and enjoying the comforts of downtown Brunswick, GA in our home base, the one and only rockstudio!
here are some more photos from today: