Bruce FugettSeattle Recording Connection

Lesson 3 Posted on 2013-11-11 by Bruce Fugett

For my 3rd lesson with Mark at Fastback Studios, I was able to sit in on a recording session with Mark's friend Trevor Boone. Over the past year or so, Trevor has been working on songs for a CD, and he was going into the studio that night to record some of his ideas for new songs. The recording wasn't meant to be a finished product, just more of a way to get his ideas "down on paper."

Watching Mark "set the levels" was an interesting part of the evening. An equivalent of a "sound check", it's the producer/engineer's job to make sure that before recording, the sound of each instrument gets translated into Pro Tools correctly. This means making sure that the volume of each instrument is not too high or too low, and that each the artist gets the desired tone for each instrument on each song. Trevor played a left-handed Custom Pin Up guitar and sang, and joining him was his friend Andrew, who played the 1953 Hammond B-3 through a beautiful Leslie Speaker, the Wurlitzer Electric Piano, and his Moog Synthesizer. Also playing with Trevor and Andrew was Fastback Studio's Chief Engineer and Producer Jason, who played the drums. 

The three musicians had an amazing musical chemistry together. Jason's drumming laid down the perfect canvas for Trevor's tight guitars and Andrew's ethereal keys. And Trevor's melodic, yet artfully unrefined vocals were one of the overall defining elements of his tunes. The music that they made that night was what I would consider Indie Rock/Pop, with really catchy hooks and an upbeat rhythm. Trevor is a talented songwriter, and one of his songs has even been stuck in my head for the past 5 days. 

Overall, I'm really grateful for the chance to sit in on their session. I feel like I've taken a lot from it, and it was really good to see some of the more theoretical elements of music recording being put into a real world application. I can't wait for the next time that I get to observe another session at Fastback Studios. 

« Return to Bruce Fugett's Blog

More Blog Entries from Bruce Fugett

Bruce Fugett

Lesson 6Posted by Bruce Fugett on 2013-12-02

There's not a whole lot to report for Lesson 6 at Fastback Studios. Due to a last minute change of plans, Mark had a prospective band come in for a tour of the studio so they could decide whether they want to record there... Read More >>

Bruce Fugett

Lesson 5Posted by Bruce Fugett on 2013-11-25

Although my 5th session at Fastback Studios did not involve any actual recording, it was definitely very informative. The focus of this lesson is the different types of microphones and their various applications... Read More >>