It's like this all the time.

Me: it's Rob Dougan. He's like Bryan Adams if he was worse.

Jono: nah, he's more like Bruce Springstein if he was better.

LOLZ.

Recording Update: "Get A Snack"

Everybody, everybody: DRUMS ARE DONE! It's up to the editor's hands now. Let's break down what you're going to hear...5 or 6: Sessions over a month and a half, 5: average FULL takes per song (probably drove pippy and Zach crazy), 4: broken sticks, 1: shredded stick that still is playable, countless times: Zach made me stop because he didn't have the click track on or a recording track wasn't armed ETC.

Recording this time around has been a lot of fun. We have a song called "...Collector" that has been in our cannon, laying dormant, for about 3 years recently Zach had changed a few things around and brought it to us...much to my chagrin, we played it live a few times and it just has never gelled. Now it's gooey...much to my chagrin...again. But this version is really new and we never spent a whole lot of time on it. I didn't know what was going on. I was flying partially blind what with Zach signaling me for the changes however I believe the crescendo to the song is all the better for it. at the end I was playing so hard it almost sounds like we're bringing on a small Apocalypse.

Since drums are done, we've been working solidly on Pippy's bass. and he's been rocking it. I don't know if it's already been said but the sound that Zach and I have given him is really, really great. I won't give away our secrets but it's pretty cool. Pip only has 3 songs left to record..unless Zach decides he wants pippy to redo others...which might just be likely. Should that happen, I'm pretty sure Pippy will put Zach in a world of hurt when it comes to recording guitars.

Hopefully we'll get some pics and all so you can see the progress instead of just reading it.

We're getting closer, guys.

oh and don't forget: We have a show at Cheers 2U on July 8th. LET'S CELIBATE AMERICA!

I feel like you have a right to know:

I'm doing a lot mixing and test recording in my underwear, so if you're listening to this album and parts of it seem remarkably sexier than others, you'll know why. wink.


Zach out.

We Proceed Without Mercy: Another progress update.

Citizens,

we've accomplished much since last we spoke.
Here, look:

See? If you'll notice, that leaves three drum tracks and we'll be done. Just one more solid day recording, and we're golden as far as drum tracks go! Huzzah!

Meanwhile, I continue to be The Worst Engineer Ever, and the guys are also toying with the idea of dubbing me The Worst Musician Ever, which would be like winning an academy award for me—it's an honor toward which I strive daily.

Keep checking back here every week or so—we're bound to have something delicious here one of these days.

Zach out.

THE RELENTLESS MARCH: The Raygun's recording progress

Heya Raygunauts,

I pondered the best way to communicate to you our progress in our recording adventures. The indisputable answer came to me almost immediately: infographic.

We're not yet ready to release the track list—we don't want to give too much away much too soon. But I can tell you that right now we're thinking it'll be 13 tracks. And here's where we are on it:

So there you have it. Seven completed drum tracks. Six to go, two of them already with scratch tracks.

Manning the console while Jono was recording yesterday, I had a crazy moment of realization. I've known Jono a long time, and I've seen him record several times, the last time was almost three years ago. You guys, Jono is crushing it out there. He's grown so much as a drummer, even since a couple years ago. Comparing him to High School Jono, it's like not even the same guy. I recognized as we were writing these songs that Jono's drum parts were tasty, but since we were all playing together, I wasn't really as available to appreciate what he was doing. Sitting back and watching him, and then hearing it later in mixing, has been a real pleasure, and I'm grateful that I finally get to do it. The same goes for Pippy—when we're playing together, I'm concentrating on my own part and I don't get to focus on what Pip's doing. I can only really tell if he tries something that sounds bad or doesn't really go with the song. Getting to hear his final bass parts has been so awesome. And I think the bass sound we're engineering for him is gonna knock your socks off. Deep and edgy. And I've barely mixed him, either.

I've done a couple of test mixes with test guitar mixed with final bass and drums for a couple of tracks. These are sounding way, way better than anything any Raygun fan has ever heard. I think you're gonna like this thing we're doing.

If all goes well, we'll finish tracking drums on the first week of June, bass the week after, guitar maybe a couple weeks after that, and vocals probably another couple weeks after that. We might be looking at releasing this sometime in August. I know, I know, it seems like foreverrrrrrrr, but that's just the way it is.

Til next time,

Zach

The Worst Engineer Ever/Guitarist, The Raygun

Recording Journal: TORNADO SIRENS!!!

Sunday was the second day of recording. Everything went MUCH smoother this time. Drums were tuned, Mics got replaced, Sounds achieved perfection, Zach said Zounds*. So we had to redo what we did last time...but we got twice as much done at least as far as drums. We also put bass on 2 songs.

We've even started thinking about sound effects. Pipp says TORNADO SIRENS!! I'm Leary and Zach is off being the Worst Engineer ever. That title is all in good fun but seriously, we wasted a lot of time because he forgot to remember settings.

I really thought, Zach would take this Journal and he's more than welcome to take a stab at it but he just took too long. But then again, he's doing a lot.

*...That didn't really happen

Recording Journal: First Day

Wow! Finally, eh? Today was the first day of recording for our twelve song album. I'd say it went well. At the last minuet we decided to get instrument stuffs and all so that everything sounds bright and shiny and new. It cost us several hours of recording but it was well worth it. With no EQ or adornments at all, these drums sound thunderous. The only thing that sucks about today is the late start we had. I did get one song done. I tried for a second one but Jury is still out on that. I kind of felt bad for Pipp because he was sat behind the computer pressing the record button. Next time I think he'll get a break.

Alright, When there is more stuff to report...You better believe I'll be telling you about it...Unless Zach beats me to it.