If You Make Me I'll...

11/20  - Sieron was glowing when I open the door to the room. I heard him through the walls, the soundwaves of the guitar amplifier pulsing against the drywall, studs, and insulation that divided the outside world from his den of creation. I posted up next to the door so he could finish his session unobstructed, and as the amplifier quieted, I turned the key.

Earbuds white and black, fashioned in the shape of a cartoon skull/crossbones dressed Sieron's ear canals, white cables trailing from the plastic casing camouflaged by the design, a barrage of excited words comes flying at me over the hum of the tube amplifier. I recognize the track he was recording, it wasn't one of our own. I find that we're on a new task: interpreting this song in the way of the Trunk. Sieron, adorned in earbuds and a hooded sweater, programs the recording software to record vocals to a separate track and proceeds to show this stylized, Sieronized performance to the Sennheiser while he gestures to me to help myself to the 32oz belgian-style lager sitting in the ice bucket.

We spend the next 30-40 minutes orienting me to the drum parts of the track, from section to section, phrase to phrase. We discuss the explosive results we expect, then we blast through several takes before my performance mirrors that of Sieron's guitar and vocal foundation. Through head nods, hand signals, listening and reading guitar strumming positions, the walls of Greenhouse sway and tilt with each pulse of the tempo. After annihilating the air molecules of Room D, a cigarette break is well deserved.

S: "So what have we got?"
C: "Well, we did Coquette and To Remind You, and...."
S: "That was it, right?"
C: "Yeah, I think so"
S: "Ok, so we've got 4 more to do. I told Mark we'd probably stay until midnight... is that cool with you"
C: "Yeah, I think we can get these done in that time"

We both stare at the hanging desk calendar Sieron brought in at the beginning of the month. Slashes and symbols in red Sharpie marker indicate different stages of progress from day to day. We point out the songs that still need to track drum ideas.

S: "Ok, so 'm gonna get a smoke. I set up the click so you can warm up while I...
(Snare-hat-kick-kick-snare)
S: "yeah, uh... well, here just...
(snare-snare-tom-tom-tom-tom)
S: "...you go on, I'll be back"

So then the process begins anew... I start blasting away at drum parts... from one part to the next. I continue to re-familiarize myself with the set up I'd played for years but pulled away from to have more stage visibility. Now that we're not focused on a live show, I can set my drums up to be as visually obstructive as possible. Through the headphones I hear the kick drum that has a microphone next to it and it sounds mighty. I love that sound, it makes me want to kick the drum with more ferocity, so I do. By the time Sieron walks back in, I'm wailing with eardrum splitting intensity on the backbeat of Destroy You.

S: "Did you track it?"
C: "Yeah, just kinda messing with what was there."
S: "Cool, well let's go through the process we've been using for the other tracks"
C: "Sweet, for the intro, I do..."

We work through the parts and try to figure out new combinations to use. One track after another gets done as the night moves on and the bands in adjacent rooms come and go. We finally look back at a red-marked calendar and discover we're done with all of the songs we needed to finish this preliminary process for.

Standing outside and feeling accomplished, Sieron and I recap the night over a cigarette and fresh air. The clear night provides a view of the lights in the harbor and the smoke dissipates into the darkness and we plan to meet the next night to finalize this stage of preproduction