So yesterday was the recording session.

It was at 10a, and the thought of singing at that hour was horrifying to me, so I went to 7.15a mass because, well, because that was the only mass I could get to, and because that way I could warm up. It was really crowded. Who the hell gets up before 7.15a on a Sunday? Crazy Catholics.

So, reasonably well warmed up, I went home to clean up and meet Joan. I finally took the braids out of my hair after four days. They still looked pretty good, but I thought that enough was basically enough and it was time to wash my hair. It stayed surprisingly clean, though, I guess it was because it wasn't combed in all that time, so it didn't get greasy.

We had left an hour to get to Santa Monica, and Joan was about 15 minutes late, but even with that we still got there 20 minutes early. Isn't the talent supposed to be late to recording sessions? Weren't we supposed to be blasé? Nope, jumping up and down with excitement and arriving ridiculously early, that was us.

This guy Marty Rifkin owned the studio and was engineering us as well as playing dobro on "Kentucky", and he was just the nicest thing. He had all these gold and platinum albums on his walls from records he has played on, like Tom Petty's Wildflowers and Bruce Springsteen's Ghost of Tom Joad, and a bunch of awards for being pedal steel player of the year and so on. It was awfully impressive, but the studio was small and cosy, so the thought of singing there didn't scare me to death.

Marty looked like Peter Pan, he claimed to be 45, but looked maybe 27, possibly younger. And it wasn't just his unlined face, alot of it was his open, honest expression. He looked too innocent to be 45, not to mention too innocent to have spent his life in the music business. I started to feel like maybe this recording thing wasn't going to be too scary after all.

Roy got there on time, and we all set up and got behind our mics and put on our headphones and, well, started singing. Man, there is nothing like having to sing into a microphone that brings on my asthma, I become a phlegm machine, not to be completely disgusting or anything (too late).

The first few times through were not that great, and I forgot to leave room for the solo, but I think about the third take that we kept was the one, then Roy and Marty started layering the tracks, Roy played bass and then spoons, and Marty played dobro. I think that was the most exciting thing, as far as I was concerned, the idea of this little song that I wanted to do because I thought that Joan and I would sound good together having a dobro solo!

It was really hard to hear the playback, though. The first time I had to hear my voice outloud in the room I had to go hide in the bathroom, it was so painful. Not that it sounded particularly like shit, it just didn't sound like it does in my head, so it was excruciating to listen to. I calmed down after awhile, though. Enough repetition you can get used to anything, you can't keep startling like a deer all day long, it's exhausting.

I mistakenly left one too many measures before coming in on the first verse, so they filled that with a dobro lick as well, and it sounded so great that I proclaimed myself a genius for having the intelligence and insight to make that mistake. It wasn't a mistake, it was a creative breakthrough, I tell you!

The funniest thing, I thought, was listening to the playback of Joan, when I realized that we were singing different lyrics on the first verse! She sang "Turpentine and dandelion wine, I've turned the corner and I'm doin' fine," and I sang "Turpentine and dandelion wine, I'm turnin' the corner and I'm doin' fine." I pointed this out to Joan and she paused and said, "I'm pretty sure that I was singing the right lyrics," and I said that I'm sure that she was!

Fortunately the looseness that I wanted in the track makes that mistake work fine. And no-one will notice anyway. I just think that's so typical of me, you know? I did the same thing with the next song, near the end, Marty said, "Shouldn't that be 'Bright before me' not 'Right before me'?" and of course it was, but I opted not to care. It works my way, too.

After the first song was all mixed, we went on to "Rain", all me and Roy, and I had to be soprano on it and was completely not warmed up anymore, so I went out in the parking lot and sang "The Maid of Amsterdam", then sang "O Holy Night" in the studio. My last resort would be "The Star Spangled Banner", but I ended up not having to do it, to everyone's relief, I'm certain.

We started recording, and I kept thinking that the takes were awful, and the boys kept telling me how good they were, but I just didn't feel solid, and Joan kept saying that she knew that I had a better one in me, and I was sure she was right but didn't know if I could manage to let it out. At one point she called out from the other room that I was singing it better than Randy did, and I answered, "Well, I should certainly hope so, he can't sing! I'll bet I'm singing better than Bob Dylan, too!" and she said, "You sound better than Judy Collins!" which is kind of a joke, since Judy Collins sang a famously bad and over-sung version of the song that Randy loathes.

Finally, Roy kind of had to leave, so he recorded the guitar track for me to work with after he left rather than us doing it live together, with me mouthing the words for him so that he could follow me, since the track isn't like "Kentucky" with a rock steady beat, and then the first take I did with that track was the one! I finally both had the emotion and a clear enough throat to hit the top note in the same take. It was a nice treat.

Roy was leaving then, and I threw my arms around his neck and called him an angel. I still am amazed that he would spend a Sunday morning in this fashion.

After he left, Marty produced the hell out of the track, he had me re-record a couple of lines that I hadn't quite sung to perfection, and he even tuned one note that I was slightly off on, tuned it in the computer! It was amazing. He said that they use it on all the big recordings these days, and they can use it in concert, too. Apparently, no-one famous can sing a note anymore.

By the time it was done, I was listening to it, and all I could think was "How can it sound so good when it is only me?" It had no right to sound that good, neither song did. Why did everyone work so hard to make these songs sound so professional? It wasn't important, it's a stupid little fan cd, and neither Roy nor Marty knew me from a hole in the ground.

These men got up before 10a on a Sunday morning right before Christmas, and they have homes and families and children and obligations, and they spent hours and hours in the studio for no compensation and no other reason than the fact that they like Joan and they love music. And if it wasn't for Joan, it wouldn't have happened--she's the fairy princess, not me.

The whole thing was a joyous experience, and I never felt like they were doing me a favour so much as they truly love having the opportunity to make music. They were having fun, it was as though Joan and I were the ones doing them a favour.

Marty and I were talking at one point, and I was thanking him for not only doing this but for treating us like we were important and like our tracks actually meant something, because even though he did this every day, to me it was an exciting experience, and he said that it's all music, and it's all important.

He said that his family has this thing they do every day where they tell each other the best thing and the worst thing that happened to each of them that day, and when it's his turn he tells the worst, and then they say, "Okay, that's it, skip the best," and he asks why and they say, "Because it's always the same, 'It was 3.30 and the song finally came together and it was just amazing!' and blah blah blah..."

I was incredibly lucky to spend the day working with people who feel that way. Plus, he kept telling me how good I was, and even if he was lying, even if he was just saying it to be supportive and make me feel confident, it worked and it made me trust him and it made me feel like I didn't wander in the wrong place. I hope someday I'll get to do this again. And if I do, I hope I'm lucky enough to do it with Roy and Marty and Joan.

I hope Randy likes them, but you know what? I'm so proud of them, I'm so proud that the four of us made these things that didn't exist before we thought of them that it almost doesn't matter to me if he does. Almost, but not quite.

This was one of the best days of my entire life, making music with Marty and Joan and Roy, and I'm still astounded that it actually happened, that I didn't just make it up in my head. And if it turns out that I did, nobody tell me, okay?

And so what do you do after one of the best days of your whole life? Go see my boyfriend, that's what!

A Beautiful Mind was playing at the Academy, and it was just marvelous. Russell gave another incredible performance, a great tribute to an amazing man, this John Nash. But the real hero of the piece was Jennifer Connally as his wife, she's the reason that he is even alive, I think. The story is terrific, and the way they do the schizophrenia really works, bringing the audience into his mind.

The age makeup was really realistic, too, at least Russell's was. It was so good that I didn't even notice it until I saw Jennifer Connally's, which was about the worst age makeup I've ever seen, I've done better drawing lines around my eyes with a brown pencil. How one could be so realistic and the other so bad in the same movie I don't know, was she too vain to let them put latex on her neck or was her makeup person completely incompetent?

Anyway, it was a really wonderful film, great performances, fascinating story, and Russell wears a tight white t-shirt in one scene that really shows off his arms and kisses Jennifer Connally in one scene so intensely that I could feel it down to my toes.

A nice early Christmas present, that kiss. Thanks, Russ!

Today's horoscope:
Contact and caresses are extra important today. Get your quota of hugs.

One year ago today:
When Jessie comes to NY with her pink hair, we will look as though the circus has come to town!

* Yesterday / Index / This Month / Tomorrow *

E-Mail

Graphics by the holly jolly Saundra!

This page was written by hand. My hand. Only pussies use HTML editors.
Last Updated Mon 24 December 23:05:09 2001