Tuesday
23rd March – Recording drums/ editing bass
I
arrived at the studio at 9am and set up the drums with Dave. I changed a couple
of things from last time. Mainly Over heads and kick drum. Overheads were
spaced this time instead of coincident pair. This was to create more space. These
need a big sound and I felt this was a sensible move. It kind of gives you
height in your mix before you even start equalising. I also utilised a
technique Dave had tried the previous night witha separate project. We used two Audix D6 dynamic mics on the
kick drum – one, as normal, inside the kick about the middle, maybe ended up
closer to the inside front skin after adjustments, pointed at the beater, just
off centre, cause round things sound rubbish in the middle. Another audix D6
was used on the outside of the skin top left. This created a boomy sound to
blend in with the inside clicky sound!
Everything
sounded good but I would have liked to get a better snare sound. Its essential
you get the sound you like. Especially If like me you don’t have drumagog or
sound replacer.
I
found Bass editing a lot easier than I had anticipated. But I still find myself
longing for the day when I can record things like bass at home and get it right
rather than rush out 3 or 4 takes and comp.
Tuesday
23rd March – Recording Guitar
I
recorded guitar in the control room using the patch bay. I had rehearsed some
ideas prior to recording. Some ideas were definite and others more
experimental. I actually found that the most creative ideas came to me un the
spur of the moment. For instance the guitar lead line in ‘Get out of my head’
was written completely in the moment.
I
used a fender valve amp which was miked up with a rode NT5 – this sounded great…
however, this approach to recording isn’t the most sensible when you don’t know
what tone you desire. I was also using some pedals, a Boss Super Overdrive
pedal for tone and lead and heavier parts and also the line 6 d4 delay pedal
for specific tap delays. The only issue I had was with my guitar (which I
should have re strung a day before).
I
will be doing more guitar takes later I will be using a line 6 pod X3 live FX processor/
amp modeller (most likely line in rather than miking up an amp). For the kind
of sounds I like to create this pedal offers lot more diversity.
Friday
26th March – Mixing… A LOT!
I
felt a bit over whelmed when I reviewed the guitars that I had recorded, Its
often the case after a big creative session that you feel a bit disheartened
when you hear back what you recorded. I had to just take a deep breath and go
for it bit by bit.
Get
out of my head proved to be difficult, not so much the verses but the balance
between the acoustic guitar and the electric guitar chords. I found by double
tracking the guitar I was able to create an overall tone. I then grouped them
and brought them both in slowly. It’s a very fine line between the guitars
being too loud and to soft. I got I tho.
I
was really happy with the mix and the only thing missing was some bottom end,
which would be supplied by bass.
I
also paid a lot of attention to ‘Two Months Will Fly By’ – the guitar part and
bass that I had always intended to be in the song seemed to muddy up the over
all song. I found that I had to really mix down a lot of the synth, the song after
all is largely based around the vocal, I found once the vocals were laid down
and nicely balanced that the whole track fell together. I decided I would re record
the bass in my next session.
Friday
20th April – recording more bass and Vocals
Having
already decided on re recording bass I was in a good position to start work, using
a fender Jazz bass rather than the music man sub bass.
I had
a much clearer idea of the bass line for ‘Two Months Will Fly By’ and utilised
creative techniques like harmonics to fill out some of the tones that I felt
were perhaps lacking.
I
also laid down bass for ‘Get Out Of My Head’, ‘Silent Outrage’ and ‘Castle
scenes’
The
sound was good. My playing however could have been better on ‘castle scenes’ However
I found my playing only sounds rough when solo’d, in the mix it sounds really
good… strange… lets just go with it.
I
also recorded vocals today. Using I different mic now, A Mic I feel suited my
voice very nicely. I tracked up some great vocal harmonies remembering the
skills I learned from David Laudat in the Too Old To Club vocal session. Iam really happy with the sound. I’ve
been mixing it all in and everything is starting to sound really close to finished.
Just need to make sure I’m not missing anything really obvious!
Today
I recorded Two months will fly by (part two) which is a piano version. I used
the upright piano in studio 2. I wanted an organic sound. Not like the polished
sound of my track ‘I saw Stars’.
To
capture the lower end of the instrument I used a Red 5 RV15 large diaphragm
valve mic towards the middle of the piano (height wise). I also used a rode NT5
(small pencil condenser) to pick up the higher frequencies of the piano. I
found this simple technique really captured the overall timbre of the piano. I
wanted to record the piano track in one take. I experimented with click tracks
but found the song lost a lot of feeling and needed to be less mechanical. I am
really happy with the sound and Really look forward to recording the vocals!
Tuesday
19th March – Recording Bass
The
main outcomes of today were to get bass recorded for the three tracks with
drums. I found thr process quite difficult and in hindsight would have
benefited from a few rehearsals with Jamie (bassist) All in all the bass sounds
really good.
I
recorded the bass using a sans amp modeller. (Line in) this enabled us to work
on the bass lines bit by bit and using the monitors was a lot better than
headphones.
I
plan to prepare myself for future recording especially if I want to use a
session player.
I
also like to think in the future I will be able to record things like guitar/
bass/ percussion etc in the luxury of my own house rather than the a studio
which I think can feel a bit like a ticking clock
Friday 26th
February – Recording drums 1200 – 1700
The
session ran very smoothly. I believe this was primarily down to good solid
planning. Dave Mckeague, My chosen drummer, has been drumming for years and
currently studies music in Newcastle. He is a great studio drummer, as he can
play none dynamically which is very useful in recordings.
I
had forwarded the guide tracks to Dave well in advance so he was very
comfortable working through them.
I
was much more au fait with ‘Protools” and the studio/ equipment – I am really
happy with how the session went. Perhaps in retrospect I would have played
around with the over heads more. On ‘I saw Stars’ the hi hat was quite resonant.
I
invited a media team to film parts of the sessions. This will work as promotion
for the album. They also took photographs of the set up. I will invite them
back when I am recording different instruments.
Tuesday
2nd and Wednesday 3rd March – Editing Drums
I
feel one of my weaknesses when it comes to editing is drums. There are so many
regions and it starts to really hurt my eyes so this was something I knew I
wanted to really build on.
As
expected the initial editing was quite painful on the eyes. But I soon
developed an efficient way of working. With a little assistance from Dave
Anderson I learned some more information about elastic audio and also found out
how to set the colours of each track to be different. This simple adjustment
improved my visual concentration tenfold. From home I began working on another
track after watching a few videos on Youtube about elastic audio (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=du-V-1xebBU).
It
was all sinking in great. I would say my proudest moment was using elastic
audio on the overheads to diminish the gain of one take to match the overall
comp track. I now Love Pro tools!
I
would like to gain expand on my skills by getting much more au fait with the
quick keys in Protools. I believe this will come with time.
Friday
5th March – Recording Acoustic Guitar and Vocals
The
minimal aim of today was to record acoustic guitar and vocal for the three
remaining tracks that will feature a full drum kit. This is so Dave (drummer)
has something to practice to.
I
found the session ran smoothly, again down to my growing understanding of
Protools and the studios at The John Marley Centre.
I
researched into tried and tested guitar Miking techniques especially those favoured
by industry pros. I found the Sound On Sound website really informative. I also
read a lot of articles from producers and artists alike discussing the
importance of the instrument; tuning before every take, intonation, New
Strings, removing bracelets etc.
I
miked up the guitar with a red 5 audio valve mic on the hole, this was to pick
up the bass frequencies and some of the rich tone, I also used a rode NT5,
which is a small condenser often used as over heads for drums, this was aimed
at the top of the neck, near the head, this picked up the top end frequencies of
the guitar. Once mixed I am confident I will have a really nice guitar sound… I
am happy already.
I
managed to get three songs recorded and also two others. I also recorded a
shaker part for ‘I saw Stars’ which really enhances the movement I want in the
track.
Tuesday
10th March – Recording Vocals and re-editing drums
Today
I worked with Professional vocal coach, David Laudat, on my lead and backing
vocals for the albums title track ‘Too Old To Club’. The session was really
useful and I learned a lot about myself as a singer and as a producer. I used a
shure SM7 in a vocal acoustic screen with a metal grid pop shield. I learned
about vocal warm ups that work well and also the importance of delivery. Recreating
the vibe of the song.
On
listening to the drum track I realised there was a lot going on. It was very
busy. I spent about 5 hours editing the drums in 4 bar sections. This was
tedious but worthwhile.
I
have learned a fair amount about treating drums. I was using two different
reverbs but realised using on and just letting the natural sound of the drum
react differently with the reverb.
so yea I am working with hip hop duo TGM at the moment on a killer track. I have layed down some sick guitar parts... was good fun getting back on the electric.. LOTS OF DELAY :D
I wil llay down the vocals soon... then its arrangement time!
the tune will feature on TGM's debut album and will also be available via my stores :)
Live and Unsigned regional final 14th of march - you know the score... if you can't make it there will be a video up :) so you can see what goes down :)
HEY HEY! - happy new year... i know its been ages.. my sincerest apologies! :S
Lets get usual info out the way!
GIGS!
I have no tours sorted yet this year but plenty of appearances!
* My next SOLO is on the 22nd of January at the rose and crown pub in newcastle city center. (I am the guest for a competition)
I will be performing all the usual stuff. with a couple of... wait for it... new songs :O - might even throw in some cool covers!
NEWS!
I am in the process of signing a publishing deal with the lovely guys at SUNSHINE HQ, I hope to see this open many doors for me.
I am working on a new album this year... I will be producing it myself... but I can see myself approaching a lot of people to lend a hand.
I am really excited about getting all the new stuff taped! will be great to have some new stuff for you all to enjoy :D
i wanna keep this short and sweet so I will just finally let you know I am in the process of setting up a club/covers band with a friend of mine... just a bit of fun to make some cash... but we will be writing together and hopefully touring in a new band.... so look forward to that guys!
LET IT SNOW - let it go!
How come during all this adverse snow we only here about schools closing for like 2 days?! - how about all the hospitals that are already massively understaffed; night shift nurses breaking their backs to get in for their shift because if they don't the day staff can't leave... come on labor get your priorities right for once! I've not seen one mention on any news program!
What is that lush sound in my EARS!?
I have a fantastic set of songs to share with you from my friends Hope and Social, whom I LOVE!
they performed a special gig for their fans at their very own crypt studio... the whole gig was recorded live... and i think you will agree.. it sounds amazing!
Bob Fischer played me on his show on the 3rd of November - please email in and request more plays for me :D - you know you want tothanksspeak soon guysMike xxx
firstly I would like to thank all who came to the gig at the tithe bar a week ago! You made me feel great! - always nice to do a personal gig back in your home town after all the festivals!
lets move on now!
GIGS!
* My next booked Gig is Friday night at The Bridge Hotel in Newcastle on the 2nd of October! Check its location here!
I will be performing with The lovely sian, on drums, and you may see Matt "mr nasty" black on guest vox for a special cover! :D - will be kick ass brothers and sister! :P
I canny wait pet!
Well I've been talking about all this for months on end... but I think its actually materialisng properly now! after the success of the debut Mike Gatto and the substance peformance this year at culture shock festival I am going to push like hell to get the band up... unfortunetly the band you saw at culture shock is ot the band you will see again! :S - however the band you will see kick ass! - newest arrival is that of Damski - a renound DJ in my local area, getting frequent radio one plays :) - he will be providing some useful assistance on some of my new (more electronic tunes) - but will also be playing guitar for me live - and I'm talking Gatto style guitar so think SOMA style delayed lead guitar melodies! will be funky man! :P
What is that lush sound in my EARS!?
SO... this weeks lush sound comes from the first Doves album, Lost souls, I know its an old song but I've listening to it loads! - its beautiful class example of building a simple tune up using exciting instrument sounds!
check it out now!!! :P
'Break Me gently' - I know elbow are good but these guys are just better! - to me elbow are to Doves what coldplay were to radiohead.
* My next performance with The Grace is Tonight at Hoko 10 in Newcastle - supporting A Silent Film
I will hopefully be performing My New song 'where we are' tomorrow night, if not definitely at the Echo bar Gig - and I'm going to have a piano demo version up soon!
Excitement City arizona!!!
The potentially biggest news atm is the arrival of my percussionist, Sian, She will be debuting on Friday at Echo Bar! I plan to have Sian performing at as many gigs as she can. and My faithful friend and bassist will be sharing the stage soon too - so I am very excited about thickening up the GATTO sound! - this is not to be confused with the electric performance(s) over the summer featuring The producer of 'A Guilty Kind Of Pleasure' on Bass and Session Drummer for 'Candlelit Romance on Drums!
What is that lush sound in my EARS!?
As always I have a great song for the moment! - it is a Euphoric Dance track by Deadmou5, whom I randomly Stumbled across.
'I remeber' - I wouldn't be bold enough to say its the best dance track ever - but I LOVE it at the moment! - just reminds me of the 90's
The solo music is going great - new song written called 'where we are' - its a piano song (hooray) about two young lovers who find each other at the wrong time in there life - one is in a relationship which she wants to get out of the other is living in a different city and both seem to have no way of seeing each other. unfortunately their circumstances don't lead them to one another and he has to accept whilst she stays with the guy she's now so used to that she's scared of leaving.
will hopefully be playing that tomorrow night, if not definitely at the Echo bar Gig - i'll be uploading a demo version of it soon. I also hope to play the song with The Grace
As I mentioned last time the Mike Gatto Band WILL be performing at Culture shock festival and hopefully Richmond LIVE over the summer as well as a string of solo acoustic/ piano sets - so summer should be fun!
also! I ahve another song for the moment! - it comes from the sensational band Doves, whom I saw last night at the 02 academy, Newcaslte.
'The Last Broadcast' - I cannot begin to express how much this song means to me - got me thru a lot of break ups :P - beautiful lyrics and production - please listen over and over - the album last broadcast is a must have too!
I'm currently writing songs for myself and for The Grace - Which is really good fun... I have completed a song (just a bout) - I will be showing the guys it soon
as for solo - I am going to start recording very soon! - I am very excited about it... if not a little daunted by the task... but - it will be better than the last one!!!
The Mike Gatto Band WILL be playing Culture shock festival and hopefully Richmond LIVE over the summer as well as a string of solo acoustic/ piano sets - so summer should be fun!
also! and this is important!
'Streets Of Philadelphia' is my Song of the Moment! I think everyone should listen to it over and over again until you LOVE IT!!!
btw - you might think the video looks amazing synced - but its cause he sang it live during the video! - how good is that!
Hey! thanks to everyone who came to the Hope & Social gig and supported me! had an awesome time! and hope you like the new song ('its okay') - would also like to say Hope and Social were AMAZING!!
also my friend Ailsa sent me this photo which I think is great :P
The E.P is finished! - (only took a year :P) it sounds great - It is exactly how I envisaged it to be, I ow it all to The Hux Capacitor Rich!
anyway, the E.P will be available really soon! you can pre order it from the website as of now - it will be available on itunes (date tbc) from gigs, independent stores and online stores (mine included)
I am pretty sick of putting "upbeat" subjects on here..
this is a blast of the hard reality of being a solo artist ( similar to being a band but you have it all to deal with alone... on your own... at night... in the dark. :|)
* Everybody knows everything there is to know about music... and you know nothing.
* People who do "dig" what you do at a gig just tell you that "you should be signed mate" but never buy your records or come and see you again.
* Be ready to hear people slag off (without any kind of valid reasoning) the one thing you love and
have spent years and years trying to perfect.
* Be ready for wannabe muso's that 'dis' you for being "too commercial" even tho every succesful band in the history of music has started out being commercial and developed their sound to become something different over years and years of experimenting
* If, like me, you perform songs that help you express and 'get over' past feelings that have knocked you down to a level of depression that most ass holes that watch you have never experienced be sure to expect they wont give a crap.
* People should see you as a passionate musician that is doing what he/she loves doing and be impressed and pleased for them as you would be for what ever their vocation is.. but thats bollocks.. people don't want you to do well and enjoy what your doing they just want to do well themselves.
* People will be jealous of any positive recognition of your hard work when in reality if these bastards got off their arse for once instead of playing guitar hero or learning stairway to heaven in their bedroom they could have the same kind of recognition.
* People you meet (by no choice of your own) think that as a solo artist you simply turn up to gigs that magically appear for you and perform songs that you didn't spend weeks writing. and then they think you make loads of money
everybody who supports me and wants me to succeed I love you and have time for you all!
as for the people who feel so righteous that they can express they're feelings of dislike to my music (which btw is usually 10 times better than the dreary crap you come up with) .....
I don't know if your remember this or not but its something thats been bugging me for ages!!
Why did walkers suddenly decide in the mid nineties to change the swap the packet colour of thier cheese and onion crisps and salt and vinegar crisps around?
did Mr Walkers have any reason or did he just know it would bug me for ages?
hey guys! so christmas just round the corner now! got to love this time of year! tho the weather has been a a bit nasty the past couple of days!
So anyone into cool guitar toys! this thing is pure genius! it essentially loops back what you play as a continuous feedback ...prettty cool... think intro to radiohead's planet telex from the bends!
I have never seen such amazing juggling but even better!... CHECK OUT HIS NAME!!!! - btw ...its anthony gatto! - an italian guy got in touch with me and told me to check him out... i think he thought i was related... maybe i am? :O
Hey guys! hope everyone is well, I want to let you know a couple of things that I'm pretty excited about. firstly there will be an E.P launch in My home Town Northallerton followed by a succession of gigs hopefully to promote it... also I am hoping to finally get a band together so I can perform my music as it should be! this will result in bigger gigs and hopefully push things forward!!
Really am quite home sick at the moment - keep feeling nostalgic about things, played a couple of cool shows here in newcastle and look forward to my debut york gig soon! I'm currently working on a new song called "Mr Impossible" and also there should be some new live tracks on my myspace really soon!
as for guilty kind of pleasure and the E.P - its getting there = i know i've been saying this for ever, but it will be in your ears sooooooOOON
I had an amazing night on friday the 26th! I had so much fun playing and would like to thank the crowd for being wicked! - you guys are the reason I do what I do! just remember - G-A-T-T-O, G-A-T-T-O, G-A-T-T-O, MIKE GATTO was his name O!
Hey, so i have just moved into my new flat in newcastle, its pretty good! and I really like all my room mates! - look forward to getting some gigs tho! I already miss it! - am in the studio again this Saturday recording "a guilty kind of pleasure" so hopefully will get a decent amount of that done so i can let you all have a listen!
hey guys, been re writing an old song that used to be called mountains get higher, (which I've only played twice live), so I really liked the verse but felt the chorus was lacking in something - its taken a lot of doing but come up with a new chorus, which in effect changes the concept of the song, its now called "in between" a main lyric in the song is "we're born, we die and this is what happens in between" - which is becoming a main theme to my work, in fact hopefully in the not so distant future when i have a debut album sorted it will go by that name!
anyway - I am hoping to re-showcase "mountains get higher" under its new name "in between" tomorrow night... but tbh... most of you haven't heard it! - but let me know if you like it all the same!
*Funnily enough the first time I played the song was with conspirators and I'm supporting them again tomorrow! ...fancy that eh!
Hey folks! I've been messing on with my newest guitar (the Hagstrom viking semi acoustic) just wanted to say its great! if your looking for a great sounding semi acoustic at a low end price look no further!
also I have been trying to re - write a chorus song!
well - this is a bit new, not entirely sure how long it will last for! had a couple of fantastic gigs over the weekend! in particular The Tithe Bar gig (downstairs as well - how posh!) got to play 12 songs - better than the usual support slot of 6 or 7... so that was such a fun night I figured I would start blogging like real musicians seem to! - gonna do one of them shout outs for Pete, Dave, Day-Z , Tom and Lou from the tithe! just cause I can!! :P in a bit brothers and sisters! x
