Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Captain Diet, "Taking On Water"

Long Island is the cradle of many talented bands and solo musicians, but few become artists in their own right. Recording an EP album is a common way to have more people lend their ears the music of emerging artists.

Captain Diet, a ska/punk band of high school students, started their precocious musical journey during the winter of 2007/2008. Initially a punk band trio, lead vocalist and guitarist Nick Vetri, drummer Andrew Frey, and bassist Brady Darragh realized something was missing. To spice things up, by the end of their band's first anniversary, they were writing more ska tunes and in early 2009, gave their sound a jazzy air by welcoming trumpet player Bob-O Vetri and baritone saxophone player Mike Pooler.

Although one among hundreds of Long Island-based musicians of all ages who dream of fame, Captain Diet left their homemade track mixes behind and sealed a deal with a local recording studio in January 2009. They chose Suffolk Recording Studios in Patchogue, N.Y. due to its affordable rates and professional staff and setup, to produce their EP album, "Taking On Water." Involved in every step of the mixing process it took the band and their engineer Chris Slater two six-hour sessions to master their five-track EP. Despite being constrained by their starter band budget, they were satisfied with the final product. Darragh and Frey discussed their experience.

Could you discuss the process of recording your EP/demo in Suffolk Recording Studios?
Well, we came down before we made any appointments, and checked it [the studio] out. This really helped make our final decision to confirm the studio. We had two sessions scheduled, one for recording, and one for mixing and mastering. Our recording session lasted about six hours for five songs. We recorded the bass, drums, and guitars live. Then trumpet, and lead and backup vocals. After we were done with our initial recordings, we gave each part a listen. If we wanted to change things, we went back, recorded it over, and punched it in over the old part.

Chris, our engineer, did a quick mix and burned us some CDs so we could go home and listen to the songs, so we knew what we wanted to edit. We came back the next day to mix and master the songs. We took about half an hour to redo one or two parts we didn’t like, and then got comfortable in the control/edit room. We were in there for almost another six hours. Chris was really patient, and took his time making sure our parts were perfect.

It probably sounds really boring, sitting in a room for five and a half hours, editing and mixing every little detail to five songs. But in all reality, it was an incredible experience, and was actually a lot of fun. When all the mixing and mastering was done, he burned us each a final copy of the CD, which we are using as master copies for when we go into the printing and publishing stages.

What was your favorite part about the recording process?
I think the best part was the actual recording. We all were really into it, and had a lot of fun. It's not all serious, I mean, there were times when we were trying to mess each other up through the control room window, running out at 11:30 p.m. to get food from down the street, stuff like that. But when it came down to it, we were a hundred percent into it, and that’s what matters. You can’t be totally serious, but as long as you're enjoying it, having fun, and really into it, it'll come out great.

What would you say are the three best qualities of a good music producer/ audio engineer?
Chris was a great engineer, and unofficial producer. Basically what made him so great was [that] he was very friendly, very skilled with Pro Tools, and extremely patient. It also helped that he was into any style of music. He really could get into our songs, analyze them, and figure out what made them sound right, even if we didn’t tell him to. He was also very patient, and if we wanted to go back and fix something, he was all go, and got the live room, the vocal booth, whatever it was, ready for us. That’s all very important.

What advice would you give emerging bands that are looking for a good recording studio ? How should they go about finding the one that meets their needs, and how do they know when they found that studio?
Do your homework first; don’t just pick the first studio you see. We spent a few weeks looking at different studios around Long Island, trying to pick the best one. We got all the rates and prices together for each one, and compared them. We also looked at their equipment and setup. One studio may advertise professional recordings for $35 an hour, and when you get there, it's in some guy’s garage, with a cheap version of Pro Tools, and every thing all in one room. You may have to dish out some more cash to get what you want, or to get some more quality.

Don't be afraid to ask questions too. Set up a time to come down and look at the studio and make sure that it’s what you want. Ask to meet the engineer you will have, and talk to him about what you would like to do, and how you wanna do it. A good studio will cater to your needs and requests, and not make you do it in some cookie cutter fashion to their guidelines and specifications. And all in all, make sure you'll have fun doing it, there’s no sense recording an album, EP or demo, and not getting any fun out of it.

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