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This is probably the funnest single I’ve gotten to record so far – having a whole band surrounding you while you crash on into things a tempo; having not only a good vibes girl (thank you Niki!!), but a good vibes DOG (thank you Banjo!!); ice cream, apple pie, soup, birthdays, an entire drum kit, a beautiful house in the middle nowhere (Nottingham, NH – a lot of said house built by the engineer himself), and three of the jolliest accompanists a girl could ask for… Let’s just say that even if Robin Hood wasn’t there, his merry men were!
A Word on the Studio and the Engineer:
I asked Charlie Rockwood Farr if we could manage a live take with a full band at his place, and he smiled and looked off into the distance and calculated enthusiastically (I haven’t know Charlie for very long, but have yet to see him get after something he cares about without enthusiasm), and then said, “Yeeeaaaaahhhh….Yeah I think we can!” I admit I wasn’t sure what to expect after that response, but when I arrived I was met at the door by the whole family and welcomed in to a living room webbed out with cables and mic stands and instruments. He had everything set up and ready to go and wasted no time in getting levels while simultaneously participating as my drummer. He took suggestions and experimented efficiently. He mixed, he mastered (a little!), he ran up and down the stairs, and he still had time to hang out somehow. North River Studios is a hospitable establishment littered with utterly capable and friendly staff. Bring Charlie your music!
A Word on the Band:
For this song I was lucky enough to get a drummer, a fiddler and a bassist, respectively: Charlie Farr, Cameron Mason Smith Rapoport, and Gerard Kennedy. I met all of these guys while I was playing in Newburyport, largely thanks to Jason Novak, an actor/artist/musician friend of ours up there – the five of us in addition to some others would get together regularly at a joint on Plum Island to bring acoustic beach music to the bar. All of them are a fine caliber of musician – meaning that in action they are incredibly attentive, listen well, take cues, and above all, take total pleasure in The Hang. They smile and joke constantly while delivering excellent music. Be in my band, guys?
Charlie … Founder and Chief Engineer at North River Studios, Charlie has been playing drums for 30 years in a variety of styles ranging from bluegrass to blues. His primary influence growing up was his aunt – when he was a boy she would let him play her drums to whatever was in her tape deck (good vibes auntie). North River Studios has been producing for 6 years now. Charlie is a professional learner, my favorite vocation.
Cameron … A Mechanical Engineer by day, Cam studied classical violin in his youth with a Polish teacher named Maciej. Later if life, he got a job playing in the house band of an improv comedy troupe by the name of “Mask and Wig” in Philadelphia – and this was where he learned to play FIDDLE.
Gerard … While moonlighting as a bassist, Gerard spends his days as a chemist. I asked him how he got into bass guitar, and he said that when he was 13 he was in Guitar Center with his parents fooling around and dropped an expensive instrument. Terrified, he ran into the acoustic room to hide and spent the rest of the afternoon teaching himself the bass. Gerard is 26 as of yesterday. Happy Birthday mate!
(Banjo, the studio’s good vibes dog)
Songography 