DAY FOUR AT THE FANTASY CAMP HOLLYWOOD
So far the camp has been extremely exciting, and Steven Tyler’s visit was something none of us would forget anytime soon. Today was the day for the campers to be recording stars at the world famous Capitol Records in Hollywood. In many ways Capitol’s studio is the USA’s equivalent to what London’s Abbey Road is for the UK. Many famous records were performed and captured there, so we were all excited about being there. After the quick morning rehearsal for my band, it was time for my band to be taken from rehearsal place to the studio to record our original song called “Living My Dream”.
Just when we got out of the van, we posed in front of the entrance. Once inside Capitol Studios, I noticed how many of the artists that have made hit records there, were in photos gracing the walls. My band was busy getting the vibe of the studio, and we could hear some of the morning sessions from other camper bands blasting away in the sound booths below our lounge. Share’s band was in Studio B, which was below the lounge we were relaxing in. She has a band with many young campers and they sounded great. She was fortunate to have the famous Eddie Kramer to engineer her session and I was excited to know my band would be working with him as well. Eddie’s resume is over the top, from Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin and KISS just to name a few!!!
Things got a bit delayed with some technical issues in the studio, so my band were showing each other our videos of yesterday’s Steven Tyler visit jamming with us. It was finally time to jump into the studio, and one by one, Eddie had us get on our instruments to hear what microphones he needed to adjust.
I have two drummers, Ujush and Greg, and Eddie made a point that they do NOT play any fills at the same time. We went over that, and then it was time to check the guitar sounds from Jordan and Jamie. My bass player Tony got tuned up and we were ready to get going with trying the song. Eddie asked Tony to wait to overdub the bass, as that would make the most sense time wise. Tony watched from the booth as we nailed the second run through and would be our keeper take. The only real mistake came from me! I also played third guitar on the track. So a quick overdub of the chord I blew kicking off the verse one, and we were onto Tony’s bass parts. Tony has not played bass very long, and with 5 years in Iraq without his instrument, I know he is finally achieving his dream of getting good with what he needs to do to play the bass.
We got our performance from him, sweaty hands and all, and moved on to a keeper vocal from Ally our singer from Russia. We found the right mic technique to get her sounding good, and she nailed her vocal part during her second performance. After some gang background attempts, we asked Ally to double her ending chorus. Her unique style of singing and phrasing made that really the only way to get it right.
So our recording day at Capitol was complete and successful. It was time to get back to AMP rehearsal studio for meeting Todd Rundgren! Todd is another huge talent with his songwriting, singing, guitar playing, and producing. (He produced and played on Meatloaf’s “Bat Out Of Hell” and also produced Grand Funk’s “We’re An American Band”). Todd was a gentleman watching us play “Helter Skelter” and joining in on vocals on the end chorus. We took pix with him, and he signed our stuff. We spoke about the old Meatloaf days, when Todd would sit in with the band. The original “Bat Out Of Hell” tour was my first pro tour. And having Todd play with the Meatloaf band on a few songs was a real treat for me.
We had another hour to do some rehearsing on the AC/DC song, “Highway To Hell”, so after jamming that for an hour it was time to say goodnight. Saturday nights are off at the camp, so that the campers can enjoy the LA nightlife on Sunset Strip or just relax.
Another big day tomorrow as we all get to jam up on stage at the Whiskey A Go Go.