STUDIO
PREPARATION
What You Should Know
Before You Go
By ELIAnnE HALBERsBERG
What makes a hit record?
It is a perennial question, but it has also
become one that must be asked on a playing
field now leveled by downloads, ringtones
and social networking. “To make it these days,
it’s so competitive and so hard and there’s
little insight into what it takes to get there,”
says producer Johnny K. Step one, of course,
is getting your music heard, and that means
recording. But before you invest in studio time
and a producer, you need to be prepared.
For some “sound” advice, we turned to a
diverse panel of experts: Michael Wagener,
the heavy metal producer of the 1980s (and
who is still in demand for recording sessions
and workshops); Jason Burleson, guitar, banjo
and mandolin player in the award-winning
bluegrass group Blue Highway; Johnny K,
producer and guitarist, whose Groovemaster
Studio is a recording home for top rock
bands; John Leventhal, multi-instrumentalist
and award-winning producer who has worked
with artists such as Michelle Branch, Shawn
Colvin and most notably his wife, Rosanne
Cash; harmonica player Mickey Raphael,
who has spent more than 35 years sharing
stage and studio with master craftsman Willie
Nelson and also “unproduced” the Naked
Willie album; and Bruce Kulick, best known
as a 12-year member of Kiss during a pivotal
time in the band’s career. Kulick has a wealth
of studio, band and touring experience, and
recently released his third solo album, BK3.
Practice
While it sounds elementary and should be a
given, many bands don’t commit to rehearsing. Time is money in the studio. If you don’t
know your stuff, you’re wasting both for
everyone involved.
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“This is very important,” says Kulick. “You want
to be really tight. Rehearse. Play the music in
front of people, even in rehearsals. I’m very
strict about rehearsals. I don’t want the band
to seem uncomfortable about the songs. When
I recently toured Australia, I had two new musicians and I was very comfortable with them.
We had three and a half days of rehearsal and
we were ready. At a certain point you’re only
going to be as good as you can be, and
