Shake Your Body Line

While I normally try to make everything in my blog relevant to actual recording, today is going to start with a bitter rant which will lead into something more relevant... 

I'm not sure if it was yesterdays indulgences of beer and cigars or caffeine withdrawals, not having had any in several days, but after Tim left yesterday I developed a massive headache which I did not recover from until about 6:00 this morning... And this guy had to go to MSU for a class (that didn't happen by the way) at 8:30am.  I got my sleep deprived shivering body up before the sun was shining, drove to a wet little parking lot devoid of all other cars and parked, and waited.  Then I walked around the building and all the doors were locked.  Then I checked (via iPhone, which is a pain in the ass) my MSU mail, the MSU calendar, my personal calendar and the portal assignments for my class.  All say class this morning.  As I was getting ready to leave, I hit the "handicap" button and... the doors popped open.  I ran inside before they closed.  The cold air and light drizzle at this point had me pretty awake so I found my classroom and played some games on my phone to kill time.  Maybe someone would show up.  I feel like the fool because when I left, just before 9:00, no one else had shown up yet and no one was in the parking lot.  I gave a longing glance at McDonald's as I drove by thinking a cup of coffee and a sausage, egg and cheese biscuit would be awesome but I restrained myself and headed home, where a warm bed was still calling my name.  To cut this already long story short, I did not get to take a nap prior to Tim showing back up today.  I was engaged in a number of other less desirable tasks, other than prepping fajitas for dinner tonight, which will be the third most exciting thing I do all day right behind recording and going back to sleep.

[Insert Picture of Tim in his Vehicular]

Around 3:00pm, Tim Smith arrived and rescued me, like a tiny steam knight riding in a bright white steed, from my loathsome piddling.  He informed me that he'd been jammin' the mix I sent along with him yesterday and had some ideas.  He really wanted to lay down some electric harp for Flying J to give it that good ol' dirty grit sound.  I was stoked!  He brought a tiny little Fender Champ and a Green Bullet mic.  "The classic blues combination" as he referred to it.  We mic'd him up and he laid into Flying J.  The solo to that song wasn't coming together the way I'd hoped and after he put some harp behind it, it was really rocking.  Or as much as a low key song rocks.  

Tim tweaking getting his electric harmonica set up

That was the only song that really needed a whole lotta harpin' (and not of the boont variety) so I requested a little shake shake for a couple songs.  He put down some shaker on a few songs for me and that was the end of the day.  I love it when a plan comes together.

Tim laying down some egg shaker on Flying J

A short pow wow later with me assuring Tim he'd be kept in the loop (and a link to this blog assures that he has the power to do that himself if I prove unreliable) and he was off, driving his noble steed into the distance to save some other Maiden... Fan.

So that's it for a few days.  Tomorrow evening may see a little drum recording, possibly Tuesday.  Details with Kory at this point are still vague but if all goes according to schedule vocals should be getting cut by the 14th and mixing should be getting done by the 21st.  That puts this album at a very optimistic Valentine's Day release.

Cross your fingers and pray for oats!

Photo from original album cover shoot