Had you been working on solo recordings before or did Thrill Jockey approach you with the idea of doing one?
No, I had been working on some stuff and over the last couple of years I had made a 4 track tape that sat around the house for a year and then I made some copies and they sat around the house for about 6 months. Finally I got them out to a couple of places and Bettina (Thrill Jockey owner) said, "Yeah".
I thought Matador would jump on it first....
They didn't. It does help any sort of conflict of interest that might arise.
So did some of the stuff from that 4 track tape appear on the album?
No.
Were these songs that Run On didn't use?
Just songs that didn't really seem to fit the band. Or I'd even brought them in but no one was interested. You don't want to push it.
The album was all done on ADAT, right?
Yeah.
A single ADAT?
I have one but I would get copies made so I could add more tracks. Not that everything has that many tracks to it but that way I could try something else. I made three copies, A, B and C. I would try different things. Sometimes it wasn't til we mixed that I realized if it worked or not because I'd never heard them all together!
Were you tracking everything at home?
I tried. There were 4 or 5 songs that the vocals and basic guitars were done at Chris Stamey's house. Then I did all the other stuff at home. Then, when I was mixing, there were a couple of tracks where I was like, "It'd sound good with this here."
So you did a lot of the work on this record with Chris Stamey?
He has a lot of really good tube compressors, ProTools for editing... he's got the business going down there. It was great working with him.
So he does a lot of commercial work? What's his studio called?
Modern Recording. I highly recommend it. It was a really nice experience working with him. He's a great musician, really tireless and has good ears. That's important. I would be, "That's fine, let's stop." He would say, "Let's get it perfect."
Oh yeah. I know how that goes. So I assume you live in an apartment, especially from that song, "Box and You". Do you record in a corner of the place or something?
We have a room, a recording room, and we have a rehearsal room...
In your apartment?
No! Not in our apartment! For loud guitar and drums I'd go down there. Take my ADAT to the rehearsal room.
What kind of stuff do you use for preamps or a mixer?
I have that one, actually I'm using it as a preamp for my guitar tonight. It's an Art MP. I use that and we have a little Mackie board.
The 1202? Does it have faders or little round knobs instead?
Little round knobs. I use those preamps too. When I just need one preamp I use the Art but if I need more than one I just use the mixer.
What do you listen back to the ADAT on?
The Mackie. I'm always having to re-patch stuff. We're gonna try and get a little bit clearer setup. You know how the ADATs have the Elco cables? Well, I didn't buy them 'cause they were an extra $150. I think I will get those.
I've hardly ever worked with ADATs.
I like my little ADAT. It's like a really souped-up 4 track. It's portable.
Do you ever do that stuff where you can set up punch in points?
Yeah, but I don't do a lot of that. I'll just track the whole thing. I have a hard time with punch-ins anyway. One thing I had was time, so I would tend to do it over.
I used to do that when I was 4 tracking. I you messed up a vocal you just do it all over.
I never did one vocal. One of the tapes was just for vocals and I just sang it seven times. We'd listen to the seven takes, make a chart, and if you liked a line you'd X it. If you really liked it you'd double XX it. If you really liked it you'd star it. I like to try to get it as much from one as possible but I love studios and I love the fact that you can do that!
Some times people are afraid of working that way... What kind of mics did you use for recording your album?
We used what we had! A couple of [Shure] SM 57's... I bought one good mic, A Rode NT-2. We had an SM 58 Beta but I didn't like the way it recorded. I like it live, for vocals, 'cause I tend to be quiet and it helps.
What places has Run On recorded at?
Idful, Greenstreet...
Where's that?
In New York. Nice place and a really great engineer, Rod Hui. Also at Rare Book Room in Brooklyn. We did stuff with John McEntire in Chicago.
How was that?
It was great. John's really great. Unfortunately, the DAT that we were mixing down to messed up so we couldn't mix down. That was a long time ago! I think he's got his DAT's working now!
That happened to me before... Which studios did you enjoy working at?
I really liked working at Greenstreet. It's a 24 track analog machine with 2" tape. It also has all this stuff. They've made their living doing hip hop records.
Just like Run On...
Exactly! At the same time, with Casey [Rice, at Idful], there were certain things that would never sound that good with anyone else. One of my favorite songs on that record is "Days Away", and I don't think anyone else would have made it sound as good as Casey. We were really too pressed for time with that record.
How long did you have?
We did it in two and a half weeks. 16 days. Without a day off. Really long days.
You can lose perspective at the end of that.
It's not a good way to work. We thought it would be; to go and immerse yourself in this thing. It's not a good way to make a record.
What do you think would be ideal?
Having a really great studio in your house!
Or the practice place/studio like Sonic Youth.
Exactly. I think they have found the perfect solution. That is what I want to try and get going, somehow.
Get another ADAT, a small mixer and a couple of mics... you're on your way!
And then go mix it at places that have all the analog stuff and tubes. I think it is a good idea to mix with other people 'cause it gets it out of yourself so much.
It seems like your band might do really well with that sort of thing. Are other people in the band tech-heads when it comes to recording?
Rick's the biggest tech-head.
Did he help you get some of your stuff together?
Yeah, he helps me a lot.
Doesn't he play a little synthesizer and drums on the album too?
He plays a snare drum and a cold cream thing with beans in it.
You don't have to chase him off when you're trying to record stuff?
There are times where, "NO, I don't want help. Okay?" I don't go to him when he's working, "Don't you want my help?"
What other stuff does he have going on besides Run On and Les Batteries?
He's got tapes and tapes of these great loops and stuff that he's made. Our next records gonna have a lot of loops. We actually sat down for a few hours one day and went through some DAT's and made notes on what was on them and what sounded good.
Are they things you could build songs around?
Yeah. What I would love to get would be another ADAT, ProTools and a mixer. In this world, the amount of money I need is so small. So anyone reading...!!
