So, is it true that a Tape Op article led you to Kentucky?
I was hoping we'd talk about that! I had a loft space back in Montreal that I used to record in and I was wanting to get more into the analog side of things. I found this article about Kevin [Ratterman] and I thought, "This guy seems cool." I listened to his recordings and they sounded amazing. Plus he was a drummer and I'm a drummer. I got in touch with him when I came through town on tour. At some point he reached out and told me, "I need help. It's too much." I said, "I'll do it. I'll come down." So, yeah; a Tape Op article started it all, which I'm very grateful for.
And now you live in Louisville.
So random, yeah. Of all places.
When you moved to Kentucky in 2015, Kevin was still running La La Land and you all were working together, right?
Yeah. At first there was definitely a learning curve for me. I was coming from an all-digital setup in Montreal, where I had been working on my computer and my little board. I had an API 3024 [4 channel preamp] with another 4 or 8 channel preamp that I was connecting together. It was pretty simple, but it was mobile so I could travel to people's spaces. It took me a couple of months to learn the patchbay and gear here, to get the tape machine rolling, and all of that. But I did my first session by myself after three or four months. I worked with Kevin a lot, and then, at some point, he started touring more – that's when I started doing more sessions on my own.
What were you recording in Montreal?
Mostly projects from my musical community. My loft was a giant shared space, but it was all friends so I left my gear there. There's a lot of cool industrial loft spaces in Montreal that are somehow still around, even with gentrification. Our space was split in half: One half was a bunch of artists and the other half was musicians. The room was split in two with a sliding door, so it was almost made for recording.
When did you start playing in bands?
I started playing drums at 15 and joined my first band right away at 16. That's what I mostly did, until my 30s. I think my first tour of Canada was when I was 19, because I couldn't legally get into bars. That was with The Frenetics, my first serious band that made records and toured a bunch.
Were you involved with the recording of The Frenetics albums?
Actually, no. The only recording I was doing when I was younger was on a 4-track cassette that I got when I was 20. I did a lot on that. I always thought those [4-tracks] sounded cool.
Are you doing much tracking to tape at La La Land these days?
I'm doing as much as people let me. Sometimes there's a time constraint. I just got this cool 8-track, 1-inch machine. I've been using it as much as I can, when bands are up for it. I recorded a band a couple months ago and we only had seven mics in the whole session, with two guitars, bass, and three drum mics going through the 1-inch. It was pretty incredible. I thought, "I could not mix this and it already sounds like a record," which was a cool confirmation that it's a great sound.
Wasn't the White Stripes' Elephant recorded on 8-track?
I think so. [Yes, by Liam Watson, Tape Op #88, #15. -LC] And the fact that there's just three drum mics means there's not a lot of phase issues. I mean, there's always gonna be a little bit of phase, here and there, but there's not that much with three mics and it can sound so big.
What's your mic'ing technique with three mics? Are you doing the Glyn Johns triangle thing?
No. It's funny because I got to work with him last year. I was emailing recently and told him, "I did not use your method!" Just a bass drum, snare, and an overhead mic that I would move around, depending on the vibe of the song. It was cool making those decisions. It's fun to commit. With digital, it's so easy not to commit to anything. It's nice creatively, and I think sometimes it yields better results.
So, you email with Glyn Johns?
We worked on a session together last year at the studio.
At La La Land?
Yeah. There's this blues band, Screamin' John & TD Lind, and a few of the guys are from Louisville. Someone's dad was good friends with Glyn, so he came down from England for five days and they made a record.
Were you in the room the whole time?
Yeah, I got an engineering credit somehow. I knew it was gonna be an old school session, so I was trying to be ahead of the curve the whole time, being ready. I think I did pretty well. We got along really well. I'm this punk kid from Montreal and he's this guy from England. He was telling stories and happy to show me his tricks. At some point we were setting up drums, and he said, "So, this is what I do." And I said, "Are you showing me your method?" And he was like, "I guess I am!" It was very inspiring. He was 76 at the time, and still so passionate about the craft of it. It sounded incredible, too. I thought, "Wow. I don't know if I've heard this sound coming out of these speakers."
Was he using all your mics? Did he bring anything in?
