You’ve had two different studios: One in the Poconos and now one in upstate New York. What was the catalyst for having a recording setup at home?
I love the process of recording. I like to paint the picture, and having my own setup allows me to do that while inviting others to join in. I enjoy the connected effort of working with others. That's something you can have on stage within its chemistry, but certainly in the studio it's very collaborative.
You have your own songwriting, but what else fed the need for a home studio?
It was originally to make a friend’s album. I grew up having a 4-track in high school, and that's when I started to write a little bit of music and to record songs just for the sake of recording them, as well as to understand that process of getting sounds. Once I left my parents' house, that studio was done. Following this, I apprenticed at Secret Sound in New York City. That experience taught me how records were made! For a good 15 years, I was a recording and touring musician. Having that space in the Poconos came at the time when a friend was getting rid of his analog 8-track. I certainly wasn't opening a studio to make a living, since I was making my income from touring and as a session player. But once I got that setup, then things started happening. Build it and they will come! [laughter] Before I knew it, I was recording people in the days when stuff was going digital. Then, while working with Joan Osborne, I started to make demos for a record that was coming up and she just loved the sound. She was asking, “What are you making these demos on? They sound great.” It's funny, because to me they sounded like demos. At that time, people were just getting used to hearing music digitally, but the analog had something in its nature. I wasn't really punching in much; I was just playing. Joan loved it, so we made an album of hers, Love and Hate, on the 8-track. I hired Pete Keppler, who's an insanely good engineer. He worked with Bonnie Raitt, David Byrne, Sparklehorse, and a host of others. He brought in probably $15,000 to $20,000 in outboard gear and microphones. We set it up and recorded almost all the basics. The drums were in mono, going mic to mic pre, hitting my Altec compressor, and right into the 8-track. It sounded great! From there, I ended up getting Pro Tools and did a dozen records at that house in Pennsylvania.
