Fun day with Erin Kleh and Friends

SpeakerSonic Studio

Goal: Demo 2 songs, recorded and mixed 5hrs.

Variables:  3 players, live recording, Guitar & Vocal, Backing Vocal and Cajon with a few overdubs.

Songs: Just A Friend (JAF), a speedy doot doot song about regret. Get Me Off (GMO) a coming down out of the clouds song about falling in love.

I enjoyed a set of Erin Kleh's a while back at a show she hosted called Animals Animals Animals. She played with a small group and blazed through 10 songs in 30 minutes like nobody's business.

 She came in with a Backing vocalist, herself playing a nylon string guitar while singing, and a Cajon player. Another live recording setup. I put a pencil condenser on her guitar facing away from her voice aimed in from the 12 fret. I also used the input on her guitar since it had a really nice sound. That way I can blend the two and capture a nice full tone. I used an AKG C414 on her vocals and aimed it slightly angled up and away from her guitar. Her voice is great as well as the Backing vocalist, Danielle. They had a really nice blend with very different qualities. Brian, the Cajon player came in a little later and I set him up quick with a small barrier in front of his Cajon for a little bit of isolation. I placed a Sennheiser MD 421 in the rear inside the hole, and then I put a U87 in the front of the box, aimed slightly down as to pick up the tambourine he played with his foot.

The group is well rehearsed and prepping for a month long tour in Italy. They played very well together and I like the songs very much. Brian added a shaker and bongos to GMO. And Danielle ended up replacing all of her vocals on the song, so we doubled them and spread them out. Then she added a few choice harmonies.

On JAF we added a tiny little harmony underneath a sweetly sung ooh by Danielle, then myself and the two ladies added some hand snaps. The rest was the original set up, GTR/VOX, Back VOX and Cajon. I put a room mic in the setup, but found that it wasn't adding much to the mix, so its just a quiet layer underneath.

MIX: Very easy on the reverb, and then I spaced things out. Erin's voice has a lot of character, so it was important to not lose that by adding anything that would take it away. Basic reverb on the Backing vocals, shaker and hand snaps. I added a touch of reverb to the front mic of the Cajon and left the back mic without. Good sound for a quick mix. I could see taking these songs to put some time into the mix to get them polished, but the goal was to have these songs for demo as much as anything else. Eventually they'll re-record them with a cellist and additional backing vocalist.