Attention to Detail

All of the buildings in the industrial park all looked exactly the same, apart from the white letters on the mirrored glass entryways.  The structures were covered in dark brick that resembled endless rows of red Legos.  It seemed like an odd place for someone to create a musical masterpiece. But the recording studio was there nestled between a small Korean church and a roofing contractor. 

As I stepped inside, I was pleasantly surprised at the loud color that was painted on the walls. Based on the TV shows and movies that have recording studios scenes, everything is dark and smoky. There are usually numerous people who are not musicians who hang around taking in the “atmosphere”, but this place was different.  The expectation of alcohol bottles and cigarette ashes were not met. Not only was the space bright and inviting, there was no smell of four day old marijuana smoke. 

After attending more than 100 + concerts, I always wondered how my favorite musicians created what have become classic songs that helped shaped my experiences.  What did those artists do to make music, what was their process, and where did they go to conceive their ideas? So this trip was for business, but it was also to satisfy my curiosity. 

The sound engineer could not have been over 19 years old. He was a lanky, bald faced, blonde kid wearing Converse sneakers.  I was wondering where the weathered, long beard and sunglass wearing man was to help create the music that shapes the world.  Instead the young man looked as if this was his first day on the job.  To make me feel a little more confident in his skills, he showed me his diploma that was fresh off the presses at Full Sail University.  The credentials were there so I had to be convinced that he knew what he was doing.

Mr. Full Sail sits in front of a large mixing board with 100 knobs, two dozen switches and loads of red, green and yellow lights. He moves his hands about the equipment like a mad man who knows something that the rest of us don’t.  The computer monitors come on, the Pro Tools symbol pops on the screen and the process is about to begin.  But where is he supposed to sing?  I was in search of that room where the artist belts out his heart and soul for everyone to hear.  

“The booth”, as it is called, is in a separate room from the sound engineer. It is a closet sized space hidden behind a double door.  My assumption is that some sessions must go on for hours and the singer needs to catch his breath or rest because along with headphones and a microphone; there is a bar stool in “the booth”. The walls in “the booth” are covered with black sponges for sound proofing purposes.  The foam absorbs the sounds outside the double doors and prevents those normal office building noises from becoming a part of the music.  The strange thing is the level of silence in “the booth” gives it a vault like quality.

After snooping in all of the rooms and over examining the facilities, I plopped down on the couch behind the sound engineer to get settled in.  My boyfriend gives him a CD with his new music on it and he walks toward “the booth”.  Mr. Full Sail hits a button and then music suddenly comes booming through the speakers. He adjusts the volume on the tune, hits a button and asks my boyfriend, “Are you ready?” And then the singing begins. 

*piece written in May 2010