Studio Diary #02: “Callus”
Photo by: Kevin Condon
The cool thing about music is that there is no wrong way to do it.
And even though- as an emerging artist, the pop culture, major label, music business world will make you feel like you gotta follow a strict set of rules to even get a chance to get your music heard. The truth is, what’s on the radio and what people call “good” is just a made up too.
The Beatles to Frank Ocean to Elliott Smith proved it. And i think an easy, clear as day example of what i’m talking about is the emergence of hip hop. Whether it’s talking instead of singing or sampling instead of live tracking. It’s hella legit proof that- Yes, you have to be good. But it doesn’t have to follow anybody’s rules.
It has to be good
It doesn’t have to follow anybody’s rules
And if you want even further proof- especially about the part where the song has to be good. I’d def recommend reading the interview with Linda Perry in the most recent Tape-Op
And- while I’d admit as a green know-nothing engineer and ALSO a singer, i narrowed in on her response to divulging her vocal chains, but I think her answer to the question proves what i mean about it has to be good:
“You can be in a Tascam 8-track and capture incredible takes if you’re capturing a vibe. That’s what’s important. That’s the part that people are missing right now. They don’t realize it’s not the fucking gear. It’s not protools vs. tape” (or in my case these days protools vs. abelton and logic lol) “It’s the song. It’s the performance. It’s the artist's relationships with the producer, as well as if the artist feels safe to be that vulnerable. Are you even recording a fucking good song? Those things are important.”
And the truth is people like Linda Perry and hip hop heroes like my favorite producer of all time Dr. Dre - their approach gives me a lot of the confidence or whatever moxy i got to do things differently.
But it is true; that every homie in the GOLDEN studio crew will say to you- as they all say to me, when it comes to producing a track, “Bailey does things differently”
But that means I gotta get them to be down too.
If you’re a producer or mixer, you’re more likely to come to my studio and i’ll be tracking you and when you’re done tracking, you leave. And i’ll continue from there. Which you know.. As the artist in the room, can appear sorta backwards. Lol -
But as a side note, to all the people who constantly ask me how i get so many talented musicians, producers, mixers and etc… to work with me. There’s your answer: be efficient with people’s time. take on the hard- time consuming work- that no one likes. Like for example, comping and timing and prepping and etc…
that’s how i grabbed the sick guitar vibes from Mark McDonald on the track, and a much cleaner bass curtesy of Spencer Zabiela <3 And since we’re on the topic here’s a quick rundown of the rest crew…
If you’ve been wondering how I’ve been improving my drum sounds and arrangements since the last single, you have Will Hutchison to thank. Lol
While 90% of the time he’s producing full tracks with his production partner Jake as Bird Language, he’s been down to be the official drum caption of GOLDEN. You know… and be down to do things a lil differently than normal :)
Then there’s Noah Prebish,
Also a producer, but also an artist and member of Psymon Spine.
While the universe had a funny way of bringing me and Noah together….in a random Uber Pool (RIP Uber Pool days lol) I knew he’d know exactly where to fill in the gaps in my head after I sang BGVs on his recent track with The Lot Radio
As a classical trained composer and brilliant musical mind, Noah really came in in a pinch on this one, and I honestly think the structure and the bgvs woulda been hella smithereens without him.
And then there’s Colin Bryson - the engineering magician behind the Leslie and her mysterious and sensitive electrical chord to finally showing me how to use the patch bay in the control room.
And as a side note, I’m not sure if anyone is catching any of the tiny hints and lessons I'm dropping to you fellow artists and makers of all kinds out there. But if you are here’s another one for you:
I believe very strongly about sharing your success with your community. Helping your peers, sharing your spoils, and basically acting like the opposite of competitive or selfish. Take every opportunity to sow seeds of support and growth in everyone's life you meet.
And the only reason Colin happened to know The Creamery like the back of his hand, was cuz i linked him with Quinn earlier in the year to assist and now he’d been hundreds of sessions in. Ha- it was like some sorta of beautiful circle back gift. Anyway and of course shoutout to Quinn who gave us the space so make such weird sounds and will even yam out with me before i get to work lol.
And finally the wildest circle back gift in the crew is Brandon Bost who while also added a lotta production, most importantly, mixed the song.
Brandon was one of my first bandmates & collaborators in GOLDEN. And we met when he was Tom’s second assistant at ELS.
Whether its Running , Unaccountable or teaching me brotools- He was a big part of the beginning.
And doing this song together really echoes what Linda was saying about relationships and how the overall effectiveness of the recording of a song is largely dependent on creating a space where you and your collaborations feel safe to perform and execute to your most vulnerable ability.
(And also as an addition, i’ll add surrounding yourself with people who know how to have fun is also good.)
Which also inspired me to make a blooper video from beginning to end while we made this song. Cuz…. who says sports should have all the fun? lol
But seriously- all that aside, whether it’s printing stems mid way, or muting sometime last minute, or just letting me jump in the chair and change something myself and not be offended by it. I was honestly able to make this awesome fucking song, because of that crew and that space that we created.
And the truth is, the reason i got to upgrade a lot of vibes and production on this song was cuz the crew sorta fucking nailed what Perry is talking about it. So thank you homies
So while, I’d could geek out for hours telling you how i learned about the beautiful mechanical perfectness of the vibraphone that created all the sick pads and “vibes” in the song lol.
Or about how i learned what a Rhodes does thru a Leslie cabinet for the first time on this song. And of course i am obsessed. Or blabbing on about my song song and how I’ve somehow created a way to get to the m8 by 1:40 or how probably almost everyone will miss the key change in the m8 cuz i hid it on purpose lol i’ll just end it right here.
Anyway, see you next time <3
love,
bailey
CALLUS CREDITS:
All songs written performed recorded produced by: bailey cooke (GOLDEN)
Album Artwork: Josh Lambert
Album Photograhy: Cory Foote Taken at The Creamery Recording Studio
Aditional Production/engineering/Instrumentation: Noah Prebish, Spencer Zabiela, Will Hutchison, Mark McDonald, Colin Bryson, Brandon Bost
Mixing: Brandon Bost
Mastering: Idania Valencia, Sterling Sound
