Chuck's last hurrah?

E-Mail between me and Dave:

I didn't know you were recording also! The mic attenuator I bought helped with the distortion, but the recording still sounded like crap. Then again- the mic was in a cubby hole not facing anything, including the PA- so the vocals sounded horrible and muddy- and of course, there was just one mic, no stereo.  No CD just yet!

I couldn't tell much about Chuck since it sounded like he was playing a tambourine- but you can hear the effects of his drumming- no punch, no precision, and the whole band sounded out of sync.

I hate to say it, but nearly as bad as Chuck was Rick- in fact, he made the most glaring mistakes. I'm afraid if anyone scared her off, it was him- his playing, and the way he put her on the spot by asking her several times if she'd play the gig with us, if she'd come back, etc. She looked visibly uncomfortable when he spoke to her, she was much more at ease with Chuck. She must wonder what our standards are if we'd have her do a gig after playing with us just once!

But you're right- her keyboard playing is better than her singing, and Chuck dragged the band down in a way a novice wouldn't necessarily pin down. His sucking makes us All sound worse.

As usual, I couldn't bear to listen to my own singing- I know I can't be objective, and I at least sounded better when I ran a few tracks through this software "normalizing" the levels- bring the mix up and clarifying it. It made me realize also that the acoustics in the room are absolutely horrible, as was the mic placement. I sing better when I can hear myself, and it's tough in that room. But, as a jazz dude told me years ago- "don't listen to the tapes, man- you'll go mad." He too hated recording himself unless you have a great setup. Still, I'm gonna keep trying- very educational....


No, what surprised me about the recording was that it wasn't so much what Chuck sounded like individually, it's how he affected the overall sound. I'd love to compare each song track by track with him versus Kenny. Also, the keyboards at times really muddied things up or were intrusive- best track was "Wonderful Tonight," though she overplayed some riffs.

(Her playing was best on "Imagine"- she really nailed that.)


I'll wait till after her other audtion today, then ask her what she thought.




after listened to my boom box recording yesterday i think chuck has worsened he missed crucial spots in baby blue , shaken all over, white room and many more..roll over Beethoven was so bad i cant keep time with him...lastly did you record rockin in the free world? he dragged so bad it sounded like he was playing another song under neath us.. i think hes going backward... i just wonder if he scared this girl off, shes very talented, she must have known nothing was tight cause of him...i hope no problem arises with kenny before this wknd.... we are so fortunate to have him if only just this time...i'm going to play along with a lot of deep purple during this week to try to put chucks drum pollution out of my mind, i just hope its not contagious !!