The Story of Making the Blue Album: Difference between revisions
The Story of Making the Blue Album (view source)
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Rehearsals commenced in Los Angeles at Cole Rehearsals on Cole St. in Hollywood. Every day the band went through vocal rehearsals early in the afternoon, followed by full loud band rehearsal, running through all the songs, trying to tighten things up. Several times a week I drove them over to a vocal coach's home studio where they would go through the bizarre vocal exercises that can turn an amateur singer into a professional sounding one...or at least help a guy not lose his voice from singing for hours on end every day. They would emerge from the coach's house an hour later talking about epiglottis issues and chanting bizarre warm up exercises. | Rehearsals commenced in Los Angeles at Cole Rehearsals on Cole St. in Hollywood. Every day the band went through vocal rehearsals early in the afternoon, followed by full loud band rehearsal, running through all the songs, trying to tighten things up. Several times a week I drove them over to a vocal coach's home studio where they would go through the bizarre vocal exercises that can turn an amateur singer into a professional sounding one...or at least help a guy not lose his voice from singing for hours on end every day. They would emerge from the coach's house an hour later talking about epiglottis issues and chanting bizarre warm up exercises. | ||
Several weeks of solid practice later, the band got the word that Ric was visiting L.A., stopping by rehearsals to check out the Weez in person. Everyone was thunderstruck: Ric liked the songs! He was interested! While the band had had some run-ins with Rock Fame to date (such as ...heh heh... opening for Keanu Reeves' Dogstar for both bands' first show in '92, being courted by Interscope A+R guy Nigel Harrison from Blondie, and rehearsing across the hall from Wall of Voodoo's Stan Ridgway (okay, okay, so only I knew who W.O.V. were...)), this was the Big Time, and the band worked hard to get it together in time to impress Ric on his visit. Fate seemed to be pushing things away from the lofty ideals of the homegrown Garage sound, toward the world of Big Budget Rock. The band was both excited and worried - I was just excited. I figured (in my naiveté) that this sort of Attention is not lavished on just any band - only GOOD bands with GOOD songs get people like Ric stopping by. And therefore: my secret Theory that I was helping out a Good Band who was going to Do Well was starting to be proven, despite the cloud of pessimism and (realistic) low expectations that permeated the group consciousness at that point. | Several weeks of solid practice later, the band got the word that Ric was visiting L.A., stopping by rehearsals to check out the Weez in person. Everyone was thunderstruck: Ric liked the songs! He was interested! While the band had had some run-ins with Rock Fame to date (such as ...heh heh... opening for Keanu Reeves' Dogstar for both bands' first show in '92, being courted by [[Interscope]] A+R guy Nigel Harrison from Blondie, and rehearsing across the hall from Wall of Voodoo's Stan Ridgway (okay, okay, so only I knew who W.O.V. were...)), this was the Big Time, and the band worked hard to get it together in time to impress Ric on his visit. Fate seemed to be pushing things away from the lofty ideals of the homegrown Garage sound, toward the world of Big Budget Rock. The band was both excited and worried - I was just excited. I figured (in my naiveté) that this sort of Attention is not lavished on just any band - only GOOD bands with GOOD songs get people like Ric stopping by. And therefore: my secret Theory that I was helping out a Good Band who was going to Do Well was starting to be proven, despite the cloud of pessimism and (realistic) low expectations that permeated the group consciousness at that point. | ||
A week later Ric walked in, the Tallest Man In The World, and proceeded to observe, hawklike, as the band rocked out their set. Ric turned out to be one of the most gentle, funny and genuine "rock stars" in the world, and was very interested in producing the album. His mastery of the Pop Song was a very tempting factor - he had done it! He knew what it took! But still, the band was worried. The "Ric Plan" was a hell of a lot riskier financially than the "Garage Plan". Todd suggested they go with Ric, and then later do their second album themselves. Of course the band was thinking: well that's great - but if things go bad enough, there might never be a second album! After a lot of late night band debates, all was settled: Weezer would go to New York and record the album with Ric at Electric Lady Studios. In other words: go for it. Score! | A week later Ric walked in, the Tallest Man In The World, and proceeded to observe, hawklike, as the band rocked out their set. Ric turned out to be one of the most gentle, funny and genuine "rock stars" in the world, and was very interested in producing the album. His mastery of the Pop Song was a very tempting factor - he had done it! He knew what it took! But still, the band was worried. The "Ric Plan" was a hell of a lot riskier financially than the "Garage Plan". Todd suggested they go with Ric, and then later do their second album themselves. Of course the band was thinking: well that's great - but if things go bad enough, there might never be a second album! After a lot of late night band debates, all was settled: Weezer would go to New York and record the album with Ric at Electric Lady Studios. In other words: go for it. Score! | ||