"12 Days of Holly Happy Days"
Holly Happy Days everyone! Here are 12 days of 'Holly Happy Days' recording sessions which took place in May 2010.
photo taken by Amy Ray
Here some of us are, gathered in the studio to arrange a song. From left to right: Carol Isaac's leg and accordian, Luke Bulla, Amy. and Alison Brown.
Before we recorded each song, we would get together in this main studio room and work on arrangements. This is where the players' ideas for their parts originated. Peter Collins (producer) listened in and made suggestions about song structure and vibe. Once we got the shape of the arrangement, we would go to our isolation recording booths at the same time and begin to get song 'takes'. Regardless of what we came up with at the beginning , we would often change parts and song structure once we got in to the booths, began playing together, and could really hear how the song was coming together.
You can see in the photo that there are many instruments strewn about. At any point, we could pick up a different instrument and try something new on the spot to see how Peter and everyone else liked it. You can also see Alison taking notes on her chart. These Nashville players, and Carol, our Brit, are world class players who write and read charts second nature.
Day
2
Welcome to the 2nd day of Holly Happy Days! In this video, we are
working on 'I Feel the Christmas Spirit' which ended up being the
first track on the cd. We don't figure out the track order until near
the very end of the project. You can watch as we start from the beginning
on the structure. There is also footage of both Luke and Alison playing
their solos which end up on the final track. They come up with their
own parts typically. Sometimes Peter guides the musicians to hear
a certain direction he might like them to take. But on this song,
Luke and Alison just wailed on it. Inside the control room, Peter
and Trina direct and Emily distracts Peter with a frivolous question.
All good.
Tomorrow we will look inside the control room at a couple of the players.
(24
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Format)
'I Feel the Christmas Spirit'
Day
3
On the 3rd day of Holly Happy Days we have a sneak peek inside the
control room. For those of you who don't know, the control room is
where the producer (Peter) and engineer (Trina Shoemaker) sit and
listen to the goings on. It is where the 'board' is and all of the
technical recording gear is. Trina is at the helm. She recorded these
sessions on ProTools software. In this control room shot, Luke and
Jim Brock (percussion) gather to listen to a track. They are standing
in the doorway to the entrance of the control room. People come and
go into the control room at free will, but we mostly try to stay quiet
so that Trina and Peter can concentrate. That being said, there are
many conversation breaks and someone offers to get whoever wants hot
tea or coffee.
Tomorrow we will take a look at the process of arranging and recording 'Angels We Have Heard on High'.
photo taken by Amy Ray
Day
4
On the 4th day of Holly Happy Days we look into recording 'Angels
We Have Heard on High'. Emily plays a baroque style instrumental
part and Luke finds his own part to accompany it. Note Jim Brock's
completely unique and fabulous combination of things that he plays
to create a percussive track. Brandi Carlile joins us to learn her
third harmony part. You see when we land on the notes in three part
harmony that work exactly to our liking. This is a tremendously
fun part of the process, and Brandi makes it easy. She is a harmony
pro!
Tomorrow we go into the control room again.
(24
MB, QuickTime
Format)
'Angels We Have Heard on High'
Day
5
On the 5th day of Holly Happy Days we see Luke and Trina pointing
to a part of the track which they see on the soundwaves on the screen.
ProTools allows us to see, in sound wave form, everything that has
been recorded onto tracks. We not only hear, but we actually see
the music. They are working on a spot to fix, and Luke and Trina
can see, according to the waves on the screen, exactly where the
change needs to be made. ProTools has revolutionized studio recording.
It is now a very speedy process to record and fix things. We remember
the times when recording tape actually had to be cut and spliced
to fix things. Scary!
Tomorrow, we will watch video from the recording of 'Peace Child". Emily's Dad makes his debut on an Indigo Girl's record!
photo taken by Amy Ray
Day
6
On the 6th day of Holly Happy Days, we watch the process of recording
‘Peace Child’. The first footage shows show Don Saliers, Emily’s
dad. It is his first appearance on an IG record. It is also his
first time recording in a professional studio, using headphones,
and sitting in an isolation booth. He performs wonderfully. Carol
plays the harmonium, and you can hear the sound of the pedals
as they pump away. You can see Luke playing violin, and Amy and
Emily singing their parts. Each person is housed in a separate,
or ‘isolated’ booth, so that we can hear each other through headphones
but also keep good ‘takes’ and fix mistakes that an individual
player may make. Jim keeps a tempo which does not actually end
up on the finished track. There is lots of space in the song,
and Jim helps keep our entrances and playing together. Since we’ve
worked with him, Peter has always said, right before we record
a track, ‘let’s make this a proud day for England…’or anyone else
he chooses. Obviously, this makes us laugh and relaxes us before
we launch into a take. Peter and Trina listen from the control
room. The piano part you hear in this video is not the one we
end up with on the final version. In his free time, Don plays
jazz.
Tomorrow we visit the nexus of gathering again: the control room.
(24
MB, QuickTime
Format)
'Peace Child'
Day
7
On the 7th day of Holly Happy Days we go back to the control room.
From left to right are Don Saliers, Amy, Tristin Chipman, Emily,
Peter, and Trina. As you can see, some people are working and
some people are socializing. After we finish a take, or a part,
Peter says, ‘come on in y’all’ (in his English accent) or something
like that, and we usually head from the booth into the control
room to listen to what’s been done. But oftentimes, we just gather
there as Trina ties up loose ends and Peter scopes a plan. Or
we sit there to listen as the other players record their parts,
like solos, or fixes. We also pet the dogs, Dave and Tobey. We
are a pet friendly recording environment.
Tomorrow, we will watch the footage that Sulli shot of us recording ‘O Holy Night’.
photo taken by Carolyn Snell
Day
8
Here we start with Carol Isaacs, describing the ‘Catamonium’.
As you can tell, there is no fun whatsoever allowed during the
daily proceedings. On this track, Jim Brock came up with a really
nice groove, accompanied by Viktor on bass. Because this song
has been done a gazillion times, we wanted to present it in
a different musical light. Trina was particularly struck by
this arrangement and rushed home to rough mix what she called
her favorite track so far. Luke plays mandolin here. He played
fiddle, mandolin, and guitar during the sessions. He is not
only a virtuoso, but he is ‘tasty’, as we say, which means he
comes up with unique and special parts. Amy’s sister, Susan,
sings ‘O Holy Night’ in church every year. She has a beautiful
soprano voice. Now it’s Amy’s turn to hit a super high note.
Listen for it, towards the end of the footage.
Tomorrow we will look at photos of Jim Brock and Alison Brown.
(20
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Format)
'O Holy Night'
Day
9
On the 9th day of Happy Holidays, we see Jim and Alison. Jim
Brock is a fabulous percussionist. We had never worked with
Jim before, Peter found him for us. He has a collection of all
kinds of percussive instruments, but also does things like slap
his legs and smack his hands on his percussive tracks. It is
hard to identify, just by listening, exactly what he is doing.
Jim definitely brought a unique and inspiring sound to these
sessions.
We have known Alison for a while now. She played on ‘Poseidon and the Bitter Bug’ acoustic versions. Emily used to listen to her records up at her N. Georgia cabin years and years ago, so it was a thrill to actually get to work together. Alison comes with an arsenal of banjo-like instruments. Listening, in the control room, we were always blown away by her parts.
Tomorrow, we will watch the process of recording ‘In the Bleak Mid Winter’.
photo taken by Carolyn Snell
photo taken by Amy Ray
Day
10
Today we are in the studio recording ‘In the Bleak Mid Winter’.
Jim starts us with a count in, just so we can get the time and
entrance. But then he drops out, and we miss our vocal entrance
because there is no point of reference for it. So, Peter asks
Carol to play piano to help us with that, and we are on our
way again. In the end, the piano part stays, which illustrates
how happy accidents can happen during the process. Just to note,
in the big studio room you see colored lights strung about.
These lights gave us a very ‘holiday’ vibe, but they weren’t
put up just for the project, they are always there. A little
example of just how perfectly everything came together for the
‘Holly Happy Days’ experience.
In the control room, we listen to what we have done so far and, while the structure and arrangement are what we want, we decide that we can get a better performance. Peter is quite adept at recognizing a stellar performance and, also, when we have ‘peaked’ and probably can’t better what we have. The process with this group is quite democratic. However, it is important to have a producer and engineer whose opinions you completely trust. We have that with Peter and Trina. We laugh a lot, but in the end, we are serious about doing the best we can.
Tomorrow, we will look at a picture of Emily and her dad, in the control room and petting Dave, Peter’s dog.
(27
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Format)
'In the Bleak Mid Winter'
Day
11
On the 11th day of Holly Happy Days, we see Emily and her dad,
sitting in the control room and petting Dave. Dave was in the
studio with us almost every day, sitting on the couch. But whenever
Peter left the room, so did Dave. He is extremely attached to
Peter. But as long as Peter was around, Dave had his place on
the couch and loved being petted.
You can see how much Emily loves her dad in this picture. She is also proud of him for playing so well in this new and, often intimidating, environment.
One of the best parts of making an IG record is getting to invite people to come join us. Along with Don, there were guest appearances on ‘Holly Happy Days’ by Janis Ian, Mary Gauthier, and Brandi Carlile. We also have friends and family drop by from time to time. It is always a communal affair with us.
Tomorrow, for the 12th Day, we will watch some of the process of recording ‘Your Holiday Song’.
photo taken by Carolyn Snell
Day
12
Here we are, starting the arrangement process for ‘Your Holiday
Song’. Emily wrote this song strumming the guitar, but it becomes
apparent that the ongoing strumming just makes the song feel linear.
So Peter suggests that Jim and Viktor come up with a groove, and
the song is made! The tempo is faster, we lose the constant strumming,
and Luke comes up with a nifty mando part which further lifts the
feel of the song. After all, this is meant to be a poppy, uplifting
song of celebration. It becomes that once the changes are made in
the arrangement. Sitting in a hotel room in the 95 degree Mexican
heat, Emily never could have created the parts that would eventually
bring this song to its potential. That is the beauty of working
with a great team. We all make each other better.
(13
MB, QuickTime
Format)
'Your Holiday Song'
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