II - Summer 1999 - Recording Color of Space

While the drive to write and record our first 2 songs had been mostly fueled by raw enthusiasm, we found the motivations to continue with our writing a bit more cloudy and unclear. Each of us had fulfilled a unique set of expectations and dreams, and each of us also had a unique set of resultant motivations that shaped our writing. Some of those motivations began conflicting very soon after we finished Lenses, and we found that each of us wanted to take the writing in a slightly different direction. The next few months were a period of individual and collective growth, sometimes uncomfortable, sometimes downright threatening, but ultimately very necessary. It was during this period that the building blocks for Strange Attraction and Ripple in Time were born.

Fast-forward several months to July, 1999. The recording studio is an incredibly unforgiving place to record and listen to this music. Song sections that we used to fill in with our imaginations, riffs that we used to skip, phrasings that we used to go so well with the buzzing of live amps - they all have become a stark reality at the mixing board now that we have recorded the basic live tracks for Ripple in Time, Strange Attraction, Mars Direct, and Who We Are. All of the stumbling blocks and nervousness we experienced last year when recording Lenses and Ebb & Flow were back with a vengence. I had hoped those feelings and problems were unique to last year's sessions, but we were slowly finding out that they are just a part of the recording process for us.

It is August now, and we have already faced more stumbling blocks this time around than we did during the entire process last year. This morning we all showed up bright and early at the studio, and waited for Doug (our engineer) to show up. And we waited. And waited. And waited. And finally we called him at home where he was enjoying a day off with his family. He had no idea we were scheduled for a session. Out of the goodness of his heart he drove over to the studio and worked with us for a few hours. Unfortunately, though, I had already let the frustration of scheduling snafus and equipment failures and tuning problems cloud over my excitment for the day.

Last night was supposed to be Guitar night. The night when Matt was going to finish all of the guitar tracks so we could do vocals over the weekend and then mix and master early next week. Last night ended up being I Love the Smell of Burning Transistors and Fuses in Guitar Amps in the Morning night. Mmmmm, burning transistors...