po changes in the song . The last chorus is actually faster than the rest of the tune . That soul section kind of threw a monkey wrench into the whole tempo format . We had him just sort of sing the tune while Tony [ Hoffer , the producer ,] played the piano and we kind of mapped the tempo out in Pro Tools and then we had everybody play over it .
PS : What was the vocal chain and effects on Max ? It sounds like there was a lot going on with his voice at different points in the song .
ER : Oh yeah ! We had him do a guide vocal and I felt he sang that guide vocal amazingly so I ended up using a lot of what he did in the guide – especially in the choruses – in the final version of the song . And then it was more us detailing the character of the verses afterwards . So , you know , the girls had to sing in between these parts and we had to sort of set up a character for them to go off of in the verses . So we paid a little bit of attention to that thing , getting the character right , but the vocal chain was a [ Neumann ] U67 into a 1073 Neve [ preamp ] then into a Retro 176 [ limiting amplifier ] and then to , I think , an Antelope Audio Orion converter .
PS : For Danko Jones ’ “ My Little RnR ,” were the parts recorded separately or as a band ?
ER : For the most part it was recorded separately . They sort of jam together for the bed track stuff but I get gluttonous when I ’ m doing drums and I like really focusing on all the drum mics and getting all the good stuff going towards the drums and then sort of replacing the bass . Danko , when we do demos and stuff for the album – our basic sketches of what the songs are going to be , like arrangement and parts wise – I end up keeping a lot of his demo vocals because sometimes if he ’ s realizing the song right then and there , there ’ s a certain edge he brings to it when he ’ s doing it . Kind of like with Max when we were doing “ Knocking at the Door .” Him realizing what he wants to deliver and delivering it at that point , that kind of was the take .
With Danko , although he only likes to record in a pair of tube socks , which is a little awkward sometimes in the studio [ laughs ], a lot of stuff I do keep is just from his demo takes . So I always make sure I have a great vocal chain happening with him because some of it is a keeper .
Gus van Go
Nominated for :
“ Paradise ” by Terra Lightfoot from the album New Mistakes “ Boys Like You ” by Whitehorse from the album Panther in the Dollhouse
PS : Do you remember Terra bringing you “ Paradise ” and what the song was like at that point ?
GvG : Well , I don ’ t know , if I say , how much she would kill me . At first they brought me “ Paradise ” and it was a different song . It was the basic music , chords , and basic sort of arrangement , I guess , but it was a whole other song . We worked on it and we worked it in the pre-production and then tracked with the full band and she laid down scratch vocals and everything … I felt that the lyrics were cool but they weren ’ t moving me and I felt that the melody was cool , but it wasn ’ t moving me or necessarily pushing any envelope . So , to me , yeah the song rocked , like it had a power to it , but it lacked a certain je ne sais quoi to be a real radio hit . We were in the last few days of tracking , I would say we were like 90 per cent of the way done the record , and Terra turned to me one day and was like , “ You know , everyone ’ s thinking that song is going to be a hit , maybe .” I was like , “ That song is not going to be a hit until you change the vocals .” She was like , “ What ?” I said , “ I just feel like the lyrics and melodies are not fully there .” I was working on another song at the moment and she was like , “ OK , well give me some time ” and she left the room , went into our live room , and sat there with a guitar for a couple of hours while I was working on mixing some other stuff . Then suddenly she came back and , with all the same music because we ’ d already recorded the whole band , she came and sat down and was like , “ I think I wrote an amazing song .” I was like , “ OK , play it ” and she was like , “ But I ’ m not sure though .” She basically sang the finished version of “ Paradise ” and I was like , “ Oh , that is a hit .”
So we immediately re-sang all the vocals and did all the harmonies and we brought in a gospel choir to do all the call-backs and the backup vocals . Then our original guitars were more standard classic rock guitars , and I was feeling that they were cool , they were powerful , but they were just too classic sounding . Like really good Les Pauls through Marshalls and all vintage stuff . We only use vintage ‘ 60s guitars and stuff but it wasn ’ t pushing the envelope . So my partner , Werner F , who ’ s a great guitar player , suggested that we do a more Black Keys-type of approach . So we redid all the rhythm guitars with a Harmony Rocket going into a Sears [ Silvertone ] amp – the Jack White amp – going through a smaller 2 x 4 amp and just cranked it and put some slapback on it so it ’ s way cooler sounding and still raunchy , but bluesier and more vintage-y .
PS : Though Whitehorse was known as a folk-rock duo , “ Boys Like You ” was a very different sound for them . As far as outboard gear and effects , what were you using ?
GvG : We have an EMT140 Plate [ reverb ] that we used a lot . We love that sort of ‘ 60s and ‘ 70s plate reverb sound on vocals and keys and stuff like that ;
PHOTO : BEN CURTIS even on drums sometimes . Plus an Echoplex [ tape delay effect ] that we used all over the place for tons of guitar and vocal stuff , as well as a Roland [ RE-201 ] Space Echo , which we used like crazy on drums . The spring reverb on the Space Echo is a lot of that Portishead-type drum reverb sound for that breakbeat kind of stuff . On a lot of that Whitehorse record we had the drums in a tiny 3 x 3-ft . vocal booth .
PS : Why ?
GvG : Just to get that super dry , very-lightly-hit drum sound . We have a regular little vintage kit and [ co-producer Jessie Singer ] would go in there and try out beats . Obviously there are no room mics ; there are just three mics : a mic on the kick drum , a little overhead mic , and close mic on the snare . He would play beats in there and you would get this tiny , no-room sound , but then you put that spring reverb from the Space Echo on it and it just sounds vast . You just compress the shit out of it , distort it , and you get that sort of old record , very Portishead-type of thing . So we did that a lot .
40 • PROFESSIONAL SOUND