The view won’t bother you much after awhile

The idea has been rattling around head for a while now: it’s time to make a new record. I’ve only made done this once and it was 25 years ago. You may recall that 1986 was the last year of vinyl. I look at my 12-inch LP (say what?) and think I may as well have recorded on a wax cylinder. That effort was a commercial flop because I could never get enough gigs to "push the product". But I have no regrets. As I’ve often said making a record is the most honest work I’ve ever done. There is something about the process of tuning and perfecting a recording that is difficult but very rewarding.

So I’ve started looking around for a studio. They run the gamut between $40/hour for in-home operations to Berkshire mountain retreats at more than double that rate. Initially I was tempted by the idea of finding a studio that screams musical retreat. There are many of these (check out the photo on the left). The thinking is that such bodacious surroundings offer that extra inspiration to round out the experience. But y’know what? – the time for inspiration is before you get in the studio. So now inclined to keep it closer to home, knuckle-down and get to work. I talked about the project with Eric Kilburn who runs Wellspring Sound (photo right). How about that panoramic view? Step inside and chat it up with Eric though and it’s hard to imagine a better place to record. I’m still going to do a little shopping but the more I look around the more anxious I am to get started.