Recording Log: Me and Paul (and Josh)

This Sunday Paul Watson and I met at Q Sound, formerly Bookhouse Studios, to record a song with Joshua Quarles.
Hopefully the recording will help promote Paul’s upcoming solo record, due out this Fall.

Vocals, guitar. harmonica, accordion, cornet, and whatever Josh chooses to add.

It was nice working in Josh’s new digs and in our socks.
After a few takes Paul treated us to sandwiches and drinks at Crossroads. I had a Turkey Reuben and black coffee.

QUARLES!!!!!!!!!

Me and my friend (wearing socks you just can’t see)

TOAST!

Control Center
  
Bucket Mute

2 Songs from 2002

Photograph by an unknown photographer of me and Paul playing one of our last shows at Betsy’s CoffeeShop–The best of times.

Check out two outtakes from the ’8 Songs’ album–initially intended for the never-to-be EP: ‘Reckless.’
http://jonathanvassarandthespeckledbird.bandcamp.com/releases

’8 songs’ is to be released later this summer, along with 8 new songs on the album: ‘Mercy for the Undeserving’ –being mixed right now by Allen Bergendahl of Viking Recording.

More material exists from these sessions, including a full-on band track, a sad banjo number, and an homage to ‘Beneath Still Waters.’

 

Recording Log: Mercy for the Undeserving, no. 3

Saturday, March 30th. Curtis Patton, Allen Bergendahl and I met up at Scott’s Edition Sound, AKA The Yacht, to lay down pedal steel on ‘Mercy for the Undeserving.’ The session was beautiful, and Curtis’s playing was inspired.
Tracking is now done, and the mixing stage  begins.

The hands of a master

Setting up

with the Viking

The Live Room– or, the Peavey’s big adventure

‘God Fearing Instrument’

Not Kirk, but Picard will do…for now…

Nine Songs, 2001

Bryan took the picture–my first guitar strapped across my back, harmonica and holder around my neck. I smiled at the camera. I had just finished recording: ‘Jefferson.’The photograph became the album cover for ‘Nine Songs’ — recorded in the fall of 2001 in the basement of Bryan Hoffa’s house on Belmont. He called the studio: ‘Domestic Sound.’

Jeff Liverman initially got me in touch with Bryan.
I met Jeff through our mutual friend: Mark Snyder. Mark had been playing drums in the band Dirtball which had been Jeff’s main songwriting vehicle. I was a fan, and probably not thankful enough at the time that Jeff let a 21 year old kid come over to his house, play songs in his shed and listen to Gram Parsons. He gave me good advice, managed to wrangle me a sit down with Planetary Records at the Starlight Cafe, introduced me to Bryan, and graciously agreed to play mandolin on the song ‘Rose of Sharon.’

The other mandolin player on the record is Josh Small. His playing on ‘Hillcrest’ began a musical relationship that I’ve treasured ever since. We’ve collaborated together on each others’ recordings, borrowed lp’s and accompanied each other’s live performances.

A few months before the recording of ‘Nine Songs,’ I started hosting music shows at Betsy’s Coffeeshop, where I worked during the day. Josh was a regular performer, first as Josh and Mya, and then solo. Other songwriters in residency were Chris Terry, Liza Kate, Anousheh Khalili, Paul Watson, Bill Draper, and Michelle Arthur. Shows were held every month, free and quiet, with a loyal attending audience. From what I’ve been told, it’s these shows and this community that gave Wil, Chris and Adrienne the idea to start Triple Stamp Records. It’s directly responsible for The Listening Room.

I notice now that in the photograph I’m standing in front of a Spokane poster. Spokane, headed by Rick Alverson, was one of my favorite Richmond bands at the time. Rick’s deep voice was often accompanied by the violin of Karl Runge, and I remember hassling Karl at both Plan 9 and River City Cellars, in order to convince him to donate his time to play on ‘The Last Resort.’ At the time I assumed that my strategy had worked, though thinking back, it was more likely Bryan behind the scenes to thank.

Bryan also got us time with Patrick Phelan’s upright piano. Bryan had recorded Patrick’s last record, and they had both played and recorded with Rick Alverson in the band: Drunk. I convinced my former bandmate Randy Latimer to come down from Vienna to put piano down on ‘The Leftover Lady’ and ‘The Last Resort.’ Randy had been the computer science teacher at my high school, and the drummer in my band: Endgame. The song ‘Philadelphia’ is from those high school days–the earliest written song on the record.

Bryan Hoffa worked a lot of miracles for a 21 year old kid paying him next to nothing to record a full length record. In addition to recording, mixing, and lining up musicians, he lent a hand on drums, shaker and harmonium, while his wife, Jess, played musical saw on ‘Match Made in Heaven.’ The two of them led the band ‘The Broken Hips’ which was another local favorite of mine. I remember playing with them once at Babes in Carytown when I was still in the Dragabilly band: Trixie Delicious and The Lott Lizards. I’m not sure how that show happened…

Nine Songs is some of the most personal material that I’ve ever written. The stories, observations and emotions all ring true to my 21 year old self. I had just dropped out of college, dropped out of a long relationship, and faced with an existential crisis, turned inward while the world seemed to fall apart on a global scale. What pulled me through this time of my life was Antonia, now my wife, and the supportive music community in Richmond, Virginia– found all throughout this record. I can’t thank them enough, for everything.

I look at the photograph that Bryan took 12 years ago and I see myself at a beginning.

This record is dedicated to Antonia.

~~

You can listen to, and download, this record from our Bandcamp Page

                                                                                                                                               

From The Orchard

From The Orchard

Recorded in 2009 between the release of ‘The Fire Next Time’ and the recording of ‘Signs and Wonders.’ The EP was split up and used as singles, exclusive tracks and free downloads.

1. The Fault Line Blues
2. Sunday Morning
3. You and Me and Jack
4. The Lamb and Sparrow
5. Take it from Me
6. In the Cut

Recorded, Mixed and Mastered by Joshua Quarles at Bookhouse Studio, Richmond, VA 2009-2010, 2012.

Jonathan Vassar: vocals, guitar, harmonica
Antonia Begonia: vocals, accordion, glockenspiel
Chris Edwards: vocals, electric guitar, mandolin, banjo.
Joshua Quarles: cello, clarinet, bass, vibraphone, piano, organ percussion.

Album Cover by Leslie Higgins, Cargo Collective, 2013.
For Casimir

Recording Log: Mercy for the Undeserving, no. 2

with Allen Bergendahl, Grant Hunnicutt, Elaina and Wil at Hope

Recording Log: Mercy for The Undeserving

with Grant Hunnicutt and Allen Bergendahl at Hope.

 

Mercy for the Undeserving: 8 Songs, 2003 & 2013

Recently I’ve been working on finishing a project that’s been back-burnt for a decade.
In 2002 I recorded a set of songs with Bryan Hoffa at Domestic Sound Studio (aka his basement on Belmont). It was our second recording project together, the first: ’9 Songs,’ had been self-released the previous year.

8 songs of the project were intended to be released as ’8 Songs’ in 2003 and the remaining 4 were to be released the subsequent year as an EP.
Unfortunately, nothing got past the mastering phase. Shortly after the material was recorded I experienced a breakdown that it left me on the side of the road for 4 years before I got what I needed to get back in the car.

Cover photo of ’8 songs.’ Baltimore, 1997.

Without going into sordid details, around 2007 I was back in the driver’s seat.

Although a staggering amount of things have changed since then, one constant has been my faith in these songs as the best material I’ve written.
Because I’ll soon be entering into a phase in my life in which I’m going to have to try my best to be as selfless as I can be, I’m fulfilling a selfish goal to see these songs officially released. I think of it as setting them free so I can move on.

The collection will be presented as a set of two: the 8 songs that I recorded with Bryan Hoffa in 2002; and 8 songs that I’m currently recording with Allen Bergendahl (Viking Recording) in Tyler Crowley’s studio at Hope Church. The new set is deliberately in the same vein: short narrative songs with minimal accompaniment. The release date is TBA, but the summer of 2013 is the target.

8 songs 2003:
Bryan Hoffa: organ, electric guitars
Paul Watson: organ, cornet, backing vocals

recorded by Bryan Hoffa at Domestic Sound, RVA. 2002

Motel 6
Last Chance
Fit to be Tied
Nevermind Caroline
Easy
Houston (Gone Again)
Main and 2nd St.
Second Wind

8 Songs 2013:
Curtis Patton: pedal steel
Recorded by Allen Bergendahl, Viking Recording, RVA. 2012

Holding
Long Drive Home
The Heart of it All
My Life is Not My Own
Reckless
Left to My Own Devices
Restless
San Jose

The Sky and Country

Chris Edwards, Antonia Begonia, Jonathan Vassar, Joshua Quarles
photograph by Rob Jefferson

“The Sky and Country:” the new full length by The Speckled Bird is nearing completion with a release date for July 1st, 2012.

It’s now been over a year since Joshua and I began tracking the album and it’s gone through various phases and stages. New member, Paul Watson, has finished tracking vocals and cornet, and remote tracking is been completed by Chris Edwards– our Portland, Oregon ex-pat.

Ten songs now make up the album:

The Hanging Rocks
The High Country
The Falls
The Wreck St. James
The Wind through the Trees
The Heron and The Hummingbird
The Timberline
The Plain Light of Day
The Flatwater
The Sky and Country

Produced and mixed by Joshua Quarles at Bookhouse Studio, Taylor at 12K in New York mastered the final cut. The CDs are currently being manufactured and sceeen printed by Bellewether in Bloomington, Indiana.

Matt Deans of Team Eight Design is drawing the illustration for the cover, and Triple Stamp Press has begun the layout for screenprinting the packaging (never-before-tried homemade digipaks).

Thanks to James River Press for helping us with cutting and scoring 130# paper.

Everything is coming together beautifully.

Below is the official Triple Stamp Records press release:

‘Jonathan Vassar & The Speckled Bird’s second full length release on Triple Stamp Records,”The Sky and Country,” presents a collection of songs as if a series of landscape paintings.
Elemental themes recur throughout as Vassar interweaves visionary details of natural processes, and narratives steeped in the same mysticism found at the heart of their first release: “Signs and Wonders.”
Joshua Quarles again produces the album, resulting in rich music that creates a dark sound setting for Vassar’s lyrics to flourish within. Orchestration is key, as the musicians conduct a lasting masterpiece of both gravity and pathos.’ -Triple Stamp Records, 2012

Grant Hunnicutt

This post has been a few months coming.

Back in 2010 David Shultz and I put together the idea and game plan for the band/record: Ophelia. We gathered friends: Grant Hunnicutt and Willis Thompson to make up the the rest of the members, and somehow (I don’t quite remember how it went down) Grant ended up not only playing bass, piano, guitar, and singing on the record, but engineering the whole damn thing, i.e. making a riverhouse into a recording studio, using mattresses as sound buffers, putting up with immature antics of David and myself, overdubbing sessions at his house, and mixing all ten songs. Needless to say, Grant went above and beyond the call of duty.

It was during the weekend Ophelia sessions that I decided I wanted to gift Grant some songs in appreciation for his hard work. Initially I gave him some country songs I had in hand (Under the Gun)–thinking they’d make good bluegrass tunes. Later on I ended up sending him a handful of songs I had lyrics for (Oklahoma Rose, Bay Bridge, Son Song, Sutter’s Mill), but no music, as well as some older recordings from 2001 (‘Oh, Elizabeth aka Hillcrest,’ Philadelphia, and Jefferson).

Grant, being the stand-up guy that he is, turned this gesture of friendship into a return gesture of friendship. He took the songs I sent him, wrote music to them, added some new lyrics, rearranged some old ones, and told me he wanted to record an album in the tradition of Merle Haggard’s tributes to Bob Wills and Jimmy Rodgers. On these classic records, there are oftentimes songs written by the singer in addition to the tribute songs. Grant followed this tradition as he included a handful of his tunes (some of the best on the record: Plain & True, Lying There, Broken Down, Long Drive), and a cover written by David Shultz (Butcher) that we all used to play in Ophelia.

After assembling the songs, he gathered a small group for the recording sessions including Jared Poole on mandolin, Jessika Blanks on fiddle– and he didn’t have to ask me twice. I borrowed my wife’s Hohner and we all got together, (for the most part unrehearsed) on a summer Saturday at the Bellevue Theater (RVA Studios). We all sat in a circle and played songs all day. It was beautiful.

The result is an album that I’m mighty proud to be a part of. It was released on Triple Stamp Records last fall with a small pressing and wide digital distribution. Check out the Triple Stamp website and check out the album.

Grant’s next project is a promotions network for old-timey music. He’s constructing a site from scratch, and gathering a great roster of bands. Keep an eye out!
I had tea and coffee recently with my friend Curtis Patton. He described Grant as Richmond’s secret weapon. It’s true. He’s always got something up his sleeve that makes me proud to have made my home in Richmond, VA: e.g. The Golden Band, The Bill Mason Society, River City Band, River City Sacred Singers.

I’m a big fan!