STUDIO NEWS PART 2 – DAY 11
4th May, 2007

Well we had a late one last night so we all woke up that little bit later today. To start the day we did some vocal bits and then some guitar work and that has been the template for the whole day. Me in, Bernie in, me in Bernie in……I think you get the picture.

I must say that what we have recorded between the two of us sounds really good and it just keeps getting better. Christos went home tonight and so we are now down to the bare minimum and all is quiet on the western front. It is much more fun with everybody here but hey we are so happy with the results and the vibe is still way up there. I cannot believe the pub is 100 yards up the road direct from the front door of the studio and we have only been there once on the first night.

Now that is dedication for you eh! Bernie brought up his Stairmaster to try and keep a little fit and so far it has been used only as a drinks table. Where the feet go you can get a solid base for 2 glasses of wine whilst sitting on the couch ‘appy days! You may notice that there are no pictures today and quite frankly I have run out of things to take pictures of.

I think the only part of the studio I have not photographed is probably the lava lamp in the control room and I am not even sure there isn’t a picture of that up on the site anyway.

I think tomorrow Mike, Chris and Will will start the mixing process which can take quite a long time to get together and get set up. That’ll be great to start hearing the songs mixed even if they are rough mixes as we will get a real feel how the CD will sound and then we can start looking at the running order etc.

Well Bernie has just finished a vocal so it is time for a relaxing glass of wine while watching The Three Amigos on TV.

Adios!
 

STUDIO NEWS PART 2 – DAY 10 | PICTURES HERE
3rd May, 2007

To start the day after breakfast, and Mike kindly getting us the newspapers again Bernie and Phil went in to do a harmony vocal and once this was finished Phil went home. I did some guitar work until Trevor arrived. Yes on his motorbike! He was with his mate Pete also on his bike. They were quickly named the Hull’s Angels by my goodself. Chris the engineer saw them coming up to the door and thought it was 2 guys coming to rob us until they took their helmet’s off. Anyway when you check out the pictures that go with this journal check out Trevor’s number plate. Pretty cool eh!

Trevor had re-written a verse on one of his songs so after learning it Bernie went in to do the vocal. It was a two part with him so Trevor had to do some singing too. Tonight we are going through each track to see if anything is needed or not as the case may be. As each track comes up it is quite exciting as we are now getting the full flavour of how the CD will sound. Brilliant!

Trevor has gone back home so it is now only Bernie, Mike, Chris, Will, Christos and myself left. Bernie is singing and I am typing this waiting to get in and do some guitar parts as Christos is busy changing strings and servicing my Ruokangas VSOP Stratocaster. It is my wife’s birthday today so I will have that extra glass of wine to celebrate tonight when we have finished. I tried the I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here routine in this Big Brother type house but it did not work. It would have been lovely to be home with Sheila and Romeo celebrating but here I am once again suffering for my art. Make that 2 extra glasses of wine tonight!

Well we worked into the small we hours as the creativity was flowing. Boy we got some good stuff down. This looks like a 2am ending if we are lucky. I personally love moments like this when it is all happening. I hope you enjoy my ramblings and pictures throughout the day. Night Night!
 

STUDIO NEWS PART 2 – DAY 9 | PICTURES HERE
2nd May, 2007

Well we are back in the old routine of Bernie doing a vocal and then me doing some solo guitar work and now Bernie is back in doing another lead vocal on one of mine and Phil’s songs. That should probably close the evening but you never know I may be able to squeeze in another bit of guitar later on.

We had a curry for dinner tonight which seems to have had a devastating affect on the ozone layer around here. Put it this way I am glad I am not in the vocal booth with Bernie. I had 2 guitar stands delivered today that I had ordered on the internet whilst here. They hold 7 guitars each so that should tidy things up at home as I have them all over the place on separate stands. The delivery man was a Heep fan so I was happy to get my stands and he was happy to meet the band.

2 of the pictures above are from Phil, Trevor and Christos’ trip to the seaside yesterday. The Bingo and Kiss me Quick hat pictures. Bernie and Christos have been checking out the John 5 website tonight and listening to some samples and it sounds pretty good even from the other room. Well that is it for tonight and everything today has been sounding great so the momentum is still in full swing.

It is all GOOD!

STUDIO NEWS PART 2 – DAY 8 | PICTURES HERE
1st May, 2007

I had just started typing this after a long hard day in the studio and spilt my wine all over the table, me and the lap top. Still all is okay as I am now carrying on. Phew!

Bernie did some great vocals on 2 of Trevor’s songs and I ended up doing 3 solos. One of Trevor’s and 2 of mine and Phil’s. We got to a point on one of Trevor’s songs that we can improve the verses so over the next day or two he will be working on that. While Bernie was in the studio and I was on the laptop making sure all of Heep’s business was taken care of until it was time for solo’s, Trevor, Phil and Christos went to the seaside. Skegness. They picked up a stock of wine and nibbles for us all and whilst there played Bingo and tried on all the Kiss Me Quick hats. Phil won at bingo and even as I type this Christos is trying to bring his bingo prize to life. A remote control Monkey. After a few glasses of wine this could be major fun as studio burn kicks in. We will have to be patient as it needs charging I am reliably told.

We have just reached the point where we are shouting at the TV so count down wind down has started. We miss Russell, Carly and Trevor here but we will do our best to keep the Heep name and reputation flying as a good honest rock band parties to celebrate a good days recording. Night Night!

STUDIO NEWS PART 2 – DAY 7 | PICTURES HERE
30th April, 2007

Today started with the usual hearty breakfast and Mike kindly bringing in the papers. Trevor turned up about 11.30am and we started on one of Phil’s songs with the harmony parts. In the end it sounded fantastic and is chock full of the Heep trademarks.

We then moved on to all the harmony parts of Trevor’s songs and have spent most of the day doing that and they have really come out well. Bernie tonight is doing a lead vocal on one of Trevor’s and I guess that will be it for tonight. Tomorrow we go back to the template of a lead vocal first and then a couple of guitar solos and then another lead vocal after dinner.

It was a lovely sunny day today but I still haven’t had my walk in the countryside as there is always so much to do either singing, playing guitar or running the bands office on my lap top. No peace for the wicked as they say! Russell and Carly went home tonight as all the harmony parts are complete. He did a great job and we have some powerhouse Heep harmony vocals recorded.

The girl in the kitchen in the above picture with the dress on is called Harriet (I hope I spelt that right)  “wait for it “ Potter! I kid you not. She has been cooking and looking after us since we arrived along with Louise who is the wife of Andy who owns the Chapel! Carly was actually reading the latest Harry Potter book while she was here. Now what are the chances of that. Spooky or what!

Bernie has that vocal under wraps and so it has been a long hard day but an incredibly productive and satisfying one. Time to relax and we will see you tomorrow.

STUDIO NEWS PART 2 – DAY 6 | PICTURES HERE
29th April, 2007

Much fun this morning as Phil, Bernie, Mike and Myself where fighting to get into the one bathroom. Doors being open and closed at a rate of knots trying to beat each other. Trevor went home last night and said he would come up today on his motorbike so I have my camera ready to try and get a picture of him. I hope he does not arrive with a mouthful of flies to do the backing vocals!

Mike went out and came back with the Sunday papers so it is going to be nice to have a quiet moment to read them and see what the world is up to.

Tottenham Hotspurs my football team won 3-2 yesterday so I am a happy pup. This was a critical game for us as we are trying to get into Europe next season. The problem this season is that we let in as many goals as we score. There was a minor earthquake yesterday 4.7 on the Richter scale in the part of England where Phil lives so there were many phone calls back home to see if everything is okay as buildings were reported to be split but everything was fine.



Phil went into panic mode when all he received in the morning from home was a text saying we have just had an earthquake. You have to understand that earthquakes are very rare in England so this was a shock to us all. We got the full measure of what was going on with Sky News.

We finished 3 1/2 songs (Mick & Phil's) with backing vocals yesterday and it all sounds tremendous. We spend time getting the right blend between us all on each part and then record it. Once the blend is there it all goes down very quickly.

Well much disappointment all round as Trevor came in his car so we did not get to see him on his bike. We started at 11.30am and boy it is hard to hit those top E notes that time of the morning. Still we managed to do it and it sounds wonderful so 4 tracks have the full Heep harmony treatment and we will start on track 5 now.

This track came out great and we hope to have another one completed before dinner. Well we are on schedule and will look at another song tonight to see if we can get the harmonies on them. It turned out fantastic so we have had one loud listen to enjoy all the parts we have been working on and then we are going to wind down by watching Cat Stevens on TV.

See you tomorrow.
 

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STUDIO NEWS PART 2 – DAY 5 | PICTURES HERE
28th April, 2007

Good Morning!
A hearty breakfast and a little technical studio stuff and once Trevor arrives we will set up for some backing vocals. Mike Paxman went out in his car today to the local village and brought back the newspapers so we now feel in touch with the world a little more.

We do have the news on the TV in the morning but there is nothing like sitting down and reading a paper. I am hoping that when the voices get tired I will get the chance to reel off some more solo’s so it will be a busy old day for me. Well no solos today but boy did we get in the groove with backing vocals.

I have to say Russell’s contribution on vocals has been fantastic. He has a great range that is totally in the Heep mould. We played a couple of tracks to Christos and he sat there open mouthed saying ****! Now I know we are on to something.

Mike and Chris are a fantastic team and they have found the heart of the band which is evident in every track. These tracks have the right vibe and I hope it excites everyone as much as us. It is 12.30am and has been such a great day so we have stopped for the obligatory glass of vino and bed. See you in the morning!

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STUDIO NEWS PART 2 – DAY 4 | PICTURES HERE
27th April, 2007

We all get up around the same time each day and as there is only one toilet and shower room combined it takes a while for us all to shower and congregate downstairs for a hearty English Breakfast and a hot cup of coffee/tea or two.

It is a good way to start the day and then we will start to do a vocal with Bernie on another Phil & Mick track.  We broke for lunch and then we hit some technical problems that needed to be sorted out. These things happen and on the main thus far we have been lucky. Christos has restrung my guitars so I am itching to get in and do some solos but patience seems to be the order of the day.

Russell and Carly arrived just before dinner so there were big hello’s all around as we had not seen Russell since Finland and Carly since the last recording session.  Bernie did a great vocal and after dinner he did a little more vocalizing to strengthen some of the parts and then Mike, Chris and Will did some work on the computer. So that looks like it for tonight.

There is not enough room for Russell and Carly in the actual studio accommodation so we had to book them a room up at the pub which is 100 yards from the front door of the studio which could be potentially a dangerous move I feel.  Christos has his lady Annie up for a couple of days but they are staying in the caravan outside in the garden. (The song Gypsy springs to mind.) 

I still have not had my walk yet so when I do it will be a long one for sure. I am definitely getting a studio tan. Trevor arrives tomorrow and then it will be harmonies all day long. So it is time for a little glass of vino and off to bed.

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STUDIO NEWS PART 2 – DAY 3
26th April, 2007

 

Still have not had my walk and blast of fresh air but some of the results today have more than made up for it. Bernie sang 2 good vocals on mine and Phil’s songs and I laid down some serious wah wah solos. All in all good stuff.

We are putting the hours in but the results keep coming so tiredness does not come into it. I spent 4 hours on the computer today to keep up with the bands business and to try and keep on top of my emails.

I have been very happy with the guitar sounds and Mike and Chris have done a good job there. Christos has been kept busy with changing guitar strings and amplifier configurations as we go along and this has helped keep the flow going.

At the moment it is a bit like groundhog day as we have fallen into a pattern of recording whereby Bernie does a vocal, I do a couple of guitar solos and then after dinner Bernie will do another vocal before a glass of wine and bed. It feels really good at the end of the day to have achieved so much and it is all quality.

Russell and Trevor will come up to the studio on Saturday so we will start putting down the backing vocals over the weekend. This will really bring the tracks to life and I cannot wait to get stuck into them. Night night…..!

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STUDIO NEWS PART 2 – DAY 2
26th April, 2007

Still no chance of a walk today but maybe tomorrow. It has been a very productive day with Bernie singing 2 lead vocals and I did 2 solos. Phil and I finished our lyrics and an elusive bridge to one of our songs and it now sounds fantastic and it was worth the effort. So there has been a lot of work with great results. We are all very excited and buzzed beyond belief. The atmosphere here is really cool and that really helps the creative juices to flow.

We now have the template for the vocals and guitar solos and I cannot wait to start adding the harmonies. Phil and I went through all of the songs today to finalise the harmony part ideas and they are very strong. Typically Heep.

It is 12.15am so it is time to stop and get to bed. This is the last thing I will do tonight so I will see you all tomorrow.
 

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STUDIO NEWS PART 2 – DAY 1
24th April, 2007

Well here we are up at the studios again.

We arrived the night before ( Mick, Bernie, Phil, Christos, Mike & Chris) All the equipment was put in the studio and we went off to the pub which is 100 yards from the front door of the studio.
 

We had some dinner and a few drinks and it was a nice relaxing evening with plenty of laughs. In the morning we started to set things up as we are in a different part of the studio this time. It is the smaller studio next door so it was time to make ourselves comfortable.
 

Time was spent getting the tracks up and then we looked at one particular song of mine and Phil’s to try and improve the bridge melody and lyric. It is good having a bit of time between recording as we have time to listen to all of the tracks on our home systems and it gives us a chance to see how we can improve things if they need it. There are a couple of things we can improve so we will do this as we go along but on the whole everything is fantastic.

Bernie started a vocal on one of mine and Phil’s tracks and it sounds really good. I cannot wait to put the harmonies on it and throw on a solo. Trevor popped in for a couple of hours today and then went home. Russell will join us when it is time to do the harmonies otherwise he will just be sitting around.
 

I really need to have a walk tomorrow to get some fresh air as we have been cooped up in here all day and it will do me good. The evening is nearly over and so we will have a couple of glasses of wine and an early night. It is good to be back in this creative atmosphere and seeing these songs gradually take shape. I look forward to many exciting days ahead.