Monday, July 11, 2011

My "Oceania" experience.....

Hey there boys and girls.....

It's been awhile since I've updated all of you. It's been an extremely busy summer for me thus far. The last 2 weeks I've been on the east coast visiting family, but the 6 weeks prior to that were spent working in the studio on our forthcoming album "Oceania." It was a very intense 6 weeks to say the least. I've participated in many recording sessions in my life, but this experience pushed me to a different level of musicianship that I've never quite experienced. The first 3 weeks were spent working closely with our drummer Mike. I didn't record anything, but served more as a support system for him as I felt my way through the songs. What I loved about this process was that we really played off of each other's styles and worked through our parts together. His choices directly influenced mine and vice versa. So even though we recorded separately, we were still able to create that live, organic feeling in the songs. I think the primary focus for this album was to create a natural "band" sound that wasn't so focused on technicalities. We tried to use full takes as much as possible, no clicks, and as few punch-ins as we could. The concentration was more on creating a feeling verses getting a "perfect" take. Billy really gave us the opportunity to bring our personalities to the tracks. The process for me was a very positive one because I felt totally supported and trusted. As far as writing bass lines, Billy gave me the reigns and I took full advantage of it! My goal was to put my stamp on this album without compromising the classic Pumpkins sound. I feel that because I was so supported I was able to take risks and have the confidence to follow through with ideas that wouldn't necessarily be the obvious choice. I think that I succeeded in what I set out to do which was to create a bass sound that is unique to me and also serves the album. I feel really good about the work that we've done as a unit these past few months and feel strongly that it is going to shine through in the final product. Billy and Jeff are currently working diligently on guitars while I am gearing up to work on vocals. Shortly after that we will mix, master and share it with all of you! In other news, The Cold and Lovely record is currently being mixed and should be ready for a late summer/early fall release. Thanks for all of your love and support!

xo N

p.s. For the gear heads:

The songs on Oceania tend to highlight the melodic side of my playing. I used a variety of basses that all support the lead bass lines that I play without losing the low end. Basses I used include a 63 Fender Jazz, 62 Gibson Thunderbird, 64 Fender VI, 76 P bass, 58 P bass, and a 78 Rickenbacker. Although I am a Mesa Boogie girl on stage, we experimented with a Reeves custom 225 head and an Ampeg SVT Classic 8x10 cabinet for the record and found a really great sound that was very complimentary to my style.

11 comments:

  1. i suggest u to change the background or header design to branding u as musician of famous band. even the ordinary people doing that. it can invite people more attractive to respons more for ur blog. why im telling this? i'm graphic designer (musician too), understand a bit bout advertising n branding to attract people. just my thought

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  2. ^^^^ Sure, and you are obviously very talented at typing as well.

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  3. @Windyasari: OMG, you are sucker man... pls dont listen to those shit...

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  4. Thanks for this update Nicole ! Can't wait to hear that new album !

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  5. Good work, Nicole! I really can't wait to hear the finished record! (And I hope you come back to Arizona soon....) :-)

    Windyasari: this is a blog (it's like a diary), not a marketing or advertising scheme. Go back to your cave on Madison Avenue.

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  6. Wow, awesome update. thanks, Nicole. It's fun to hear about your recording process. This is a great year for music with your TWO albums coming out, Oceania and The Cold and Lovely!!

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  7. Awesome update, Nicole! Thank you so much! You are so sweet for keeping us informed. I'm so excited for this album. :)<3

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  8. I'm glad to hear things are going well, can't wait to hear the final product!

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  9. Nice to hear!

    Been doing some work on the spfc equipment section (think I have most of your stuff filled in now- at least what's been mentioned recently)... One thing I found though is that, according to the wiki, the Gibson T-birds came out in 1963, so your '62 might be off a bit. :) Suppose there's no way to be sure w/o taking it apart & hoping there's a year scribbled in there somewhere, though, eh?

    Also, just out of curiosity, do you ever use any effects on the bass tracks, or is it generally straight into the amp?

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  10. I'm so happy for the new job! I wanna do it what you are doing! Have one of the biggest bands in the world! Congrats! I really love read about all the studio work!

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  11. Nicole:
    Earlier today I was having lunch when a NF lookalike sat at a table a few feet away! I had to do a triple-take to make sure it wasn't you. That, plus seeing the live show on Palladia the other day, got me googling...leading me here!

    Anyway, sounds like things are good and very busy. Good luck with everything!
    -Johnny

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