Word: glockenspiels
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...every young person's life when a nod is given in his or her general direction, the long-awaited affirmation that the time has come. For some, it is a call to the army, for some the acceptance into a collegiate institution. For me, it was playing the glockenspiel on the debut album of my band, the Humming. Market value of the microphone that recorded the glockenspiel part: $6000. Cost of studio time while recording the part: $79.10. Wooden spoon I used to play the part with...
...overdubbing process and enter the relaxing and rewarding life of studio mixing. The most important of the "overdub" days were those that we spent singing. The Humming's tunes specialize in three and four part harmonies, so getting solid vocal takes was more important (if but slightly) than my glockenspiel part. We sang into a Neumann microphone, a piece of German engineering that can send shivers down the spine. Look carefully to behold the soft, silver metals and finely knit wires, I was told. Don't get too close though, don't touch. You wouldn't want to disrupt...
...time crunch, the overdub period allowed for the most spontaneity. Matthew would say, "this bridge needs something," and we would whip up vocal harmonies or horn lines on the spot. We plucked out banjo parts on three or four songs, though we kept only one sample. The beloved glockenspiel was a spur of the moment decision, which proved difficult, as the studio's version of the instrument was a few blocks short of a glock (the thing looked like the grin of an unlucky hockey player). This improvising was exciting and nerve-wracking. It was creative energy in demand. There...
...shape each one without disrupting the continuity of the overall sound. The snare and bass drum on "Isn't It Strange" got a "big kick in the arse," to quote Ellard, while "Coast of California" kept its mellow-thing, true to the state it was written in. Meanwhile, the glockenspiel part got blended in. It's still there, believe me, but let's just say it's not upstaging the lead vocal...
TMBG definitely had the audience in the palms of their hand. The roadie carrying a glockenspiel garnered a huge response as he shimmied onstage so Dan the drummer could play a note every minute or so in "Shoehorn with Teeth." The marionette head replicas of the two Johns which "sang" "Exquisite Dead Guy" to start off the encore were perfect agents of distraction for the horribly dissonant harmonies (if you will) that are the framework of that song...