The band had played its first few shows and I was writing a lot. Months went by, and I had more songs. So we went in to Rustbelt Studios again to record in fall of 2011. This time, the amp set up was different. Jackson played through a Bletchley and I through a Vox AC30. The Vox AC30 amp was a 1964!

We had seven songs to do in… I think 4 days. Of course it ended up taking longer than that in the end! I did a scratch track with just vocals and guitar to start, and then we filled the other parts in. I plugged in to a DI in the control room with a mic right there and got to it. I was plugged into the Vox in the other room, with multiple doors closed, cause it was LOUD. The only way to get tone with a AC30 is that way – all the way up.

Some of the tunes had just been rehearsed; things were less defined than the first session. Guitar, bass and vocal parts previously imagined were becoming reality right then and there. We were more comfortable with each other, too. It was getting cold so tea was brewing and at least half us were in different stages of having colds.

Jackson was hearing keyboards on some of the songs, so he invited his sister Jesse to come in and play.
Jesse Paris Smith is an amazing pianist! She did some synth work on “Just A Dream” and some other tracks. Check out this cute sibling-keyboard jam with Jackson and Jesse…