Red Mosquito

Thurman Murman wrote:Hard to keep up here so no idea if this has been posted yet:

https://www.spin.com/2024/04/andrew-wat ... interview/

Monkey_Driven wrote:"Well, they love each other so much and it’s such a beautiful thing. I have the most precious pictures of all time of them embracing and enjoying the process of making something really great together. Watching Jeff hear a Stone riff for the first time and then figuring out how to make it singable for Ed. Jeff’s an unbelievable bass player and has only gotten better with time, but sometimes his role is to be the rhythm guitar player because Stone’s stuff is so out there and Mike is surfing over all of it and playing lead. Jeff is the one who’s got to make a base that Ed can cling to. I had worked with Ed before, but he is almost primal in the way that he works. Like, get the fuck out of his way. He’s going to be moving around and putting his whole body into it, and 90% of the song is written in the first 15 minutes of what he’s hearing. The melodies just come to him."

love this

Andrew Watt wrote:Just bring a riff and a B-section. Don’t develop anything further than that. Everyone was in a circle, and it would be like, who’s got a riff? Stone would say, I’ve got one, and start playing it. Ed had a mic right there and started vibing off of it. Stone is kind of like the weird painter of the band. He puts things that aren’t in 4/4 over a 4/4 beat. His riffs are oddball. Jeff takes what Stone does and sometimes plays in literally an opposite direction. He makes beautiful chord symmetry out of Stone’s wacky stuff, which has made it sound special ever since Green River. That started happening, and Mike McCready would solo over all of it. That was the process of how every single one of these songs was made. Because of that, it has a lot of live feel. Once everyone knew the song and the take was finished, that was our last take. We didn’t then go again. As it was figured out, that was the take we used, when it was a little uncertain and a little fresh. That’s why the improvisational energy stayed.

tragabigzanda wrote:

evenslow wrote:

Steven Hyden wrote:After all these years, it’s still a delight to hear these five guys gather in a room and lock into the kind of invigorating rock song that elevates your heart an extra inch or two.

I only wish we could actually hear the room.

tragabigzanda wrote:

Mike wrote:Make Watt the… director of the next album (no involvement in the technical side of the recording). Just an excited guy getting them to have fun but someone else records it

Based on literally everything I've heard -- interview and audio clips -- I actually think Wotman should get another producing gig, but with zero technical input whatsoever. Put him in a great studio with a team of really skilled analog-trained engineers (Adam Kaspar would be my choice). Have it mixed by someone competent.

tragabigzanda wrote:

Mike wrote:Make Watt the… director of the next album (no involvement in the technical side of the recording). Just an excited guy getting them to have fun but someone else records it

Based on literally everything I've heard -- interview and audio clips -- I actually think Wotman should get another producing gig, but with zero technical input whatsoever. Put him in a great studio with a team of really skilled analog-trained engineers (Adam Kaspar would be my choice). Have it mixed by someone competent.

tragabigzanda wrote:

Mike wrote:Make Watt the… director of the next album (no involvement in the technical side of the recording). Just an excited guy getting them to have fun but someone else records it

Based on literally everything I've heard -- interview and audio clips -- I actually think Wotman should get another producing gig, but with zero technical input whatsoever. Put him in a great studio with a team of really skilled analog-trained engineers (Adam Kaspar would be my choice). Have it mixed by someone competent.