2 years ago in September 2021 I released the DownTown Demos. The premise for this release was that I would release demos that featured the songs Live and Shadow Walk and then go in the studio and re-record new versions of them. Then listeners could compare them, like before and after photos. It was a bit unusual to do it this way but I wanted to show the natural progression of the songs going from demos to finished product.
A few months later in January 2022, I was in Shorefire Studios with drummer Steve Holley and bassist Paul Page to record the tracks that would become AmeriKarma. Included in these tracks were Live and Shadow Walk. It had been a number of years since we were in the studio together and we picked up like it was just the other day. Both Steve and Paul were very enthusiastic about recording these songs and the initial session proceeded along in a timely fashion. That is until we tried to record the basic track for Shadow Walk.
I knew in advance that Steve was knocked out by the demo because he called me about it a few days before the session. I say he was knocked out because I had never heard this kind of reaction from him for one of my demos. This blew me away. When Steve Holley talks, people listen! Lol I had very straight forward kind of rockers planned for Live and Shadow Walk because I wanted them to be different from the demos. One of the other reasons for putting out the DownTown Demos was because I didn’t think I could ever duplicate them. They were one-of-a-kind recordings. It seems that Steve had other ideas.
I had taken it for granted that Steve & Paul would listen to the demos I sent them and do their thing for the recording like they had always done in the past. Then we’d run the track down in the studio and find the right groove and tempo for it. Paul was in the pocket as usual but on Shadow Walk, Steve was intent on recreating the demo. WTF??? I really hadn’t anticipated this from him because I thought he’d hear it the same way that I did. I didn’t think there was any way a band could reproduce the demo.
Steve wanted to try and try he did. There was something he was hearing but it was eluding him behind the drum kit. Paul and I looked at each other in bewilderment. Neither one of us were going to say anything to him. We plodded along until we had something on tape that we could listen to. It was the perfect point to stop for the evening and start fresh tomorrow. Let’s sleep on it and come back with fresh ears.
The next day I arrived at the studio knowing I had to take charge to get the approach I was looking for. We gathered in the control room with engineer Joe DeMaio and listened to the playback of our previous night’s work. Being the consummate pro that he is, Steve thanked me for giving him the time to try out his ideas but this was my session and he’d play what I wanted him to play on Shadow Walk. I told him the approach I was looking for and we cut the track in a couple of takes. However, Steve was not done yet.
After finishing the track and listening to it, Steve wanted to try one more idea. There was still something gnawing at him and he wanted to try an overdub on the verses. Now he goes in and takes out his tympani sticks and uses them to lay down a part on the toms. It seems totally out of left field, but when Steve is done playing, he’s created the part that nails Shadow Walk! Like I said, Steve Holley is the consummate professional and that part he played proves it. I don’t know anyone who would have thought of playing that but that’s why he’s Steve Holley. As far as I’m concerned his overdub really put the finishing touch on Shadow Walk. I know THAT wasn’t on the demo! LOL
With the basic track out of the way, the real work could begin. There are a lot of guitars on Shadow Walk and that was by design. I wanted to make them as atmospheric as possible and I would put my Jimi Hendrix knowledge to good use with a bunch of backward guitar sounds. But I needed something for the instrumental solo. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. Luckily, I had an ace in the hole—Joe (hold) DeMaio to be exact! I had heard that, besides being a talented engineer, Joe was also a talented guitar player.
I had to put him to good use, so I asked him if he would try putting down something for the solo. Joe was up to the task and laid down a beautiful double slide part that sounds like the guitars are melting to me. Just a perfect sound! With the solo done we moved to the out choruses and the guitar frenzy that builds in the background. I didn’t want them to be upfront over the vocals. This sets the stage for the ending solo and once again I turned to Joe. I had brought in my 1968 Gibson SG for the job. We had been talking about Clapton and Cream and his use of the SG. Joe plays a killer solo on the end of Shadow Walk that sounds like Clapton in ’68. Even Clapton doesn’t sound like that anymore, but Joe does 🙂
The recording of Live went fairly smoothly. I knew the demo had been a bit on the slow side, so we went with a bit more energy. Paul’s bass part really sets the stage for the song, so much so, that I decided to feature it at the start of the song. The tricky part with the bass is the depth of sound you get. Pushing it to the forefront, I had to make sure the listener can hear what Paul’s playing for it to work. Then there’s the mastering process to consider because the bass sound can, and probably will, change from what we already have on it. This would be my 1st time working with Leon Zervos, who’s a world-class mastering engineer, but new to me.
I had already recorded my lead vocals when Steve came back for a day to do harmony vocals on a few songs. When it came time for Live, we stacked his vocals and then he went into the studio to add percussion where needed. He brought out an over-sized cowbell, the name of it escapes me, and proceeded to play throughout the track. Steve would have made Christopher Walken very happy with the amount of cowbell he laid down as only Steve Holley can. 🙂
The plan was now to send a track to harmonica wiz Jerry Fierro down in Florida to record a harp track on Live. It had been 25 years since Jerry had come to Showplace Studios in Dover, NJ to cut his iconic track on Brian Jones. That had been a day of destiny for me. A harp track was the final piece I needed to complete the song and on a chance meeting at someone’s birthday party a few weeks earlier, I was asked if I could ever use a harp player. As soon as I heard the word “harp” (cool slang for harmonica) I knew I had the final piece to the puzzle that was Brian Jones. That harp player turned out to be Jerry.
Joe DeMaio sent the track to Jerry, who sent back a sizzling harp track. The only thing left was to record a guitar track to bounce off of Jerry’s harp and add to the bluesy vibe of the track. I went with my 1964 Fender Strat to play on the track. This guitar sounds so good; it will pretty much play for you. Once I had my part, it was time to mix, and I knew this mix would take some doing.
Unlike the demos, the final mixes for both Live & Shadow Walk took months before we were ready to master. Live took around 40 mixes to complete and Shadow Walk about 30, but I think the proof is in the final product. I think that we delivered great versions of the songs that really show an evolution from the demos. A big heartfelt thanks to everybody involved. U guys ROCKED it!! 🙂