I wake up in the morning and head directly downstairs to M+M Studio to continue working on a mix I started twenty-four hours earlier. Often I sit there, and I can’t help but reflect on not only how drastically things have changed, but also how they have stayed the same.
Back in the ’70s, ’80s and early ’90s, I would have gotten up, taken a shower and made my way to the No. 6 train. Sometimes I’d fight both ends of New York City rush hour for my journey to Blank Tapes or Quad Studios, excited about a new mix adventure.
What riff or ad-lib would I hear Jocelyn Brown sing, or Leroy Burgess play? What great idea would Patrick Adams or Randy Muller have that would make the hairs on my arms stand up and would make everyone in the control room jump and holler?
I always wanted to be the first one in the studio and the last one out. I wanted to be a part of every aspect of what we were doing.
But most of all, I was excited to hear what was going to be created that day. What riff or ad-lib would I hear Jocelyn Brown sing, or Leroy Burgess play? What great idea would Patrick Adams or Randy Muller have that would make the hairs on my arms stand up and would make everyone in the control room jump and holler? Yes, those were the days.
Though I know that music magic can be created today, in my view, it’s just not the same. It will never be the same; not even close. Those days of going to the studio are mostly gone. Nowadays the great studios are vacant, hollow rooms that echo with the sounds and memories of the great music they once created.
I realize now that every time I work on a track here in my studio, I’m alone. There is no one behind me saying, “Damn, that track is kicking!” No one there saying, “That breakdown idea is great!” No one to encourage or inspire me. I have to create my own excitement; I need to self-motivate and substitute those echoes with my own energy.
I use these tools every day to mix my music. But I think we have become totally dependent on what lives in the box and what samples and loops we can get.
But it’s OK. I’ve long accepted that things change and that the world moves on. I’m just saddened that many of the present and future singers, musicians, engineers and producers will never have a chance to experience what I did. They will never know what it’s like to really be involved and make real music, while surrounded by some of the most talented musicians working together in one room to make the groove come alive.
There are no Bakers, Harrises, and Youngs out there to hold it down. There’s Cubase, Pro Tools and Logic.
I know it’s the way it’s done today, and I have totally embraced it – I use these tools every day to mix my music. But I think we have become totally dependent on what lives in the box and what samples and loops we can get. Many tracks today are loops and samples cut and pasted that, while interesting, just go nowhere: limp examples of what they can be.
For me? I’d just like to be able to go back for one day and relive some of those great sessions I was fortunate to be a part of.
