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album. Schubert has a longlist ofpossible suggestions, including a gem in
"Jesusaurus Rex," for which Rebeck comes up with the perfect album cover: a vicious T-Rex wearing a crown of thorns. Conversation soon wanders. The hours of downtime and the lack of natural light in the cavelike control room plus Blacklodge's gourmet coffee (they're on their third pot) has made everyone a little silly. Schubert constantly speaks in foreign tongues and squeaky cartoon voices, Rebeck does an Axl Rose impression every chance he gets, and Brasel comes up with the idea to have a writhing contest on the floor, for which I am to be the judge. Schubert says that after eight hours in the studio, everything begins to sound the same and everyone just loses their minds.
"These guys are crazy. After a few hours, it's like a frat house
in here." Rebeck says.
And he mentions
they've actually toned it down a bit today, for my sake. Amazing.
After the break, it's Davenport's turn in the hot seat, recording his lead guitar parts for the song. As Reebek tweaks the controls to tune his amp and get the right intonation on the track, the rest of the band gets serious for a moment and decides o
Paint it Black
Blacklock main studio room:
$500/day (10-hour maximum); extra$ 100 if you want to work with Ed Rose
Hourly Rate: $60
We get into a conversation about the mainstream music industry, which is dominated by "rock" artists like Ashlee Simpson. The band has strong opinions on the subject and says Simpson's life reflects the disintegrating status of mainstream music as a whole. Schubert says nowadays, music isn't about talent or
"If you're a hot female and you're 17, that what's in."
Got an album to record? Here's the cost of recording at Blackledge:
Two hours after Davenport begins recording, and four hours after I arrive, the guitars for the song are done. As Rebeck mixes the final guitar parts, he sums up what we've all been thinking for quite some time now: "I'm getting sick of this fucking song." The band decides to move on to a new one, and Marshall goes back through the double doors to tune up and start again.
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External firewire hard drive
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Even if you don't live in Eudora, Black-lodge will take care of you:
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name: Underhill. It's a reference to the movie "Fletch" and the Lord of the Rings books, and they like it because it's nondescript. After what seemed like a fuss, the band is suddenly cooperative. In fact, the entire day, while they were a little crazy sometimes, there has been nothing but cooperation and respect among the guys. They get along like best friends, and Rebeck fits right in with their antics and their serious musician sides. That, he says, is what makes a band successful.
craft; instead it's about creating and selling an image. He says it's a shame that the entire business is based on marketing instead of raw talent.
"You can take someone with no talent, put millions of dollars into her just to get a couple million back," he says. Then, you've made your profit and it's time for the next big thing to come along.
Tim Brennan, a musician in Cincinnati who runs a Web site called Readyfireaim.com to help aspiring musicians, says the first thing any band should do is
Later, I get into the same conversation with Rose and Pope, and they say they agree. It seems the mainstream music industry is frustrating to bands (read: real musicians) who spend years practicing and perfecting a craft, only to lose out to a pre-fabricated record with hired musicians. Rose says it's easy to put a puppet like Simpson on stage and have her lip synch her entire career because the artistry of music has been lost to big-business deals by money-hungry major labels.
figure out why they're in it.
He says there are several kinds of musicians: hobbyists, egoists, artists and pros. You can find success by being any of these but should be honest with what category you're in before you ever begin.
Rose says the motivation for starting a band should not be "what's gonna get me a slot on *Cribs.*" Bands who take the path of least
resistance to make an easy buck are insincere, and it shows in the music. He says wanting to make money is perfectly OK, but "don't be a money-hungry bastard pretending to be real."
The guys of Underhill don't have to pretend. They say they're at a point in their lives where they're just having fun with the music, and want to get this record done for no one but themselves. It's five best friends having a good time, and that's why they're here. No fake sincerity, no lip-synching, no desire to make millions, just a lot of love for the music. And a whole lot of coffee.
Six hours after I get to the studio, the boys go outside to take a hacky sack break and I decide it's time to get out of Eudora. Outside, my eyes sting from the sunlight. I mention how bright it is. Everyone laughs because it's a cloudy, dreary day and there is no sunlight. That control-room cave is dangerous. I say goodbye and realize the band will be here for another eight hours, repeating this same routine and subsequently going more
I very much doubt Ashlee Simpson has that kind of dedication.