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When the red light is on (studio, not Soho)

Mary Ellen,

Good luck!  When I played with B&R about four years ago we had a "Listen to
the Band" recording session one evening at 7.30.  I had to be in London on
business during the day, but had everything planned so that the shuttle
would get me back to Manchester Airport sufficiently early to call home for
my cornet and continue to Yorkshire.  Everything OK so far.  Then Murphy
struck.

The business took longer than anticipated, so did the tube to Heathrow
Airport.  Result? Missed plane.  Not to worry, the next plane was only
another hour, so I rang home to get my wife to arrange with local band
colleagues to call for my instrument and I would drive straight to Ossett.
You guessed it.  The next plane was delayed, so it was looking doubtful I 'd
be there for the start of the session.

As I finally drove away (just under 70 m.p.h., officer) from Manchester
Airport towards Yorkshire, seeds of doubt began to sprout in my mind... was
it Ossett or Otley Town Hall?  All the details were in my cornet case!  I
stopped at the first motorway services to ring my colleague's house,
realising that he would have already left, but hoping that his wife would be
in and could confirm which of the two Yorkshire venues it was.  She was 100%
certain it was Otley.  I breathed a sigh of relief as I continued over the
Pennines but realised the drive was going to take quite a while.  Maybe I'd
still be able to make it in time.

At last I reached Otley Town Hall, but it was well after 7.30.  As I parked
and walked towards the Town Hall, my ears were straining for the familiar
sounds of the items we'd rehearsed.  It didn't worry me at first that I
could hear nothing... after all, you don't want too much sound "leaking out"
from a recording session, do you?  The caretaker was very helpful but knew
now't about a brass band.  Crochet and flower arranging classes were well
under way, though!

Plan B sprang into action.  I rang Ossett Town Hall and eventually another
caretaker confirmed that the band was in full swing.  I asked him to pass
the message on that I was on my way.  Those of you familiar with the
territory will realise that the two towns are not close neighbours.  It must
have been near to 9 PM when I finally made it, to a very sympathetic
reception, of course.  To add insult to injury, when I had rung through, the
'phone was audible and so there had to be a re-take (sorry to Mike Dodds,
who was Solo Euph at the time).  The rest of the session went fairly
smoothly, I recall.  It included what turned out, IMHO, to be the best
performance of March Slave I have heard (by band or orchestra).

The only tips that come to mind (apart from getting the right venue) are:-

1. If possible, don't try to cut the entire CD in one marathon session.  Two
will be much better.
2. Make absolutely sure that your choice of "studio" has both good
acoustics, with a little natural reverb. If possible, and is not likely to
suffer from extraneous noises (traffic, phones ringing!, etc.)
3. Get rid of squeaking chairs.
4. Place all mutes on towelling or similar and be VERY careful when
inserting and removing them).
5. Concentrate like hell when the red light comes on.
6. Be patient with colleagues who "blob in" (up to a point) and keep a
friendly - but 100% serious - atmosphere.
7. Don't tazz!  There's no need and it will only spoil any tone quality the
band otherwise has.
8. Choose a professional outfit who have recorded bands before.  It makes a
huge difference.

Regards,

John McLoughlin
Besses

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