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Author Topic: NickelBAG (not back!) attn. Ross, Michael  (Read 4749 times)

otek

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NickelBAG (not back!) attn. Ross, Michael
« on: May 06, 2004, 07:39:08 PM »

Hiya,

I am doing my regular round on the forums, while listening to an album I haven't brought out in a while - and every time I do, I realize again what a great record it is!

I am speaking of course about "12 Hits and a Bump" by Nicklebag. Whenever I mention this album to people everyone automatically assumes I'm talking about Nickleback...

I know both Ross and Michael worked on this album, from reading the credits. So, a couple of questions for you guys:

1) Michael, the credits state "except * mixed by Michael Wagener", but I can't find any reference to the asterisk in the song list. Which song(s) did you mix? Can you tell me anything about the mix process for this remarkable album, as it sounds pretty different from most of your other work I've heard.

2) Ross, I would be very interested in learning what went into the drum recording for these songs, as there were several different drummers involved. And, were the vocals recorded with all those different effects, or was that added in the mix?

3) One final, completely unrelated question for Michael.... Is it true that you clean out your AC ducts with a shotgun?!?! Very Happy


Thanks!
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mwagener

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Re: NickelBAG (not back!) attn. Ross, Michael
« Reply #1 on: May 06, 2004, 10:40:19 PM »

otek

I can't really remember the song titles off hand, but I'll check out the album at the studio tomorrow and get back to you on that. I do remember it was mixed at Scream Studio in Studio City, CA on an SSL and I used the heaps of outboard gear that are now mostrly in my studio and I think it was mixed to the Akai DD-1000 via Apogee converters.

The overall idea was to keep it fairly dry and in your face sounding, which was a bit of departure from the typical 80s reverb sound. I'll listen tomorrow and get back to you.

mwagener

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Re: NickelBAG (not back!) attn. Ross, Michael
« Reply #2 on: May 06, 2004, 10:44:32 PM »

Oh yeah, the shotgun. You must have been talking to the guys in Hammerfall, right? Well, I have those ceiling vents at the studio and when the season changes, I have to close the ones in the lounge and open the ones in the control room to switch from AC to heat etc. The shotgun is an ideal instrument for this job, because it has that wide opening to move the hooks and is long enough to reach the ceiling vent. Very Happy

Fletcher

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Re: NickelBAG (not back!) attn. Ross, Michael
« Reply #3 on: May 07, 2004, 01:38:32 AM »

Nicklebag?  Wasn't that Bernard from the Stone's solo album?[can't remember the brother's last name... one of the backing singers with Lisa and Blondie]

Great album.  So was Blondie's solo record but I don't think it sold more than 34 copies to non direct blood relatives...
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mwagener wrote on Sat, 11 September 2004 14:33
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"Recording engineers are an arrogant bunch.  
If you've spent most of your life with a few thousand dollars worth of musicians in the studio, making a decision every second and a half... and you and  they are going to have to live with it for the rest of your lives, you'll get pretty arrogant too.  It takes a certain amount of balls to do that... something around three"
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Ross Hogarth

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Re: NickelBAG (not back!) attn. Ross, Michael
« Reply #4 on: May 07, 2004, 11:25:55 AM »

Boy , rattling the old brain cell's to try and remember the details of tracking .... let's see ...
We did a bunch of drums at Rikki Rocket's studio from Poison, he had an old 8058 Neve in a really small room, Brian Tichy played on those with Carmine from Rod Stewarts old band, before Rod decided he was Frank Sinatra.... That stuff was very guerrilla ... I had to stick the room mics up in the corners of the room facing the corners to only get the reflection so you would have any room at all ....
At the same time Stevie Salas and I were making Sass Jordon's 2nd record and we were down at Cherokee a bunch so I know we did stuff there.
Bernard did a bunch of vocals at a little studio owned by a really good pal of mine who works for the Stones , Dave's Driveby, he and Pierre take care of Keith,Mick and Ron Wood. They did a bunch of vocals also on the road with Bernard on day's off. I think a bit in NY in Bill Laswell's studio. At the time that record was being made everybody was doing 10 things at the same time.
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otek

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Re: NickelBAG (not back!) attn. Ross, Michael
« Reply #5 on: May 07, 2004, 11:27:19 PM »

Thanks Michael and Ross!!!

Good stuff, I would love to hear more about it, whatever you guys can remember (or, as Lars Ulrich said, "10 years and 40,000 vodka tonics later, it's really hard to remember specifics"!).  Very Happy

Fletcher, the guy's name is Bernard Fowler, he also did stuff with Ryuichi Sakamoto and Philip Glass, to name a few. Amazing pipes on that guy. And yes, this album probably didn't exactly go triple-platinum. Great music rarely does, it seems.

Ross, it was very cool to hear about the drums recording. So you were in a pretty small room? The feel of this album is very spontaneous, exuberant, almost overplayed at times. I get the feeling that you were alluding to, that it was recorded quickly and in-between other things. the drums sound wonderfully trashy, undamped, and lo-tech. Brian Tichy is a motherf**ker!!

I also like Stevie Salas's guitar tones... there's something very genuine in his palette of sounds, almost Hendrix-y at times.

Does Fowler like to crank his headphones a lot? I hear on several occasions on the album, how the leakage from the cans whistle and swish in front of the vocal mic. It even feeds back briefly once!

Michael, one last note.... when I heard the Hammerfall shotgun story, I misunderstood.... I thought you actually blew out the AC ducts by firing the shotgun into it!!!   Laughing  Laughing  Laughing
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mwagener

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Re: NickelBAG (not back!) attn. Ross, Michael
« Reply #6 on: May 08, 2004, 11:49:20 AM »

Quote:

Michael, one last note.... when I heard the Hammerfall shotgun story, I misunderstood.... I thought you actually blew out the AC ducts by firing the shotgun into it!!!    


Well, things get "blown up" as stories get passed on. we do plenty of crazy things at WireWorld, but cleaning the ducts with a shotgun is not one of them

I checked the album again and I think (not 100% sure) I mixed the following songs:
 1 love song
 8 don't know why (maybe)
 9 grow
13 hots on for nowhere
sorry for the vague answer, it's been a while. Say hi to the guys in Hammerfall.

otek

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Re: NickelBAG (not back!) attn. Ross, Michael
« Reply #7 on: May 08, 2004, 12:00:27 PM »

mwagener wrote on Sat, 08 May 2004 17:49

1 love song


Aaahh!! That tune is so unbelievably heavy! That's a great mix. Michael, if you do remember... the vocal effect, what is it and was it tracked that way or added in the mix? Sounds like the vocals are reamped....?


thanks again,
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mwagener

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Re: NickelBAG (not back!) attn. Ross, Michael
« Reply #8 on: May 08, 2004, 04:02:28 PM »

I think we used a ADA guitar preamp to add distortion to the voice and cut  bottom and high end to make it sound kind of telephon-ish.
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