Typically, the writing and recording process for almost any group of musicians takes a long time.
The songs are written, rehearsed and reworked by the band for several months, if not years. Recording time is booked, and the laborious process of laying down the foundation tracks begins, followed by re-dos, overdubs, mixing, and mastering. That usually takes a while too.
Finally, after a lot of re-mixing, and tweaks like “turn down the vocals in the second chorus” and “can you bring up the guitar in the bridge,” the record can be sent off to the label or manufacturer to be pressed, and there’s a long wait for that to happen before the thing can finally be heard by audiences.
Depending on the band, this entire process typically takes a year or longer. If your name is Axle, it can take more than 20 years.
Why am I telling you this? Because Wade Ogle and the Mad Sprits completed this whole process, from songwriting to release of their new “Green Eyes EP” in under a month.
The three song EP was written on July 1 and 2, was recorded on the 14th, and was released via a free digital download on July 20.
Originally, the recording was supposed to be a demo session. Ogle had just hoped to capture some of the emotions he was going through at the time, and the demos were not meant to be released.
Once they heard the finished product that came out of Adam Putman’s Insomniac Studios, however, the band decided to make the songs available to the public. The record is available to preview or download for free at the band’s Reverb Nation page.
Green Eyes EP
Wade Ogle and the Mad Spirits will be at George’s tonight for two shows, an early one at 8 p.m., and a later show scheduled for 10:30 p.m. We got in touch with Wade, and he was nice enough to answer some questions for us.
Fayetteville Flyer: Tell us a bit about how the EP came about.
Wade Ogle: I wrote the songs the evening of July 1 and finished them up the following morning. At our next rehearsal, I showed them to Paul and Tyler and we fumbled through them. The following Wednesday, we booked a few hours at Insomniac Studio to record them. I wanted to capture my feelings as well as the band’s reactions while the emotions were still real instead of trying to relive or recreate them later. It was just meant to be a personal demo but we were all surprised at how well it came together.
FF: These songs weren’t originally intended for the public, correct?
WO: Correct. It was only after they were recorded that I thought “written in a night, recorded in an afternoon and on the internet by the weekend,” and that had some appeal to me because it’s usually such a long process from start to finish.
FF: I know this isn’t typically the way you’ve worked in the studio in the past. Did you enjoy working in a more live/spontaneous way this time?
WO: I did enjoy it. I’ve spent long, laborious, tedious, boring hours in a studio before. I’ve found that once the songs are recorded, I can’t stand the rest of it. The mixing, editing etc, it numbs my brain. I think the initial “not for public” idea played in our favor while recording. Thankfully, Adam Putman was getting good sounds almost instantly and we were able to just play without too much distraction or pressure.
FF: You said that you presented these songs to the band one time. What does that say about Paul and Tyler as musicians?
WO: They’re both fantastic musicians. Both are very sympathetic, mature players. Plus, we’ve been slugging it out playing a lot of regional shows. That stuff will make you great friends and a great band. Or, end it all very quickly. I love them both dearly.
FF: You guys have been traveling quite a bit lately. How has the music been received in other cities?
WO: Paul said the crowds react like they’ve just unexpectedly seen the most intense, emotional scene in a movie and they need a bit of time to process it. We’re mostly unknown so, for the most part, people are getting their first exposure to us right then and there at the show. We’ve joked about how people have to have a private confession with us afterwards. They’re moved. Having said that, it’s been a struggle trying to build an audience that way.
FF: What made you decide to offer the EP as a free download?
WO: I don’t know. You want people to hear your songs and music. Also, we had very little money in it. It’s just an online release. In August, we’ll camp at Paul’s home studio to begin working on a proper Wade Ogle And The Mad Spirits full length. That one will cost ya!
Click below to hear Our Love Was Not Meant To Last, by Wade Ogle and the Mad Spirits
[audio:http://wonderstatemedia.com/assets/flyer/mp3/Wade Ogle-OurLoveWasNotMeantToLast.mp3]
