February 6, 2006: It is 9:30 a.m. on a cold clear Monday morning as I turn off Division Street into Soundshop Recording Studios. Today's schedule is for two master sessions in Studio A starting at 10:00 a.m. Sessions are booked in three-hour blocks so we'll go until 5:00 p.m. with an hour break in the middle. Two large cartage trucks are pulling out of the parking lot having delivered and set up the guitar coffins and racks, drums, amps and outboard gear.

Walking into Studio A to get situated I hear the familiar sounds of the piano tuner finishing up with the Yamaha grand. On a recording day, studio pianos are touched up right before we begin. My first order of business is to adjust the chair in the glass-walled acoustic guitar isolation room. From my corner I will be able to see bass, drums and piano. I get out the picks, capos and fingernail clippers from my bag and clamp an Intellitouch tuner on the headstock of my acoustic guitar. A fresh set of strings went on the trusty Santa Cruz Vintage Artist last night so they should be settled in by now. Soundshop owner/engineer Mike Bradley is in the control room behind the console and is adjusting eq and recording levels on various instruments starting with piano. Although the project today is decidedly country music, John Jarvis is flying through a Chopin sonata. That's just great- there are a million great keyboard guys in town and we get Horowitz! Seriously, Jarvis is amazing and can do it all.

Engineer Mark Capps comes into my booth and positions the two mics (Schoeps CMC-5-U) as I give Mike a sample of the acoustic guitar with a little fingerpicking and some full strumming with a straight pick- more Lester Flatt than Chopin.

The players booked for today- all old friends- are drifting in and there is much bear hugging and laughter. Happily, today's session is a reunion of sorts. These seven players are essentially the core rhythm section that our esteemed producer, Don Cook used for many multi-platinum albums throughout the 90's. Over the years we have recorded in this room on analog 24-track Studer machines, Sony 32-track digital and now to tapeless ProTools. Located in the open room will be drummer Lonnie Wilson and steel guitarist Bruce Bouton; on bass is long, tall Glenn Worf, and Brent Mason will handle electric guitar. In the isolation booth next to Glenn is fiddle and mandolin ace Larry Franklin.

A quick Google of those names would reveal some long discographies, however on a tracking date like today the star is always the artist. This morning we will be backing Matt Jenkins, a talented young singer/songwriter from the small town of Aledo, Texas. Matt signed with the Universal South label and has already had some chart success. The plan today is to record four tunes for his upcoming new album. I met Matt in Studio B two weeks earlier when we got together with Don and Mike to go through the proposed songs. That session presented an opportunity to get some approximate tempos and check the keys, and it gave me a chance to write up the number chord charts for today [in the Nashville numbering system]. Don also recorded a sample with various mics to see which would be the best choice for Matt's vocals. Matt is a sharp and enthusiastic newcomer and hopefully we can cut some hit tracks.

Mike is behind the Trident Vector 432 console in the control room getting a steel level from Bruce as the other pickers get coffee, tweak tuning and double-check outboard gear settings. For isolation from the nearby drums, the amps for electric guitar, bass and steel are positioned in booths or hallways. It is a little after ten and the mood today is characteristically laid-back. A favorite among Nashville pickers, Don Cook sets the tone appropriately with one of his outrageous rants as a call to arms. One of the best parts of studio work is getting to spend time with your fellow Nashville cats. After a bit more catching up and commentary on yesterday's Super Bowl, it's time to go to work.

Everyone gathers in the control room as Mark plays a CD demo of the first tune we will be recording. Copies of the chord number charts are passed out and players listen to pick up on the attitude of the song. Don suggests a chord substitution for the end of the intro and also wants to eliminate one bar before the solo. Also, the demo seems to be a little labored so we'll start at a slightly faster tempo. Heading off to his isolation vocal booth, Matt tells us he wants to sing it in B-flat rather than B. It matters not when the players are looking at number charts rather than chord symbols or letters. With charts in hand, the pickers mosey out to man their battle stations and put on headphones.

As in most Nashville studios, the Soundshop has a mixing panel for the pickers with individual level and pan controls for each instrument allowing you to tailor your cue mix to suit your needs. This feature is extremely useful for me since acoustic guitar tends to get buried in typical stereo mixes. With this kind of flexibility, everyone can dial-in what works for them.

While everyone is noodling and checking tuning, Brent has come up with a Telecaster intro lick that will appear again for a turnaround and will serve as the ending. Lonnie counts us off and we go to work on the first run through. Don comes out of the control room before the playback and wants to change the song structure. We will incorporate the bridge into the second chorus and Lonnie suggests we bump the tempo a few clicks. The second take feels great and we come in to listen. A playback is worth a thousand words. Nashville head arrangements develop as all concerned throw out ideas to audition. I suggest Brent's signature lick go a couple of measures longer in the middle and we go back out for another take which settles in nicely. Don comes on the talkback and says he loves it but we should try one more take, six beats per minute faster. Psychologically, it is better for players to work up to a faster tempo than to slow it down once you've played it a few times. This take is fine and Matt has no trouble getting the lyrics across at the new tempo- so we have our first track!

The process goes much the same for Song # 2. The keys that Matt prefers for this one are a little unusual. The tune goes from B to C# to B and ends up in E-flat. I put a roller capo on the fourth fret for the first two keys and plan to roll down a fret for the last modulation. Brent decides to tune down a half step in order to have open positions for the last two keys. There is an out-of-tempo section in the middle of the song involving just John and Matt, so we take a moment to rehearse those bars. A means of getting the band back in tempo is worked out quickly and we are ready to record. On Don's sessions, Mike will be recording on every tune the first time through the song. There is a unique energy from this band when going through a tune for the first time and a number of Brooks and Dunn hits were first takes. Don often has said, "Let's record this now before we figure out what we're doing." This happens to be one of those times when the first time through has the magic. A few of the players rework a passage or two that they want to change and we are ahead of schedule.

Time for lunch! Part of the group is walking over from the Soundshop to visit the Southern home-style meat-and-three cafeteria. Five of us choose to pile into Glenn's SUV to check out the recommended Mediterranean restaurant over on Franklin Road. By unanimous consensus, Bruce's call was a good one. Nice tilapia.

Back at the factory we get a listen to the first song for the afternoon session, co-written by Don and Matt. Don has some specific ideas about the vibe he wants on this one. He asks John to start out on Hammond organ and come up with a few solo measures before the band begins playing the chart. The song has a very cool groove and the track falls naturally into place. After the first take, we take a few minutes to experiment with the chord progression on the fade ending. With that detail figured out, we take another stab and nail it. Despite all this stabbing and nailing, Brent, Bruce and Larry want to work on their parts further. When the majority of the rhythm section finds a groove, it makes sense to keep the basic track and let the lead instrument players have some time to craft their ensemble licks and fills.

I am always amazed at how these guys instantly come up with original ideas. Don suggests that Brent and Larry split up the solo with each taking four bars. I want to replace the choked acoustic guitar on the first two verses with open strumming. What sounds good in the headphones does not always work when you hear a full playback on the control room Tannoys. I tell Mike I'll redo the verses after everyone else has done their repairs. The guys working up the solos have ideas fresh going on in their heads and should get their parts first. In the lounge a few of the players are talking with some of Matt's road band musicians who have come to hang out and check out the session.

After several minutes of working on the solo section and dropping in a few phrases Larry and Brent come out to check cell phones and clear their heads. After they get a little break we are summoned to the control room. The band is still ahead of schedule with just one more tune to tackle. The arrangement from the publishing company demo CD seems to work as it stands so after determining which lead instruments should back which sections, we go back in and make a take.

The execution is good but no one is averse to trying it again. Don comes over the talkback to ask for one more to choose from and since he asks so nicely, we take another pass. This take has better energy and everyone feels good about the performance. Without getting up I ask Mike to open up another track for an additional acoustic guitar overdub. The song is in the key of D so I put a capo on the third fret of my maple Guild F-44 and play out of G position. This guitar is strung up a major third higher than standard so the result is a good register spread against the original track acoustic part. Brent wants to add a part on the same pass so we do our stacked parts. When I ask the control room how my little overdub sounded, Mike gives his classic deadpan answer "Everybody in here is going nuts....."

Time does fly when you are having fun and this day has certainly flown. Matt and Don are happy with the tracks so we have mission accomplished. The pickers pack up, say their goodbyes and head out to try to beat the rush-hour traffic. At a later date, Matt will come back in to focus on re-singing his vocals. More than likely, background harmonies will be added where needed and then Mike and Don will do final mixes and the tracks will be mastered. At some point the record label will be deciding which tunes will be included in the CD. We'll know if we were successful today when you turn on your satellite car radio and hear Matt Jenkins' latest smash hit.

Stay tuned,
Mark