I know that so far what I’ve shown you from the 1994 record has been a little wacky (and to be fair it kinda starts wacky on their end, too), but that’s actually what’s been telling me I should really keep on with completing this record, too.
It’s Too Late
I know I recently said I wasn’t sure if I’d continue with the re-record of the 1994 record, but I’m really committed to this project. I don’t know how it’s taken such an incredible hold, but I feel like I just can’t not finish it. It’s not an option.
Back when I was first learning how to record music on my little digital 8-track Boss recorder that I had next to no idea how to do anything other than an overdub (and no real understanding of how to put a track all together on it if I did more than 1 overdub), all I wanted to do was learn how to write songs and produce them. I grew frustrated with that 8-multitrack recorder kind of quickly and eventually sold it to pay for a new guitar (my trusty Gibson that I’ve never let go of since).
I don’t love reading manuals (who does though?) and the interface was just totally foreign and confusing to me. I was like 15 and knew nothing about producing records other than bands go into a studio and then later I get a CD to put on that sounds awesome. But I did my initial first recordings on that thing, usually just acoustic guitar and vocal that I’d record myself from the shed or cabana in the backyard where no one could hear me.
I didn’t show anyone those, of course. I thought I sounded so bad! But I’d keep trying. I’d drag my little microphone, recorder, and my guitar out to that stupid shed, careful not to let anyone see me, any chance I got back then.
It’s amazing how many years its been since then and how it took learning to accept sounding bad to gain any sort of traction with it and start sounding less-bad.
My Intentions Are Growing
When I got a little older and started working in a studio for the first time, I learned Pro Tools and linear tracking and that was such a game changer. Pro Tools is highly visual which it turns out is something that really beenfits me. Suddenly I understood how to stack tracks, because I could actually see it. Sounds stupid because obviously you’re working with an audible medium and the intention at the end of the day is to have something you can simply listen to, not look at, but I have my quirks!
So at that point, when I’d try to make my own beats (lol) and put together songs, I was approaching it from a place of better understanding. What I wasn’t prepared for though was the amount of latency you’d experience back with the older interfaces (my first one was an Mbox) – it was crippling! I wasn’t a superstar player by any means, but when you record something and then you realize you have to anticipate being off the grid by no fault of your own, it’s insanely frustrating.
And I wasn’t a pro editor yet, I was just beginning to learn how to do all that – another reasonably challenging learning curve at 17, so you can just imagine how it started to feel.
Maybe I can’t be an engineer, maybe I just suck at this? And I suck at playing apparently? And I still can’t sing worth shit, how do people learn how to do this? (They take lessons and stuff, but lord knows I wasn’t taking any).
Music is hard.
Knowing where I started, to reach a point where I’m able to concoct such an extensive challenge for myself to re-record and completely re-produce this library of songs now that I have the ability to actually do it all myself is already it’s own reward when I give myself permission to think about it that way.
And You Think You’ve Seen It All
Since I’ve been there, I can say it’s a huge treat to be in a recording studio with any artist. The whole process is just really cool and exciting to be a part of, even if your role is minimal. It somehow feels both fast and slow; it takes longer than you’d think to run through every part and God forbid people start getting nit picky about little bits here and there and you have to sit through those discussions for what feels like forever, but before long you’ve got a record and all those moments sort of wash away into each other – and if you’re a musician yourself you completely understand how precious every detail feels. The whole process can be a little tiring if you’re engineering because of how much attention you need to give everything to ensure you capture it all appropriately (and nevermind if you’re also playing and mixing… yeesh), but when you make it to the end and can look back on it all, it’s really quite special. There’s nothing else really like it.
I often think about what bands would be particularly cool to be a fly on the wall of their sessions and Jimmy Eat World has always been one of them. Eventually I’ll work towards more faithful covers to try and see what sounds I can recreate, but for now I know I have to keep on the course I’ve already laid out for myself.
Completing this discography challenge is like a weird little music recording marathon. So many times I’m close to bonking out! And other times, I’m worried about sustaining injury that’ll prevent me from continuing, or getting sick and being forced off my tracking schedule. It’s happened a number of times already and it really sucks every time.
Sometimes I give myself a day off and then I feel guilty all day that I’m not using the time more wisely, because inevitably something comes up on a day I’m all set to track and I can’t work on it. The tedious mental anguish that accompanies something of this magnitude is just ridiculous for someone like me, I literally don’t stop thinking about it. Every day I’m reminded of the task at hand and how much more there is to go.
I know I will finish it. I wouldn’t feel right cutting corners and skipping a whole record just because it’s not one that the band really every mentions or features the same members anymore. It just wouldn’t be right. This record was just as much a part of the band becoming who they are now as this weird marathon is a part of me becoming whatever the hell I’m becoming as I work on it.
I released Splat Out of Luck previously, but I tried some new things vocally, recorded actual drums (previous version was programmed and took a lot of liberties here) and tried a new mix for it. I’m not gonna lie to you, I currently cannot find the first draft mix. I’m pretty sure I know which hard drive it’s on though, so I’ll grab that out of storage and poke around for it later this week.
Jaimee Eat World 
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