There are times when a good situation takes a bad turn, then turns again. Then again. Each turn bringing you to a new low and with each low you look to the sky and ask what could possibly come next. In the end, you learn — or should I say experience — that just around the corner from your seemingly dismal situation, a moment of beauty was to be born. You learn to step back, breath deep, shake your head, and with a slight smile on your face, acknowledge that the orchestration of such circumstantial extremes, ending as beautifully as it did, could only be the handy work of someone greater than you. Such was the case with IHT session #11 with Eric Nicolau.

Turn one:
Originally we were planning to record Eric Nicolau’s full band, Which Way Is Home. But the night before our session I received a phone call from Eric. With reluctance and a tinge of embarrassment in his voice, he began the typical band story of complicated schedules, extreme geographic distance between members (one member was in L.A. while the rest was in the Detroit area), and the current cost of gas. He humbly asked if we would be okay to shoot a session with just him. I was happy to accommodate, but quick changes would need to be made to the production schedule and shooting location.

Turn two:
Immediately upon arrival to our beautiful outdoor location at the historic Mines of Spain in Dubuque, IA, we set out to find the perfect place to set up shop for the coveted ITH session (we really love doing these things!). With few precious hours left before the sun set, we had to work fast. After two long trips up the bluff, extreme humidity (were were all covered with a glaze of sweat that was penetrating every layer of clothing), and a continual barrage of mosquito attacks we rolled audio and camera.

Turn three:
String break! NO EXTRAS IN THE CASE! Could’nt believe it.

Turn four:
We immediately admitted, while clinching our fists and biting our lips, the sun was gone and we had no session to give you, dear viewer.

Turn five:
We had just begun an expansion of our studio to include a new audio/video tracking room, but, at that point, it was incomplete. However, we had no choice; we had no other option but to shoot the session there. Within minutes of rolling the tape, the smile, head shake, and quiet acknowledgment took place. I trust you will agree that we created something magical the night of this particular session with Eric. I don’t want to spoil it with my words, so please pause and listen for a minute to soak up the the heart and passion of this great singer, songwriter for yourself, just as we did.

By The Way Side

Control Myself

Find You Now

It’s So Easy

Download these tracks form our download page

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 2nd, 2008 at 4:26 pm and is filed under Sessions. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.