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DAY 5 - March 30 RECORDING THE NEW CD

Started today looking at the arrangement for the Epic song and we played around with it for ages getting the right drum part, snare drum sound, bass sound guitar part and keyboard part. There were long moments of waiting as each of us got the best out of our instruments working side by side with Mike Paxman until it sounded great then we honed the song down until we were all happy with it.

We eventually pushed the red button and in 4 takes we had the one we wanted. It is one of those tracks where little things can go wrong as you record it but we wanted the track to be just right and it was worth the effort as it sounds fantastic. The emotion hits at just the right places and when it does you just feel great. Phil and I had to write another verse and bridge as the arrangement required it and now it is complete it is lyrically very strong. We have just had dinner and after a coffee we will look at another track to start working up.

Probably one of Trevor´s. It is great when you record as a band like we have been recording in the same room because the feeling you get when all 5 of us are on one pulse is very exciting. Even in the quiet moments :-) Well after dinner Mike and Russell decided they could improve the drum track on the Epic song so we went back into the studio and rehearsed the new version. We were happy with the old one but hey if you can improve it then we will try. Anyway we have a good one in the bag.

Wow I did not think we could better the version we had but the one in the can now is terrific. As they say it´s never over ´till it´s over! We will have to have a go at Trevor´s song tomorrow. It is time to sit back and relax, watch a little TV and have a wind down drink. Trevor is driving home tonight as he is only an hour away and Christos has popped back home too as he is only an hour away so it
will be little quieter in the country retreat tonight.i

5 days of recording and we are delighted with the results. It is great that with each new day we are raring to go! Roll on tomorrow. ´Appy Days!

DAY 6 - March 31 RECORDING THE NEW CD

Well last night we hit the breakage trail. One of the Genelic Monitor drivers blew up but luckily we had another one to use in it?s place and when Phil was playing some Hammond Organ parts the belt on the top horn of the Leslie snapped.

We are in the middle of nowhere and being Saturday it was a tough call to expect to find one but super roadie Christos has found one where he lives and he will have it with us for the start of today?s recording. This is good news otherwise we could not lay down the Hammond parts we want to. Well on the subject of mishaps while the breakfast was being cooked this morning the grill caught fire causing much screaming and shouting. The place was full of smoke.

Had Deep Purple not beat us to it with a more glamorous location we could have written "Smoke in the Chapel - Fire in the Sky" Still it was quickly brought under control with a fire extinguisher by our producer Mike who is now our resident fire fighter, and all is okay. Trevor went home last night to take care of some business on the home front and is not coming in today so Phil and I have been playing Guitar and Hammond/ Piano parts all day.

After reviewing and taking stock of where we are with all of the songs thus far we will probably wind down about 11pm. Every track we put up to listen to has its own magic so all the signs are good ones. Bernie and Christos went shopping to replenish the stocks so we are all set for a couple of days.

DAY 7 - April 1 RECORDING THE NEW CD

A great night last night (Saturday). We finished recording and had a few glasses of wine and ended up shouting at the TV. There was a programme on with the most annoying songs top 100. The scene was similar to the vibe in the dressing room after a show and a good laugh was had by all. Once Trevor arrives today we will get to work on one of his songs. It is a mid tempo hard rocker so that should wake up the locals here in this sleepy village once we start.
Once again we ran through the arrangement and changed some of the parts to different instruments to get the right blend and we ended up with a great track. A really driving song that sounds fantastic. We are very happy with it and Phil played a fantastic Hammond part and Solo which is really terrific. Mike said goodnight and Phil says goodnight twice and Mick says jolly hockey sticks… and for the last bloody time… Good Night!

DAY 8 - April 2 RECORDING THE NEW CD

This morning we waited around a bit as there was some technical work to be done on the computer but the first track up is a Mick and Phil track that is full on rock. Russell has played a dynamite drum part on this song and boy does it rock. I put the solo (wah wah) on this one as I did the guitar part so I am pleased with that. The sunshine is out today and the day is beautiful. Not that we will see much of it locked in the studio but believe me there is plenty of sunshine on these tracks. There's a couple of Phil's and my songs that need lyrics so we will start getting those finished today.

We have the main structure of the idea so we are on the starting grid with the idea. While recording has been going along Phil and I have written a new song which we may have a go at if we have enough time left in the next 5 days. Mike Paxman really likes it and it is very Heepy. The idea was born out of a writing session at Phil’s and we did some work on it over the phone when I was back in London. So if time permits we will give it a crack and if not we have a good song to start the next CD. The best part is we have lyrics for it so ‘appy days!

Started a track written by Phil after dinner and it sounds great. A mid tempo rocker with a good groove. Well that is it today 2 tracks in the can, a lot of hard work and it all sounds fantastic and now it’s time to relax. See you tomorrow.

* Kul att bandet ser ut att skriva typiska Heep-låtar. Midtempo med fet hammond är vad Heep handlar om.
* Jag älskar Heepy låtar!
* Jag undrar när man ska få höra några smakprov från plattan?