THICK OIL, day six - The Dishes/Tom Daily/Haymarket Riot

"Chicago will be blistering hot with temperatures reaching 90 degrees, coupled
with the usual humidity that you can slice with a knife. These conditions
will make the factory reach 100 degrees with the relief of only one high
powered industrial fan that must be powered down when we begin recording to
cut its' noise. To make matters worse, day 6 of the Oil Recordings will
consist of 3 sessions beginning at 10AM with The Dishes."
Thus begins the sixth in a series of journal entries by THICK Records kingpin Billy Spunke documenting his label's newest compilation, "OIL". To read the full entry, click on READ MORE, and keep coming back here every day for the latest installment.

Chicago will be blistering hot with temperatures reaching 90 degrees, coupled
with the usual humidity that you can slice with a knife. These conditions
will make the factory reach 100 degrees with the relief of only one high
powered industrial fan that must be powered down when we begin recording to
cut its' noise. To make matters worse, day 6 of the Oil Recordings will
consist of 3 sessions beginning at 10AM with The Dishes.

The band and Lance are already at the factory when I arrive, and it is made
know that Pat Kay, who has the keys, is on the way. He was a victim of THICK
Records owner, Zak Einstein's' karaoke style birthday party. The events of
the night led to Pat seeing the sun come up. When he pulls up, he is still
drunk and sporting the same clothes as the day before. Regardless, he is all
smiles and head straight for the keg. Fortunately, for his liver, the keg is
dry.

Sarah and Kiki haul in their own amps for the session, Sharon uses our bass
set up and Mike uses Lances kit. The Dishes have a proven reputation for
showing off some razor sharp and somewhat lo fi sounds, so I am not surprised
the girls use their own rigs. Lance mics everything up as the band works
through their tune that is propelled by a repeating, and simply catchy guitar
riff. The nail a take after a handful of attempts, of which Lance records
directly to his computers hard drive-this is a first. We "comp" a few guitar
takes, and move on to vocals. One of the most interesting things I have
witnessed during all the Oil sessions, is the approach everyone takes to
vocals. Sarah Dish, sings, and screams so quietly I have to check the meters
to make sure Lance is getting enough volume on tape. To my surprise, the
take is fine and the voice has tons of character, and the illusion that
Sarah is singing at the top of her lungs. Strange. We fire up the grill,
eat, finish a back up vocal, tambourine and hand claps. The song is done and
easily takes the top spot as one of my favorite recordings thus far.

Without a break, Lance sets up for Tom Daily, as The Dishes say their
good-byes. Simultaneously, Kevin Jay Frank from Haymarket Riot shows up.
Things are starting to resemble a music factory. Tom has written a song
specifically for Oil. It is an ode to Chicago, with the working title;
"Uncool is what you make it". A series of comedic errors make this session
memorable. First, Tom breaks his guitar strap, the a string on the very last
note of the song, which we all convince he should leave in. Regardless, he
tries another take and breaks another string. We are all rolling on the
control room floor as Tom, screams "God damit" in utter frustration. We feed
Tom a beer to avoid a coronary and begin vocals. The lyrics make reference
to Chicago as the "3rd Coast with bruised and bleeding shoulders". Genius.

The beaten, and torn warship, Haymarket Riot is next. Kevin Jay Frank, the
nail that holds this band together will be tracking; guitars, bass, and
vocals, with Shane of Hero of 100 Fights on drums. We will not see Billy
Smith or Mike Bennet who have both recently left Haymarket. Also, bassist
Fred Popolo is absent having commitments in Boston. Kevin stands tall and
confident and begins to piece together "Grand Canyon" from start to finish.
The display is so typical of Haymarket Riot, who must be the hardest working
band in Chicago. The song moves from angular math problems, to metal style
riffage with dense layers of guitars. The bass track will serve as a guide
for Fred to track to later, and the vocals come naturally with minimal
harmonies and back ups. We end the session just after Midnight, thus ending
a 14 hour day. Tomorrow we entertain Check Engine.