Releasing music is one of my favorite feelings. ‘The Nutcracker EP’ was a serious labor of love and has been a very intense experience... but this EP (as well as an accompanying animated video to be released in December) was worth every second of work.
A bit about how this came about... I started recording songs when I was 13 or 14 years old. My dad had some pieces of home recording equipment (ADAT and outboard FX processors) and I started to teach myself how to use it. At that age, I started recording albums of works... teaching myself the equipment and developing my songwriting. In those early days, I at some point had an idea to record a version of ‘Coffee (Arabian Dance)’ and ‘Sugar Plum Fairies’. I tracked them on my dad’s ADAT and shared them with family and friends. Everyone around me was supportive of what little 14-y.o. me was doing, so I felt encouraged to record a couple more. ‘Marche’ and a guitar-only version of ‘Russian Dance’.
If you were to hear those recordings, you’d likely wince and grit your teeth to get through it. But hey, I was 14. The recordings are poor, but the idea was there.
The original artwork from when I was a kid
Flash forward to January 2019. I had just finished mixing our next album “Valkyrie” and team Johnny was feeling good about the responses we were getting. I mentioned that i was toying around with the idea of revisiting that ‘heavy metal nutcracker’ idea... and the exuberant response I got really surprised me. It was all I really need to decide to do it. They gave me the deadline of June to have it completed... and so I had to work fast to get it together.
I had to make a decision at that point if I wanted to strictly follow Tchaikovsky’s arrangements or embellish them (like I did when I was a kid recording them from memory). I settled on following the classic arrangements to the note. I ordered the score and started to pour into it.
The score.
I also decided that I wanted to go past the 4 songs I had tracked before. Specifically, I thought I had a good idea for the arrangement of ‘Mirlitons’. I liked the bursts and dynamics. I decided to tackle ‘Waltz of the Flowers’ after hearing it again in an episode of “It’s Always Sunny” where Cricket falls in love with a Golden Retriever. If it’s good enough for the gang, it’s good enough for me. Haha.
Recording started with MIDI drum mockups of what I wanted. I’ve been told I’m a very rhythmically-minded songwriter (probably cause one of my first instruments was drums haha) so I always have a lot of specific drum patterns I’m looking for. Once I have those, I’ll tackle the guitar arrangements. ‘The Nutcracker’ was particularly challenging because I’m taking a full orchestra and trying to play everything on just the guitar. It’s hard to find a blend that creates the same depth. French horns have a particular tone and texture that I had to find the ‘guitar equivalent’ of. It wasn’t hard, but it was fun and time-consuming. Trying to create dimension to the mix. To aid this effort, I used a lot of synths via Arturia. Elements like a classic Farfisa became essential to create a wider palate and add a bit of humor.
Once I had the tracks mocked up, I visited my good friend Kiel Feher for drums. Kiel and I have been recording together since 2013 and he has an amazing little drum-recording studio in his house. He knocked out the drum parts in an afternoon and added a lot of great moments that brought the songs new life.
The next month or so was tracking additional guitars and keys to bring the work up to par. I have a little studio in my apartment, where I use a combination of Axe Fx, GuitarRig, and other plug-ins available right in Logic. Since I mix all the JS stuff, I was able to mix as I go. I leave my stereo bus clean till it’s time to master, which I did at the very end (rather than mixing into a master bus of any sort).
Ultimately, the experience of making something like ‘The Nutcracker’ is a bit like self-induced cabin fever. You’re sitting in a chair all day (oftentimes with dogs sitting behind you), drinking non-stop coffee, focused on learning each of those pesky Tchaikovsky runs. To keep myself up, I would do long dog walks. Or go out to shows with friends. It’s something I’d have to force myself to do because - although I’m bummed out from the work - I’m a workaholic and am always pushing forward. It’s not a luxurious life. Not that rock n roll lifestyle everyone talks about. But it’s satisfying in the long run and I’m more interested in making works that stretch me than I am in partying.
Screenshot of the ‘Waltz of the Flowers’ Session
After finishing the EP, Maddie started sharing it around and looking for opportunities. She has built an incredible team around this release and I owe her countless back massages for it haha.
The ONLY misgiving I have is that she added another project for me. When it came time to collaborate on video/social media ideas, we stumbled across the idea of doing an animated video for one of the songs. So, lo and behold, I found myself back in that chair... spending months animating a video we’ll be releasing in early December. It’s done already and I think people will like it.
So that’s a bit about making ‘The Nutcracker’. There are a lot of other things going on in life too. Polaris Rose has just finished another album... 12 songs that are sort of our “greatest hits in sync”. It’s a departure for us - musically - but that’s sorta what makes it fun. I’m proud of the production work I did on those.
We are focused now on 2020, where we’ll be playing more shows and releasing even more music. So keep an eye out. 🤭