TGE Recording Blog

..."The General Electric" recording experience according to Karl 10th June - 2nd July 1999

Touring Party: Jules Cribb 'Yay...I dont have to sit with the others ' Karl Kippenberger 'Excuse me, do you have any spare meals? ' Phil Knight 'Eh, can I have an Aisle seat and more wine? ' Tom Larkin 'Where did I put that 'Time' magazine? Has this got egg in it? ' Jon Toogood 'Why do I have to watch shit movies! Maybe I should have a cigarette in the loo? '

Thursday 10th June

Left Melbourne early morning after hanging out with the Weta boys who are looking after our house while we're away, endured a crap film, had a cigarette in Auckland's transit lounge 'Cigarette Chamber'...got on another plane, Phil got asked three times if he had ID for wine...watched more crap films, then technically arrived in LA 5 minutes before we left, got lost in the terminal, hopped on yet another plane and finally got to Vancouver. We see a guy with a 'SHIHAD' sign [wow he spelt it right too]...he leads us to a stretch Limosine...is this a mistake?? We get in feeling special and drive to Factory Studios to meet GGGarth...He's not there but we get to meet our first Canadian Rock band...'Flash Bastard' who Nikki Sixx 'Motely Crue' signed a few months previous...They seem to be having LSP [Lead Singer Problems]...we meet the Guitarist Pete who is wearing zebra skin pants and a firey red crop top...its the return of Glam Metal!!?...he helps us plug in the Playstation [Staple Studio Equipment]....Jet lag settles in as we wait for GGGarth to show us our new abode.. GGGarth turns up with his property Manager, 'Vicky' and she takes us to our appartment...Its food time and GGGarth takes us around the harbour to Monks, They sorta do seafood and are having a Thursday shrimp special...Tom starts falling asleep...even the bad coffee doesn't help...food comes and goes...We pay, go back to our harbour view appartment and sleep....

Friday 11th - Saturday 12th June

z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z General 'get over jetlag' time for us...wake...eat...sleep...etc

Sunday 13th June

Dan Hennessy [Trusted friend and Warners A & R guy] arrives in town and takes us all out to dinner...We eat as much as we can, especially Jon who attempts to devour a chicken salad entree, then a pound steak with mash potatoes and garlic bread...GGGarth cant believe his eyes and nearly bets money on Jon not finishing it...lucky he didn't, After food, GGGarth goes back to the studio to help 'Flash Bastard' finish on time [more LSP] and we go to see Austin Powers II - the spy that shagged me...great movie except I keep falling asleep...

Monday 14th June

First day in the studio Tom sets up drums and we start setting up for guide bass and guitars...we begin to get to know the crew and realise that GGGarth is a bit of a legend in these parts...Firstly there's Mike Plotnikoff who is the drum engineer, Sheldon who is the vibe-less assistant engineer, Sleepy J who is the Protools engineer and Audio tutor at the school down the road, Chris Cripin who looks like Mike Patton but is in fact the Drum tech and then theres Alex, the faithful runner who's job is to basically run around after everyone...this is where you start if your serious about getting involved in the recording industry. Alex is also one of Sleepy J's students and this turns out to be his first real-life running experience...poor guy

 Tuesday 15th June

We start tracking our first songs: 'I dont think so' and 'Thin white line', it takes us a little while to warm up, and soon realise we have a good team... Luckily Sheldon is replaced by a more friendly assistant named Scott.

Wednesday 16th June

More drums...more ACDC covers...more sushi...Tom nails 'Wait and see' and 'The General Electric'...

Thursday 17th June

Another day of Tom's reign....'My mind's sedate', 'Sport and Religion' and 'Just like everybody else' Mike spends the rest of the night telling us lots of good Kiss and INXs stories...

Friday 18th June

Arrived at the studio Did 'Life in cars' ate sushi, Tom got a massage Started 'Only Time', put the drums in the loading bay* and got stopped by an angry resident banging on the roller door [we find out later that he is a homeless guy sleeping in the alleyway]. we will resume tomorrow and hopefully do 'Slack Jack' in there as well
 * ACDC did this for 'Razors Edge'

Saturday 19th June

Today is a great day...Firsly Its my turn for a massage...Then back to Rock!! we seem to be on fire and finish all the drums...'Metal Song', 'Hard Year' and 'Help you through it all'...we also have time to redo 'Spacing' and 'Thin white line' in the loading bay - this was also where Motely Crue did their 'Dr Feelgood' drums...the mighty god of eighties big hair/glam metal shines his light sabre on us again... Unfortuntely its Mike's last day, but we beg him to come back to help with guitars later on... He seems sad to leave us and decides to take us out on the town - Mikes Way. Firstly he takes us to 'No.5 Orange', The strip bar he frequented when he did the 'Yes' album...He is good friends with the sercuity and the waitresses for that matter...Its sorta strange 'cause they have a stage with a ladder and pole, plus about three big screens with constant sports ...talk about a turn-on???? We leave and Mike takes us to 'The Roxy' its one of those places with a big line of wannabe's outside wanting to hangout with 'cool' people...He knows the sercurity here as well and gets us in without ID...The clientelle remind me of some b-grade US frat movie. Its full of sports-jocks and drunken women who like sports-jocks...there is a covers band on stage doing some 'Rod Stewert' number....we head for the back bar...Mike buys us drinks, I accidently hit a guys beer and it spashes over his sweater...He taps me and says that I'm lucky he's not an asshole...I imagine him in a hockey mask and retreat without a word...The band finish and Mike takes us to meet the them. They seem nice and offer us beers... On the way out Mike makes sure to introduce us to Vic the bouncer and tells him to look after us if we come back. I imagine him in a hockey mask as well...scarey...

Sunday 20th June

Day Off Everyone felt pretty slow today after celebrating last nite Jon, Tom, Jules and I end up at Dennys for a greasy meal...heaps of hash browns, pancakes, bacon, sausages, eggs, HP sauce, Ketsup and fake maple syrup plus crap coffee to go with the onslaught of fat...Felt better [well, sorta worse actually] ...cant wait to go to sleep

Monday 21st June

We werent needed in the studio today as gggarth and the gang are in protool-mania

Tuesday 22nd - Wednesday 23rd June

Lots of Protool bollocks...we are not needed [being humans and all]. We find out that computers can be your friend and your enemy as well....just like in the Matthew Broderick movie 'Wargames', which was on last nite...

Thursday 24th June

GGGarth and Tom decide to go back into the loading bay to redo more songs....It ends up being worthwhile indeed and Tom rocks out new versions of 'Pacifier', 'Spacing' and 'Metal song'

Friday 25th June

This was the first day of bass tracking, I buy a star wars toy to mark the beginning of something wonderful...We finish the first evening after doing bass for 'Wait and see', My minds sedate', 'Sport and religion' and 'Pacifier'

Saturday 26th June

Day two, we have a little drum trouble...I eventually end up doing our new version of 'Spacing', 'Just like everybody else' [a b-side we did after 'Killjoy'] and then 'the Metal song'...YEEEEEEEHAAAAA

Sunday 27th June

Day off I like GGGarths idea of having Sunday's off...Just when you begin to lose focus...you get a day of rest

Monday 28th June

With seven songs done...I do another three today...'Thin white line', 'The general electric' and 'Life in cars'....things are running smoothly

Tuesday 29th June

The last day of Bass...I do 'Ozzie Ozborne' [now called 'Only time'] and 'I dont think so'...its beginning to be a tease...I wanted to finish yesterday, but alas I get to finish today which means that as from tomorrow I can go snowboarding if I want...now I have to sort out a board...

 Wednesday 30th June

Jon started his guitars with 'thin white line' and ran out of guitar strings, so Phil started on his brand of rock. Jon, Tom and I went out for dinner with GGGarths friend's Rebecca and Amelia, they take us to 'Gyoza King' which is now my favourite Japanese Restaurant in Vancouver..then Jon and Tom went to Fu's to sort out some loops for 'Wait and See' and 'Only Time'.

Thursday 1st July

CANADA DAY I got up early and hooked up with some friends [Hiedi, Cory and Jen] going to Grouse Mountain for joyous Canadian festivities...snowboarding, bands and beer in a cloud, amongst snow... We took the ferry to North Vancouver and then caught a bus to the 'Sky Ride' Gondola...Luckily enough we waivered the $17 fee and got our names on the door...Cory owns a snowboard company called 'Invasion' and he's doing a demo up the hill [this could be my free board connection]...I huff down a cigarette before I hop into the Gondola which disappears into the low cloud ...I must say at this point, that the summer over here only lasted a week and for the last couple of weeks its been grey and raining...so much for a tan...We get off just in time to see the first band...oh no, its 'Rymes with Orange'...I'm sure we had seen these guys before...oh, thats right...we played with them one New Years Eve at Pakiri Beach [North of Auckland]...I remember watching them the first time and wondering why the hell the promoter brought a covers band across to the other side of the world...I think I walked away when the started a cover of 'Relax' by Frankie Goes to Hollywood. They we're shit then and still are now... I knew that if I was going to survive this I would need to start drinking...it was starting to get cold... I spotted the singer from a band called 'Nickelback' who I had met at the studio...GGGarth produced their last album and they were becoming Canada's up'n'coming new guitar band...He offered me more beer from the First Aid tent....'Nickelback' came on and soothed my ears, then all of a sudden it started to pour down. I couldn't see the band 'cause there was a cloud in the way...I put up with it and decided to warm myself with a burger....It was quite a good burger too...add your own salad sort of deal ['Not from there' would of been proud]. Cory came back with bad news....No Snowboarding, the weather's completely packed in...the good news was that he got given lots of beer tickets....That was when I saw my first Wolf-hybrid...It looked like a German Sheperd, but was bigger and blacker and didn't look at you like a normal dog...It was scary [so was its owner] but I decided to go over and meet my first Wolf...He didn't seem to mind me until it saw another dog...then he howled for about 15 minutes...the owner fed it a huge chunk of raw meat which it devoured in one minute ...what a cool beast... We're cold and we're drunk, Cory's depressed and we decide to go back into town...We hop on the Gondola packed with fiesty, drunken Canadians and everyone attempts to rock the gondola...Then out of the blue they all start chanting..I feel left out 'cause I don't know the song and quickly realise they are singing the 'Canadian National Anthem'...we make it down in one piece...

Meanwhile back at the studio Phil apparently pisses GGGarth off by re-intonating his own guitar by ear and completely stuffs it up...he is demoted to using his Gibson 'Fire-engine' SG and not being allowed in the control room!...

Friday 2nd July

Phils last day of Guitars...I get an email from Pat [Grinspoon] and they're in town next week on the Vans Warped Tour and want to catch up...I'd hate to think what we'll get up to???