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Photography by Scott Hess

The Big Fuckup

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Check Out a Sample of The Sleaves' Music
Go to The Sleaves MySpace Page

Unfortunately for yours-truly the whole thing was not quite the fun-filled jaunt I had hoped for, and really it was all my own damn fault....



I really got myself in deep by deciding that this recording was important enough to warrant the construction of my very first full-on patch bay to control my entire setup. I did every single ounce of soldering myself and "finished" the bay literally the night before the gig. Well, that really didn't give me any time to test it, and what a jackass I was to think that it could posibly be without problems!



My soldering was all really solid and every contact worked, but there were some seriousrouting mixups that ultimately caused me to scrap the whole system, go back to plugging gear together directly, and even having to resolder some shit back together on-the-spot.



Those Sleaves dudes had a lot of down-time thanks to me, and I'm just glad they had a nice environment to chill out in.

Sadly I was really stressed out a lot of the time and didn't get to take all that in quite as much, though everyone (especially Nate and Tony) did their best to help me ground myself and live in the moment so that I could catch a little of the mojo.

Enter The Moustache

Go to Great Magnet Recording's Official Website
Check Out a Sample of The Sleaves' Music
Go to The Sleaves MySpace Page

Good friend and fellow recordist Tony SanFillippo hopped on that big ol' jet airliner to come to California and co-produce with me. Tony runs Oxide Lounge...a killer recording studio located in Bloomington Illinois...he brought with him some absolutely amazing gear and chops.



It was a week of bacchanalian musical debauchery, amazing recordings, and some killer R&R as well.

"Resort-Style" Recording?

Go to Great Magnet Recording's Official Website
Check Out a Sample of The Sleaves' Music
Go to The Sleaves MySpace Page


This was the basic tracking session for the first full-length L.P. from Great Magnet alums The Sleaves—a followup to their eponymous 2002 debut E.P. We recorded "remotely" at the gorgeous Cloudview Vineyards for Full Rockstar Jacket.

Cloudview is owned by Leighton and Linda Taylor, who have been making kickass Napa Valley vintages here since 1989. Their winery is on a beautiful piece of land overlooking the entire valley.

L&L are wonderful people who love good music, and were so kind as to host our Mötley Crue as we went about our business. Below are some pics of us at a great BBQ dinner they laid out for us on the first night of the project.