Boxcar Sound Recording Studio 468 Cumberland Avenue
I’m back with another Boxcar adventure! Read my previous installments of the Ghosts of Memphis chronicle.
The banjo is a tricky instrument; that’s the lesson of the day. I learned this through yet another visit to Boxcar Sound Recording Studio for Part Five of our chronicle of the new Ghosts of Memphis album. As always, producer Matt Montour was hard at work with musicians Trevor Howard and Gerry Finn. The task for the day was to record Gerry’s banjo parts for “J’Entend Ton Coeur”. There were three, count ‘em, three, banjos that passed through the studio during the six hours I spent there, but when Gerry tried out the winner, we knew it was the one.
Seeing and hearing that much banjo, I officially declared this session, “Banjo-palooza”. I realize I’ve used the –palooza suffix already (ie. Gourd-palooza) but as Carly and I have noted, you add that baby to anything, and it’s a party. All of that banjo also inspired the band’s new motto: “‘Joes before hoes”. I dig it.
While they got off to a slow start due to banjo troubles, there was no stopping Gerry once he found a banjo that worked – he nailed every take and made the instrument look so easy to play. Matt even looked up other banjo-laden tracks to listen to for inspiration. It was another fun session where I got to hang out and watch the boys at work.
The sound of the banjo is definitely now burned into my brain – I gained a new appreciation for the instrument and the day truly was a Banjo-palooza.
– Kristin
