There’s nothing quite like the magic of playing live music. It’s an incredible energy, to be sharing vibrations and trading waves back and forth. Jamming together, feeding ideas off of one another, soaking up unique, unexpected moments. It’s the thing I’ve been missing most since quarantine began, more than handshakes and hugs.
My Howl at the Moon bandmates and I have all been finding different ways of making music in isolation. It’s been an interesting creative time for us, between practicing, writing, recording, and live streaming. We were catching up on a Zoom call when Tim had the idea to work up some tunes and make a few music videos. I’ve never really been motivated to produce cover songs, but I missed playing with my friends, and I realized it was the perfect opportunity to experiment with recording acoustic drums. If I don’t learn during lockdown, when I have literally all the time in the world, I probably never will. So I ordered a bunch of microphones and, after a week of COVID-related shipping delays, got to work.
“Adore You” was in many ways a perfect song for this project. It’s simple, but the parts lock together in a really satisfying way. It’s modern but groovy, with just enough room for us to spice up with solos and extra vocal harmonies. None of us had played it in real life, but it was the type of song that would suit our strengths in the club, and popular enough to work online. I think I listened to it at least four hundred times through recording, mixing, and editing the video, but I didn’t really get sick of it. Okay; I got a little sick of it – but only a little.
All in all, it took us about six weeks to put this together. We learned a lot along the way; recording our parts, plus the puzzle of communicating online and organizing files. I also used DaVinci Resolve for the first time and had a blast with that. It was a lot of work, but also a lot of fun. Not exactly a substitute for playing live, but a nice way to be musical together, apart.
Enjoy our first Howl at Home quarantune below, and stay tuned for the next one coming soon. KM