Still Alive and Well - Catchin' Up

Catchin' Up

Yes, I am still alive and well. I hope you and your family and friends are too.  The past year has been, well, it was. 

Like many musicians most of our shows were cancelled. We were fortunate to have booked a monthly date for a summer series Burgers & Blues at Pfeiffer Winery in Oregon.  The gig was outside with a large garden and grass lawn, with tables far apart so that everyone could stay safe while enjoying a night out listening to Blues.

The Pfeiffer Winery gig is one of my favorites because we get to play all Blues, with Bluesy Blues, Jump Blues, Blues-Rock and Soul Blues.  Selling out every show was awesome!  Another favorite gig was on the Front Lawn Stage outside at Mac's Restaurant and Lounge, another all Blues gig, with spacing outdoors so people could stay safe.   

Most of the other venues we perform at want more Rock with some rockin' Country and some Blues-Rock tossed.  Don't get me wrong, I dig playing Rock and some rockin' Country, I just love playing all Blues.

Them Changes

The Jimmy Haggard Band has gone through some changes over the past year. 

First, Chris Kliemann joined the band on keyboards (piano & organ).  Chris recently relocated to the Eugene Oregon area after many years in the Seattle Washington area, were he was officially recognized as one of the best Blues Keyboardists in the Seattle area.

Next, Doug Outt joined the band on bass. Doug has played in several bands in Oregon over the past 30 years. There are stories of lore and magic, when, once upon a time Doug was in a Los Angeles band that won a battle of the bands and was a regular on the Los Angeles club circuit. 

Finally, Martin P. Buckson joined the band on drums.  Martin was born and raised in Chicago Illinois.  He relocated to South Carolina in the early 80s.  While in South Carolina, Martin worked with several bands that toured the East Coast and South.  In 2004, Martin moved to Oregon where he continued to perform with bands in bars and casinos.

Recording

The studio is set up and ready to roll.  We've tossed around a few names for the studio, like Tool Shed Studio and Shed Studio.  We might decide on a name, or not.  Who knows.  

To iron out the kinks in the recording process, we started to record our rehearsal sessions to get the levels set, and to make sure everything is processing and recording the way it should.   We have everything setup with either a line-in or direct mic, with a separate track for everything. Each drum is individually mic'd with two overheads to pick up the cymbals. 

When we start to record the album material, probably in mid February 2021, we will lay down the rhythm and instrumental tracks with scratch vocal tracks.  For the rhythm and instrumental tracks, everything is going through a bank of 16 Midas pre-amps. 

Additional instrument tracks (leads and fills) will be recorded through either the Midas preamps are through Black Lion Audio Auteur pre-amps. 

The final vocal tracks will be recorded through a Focusrite ISA One pre-amp. The Focusrite ISA One pre-amp is based on the original Rupert Neve circuit developed for the ISA 110 module as commissioned by the famous AIR Studios.

For Gear Geeks

I've made some changes in the gear for my electric guitar setup. The first change was a switch to the Marshall Origin 20 head.  I cannot begin to explain how awesome the amp is, other than it does exactly what I want my amp head to do. 

A surprise addition to my pedal-board is a JOYO TaiChi pedal.  They say it was designed to emulate a Dumble Overdrive amp. I don't know if it does that because I have never played through a Dumble. What I do know is that the JOYO TaiChi pedal in conjunction with the Marshall Origin head creates a sound that I love.  What I hear is exactly what I wanted to hear.  

Sorry to say, but I rarely use my Ibanez TS808 anymore and I gave away my Ibanez TS-9.  

I still have the FX Engineering RAF Mirage Compressor that I use for a little extra boost and sustain. 

On top of that, the Marshall Origin has a foot pedal controlled overdrive that kicks everything into high gear for soaring leads.

Because the Marshall Origin head does not have reverb, I picked up an electro-harmonix Holy Grail pedal.  I run it on the spring setting with barely a touch of reverb. 

I still have my BBE Ben-Wah wah wah pedal and a NuX chorus pedal.

One last thing...  I traded gear with Chris Kliemann. He got me Hughes & Kettner RotoSphere (leslie emulator) and I got his Shure 55SH Series II vocal mic.  

Until next time...

Enjoy the Music! 

Jimmy