Record Making and Grammy Chances

[Outcast4him]

What are the basics of Record making. Like what does the executive producer, producer, mixer, engineer etc...etc...

What do people here think Petra's chances are in getting the grammy.. I mean Audio Adrenaline surely isnt in the same caliper of petra.

Another question..Why does Unseen Power seem like it was recordered with more tremble then bass tone, or is it just me. I love the album but need to adjust the bass control more for that album

Godbless to all here

[superfly]

That's funny, I always thought that Unseen Power was mixed with the most bass of any Petra album, until Jekyll & Hyde.

I remember in an interview with Brown Bannister, he said the job of a record producer is similar to that of a movie director in that most of the responsibility of what the record sounds like as a whole rests on the producer. This could include (as we all know now) who plays on the album, song selection, how the vocals are done, song/album length, etc. I guess it really depends on the relationship between producer, record company, and band. I can tell after watching a bunch of VH1 specials that it seems that the more clout a band has, the more freedom they get in the studio. I'm sure there's someone else here that is more knowledgeable on this than me though. Good question/discussion to start. Later!

[executioner]

I think their chances are good for a Grammy, but it seems someone always comes out of the blue to win it. Anybody remember Third Day's comment in CCM when Double Take won instead of them. I quote "they should have retired years ago" unquote.
Anybody around here like Third Day? I personally think their music and lyrics are somewhat bland if you ask me.

Responding to the Unseen Power thing. I feel the bass sounds different from any other Petra recording; It has more of a metal feel to it. Unseen Power is not metal guitar wise, but it sure is when it comes to the bass and drums. I know alot of people around here think that On Fire! is metal or more metal than Unseen Power, but that simply is not the case. On Fire! is simply hard rock.

On the subject of producing. The only thing I know about it is that it takes being both a good listener and leader. Its a job that is alot harder than it looks. You have to love it to do it.

[lucianotaz]

I do not know if Third Day have made this unhappy commentary, but if they did it, they have commited a big mistake. In my opinion no one member of Third Day has better musicality of any Petra member in anytime, then they should walk, work for a long time to talk about Petra.

[BillDD]

I think third day's problem was that they made a record that was a huge success, both with the critics, and the fans, and Petra won because of name alone. Double take was a huge failure across the board, and a huge telling sign was that when it won, it didn't have a sales jump.

Also, Third day is a BAND, they actually play on their own records, and don't have to have a producer do everything for them in the studio.

If Petra wants to be taken seriously by fellow artists, they should try and play on their own records, instead of having studio players do it.

[Susannah]

I agree with executioner about Unseen Power. The bass and drums are definitely metal. I think that album probably has my favorite bass sound on it.

[Outcast4him]

I think third day's problem was that they made a record that was a huge success, both with the critics, and the fans, and Petra won because of name alone. Double take was a huge failure across the board, and a huge telling sign was that when it won, it didn't have a sales jump.

Also, Third day is a BAND, they actually play on their own records, and don't have to have a producer do everything for them in the studio.

If Petra wants to be taken seriously by fellow artists, they should try and play on their own records, instead of having studio players do it.

Bill, your a dweeb.

[Outcast4him]

I think their chances are good for a Grammy, but it seems someone always comes out of the blue to win it. Anybody remember Third Day's comment in CCM when Double Take won instead of them. I quote "they should have retired years ago" unquote.
Anybody around here like Third Day? I personally think their music and lyrics are somewhat bland if you ask me.

Is that an official statement. Thats pretty crappy for them to say. I like some stuff from them...However I like petra better.

[Michael]

Anybody around here like Third Day? I personally think their music and lyrics are somewhat bland if you ask me.

I think they tend to be pretty boring musically, with a few gleams of light from time to time. What people don't really understand about making hit records is that the performance by the musicians is only a small part of what goes into a hit recording. Just as important is the technical expertise of the producers and whoever does the mix; maybe most important of all, I'd say even more important than the musicianship of the players, is the composition of the lyrics and melody, and the actual arrangement (in most cases, to my understanding, the arrangement is in part up to the band members, although I don't know that this is the majority of cases). If the song does not have (1) a strong hook (some part of the music that sticks in your mind) that (2) happens early in the song and (3) is repeated often, but not too often, it doesn't matter if it's Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart on keys... people won't really care for it.

I'd like to see a statement from bands held up as shining examples of the band members playing on the CD that there is nothing on the album played by anyone who is not in the band. I doubt that there are very many bands at all who could make that claim.

[executioner]

The worship leader at my church has a small studio in his basement and does some small time producing for local bands, and I brought this comment up to him and from his experience the musicians(band members) lay the groundwork for the sound or vibe of a song, and most play and record the song, but it is the producers responsiblity to get the sound they are looking for, so the final product that hits the streets is most likely to have some studio musicians playing some important parts of songs that the producer or record company were not happy with. Very rarely are the actual band members in the total final product or in the studio for the last 30% of the creation. Also something else he brought up was that only in extreme cases does a band do everything live on stage. Most background vocals are recorded and also most percussion and keyboard sounds are not live. I would imagine that there are some guitar parts that Bob is not doing live, so he can stay consisent with the sound of JAH.

[Michael]

Now, it is my understanding that John does not care for using DAT tracks in live performance. That doesn't mean they're not doing it; it just means that if they are, I doubt that John is happy about it.

Really, JAH has such a stripped-down sound overall, they may not HAVE to use any backing tracks. And sometimes you can leave things out live that are on the CD; for example, I've seen live performances where there was no rhythm guitar during the bridge part (and there is rhythm guitar there on the CD) because the lone guitar player was soloing instead. I guess it would be up to a sharp-eared Pethead to listen close during a performance and give us a verdict... or maybe we could pay off a sound man.

[executioner]

Yeah I know. That has always been my belief also. I think if it is possible to do live than do it live, but I think it is also becoming very hard to find that type of artist anymore. In my opinion I would rather have a few mistakes here and there in a live show because than I know that they are actually playing and not some trax back at the sound board. It adds some much to the setting of the concert. I am liking more and more the small club type setting over the mid-to-large arena setting because of this fact.
I remember John Lawry talking one time how Petra has always strived to do everything live because thats what you are paying for.