Night Shifts Black (31 page)

“Really, man, you have
no idea…I mean…” he can’t even finish the sentence, and Luke claps him on the
back, completing the thought with another hug.

“I know, brother. I
do.”

Friday.

Casey actually sets an alarm Thursday night,
and we all agree to meet in the lobby at 8:30 the next morning to head to the
studio as early as possible. Apparently, the Label is shelling out a decent sum
to book it, although I suspect the band is so excited at the prospect of
recording again that they wouldn’t have needed any additional encouragement.

I have butterflies in
my own stomach as I get ready, and all I’ll be doing is watching. Their
equipment had been loaded and transported to the studio last night after they
finished their final rehearsal, so this morning it’s just a matter of getting
the artists to their canvas. TJ arranged for a vehicle to pick us up, and we
all pile into a large SUV.

“You ready?” Casey
asks, once we’re comfortable in the car.

“Me? Are you ready?” I
ask with a smile.

He shrugs, but I can
see his excitement mounting.

“Hard to believe this
is happening,” he replies, and Eli and Sweeny nod in agreement.

We all instinctively
cast a glance at Luke, but he’s staring out the window. I can’t tell if he’s
paying attention to us or not, and can only imagine what’s going through his head
at the moment. I reach over and squeeze his hand, drawing a startled look. He
returns my smile, and I let go. Casey puts his arm around me, and I lean
against him, completely content for one of the first times in my life.

Sweeny and Eli chatter
most of the way to the studio, but Casey and Luke are lost in their own heads.
I can see it in the way they stare off, vacant, but only because they’re
focused on something no one else can see. They seem content too, however, and I
let myself relax for once.

We arrive at the
studio, and I’m surprised by the underwhelming exterior of the building. I’ve
passed this storefront before, many times actually, but I had no idea what
magic it contained. We pile out of the car and move inside.

A middle-aged man
stops his conversation with a woman behind a reception desk, and his face
ignites. He rushes toward us with a huge smile, hand out-stretched.

“Hey, guys! Glad you
could make it!”

“Julian,” Casey greets,
taking his hand first.

“Julian” then moves to
the rest of them, but hesitates when he reaches Luke.

“Luke, good to see
you, man,” he says, and I can tell his emotion is genuine.

“Good to be back,”
Luke replies, but I’m not as sure about his.

“Julian, this is
Callie,” Casey introduces, and Julian smiles a greeting and takes my hand.

“Callie, nice to meet
you.”

“She’s one of the
writers,” Casey explains, and Julian’s expression changes, clearly impressed.

“Really? Well, glad
you could make it,” he says, and I’m sure I’m glowing. I can’t even begin to
believe this is happening. Julian turns and starts heading toward a hallway
behind the reception desk. “Ok, well, Jon is ready for you. I’ve got the lounge
stocked, but let me know if there’s anything else you need. Michel is overseas
and couldn’t make it today, but Jon will take good care of you.”

“We worked with Jon on
‘Collide,’ didn’t we?” Sweeny asks.

Casey nods. “Yeah,
that was it. Cool guy.”

I try to listen to
their conversation as we shuffle through the building, but I’m more interested
in everything else around me. It’s nothing like I’ve ever seen before. Definitely
not the type of environment I’m accustomed to, and I’m not sure how to describe
this place except “vibe-y.” There’s mood everywhere, art, color, lighting, and
I can feel the “coolness” seeping into me the further we venture into the
building and absorb the artistic aura.

I notice a few frames
containing gold records on the walls in the hallway, and am surprised by some
of the well-known artists I see listed. I’m sure there must be one or more of
these for Night Shifts Black somewhere, and wonder which studio gets to display
those.

“That’s the lounge,”
Casey explains as we pass a room of couches. There’s even a couple pool tables
and very inviting wet bar. “It’s going to be a long day, so feel free to hang
out here whenever you want.”

 
I nod, loving the lounge’s calming and
modern décor. The room appears to be encased by a short wall of pebbles, and I
realize there’s a trickle of water moving over the rocks. It looks like a place
where an artist would want to relax and be artistic.

We continue on to what
they call the control room, and this one looks more like the “command central”
I expected. I feel like I’m entering a spaceship cockpit as we suddenly face a
giant console with countless knobs, faders, and buttons. I glance at the walls
and ceiling, which are covered with the foamy-looking geometric art I’d seen in
other places throughout the building.

“Those are diffusers,”
Casey explains, following my gaze. “For controlling sound.”

I nod and stare past
the console through a window into another room. It’s a gorgeous space made up
of shiny wood and glass, and I can see a line of doors leading to smaller rooms
beyond.

“And that’s the tracking
room,” he says.

“That’s where you
actually play?” I ask, and he nods.

“Yup.”

“Why are there other
rooms?”

Casey grins as though
he’s giving me a tour of his childhood home. “Well, that’s the main tracking room
there, and then those are iso booths.”

“Iso booths?”

“Yeah, so people like
Sweeny can lock themselves in with their cabs and blow their eardrums out
without killing anyone.”

“I heard that!” Sweeny
grunts.

“Am I wrong?” Casey returns,
and Sweeny makes a face.

“And what are those
little walls? They look portable.”

“Those are baffles.
They’re on wheels and help absorb the sound,” another man interjects. He must
be Jon. “Hey, guys. Good to see you again.”

They all shake hands
and conduct their greetings.

“This is Carl. He’ll
be assisting me today. So what’s the plan?” Jon asks, and I’m not surprised
when he addresses Casey before anyone else.

“Well, we want to
track the entire song, if possible, so we’d like to get started right away.”

Jon nods. “Great. Your
stuff is already in there and ready for you. Get setup and we can start laying
down the scratch. Who’s up?”

“Casey’s going to play
keys with my vocal,” Luke says.

“No acoustic?”

“Nah, just keys,”
Casey confirms.

Jon seems satisfied
and moves toward the console. “Ok, great. You guys can get setup in the main room
and the rest of you can hang out.”

“I’m grabbing some
coffee,” Eli announces. “You coming?” he says to Sweeny who agrees.

“What about you,
Callie?”

I shake my head. “I
want to watch,” I respond, to no one’s surprise.

“First time in a studio?”
Jon asks after we’re alone.

“Pretty obvious, huh,”
I answer, and he glances at me before turning back to his work. His smile isn’t
condescending, however, and I decide I like him.

“Yeah, but it’s ok.
I’ll take genuine interest over whiny arm candy any day.”

I laugh. “Well, I can
promise you, there will be no whining from this arm candy.”

“Casey said you’re one
of the writers.”

I nod. “Yeah, it’s kind
of a long story.”

“Well, it’s definitely
got to be a good one to get your name in the credits with Casey Barrett and
Luke Craven.”

I shrug. I hadn’t even
thought of that. “Yeah, no kidding. They’re pretty much the most talented
people I’ve ever met.”

It’s his turn to
laugh. “I could probably say that, too, and I’ve met a lot of talented people,
believe me. It was a sad day for all of us when Luke Craven walked away from
music. Seeing him back in a studio…man, you have no idea.”

Actually, I think I
have a pretty good idea, but there’s no way I’m getting into that. Right now, that’s
a story for only three people.

“I promise not to
bother you once we start, but for now, can you explain what’s happening?”

Jon doesn’t seem to
mind my questions and continues working on his console as he talks.

“Sure. We’re going to
start by laying down a scratch track, which is basically just a rough
run-through of the entire song.”

“With just Luke and
Casey?”

He nods. “Yeah, not
the full band. Just keys and vocals. The scratch isn’t part of the actual
recording. We just use it as a guide for them to play along to when we’re
tracking their parts. After the scratch, we’ll get Casey’s drums, then lay down
the bass so we can lock it in with the kick. Then guitars, synths, and finally
vocals. We won’t get to mix and master today, though.”

My eyes widen as I
absorb everything. “So wait, they don’t actually play together at any point?”

He shakes his head.
“No, not today. We’re going to track separately. Then after all of that we’ll
mix and master everything to polish it up as the final version of the track.”

“Wow.”

I stare through the
glass and see Casey fooling around with a keyboard, although this one is much
bigger than the one in our suite and actually looks like a piano. Luke is standing
in front of a microphone, and Carl is hovering nearby, waiting for
instructions. They all have large headphones over their ears.

“How’s it going?” Jon
says into a short microphone on his console.

The guys look up from
their place behind the glass and signal him.

“We’re ready,” Luke
replies into his mic.

“Ok, let’s get a quick
sound check. Casey, I’ve got you going through a DI so we just have to check
the gain. Give me something.”

Casey gives him a
thumbs up and starts playing. We can hear the piano, but also a heavy buzz, and
Jon holds up his hand.

“Ok, hang on. Carl,
I’m getting a hum. Can you flip the ground switch on the box?”

Carl jumps into action
and makes an adjustment to the little metal box on the floor by Casey’s
keyboard.

“Ok, play again,
Casey…Ok, great. Luke?”

Luke leans toward the
mic. “Check 1, 2…hey hey 1, 2.”

“Ok, good. You guys
hear each other and the click, ok?”

“Yeah, we’re good.”

“Great. Alright,
whenever you’re ready!”

Casey counts off and
starts to play.

I’m not sure I
actually breathe the entire time they’re recording. Even though I’ve heard the
song countless times now, it’s different for some reason. Maybe it’s because
they’re different. Casey and Luke have an energy, an aura, to their music I
hadn’t heard before. It’s beautiful, and I have to keep reminding myself to
re-oxygenate.

I think the recording
sounds great when they finish, but after listening back, Casey and Jon both
agree they have to run it again because of something that was happening on the
“turns.” They do, and this time, seem more optimistic after the take.

Luke and Casey give
each other a congratulatory punch, and Jon leans into his talkback mic.

“Ok, I think we got it.
Come on in to listen back, and if you’re happy, we’ll get Casey’s kit setup to
track the drums next. Carl, I’m going to want 421’s on the toms and throw up a
couple 81’s for the overheads. I need the room mics back in place for the kit,
too.”

Luke and Casey join us
in the control room, and I rise to greet them. I expected Casey to be euphoric
with excitement, but instead he seems serious, contemplative. He still has
enough playfulness to give me a quick kiss that I treasure, however.

“So what’d you think?”
he asks.

I shake my head. “It’s
amazing. I had no idea.”

“We haven’t really
even started yet,” he chuckles. “Let’s hear it,” he says to Jon. The engineer
plays back the recording, and all three of them have a stern look on their faces
as they listen.

“Yeah, it’s good,”
Luke says in approval at the conclusion of the song.

Jon nods. “I agree.
Ok, Casey. Let’s get you going.”

Casey nods, and gives
me an apologetic smile before retreating back to the tracking room.

“Luke, you can take a
breather. We’ve got a while until we need you again.”

Luke smiles. “Thanks.
I’ll stick around for a bit.”

He slings his arm
around me and gives me quick hug.

“Good to be back?” I
ask, looking up at him.

He nods. “Yeah. I’m
not gonna lie, I was nervous. But, yeah, it’s pretty great. I missed this.”

“You sound great,” I
say, squeezing him back.

“Yeah? Thanks. That
wasn’t the real vocal though.”

“Oh, right. You don’t
use that one for the final version.”

“Exactly.”