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Thurston Moore Live Session
Watch or Listen to the Thurston Moore Live session
Working as a KCRW recording engineer for Morning Becomes Eclectic gives Mario and I the opportunity to mix some of the best musicians in today's indie music scene. But every now and then, we work with an icon. Halloween 2007 was one of those times. Thurston Moore, of Sonic Youth returned to the basement with a solo project. He did bring along Sonic Youth colleague, Steve Shelley to play drums.
They were last here in 2004 with their
day job.
Thurston performed songs from his new solo album,
Trees Outside The Academy. This was an acoustic set with violin, 2 guitars, electric bass, and drums.
And considering it was halloween, Thurston and the band were in the spirit of the day. I chickened out.
One trend going on at present, is the desire to run acoustic guitar through a traditional guitar amp. We usually prefer using microphones for acoustic sessions to capture the full body of the guitar. The other option is the use of piezo or magnetic pickups
inside the guitar, which plug directly into the recording chain. There is one problem with that approach; NO AIR! No matter how good the pickup, a piezo or magnetic device inside the guitar never captures the full body resonance, usually resulting in a thin sound that is dominated by the strings. Running the guitar through an amplifier, and then mic'ing the amp puts a little air back into the sound. I'm kind of digging it, because in our tiny room, it also helps us keep the guitar isolated from the drums. That's what Thurston and fellow guitarist,
Chris Brokaw did today. It creates a sort of hybrid acoustic/electric sound. Check out the audio or video stream.
I'd be remiss if I didn't mention a last thing about this session. As an east coaster, I've been a fan of Sonic Youth since I was a young man in my 20's. (Yes, even I was once a young man) Smarter people than me say that it's never a good idea to meet your idols because you will often be disappointed. Nothing could be further from the truth when it comes to Thurston Moore. At the end of the day, while we were wrapping cables and closing up shop, I look over and see Thurston with rag in hand, cleaning the coffee and food area, and picking up stray papers off the floor. Tidying up after his band. Everyone else was gone. What a Mensch! Some of the young, budding superstars who visit our little studio could learn a thing or two from this guy.
Ray Guarna
KCRW Recording Engineer