Of late I’ve been working on projects with a bunch of my friends, old and new. I’m excited to share some of it with you in the coming months. I continue to try and record a little something 4-5 times a week. I feel like doing this keeps me sharp and I occasionally stumble upon something really special. The EP, To Paul. will be out in the next couple months. Take care.
To Paul.
On June 25, 2021 I will release an EP dedicated to my recording partner and friend of 11 years, Paul Bodamer, who died August 27, 2020. Working closely with engineer Carl Burnitz, also a good friend of Paul’s, I put my own spin on 3 covers and wrote one original for the EP.
Paul
My heart is heavy these days. This past month I lost my good friend and collaborator Paul Bodamer. I have released a number of recordings over the past 11 years, and Paul has had his hand on most of them. From engineering, mixing, mastering, playing drums, singing backup, producing, or all of the above, he’s there. And even if he didn’t do one of those things, I probably asked his advice about a mix or what to do with a certain aspect of a song or recorded it with some of his equipment.
We talked weekly and if 2 or 3 days went by without texting it was odd. A lot of it was about music but there were also numerous conversations about our families, religion, politics, the state of the world, and a few stupid jokes thrown in there. He was always there to listen, especially recently when I lost my dad and my day job within days. He called me his brother.
Paul was a force in the studio and out. When I met him he had already established a great ear for mixing, but over the past couple of years he had also upped his mastering game. He loved UAD plugins but he also lived by the rule of “less is more” and to let the art and song speak for itself. He always got some of the best drum sounds out of such little gear. He read constantly, soaking up recording techniques and was always up for trying something new and not just doing it the same way because there were good results the previous time. We didn’t always see eye to eye on things, but as a good producer he always deferred to the artist. He may have fought for a certain mix or chord change or added part, but if I didn’t “feel it” he’d drop it. He loved people so he was always ready to jump on to the next project, and the studio “hang” was one of his favorite things.
A couple years ago I was at the studio with Carl on a Wednesday night listening back to a Willie Nelson cover I’d just recorded. I’d been in a writing rut so instead of not doing anything, I decided to do an EP of covers. Now, before Paul had small children, I’d be in the studio with him a good bit of the time, but for the past few years it’s been me and Carl in there with Paul popping in occasionally when he had the time. Or he’d come in later and mix/master the stuff we’d been working on. This particular night I think he’d just ran by to grab something to use at his house or something he’d left. He popped into the control room and said “What’s this?” I told him it was a Willie Nelson song and without skipping a beat quipped “So you’re singing it like Johnny Cash? Ha!” and was out the door. Well, that pissed me off for some reason and I decided not to work on that track anymore. That track was “Me and Paul” by Nelson. He never stuck around to hear the tag line at the ending of each verse. And I never told him I’d chosen it for him. I hope you get some rest my friend. I love you.
Above: Paul goofing off in the studio January 2020. It would be the last time we were in the studio together. We were working on my brother’s album.
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