source: unknown
taken from TBC myspace page on 4/4/08
What were some of the thoughts or intentions you went into this album with?
Paul Stacey: I wanted to make sure it was organic, and that we’d be going with more takes with everyone playing (at once). I think the Black Crowes have always done that but these days there’s lots of overdubs and fancy plug-ins that let you airbrush mistakes. We only did nominal fixes, like you used to be able to do on analog tape, on the odd note but only the tiniest amount of editing.
Given the high polish and computerized pitch control of most rock albums these days it’s refreshing to hear a band actually playing on a studio release.
Paul Stacey: What you’re hearing are actual performances from everybody on the day we recorded. When I listen to records today I don’t really believe them. It’s like magazines that tell you about celebrities where everything’s airbrushed and made up. For this kind of rock ’n’ roll, especially with the Black Crowes, what you hear should be what they are. Forget label worries and making singles for radio, I just wanted them to sound like the Black Crowes breathing and having fun and enjoying the way they play.
Did playing live with them help you when it came time to produce them?
We can’t go back and do Southern Harmony but we talked about how that album sounds very natural and how the band sounds like they’re enjoying themselves. I felt like after everything they’d been through it was important to come back to that feeling. The main reason I agreed to tour with them was to see how they worked together. Being on tour you really get to know people and earn their trust. They understood I wasn’t there to change what they do. I just wanted to capture them at their best. They’re all world-class players but to get 15-percent more from everybody takes a certain level of trust. When we got down to it they all gave that extra bit.
The minute I heard Warpaint I was struck by what a good match Luther and Adam are with this band.
As soon as I heard them all play together, I said, "This fits." I do get bored with people saying "organic" or "natural" but with the Black Crowes it needs to be. You don’t need to add any icing to what they are.
There’s an intrinsically primal thing about them that can’t be easy to capture in the studio.
If you apply what is now normal recording techniques, which is basically to smash everything together so it’s very in-your-face, you then have to mix the dynamics in with faders to make it sound like it’s lifting up or exploding. But with this band you don’t need to do that because they have their own internal dynamic. You have to keep everything as open as possibly to capture their real dynamics. That’s what you’re hearing on the record.We were very lucky to find this room at Allaire Studios. We used The Neve Room, and it’s not too splattery or echoey. It’s open but not too reverby so you don’t have to damp things down too much. It was kind of like everyone playing in a circle together. That place helped the atmosphere and general vibe of the record.It’s amazing how the actual physical space a record comes to life in carries over onto the tape.The room that we recorded in the desk is in the room with the band. It’s called a Studio With No Walls. The only way you can find out what you’ve recorded is to listen after you’ve recorded it. In a funny way, it’s kind of how the band is. Instead of being overly anal about a guitar or drum sound, we just had to get the mics up, make sure they were at the right level and then press record. I would wander around the room and make faces at people during a take. They were playing to me and whoever else was in the room. I’d be standing up, smiling at them, as if to say, "Come on, let’s have it!" Everybody could see each other and was communicating. That’s the spirit that was captured
