Rollin on

Day 18 in the studio working on the debut Jack Cade album 'The Fiery Road' and its now spring 2011, well as near as damn it, officially the first day of spring is tomorrow, but it certainly feels spring like.

I really can't believe we're up to day 18 already, judging by where we are i would guesses have another 7 to 10 days work still to go including the mixing. However the wait and hard work will have been well worth it judging by the results so far. Last week Andy Purcell added some great B3 and piano to 'Hanging on a thread' and today should see us finish of some guitars on 'The Fiery Road', 'Walk Away' and 'Unwind Your Love' before hopefully adding some Clarinet to 'Clouds a Rollin'.

So a busy day ahead, and to be honest I don't want to be hanging around replacing the same parts over and over, so time to knuckle down and play well cause times a rollin... Catch ya later Jack Cade


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The road goes ever on

Hi all, i played a short set on Friday 4th March 2011 at Deja Vu Bar in Reading along with Chris Beales, 'twas a good night and well attended. I love the sound they get at Deja Vu, so cheers to Rob Sowden, the stage and audience area are quite intimate too, which I like, it's a bit like playing in someones slightly oversized living room, well I guess to some it might seem normally sized, but then I live in a we terrace house :-)

The gig served as a great warm up for a weekend of recording, Saturday was spent adding guitar parts, in particular to 'clouds a rollin' which now has a great, slow, low and dark riff underlining it.

Sunday saw Andy Goodchild return to add some more drums and we now have tracks nearing completion ready for mix. I'm completely blown away by how good 'Hotter than the sun' is sounding as is 'Parkside Road'. Really need to find a good country fiddle player so if you know anyone out there who won't cost an arm and a leg send em my way.

Also in the studio this weekend was Andy Purcell laying down some cool organ and piano, it's early days but what he's doing really lifts the songs and takes them in new directions.

We'll be taking the next weekend off which will seem a little odd, I won't know what to do with myself, then we'll be right back on it next week, still aiming to be finished for the end of the month, fingers crossed... Catch ya later Jack Cade.

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Jack Cade album progress update

Hi all, Jack Cade here, its been a few days since I last posted, so here's an update. It was a long and late session in the studio last night, started at 1pm and finished at 1am, so feeling a little tired today.

The first half of yesterday was spent recording guitars and transferring over some recordings over to Pro Tools from Cubase. Definitely a good move as Cubase can't seem to cope with recording at 96kHz. ProTools breezes it.

Second half of the session was the most exciting as Phil Berry brought his 110 year old upright bass in to lay down tracks on 'the devils hand' and 'Clouds a rollin', the later includes a beautiful mid section bass riff. The sound Tom is getting from his purpose built studio is immense! We can't quite believe the quality of the natural sounds we're getting from the instruments, particularly the acoustics.

Unfortunately I'm away this weekend so can't keep going, which is a shame as I'm really in the mood to get on, hey ho, that's the way it goes. I'm looking forward to next week as Andy Purcell, my erstwhile compatriot is back in town and heading in to add some guitar riffery, piano and Hammond, he's a talented boy and has some great ideas to lay down. Will keep you up-to-date on process. Later Jack Cade

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Ben Cox-Smith slides on down the fiery road

Saturday 19 Feb saw Ben Cox-Smith join the Jack Cade ensemble to add some slide guitar to The Fiery Road. Ben uses a wooden bodied Dobro which generated some awesome tones in the studio. He initial laid down some parts on two songs 'Hotter than the sun' and 'The Devils Hand' both tracks are quite rhythmic and require space, Ben laid down so beautifully executed and sensitively expressed parts that have really lifted the songs. We then asked him to work on a new track he hadn't heard before 'Big Moe Hazy' taking the lead rather than adding texture. I have to say it was an inspired call on Tom's part as the resulting gutar track is brilliant and really makes the song shine.

Tomorrow we're all set for an early start laying down some more guitar and then in the afternoon adding some more drums... everything is really starting to come together now... exciting times...till next time Jack Cade.

Weekly update

Hi All, having spent last weekend in the studio (12-13 Feb) we've all taken a few days out this week to get our heads back together. This is the first time I've worked like this in a studio, its always been as part of a well rehearsed band, straight in and lay down the songs. Now being a solo artist, and mainly playing acoustic gigs for the last few years, I've noticed how mentally exhausting pulling together the songs and directing other musicians in the right direction can be. Tom Anderson, who is co- producing the album, has been invaluable when it comes to working out and suggesting parts for the songs, he's not only a great guitarist but has a firm handle on other stringed instruments and piano too!

This week has seen us take a few days break, but today we are running through and planning the rhythm sections for the last 6 songs ready to lay down more tracks at the weekend... That's all for now, catch you later Jack Cade


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A day of drums and bass

Sunday 13 Feb was a day for adding drums and bass to the three tracks 'Walk Away', 'The Room' and The Fiery Road' - All went well, the new studios live room sounds fantastic, particularly for the drums, great definition and a nice warm sound. The rest of this week and next week will be spent working on the remaining drums and bass parts, so time to knuckle down and finalise the compositions... I'll be updating during the week... till then have a great week JC

All day 'everyday sinner'

Saturday 12 was spent in the studio laying down guitars. Unfortunately it rather served to expose my ruff and fairly loose playing technique, you can get away with a fair bit live but when it's going down as a recording the ugly truth is there for all to see. Five hours later and I finally had one track down well enough to be happy with. Painful, very painful! (particularly for Tom who is co- producing the album) I would have stayed and added some more tracks but by that time my head felt well and truly battered, and I was due to play at Betties Blues that night.

Getting in front of a live audience was great, particularly getting to play some other songs and dust off a few old ones. Another good turnout for Betties and a very warm and appreciative audience made for a good night.

It's now Sunday and I'm heading back over to lay down some more guitar and hopefully some drums and bass, fingers crossed it goes better today... Catch you soon JC


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