Remote recording in New Folsom Prison

[henryrobinett]

I'm excited. This month I'm recording what will be a double CD in New Folsom Prison. This is the work of an inmate, a lifer, who has written a wonderful work on the life of Jesus. Now before anyone gets all upset, this is being funded privately by a church and any proceeds in profit will go to a victims rights organization.

That said most of this month I'm going in with my powerbook, Metric Halo, mics -- thankfully they have the stands, phones, cables and a bunch of guys to set up/tear down.

And it's very cool. So this is a different take on remote recording! I just finished the second day and it's very, very good!

[bishopthomas]

That sounds like a fantastic experience. Do you know what kind of location you'll be recording in? I hope they let you take pictures.

[rumleymusic]

Can a Peluso be used as a weapon?

What kind of work is it? Music? Spoken?

[henryrobinett]

They definitely will NOT let me take pictures. We're recording in a little room devoted to the arts-in-corrections classes.

[iluvatar]

I'd be interested to know what sort of security procedures you'll have to go through with all of your gear. Will they expect to disassemble any of your gear to see whether or not you're smuggling contraband?

-Dan.

[bcgood]

Originally Posted by henryrobinett

I'm excited. This month I'm recording what will be a double CD in New Folsom Prison. This is the work of an inmate, a lifer, who has written a wonderful work on the life of Jesus. Now before anyone gets all upset, this is being funded privately by a church and any proceeds in profit will go to a victims rights organization.

That said most of this month I'm going in with my powerbook, Metric Halo, mics -- thankfully they have the stands, phones, cables and a bunch of guys to set up/tear down.

And it's very cool. So this is a different take on remote recording! I just finished the second day and it's very, very good!

Wow, that's really cool Henry. I would love to hear it when you're finished. Put the R84 to good use!

[henryrobinett]

Originally Posted by bcgood

Wow, that's really cool Henry. I would love to hear it when you're finished. Put the R84 to good use!

Great picture. That's the place next door. I teach THERE most Sundays. That's a little bit cleaner, but otherwise looks EXACTLY the same!

Well I'm not bringing the AEA84, but I am bringing a Peluso R-14 ribbon, two Peluso P12s and two AT4050s. They have a bunch of dynamics.

Unfortunately we can't use a drum set. Volume. These guys are very accustomed to using headphones. So they have a Roland V-Drum thingy. AND unfortunately only two tracks, rather outputs, which have to be set up prior carefully. I tried to set up a Fastlane midi interface to record midi data to later trigger Battery or other sounds. But didn't work without precious troubleshooting time that wasn't available. I'll try to figure out what the problem is before the next session on Wednesday.

But the writer is a very gifted acoustic guitarist. His speciality is 12 string. The P12 sounds great. We have another great guitarist coming in from the outside, who teaches there, to play some. Friday he's bringing his Collings and a mandolin.

5 string bass, DI also sounds great. We're tracking basics, then other acoustic guitars, then electric guitars, then choir, lead vocals, percussion, minimal keys.

[henryrobinett]

Originally Posted by iluvatar

I'd be interested to know what sort of security procedures you'll have to go through with all of your gear. Will they expect to disassemble any of your gear to see whether or not you're smuggling contraband?

-Dan.

I'm lucky in that they know my supervisor very well and know me pretty well. I have a long track record there. My ID goes back to '92. That said it'd probably be even tighter if I were completely unknown. There's a list of ALL items that has been approved by the captain and the warden. It's been a long process -- almost two years to get this approval. Obviously no tools, screw drivers, or sharp objects. The computer was a real PITA. No cell phones or even iPods.

In order to take anything in OR OUT they have to be on this list. No guitar strings.

They haven't asked to disassemble anything, and that's highly unlikely, but anything is possible if there's reason for suspicion. Security is tight. But because I have a warden/captain approved list so far they just look in the bags. I'm hoping that the more days we do this the easier it goes, but each day may have different officers, and each officer decides how to proceed.

I keep a lot of stuff there -- mics, headphone extensions and my phones. But I take my interface and computer.

[bcgood]

That's really cool that you do this Henry. A really good family friend has a ministry there. His name is Mike Kelley. I wonder if you've ever met him. He's been teaching the guys meditation and Bible study for a long time now but I'm sure it's a big place.

That's funny that the photo fit so well with where you're actually doing this, random...

[boojum]

Looks like a good deal all around. Everyone will benefit, right down to the victims and victims families. And everyone will get to walk away feeling good about what they have done.

I wish you well with the project. Service work is fun.

Cheers

[klaukholm]

I am happy to hear you are doing this!

I used to play in a prison with my big band in the early 90s.
In many ways that audience appreciated music more than most.

I hope things go well!
Maybe we can get a little sample here once the project is finished?

[Remoteness]

Henry, I'm proud of you!

This is an awesome thing you are doing.

[iluvatar]

Originally Posted by henryrobinett

The computer was a real PITA. No cell phones or even iPods.

Interesting. Why such a lockdown on those? Would a dedicated recorder have been easier to get through? I understand the need to monitor and restrict communications, but I'd think something like a cable or mic stand would pose a greater security hazard since it can be easily used as a weapon.

-Dan.

[henryrobinett]

Originally Posted by iluvatar

Interesting. Why such a lockdown on those? Would a dedicated recorder have been easier to get through? I understand the need to monitor and restrict communications, but I'd think something like a cable or mic stand would pose a greater security hazard since it can be easily used as a weapon.

-Dan.

The communications -- modem. They are concerned about inmates being able to communicate to the outside world un-monitored. I had to promise it will not be left and unattended. I also disabled the modem. Who uses that thing anyway?

Cables and mic stands are no problem. They have many of those!

A dedicated recorded would have been easier. I did a not too dissimilar project there in '95 with a couple of Adats. But that was actually much different from a conceptional stand point.

[henryrobinett]

Originally Posted by Remoteness

Henry, I'm proud of you!

This is an awesome thing you are doing.

Thanks Steve!

[henryrobinett]

Originally Posted by klaukholm

I am happy to hear you are doing this!

I used to play in a prison with my big band in the early 90s.
In many ways that audience appreciated music more than most.

I hope things go well!
Maybe we can get a little sample here once the project is finished?

Thanks! I hope to be able to put a little snippet here and there when it's finished!

[bogeyeater]

I've done a lot of prison work Henry - security is the backstop for everything. comms and media storage (esp removable) are out. they won't allow guitar strings because they can be used as a garotte. odd really - you can kill someone with a bic biro if you know what you're doing and there are always disposable razors in the unit cells. plenty of possible weapons.

fun fact: you can ligature yourself off a a chair or 2 foot high bedframe using your own bodyweight to shut off the oxygen supply to the brain via the lig - one of the commonest methods of prison suicide.

One of the difficulties i've noticed, particularly with longer term inmates, is the tendency to 'shut down' in order to survive. perversely, with all that time on your hands, with all your individuality taken away from you, you might think that something would flourish - i've seen it the other way though, with people finding it extraordinarily hard to access their creativity while incarcerated.

good work Henry...can't wait to hear it -

[henryrobinett]

Yes! That's why I was heartened to learn my computer and hard drives were approved!

I've taught guitar there on and off since "92. Yes, I know why strings are a big security issue. But it's not only that they can be used as a garrote. They are used mainly to make tattoos! And tattoos are illegal because prisoners are considered STATE PROPERTY, and tattooing is considered defacing state property.

They used to get an old cassette player, attach a guitar string to the motor with an ink pen.

This was a great day. We finished the basics.