So... ever been moved to tears during a session?

jval · 24th July 2008, 06:46 AM

So here's a first for me. At the risk of sounding like a wuss....

Just finished a session with an indie rock band that I've worked with a lot.
I could tell right away that the lyrics were more personal this time and he was really giving it - I look through the window and he's just throwing his whole body into it. I had shivers while tracking a lot of it, and there was one point where I had to hold back tears. After they left I just closed my eyes, listened again, and actually had a few tears coming down. On two seperate songs, too.

It's rare to have a singer and a song that can convey that much emotion. It's times like these that I realize why I want to do this.

Any similar experiences?

JohnRodd · 24th July 2008, 06:48 AM

more than once I've misted up while an orchestra played a really emotional and beautiful cue for a movie score.

YZ! · 24th July 2008, 08:53 AM

Oh yes. quite a few times. and with wildly different music styles.

Karloff70 · 24th July 2008, 09:18 AM

One time comes to mind, where the artists where a couple and they had this tune with potent love lyrics (rare thing, I know). I was in a lifestage to be really receptive so got a little weteyed while tracking it. It was only a demo and their prospective publishing honcho was in the controlroom at the time. Shortly after they signed publishing with a £250000 advance (with no record out....yes, it was a little while ago). The guy out of the couple couldn't thank me enough, as he thought my reaction had clinched their deal.....should have asked for commission

SnakeCained · 24th July 2008, 10:01 AM

Only when I laugh

Volodia · 24th July 2008, 10:04 AM

Maybe I'm too sensitive but it happens quite often .

Especially when recording vocals .

Birdi · 24th July 2008, 10:56 AM

Once a client of mine booked a short notice session for a friend of his who had lost his wife to a very swift cancer. She was young and beautiful.
My clients friend was a singer, and came and recorded a song for her funeral , a song he had written for her while they were in the early part of their relationship. I had never met him before, he showed me a photo of her.

It was the most raw and emotionally honest performance I'v ever heard. It was somehow stunning and awful and beautiful at the same time. I gave up trying not to cry. My client who booked the session was inconsolable and wept uncontrolibly while I tracked the song.

They said nothing while I mixed the song and prepared CDs. Their silence was broken occasionally by more tears. This happened years ago, to this day I can still feel the sharp pain of that session. In some ways it was awe inspiring in so much as I saw a performance that was as close to pure emotion as you may ever see.

Bird

gurubuzz · 24th July 2008, 11:04 AM

TEARS OF JOY ...YES

has happened a few times.

A love song, writen by a 15 year old, that brought me to tears
then I found out the song was about her grandmother.

every time i listen to it now the water works start.

**Jules** · 24th July 2008, 11:42 AM

Several times..

On one occasion the singer didn't come back in the control room, he threw the cans off and went straight out for a long walk.. Everybody in the control room was stunned by the performance, I had tears rolling down my cheeks, it was obviously the take. It was about his ex girlfriend and he was still broken hearted..

On another occasion I was getting misty about a song and the (girl) singer was kinda laughing at me for it (although she thought it was sweet... she said there wasn't in fact anything sad in the song lyrics..) It was just the melody and vocal emotion (what I thought was 'tragic' emotion!) that was getting to me...

So I felt pretty silly.

Emotion is good right?

kosmokrator · 24th July 2008, 12:24 PM

yeah. While recording for a documentary about a family being teared apart and killed during the nazi regime..

and a second time while recording an 'advertisement' for a german jail-constructing-company. They were in a 'pitch' for some new jails in Saudi Arabia. They advertised all the 'improvements' they can apply where human rights are not that strictly enforced..

..Still waiting for the tears of joy..

joelpatterson · 24th July 2008, 02:12 PM

The one that always gets me is "Lo How a Rose Ere Blooming," it's got that really wrenching, supple melody that washes right through you. Sometimes.... I feel like there's huge reservoirs of emotion held in check by dikes and dams, all it would take is one little crevice and it'll flood and wash away everything in its path. There was a group of high school girls who were doing an a'capella "Turn Turn Turn," and that stuff always touches my hearstrings, stuff that takes me back to my childhood and makes me reflect on the passage of time and the cycling of generations, and my place in the whole swirl of life.

Drum9uy · 24th July 2008, 02:20 PM

Almost when the first time I finally carefully listened to my singer's lyrics on one particular song while tracking our band. And knowing that the song was about a real friend who lost their mom, makes me think about it more now every time we play that song.

soundsundergroun · 24th July 2008, 02:34 PM

I cry when someone brings a Crate in the studio.

Sigma · 24th July 2008, 02:34 PM

happened to me as an assitant there was a sax player who would eat italian hoagies with tons of onions and hot peppers before downbeat ..when i 'd go out to adjust the mics he 'd blow into the sax while i was fiddling with the close mic...always watered my eyes and stunk too

PJD3 · 24th July 2008, 02:38 PM

Not my story, but one that sticks out clearly in my head was a story told to me by a studio owner from Pompano Florida in the 80's. He recieved a call from a gentleman from Spain who booked a session and asked him to please pick him up at the airport. The Spanish man barely spoke during the time and had the engineer (owner) take him around the entire studio to unplug any AC power, signal cables and remove any tape from any machine that was not directly part of the recording. The Spanish man took out his guitar, asked for one mic to a single tape recorder and performed a guitar piece that the engineer described as the most poingnant, beautiful emotional performance that he had ever heard. After the performance, the guitarist asked to sit in the control room to hear back the entire performance. As they both listened back, the Spanish man wept deeply throughout the entire performance. The engineer claimed the room seemed to be charged with emotion that he never new. They wrapped up the session and without barley a word, the engineer drove the man back to the airport to wait for his plane going back to Spain. That was it. The engineer never heard anything back from the man, and never had a clue to the reasons why he and his studio were chosen, nor the source of inspiration of the guitar piece. So, another mysterious bewildering experience for an unsuspecting engineer. I had asked him what was the most memorable session he had ever done and I truly appreciate him telling me this one.

Phil Donovan

Karloff70 · 24th July 2008, 02:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sigma

happened to me as an assitant there was a sax player who would eat italian hoagies with tons of onions and hot peppers before downbeat ..when i 'd go out to adjust the mics he 'd blow into the sax while i was fiddling with the close mic...always watered my eyes and stunk too

Sounds emotional

Sigma · 24th July 2008, 02:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Karloff70

Sounds emotional

a good hoagie with quality lunch meats on great chewy bread that has olive oil drrizzeled on it..can make the hardest man cry..unfortunately all i got to "eat" was foul wind from the bell

Karloff70 · 24th July 2008, 02:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sigma

a good hoagie with quality lunch meats on great chewy bread that has olive oil drrizzeled on it..can make the hardest man cry..unfortunately all i got to "eat" was foul wind from the bell

Hmmm....bellwind.....lovely! No wonder you bawled.....

themaidsroom · 24th July 2008, 02:59 PM

doing vocal takes with anita o'day for "the nearness of you" - really feeling
86 years of life going into the take, being startled by the tears, happy to be there...

be well

- jack

dreamsongs · 24th July 2008, 03:18 PM

I cried last week when I had a new female vocalist come in and butcher my latest song...

But aside from that, I cry all the time with sad songs. I even cry on some commercials.

I guess I'm very sentimental...

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24th July 2008, 06:46 AM	#1
jval Gear addict Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Canada Posts: 363	So... ever been moved to tears during a session? So here's a first for me. At the risk of sounding like a wuss.... Just finished a session with an indie rock band that I've worked with a lot. I could tell right away that the lyrics were more personal this time and he was really giving it - I look through the window and he's just throwing his whole body into it. I had shivers while tracking a lot of it, and there was one point where I had to hold back tears. After they left I just closed my eyes, listened again, and actually had a few tears coming down. On two seperate songs, too. It's rare to have a singer and a song that can convey that much emotion. It's times like these that I realize why I want to do this. Any similar experiences?

24th July 2008, 06:48 AM	#2
JohnRodd Gear nut Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles sobre El Rio Porciuncula Posts: 139	more than once I've misted up while an orchestra played a really emotional and beautiful cue for a movie score. __________________ Scoring Mixer / Recording Engineer Los Angeles, California http://www.johnrodd.com

24th July 2008, 08:53 AM	#3
YZ! Gear addict Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 428	Oh yes. quite a few times. and with wildly different music styles. __________________ Regards, YZ

24th July 2008, 09:18 AM	#4
Karloff70 Lives for gear Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: london Posts: 1,738	One time comes to mind, where the artists where a couple and they had this tune with potent love lyrics (rare thing, I know). I was in a lifestage to be really receptive so got a little weteyed while tracking it. It was only a demo and their prospective publishing honcho was in the controlroom at the time. Shortly after they signed publishing with a £250000 advance (with no record out....yes, it was a little while ago). The guy out of the couple couldn't thank me enough, as he thought my reaction had clinched their deal.....should have asked for commission __________________ ...do things willingly or say no. psycho_monkey ...I remember when I first went from tape to digital, I thought, "Wow, the sound jumps around too much now... I need compression!" BOWIE

24th July 2008, 10:01 AM	#5
SnakeCained Lives for gear Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: LONDON Posts: 653	Only when I laugh

24th July 2008, 10:04 AM	#6
Volodia Lives for gear Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Paris Posts: 821	Maybe I'm too sensitive but it happens quite often . Especially when recording vocals . __________________ "Could anyone please post an A/B comparison of the 'pull the blanket of the speaker' effect?" Jamzone

24th July 2008, 10:56 AM	#7
Birdi Gear maniac Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 163	Once a client of mine booked a short notice session for a friend of his who had lost his wife to a very swift cancer. She was young and beautiful. My clients friend was a singer, and came and recorded a song for her funeral , a song he had written for her while they were in the early part of their relationship. I had never met him before, he showed me a photo of her. It was the most raw and emotionally honest performance I'v ever heard. It was somehow stunning and awful and beautiful at the same time. I gave up trying not to cry. My client who booked the session was inconsolable and wept uncontrolibly while I tracked the song. They said nothing while I mixed the song and prepared CDs. Their silence was broken occasionally by more tears. This happened years ago, to this day I can still feel the sharp pain of that session. In some ways it was awe inspiring in so much as I saw a performance that was as close to pure emotion as you may ever see. Bird

24th July 2008, 11:04 AM	#8
gurubuzz Lives for gear Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 779	TEARS OF JOY ...YES has happened a few times. A love song, writen by a 15 year old, that brought me to tears then I found out the song was about her grandmother. every time i listen to it now the water works start.

24th July 2008, 11:42 AM	#9
Jules Gearslutz.com admin Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: London, UK Posts: 13,310	Several times.. On one occasion the singer didn't come back in the control room, he threw the cans off and went straight out for a long walk.. Everybody in the control room was stunned by the performance, I had tears rolling down my cheeks, it was obviously the take. It was about his ex girlfriend and he was still broken hearted.. On another occasion I was getting misty about a song and the (girl) singer was kinda laughing at me for it (although she thought it was sweet... she said there wasn't in fact anything sad in the song lyrics..) It was just the melody and vocal emotion (what I thought was 'tragic' emotion!) that was getting to me... So I felt pretty silly. Emotion is good right? __________________ Jules http://twitter.com/ProJules

24th July 2008, 12:24 PM	#10
kosmokrator Lives for gear Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Berlin Posts: 537	yeah. While recording for a documentary about a family being teared apart and killed during the nazi regime.. and a second time while recording an 'advertisement' for a german jail-constructing-company. They were in a 'pitch' for some new jails in Saudi Arabia. They advertised all the 'improvements' they can apply where human rights are not that strictly enforced.. ..Still waiting for the tears of joy.. __________________ --- www.ml-audio.com

24th July 2008, 02:12 PM	#11
joelpatterson Lives for gear Join Date: May 2005 Location: Albany, New York Posts: 4,441	The one that always gets me is "Lo How a Rose Ere Blooming," it's got that really wrenching, supple melody that washes right through you. Sometimes.... I feel like there's huge reservoirs of emotion held in check by dikes and dams, all it would take is one little crevice and it'll flood and wash away everything in its path. There was a group of high school girls who were doing an a'capella "Turn Turn Turn," and that stuff always touches my hearstrings, stuff that takes me back to my childhood and makes me reflect on the passage of time and the cycling of generations, and my place in the whole swirl of life. __________________ Mountaintop Studios ~the peak of perfection~ Petersburgh NY 12138 mountaintop@taconic.net

24th July 2008, 02:20 PM	#12
Drum9uy Gear nut Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: near Boston Posts: 101	Almost when the first time I finally carefully listened to my singer's lyrics on one particular song while tracking our band. And knowing that the song was about a real friend who lost their mom, makes me think about it more now every time we play that song.

24th July 2008, 02:34 PM	#13
soundsundergroun Gear addict Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Ohio Posts: 417	I cry when someone brings a Crate in the studio.

24th July 2008, 02:34 PM	#14
Sigma Lives for gear Join Date: May 2006 Location: phallicdelphia Posts: 2,613	happened to me as an assitant there was a sax player who would eat italian hoagies with tons of onions and hot peppers before downbeat ..when i 'd go out to adjust the mics he 'd blow into the sax while i was fiddling with the close mic...always watered my eyes and stunk too __________________ I believe that we have to content ourselves with our imperfect knowledge and understanding and treat values and moral obligations as a purely human problem - the most important of all human problems"....alberta weintsein "The notes I handle no better than many pianists. But the pauses between the notes, ah, that is where the art resides." Artur Schnabel http://www.myspace.com/miketarsia http://miketarsia.com

24th July 2008, 02:38 PM	#15
PJD3 Gear Head Join Date: Jul 2005 Posts: 55	mystery guitarist from Spain Not my story, but one that sticks out clearly in my head was a story told to me by a studio owner from Pompano Florida in the 80's. He recieved a call from a gentleman from Spain who booked a session and asked him to please pick him up at the airport. The Spanish man barely spoke during the time and had the engineer (owner) take him around the entire studio to unplug any AC power, signal cables and remove any tape from any machine that was not directly part of the recording. The Spanish man took out his guitar, asked for one mic to a single tape recorder and performed a guitar piece that the engineer described as the most poingnant, beautiful emotional performance that he had ever heard. After the performance, the guitarist asked to sit in the control room to hear back the entire performance. As they both listened back, the Spanish man wept deeply throughout the entire performance. The engineer claimed the room seemed to be charged with emotion that he never new. They wrapped up the session and without barley a word, the engineer drove the man back to the airport to wait for his plane going back to Spain. That was it. The engineer never heard anything back from the man, and never had a clue to the reasons why he and his studio were chosen, nor the source of inspiration of the guitar piece. So, another mysterious bewildering experience for an unsuspecting engineer. I had asked him what was the most memorable session he had ever done and I truly appreciate him telling me this one. Phil Donovan

24th July 2008, 02:59 PM	#19
themaidsroom Lives for gear Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: nyc / london Posts: 2,934	doing vocal takes with anita o'day for "the nearness of you" - really feeling 86 years of life going into the take, being startled by the tears, happy to be there... be well - jack

24th July 2008, 03:18 PM	#20
dreamsongs Lives for gear Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: FL Posts: 1,418	I cried last week when I had a new female vocalist come in and butcher my latest song... But aside from that, I cry all the time with sad songs. I even cry on some commercials. I guess I'm very sentimental... __________________ Dreamsongs BMI Dreamsongs Productions Dreamsongs Publishing BMI Dreamsongs LLC " The dream don't come any closer on it's own, you have to go after it "

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