from start to finish

Calibrating to the Studio

Recording our first album was a huge learning process, every step of the way. Our eyes were opened to how much effort, care, and decision-making goes into even preparing to record (ie song maps, demos, fixing up instruments, and learning to play to a click, eek!)

Once we got into the studio, the first step was to create scratch tracks, the bones of a song that we would listen to while recording but not actually a track that would be included in the final. As musicians who thrive on the energy of live performances, it was a huge shift for us to build our songs in the studio layer by layer, often playing alone while listening to the scratch track and a click.

Another challenge we faced was that the vision we had for our new songs included a full band, but at the time of recording, it was just the two of us and all the instruments we (mostly Craig) could play.

Things got especially entertaining when it was time to lay down the bass track. Craig had salvaged his bass from the trash and in refurbishing it apparently neglected to ground the electronics. This resulted in some considerable feedback in the studio. Obviously, a no-go. Turns out, the solution was simple: as long as someone was touching the metal bridge, the feedback would go away. Aubrey’s attention span was challenged but they prevailed. For the following recording session, Craig fashioned a neck strap made from some heavy gauge wire and the problem was again (albeit uncomfortably) resolved.

After the bass came banjo, guitar, and mandolin, followed by synth and auxiliary percussion. The vocals were the last to come.

Then came the process of selecting the best tracks and finalizing initial edits – including the removal of a daggone click that somehow plagued us to the bitter end. Finally, two months after starting the recording, it was time to send files off to John King for mixing and mastering.

With the final high-res files in hand, we turned our attention to learning the “game” of music distribution. Aubrey created and designed our album art, we picked a distribution platform, made a release plan, pitched to streaming service playlists, printed artwork, drop cards and CD’s, pitched to radio stations and reporters, and alerted all our bff’s on socials. And just like that, it was done!

Through the whole thing, the RealGrey team was such a help. Anya (van Rose) was instrumental in helping us wrap our heads around the distribution process. Ron Flack and Adam McCloskey were rock star sound engineers, and as already mentioned, John King did a fabulous job with the mixing and mastering.

Album successes

In the first month since its release, Carried Along had some great wins. “Eclipse” was selected by two editorial playlists on Spotify - NewGrass and Instrumental Bluegrass - and gained over 10,000 streams. Our monthly listener count reached over 6,000. We’ve gotten some media interviews and booked a full calendar, including some stages like the Rialto in Akron and our first festival, the Central Ohio Folk Festival in Columbus.

Sometimes we look at each other and wonder, how in the world is this happening? Amidst juggling full time parenting responsibilities, jobs, community work, etc, etc, etc, our lifetime goals of writing, recording and releasing our own music is becoming reality.

Around the bend

We are now wrapping up the mixing of our second album, an LP, to be released in late spring 2025.