Getting rid of bats and escaping to Waupaca, definitely helped me get back on track!

On Saturday, I returned to Willie Martinez’s recording studio to start recording, “Missin’ You. “ (You can read about the meaning of the song here.) I first recorded the acoustic guitar.

Allison Merten at Willie Martinez’s Recording Studio
Photo by Willie Martinez

After that was all set, I recorded the vocals.

Allison Merten at Willie Martinez’s Recording Studio
Photo by Willie Martinez

Of the whole recording process, the part that I have enjoyed the most so far has been recording the vocals and acoustic guitar. I have been singing since I was a little girl and have been playing acoustic guitar since I was 16. When I play my guitar or sing, I feel very emotionally connected to the song I am recording.

However, sometimes I struggle when I record the vocals or acoustic guitar because I record them separately, and I find that it feels weird just to sing and not play at the same time, or vice versa. When I sing and play guitar at the same time, I am not only emotionally connected to my songs, I also am physically connected to them. 🙂

Hence, that’s why when I was recording the vocals on Saturday, I had to leave the vocal booth to go play my acoustic guitar and sing a part of the song that I was struggling with. But after playing and singing that part, I “got it'” and returned to the booth to continue recording the vocals.

After I left the studio on Saturday, I felt good about the progress on my album (as opposed to being hard on myself about not being done with it yet as I usually do…), and spent the rest of the day Saturday and Sunday preparing for the studio on Monday.

To be honest, I had avoided going to the studio on weeknights because I remembered how exhausted I felt at the studio after a long day of work. However, I really want to finish my album, so I made myself record on Monday. Sometimes the things you want most aren’t easy, and you just have to accept the challenge or you will never achieve your goals.

Monday night, I recorded the electric guitar and drums for “That’s Life.” (You can read about the meaning of the song here.)

Monday at my daytime job was super intense…a 9 hour, high interaction day with no time to eat my peanut butter and jelly sandwich. 😦

After work, I returned home, ate my pb&j quickly, and traveled to Willie Martinez’s studio.

I always feel nervous recording electric guitar, which causes me to make mistakes, which causes me to be at the studio longer than I  intend to be.

I think I get nervous because I don’t feel as connected with the music on my Fender electric as on my Dean acoustic.  I write my songs with my Dean. I add other instruments later. I see my Dean as the foundation of my songs.

I write the parts for all the instruments in my songs, so when I hear the “finished” version of one of my songs, I have a hard time listening to it as a complete song. Instead, I hear  the song as separate parts mashed together.

Therefore, when I listen to the vocals and acoustic guitar while I am recording the drums or electric guitar, sometimes I have a really hard focusing on what I am playing.

On Monday night, I felt ready for the studio. I practiced on my Fender a bunch and I even practiced with my air guitar on the bus…I know, super nerdy! But I tried to be discreet! (Only a few people were sitting near me in the back of the bus 😉 )

I don’t know if it was because I was super tired from a long day at work or what, but I had a really hard time playing the electric guitar part in time (no matter how loud the metronome was!). I thought maybe I was nervous because I could see Willie (you think after going to his studio for over a year that I wouldn’t be nervous anymore!), so I actually turned my chair around and played the electric guitar part facing the wall (much to Willie’s amusement!) Whatever works I guess 😉

After finishing the electric guitar part, I recorded the drums for “That’s Life.”

Allison Merten at Willie Martinez’s Recording Studio
Photo by Willie Martinez

I left the studio that night looking like a zombie… But at least I can say that “That’s Life” is finished! That makes 7 finished songs!

I return to the studio this Saturday to record the vocals and acoustic guitar for “Temptation.”

I have chosen to only record vocals on the weekend because my voice is so shot at the end of a work day, it wouldn’t be a good idea to record on a week night.

I’m excited to return to the studio on Saturday, and I’m excited to be one step closer toward achieving my life-long dream: making my first album 🙂