In this monologue, the speaker recounts his journey from never using a click track to being forced to adopt one by producer Anthony Resta during a single recording session. An earlier album was recorded without a click, which the speaker admits sounded off. The forced click track session was initially a failure, prompting a pivotal realization that he needed to either improve or step aside. He then began collaborating with more experienced writers and producers, which elevated his and the band's musicianship, songwriting, and production skills. The resulting single garnered significant fan and industry attention, securing radio full‑rotation play and larger show bookings. The speaker concludes that consistently working with people who are better than you is essential for growth.
Chapters
I actually just had this conversation recently with somebody where, you know, the drummer of Red Crown who we work with, he was like, hey, when did you start playing to a Click track? And I said, oh, I got a good start on that. Like, I went in and started working with Anthony Resta because I remember going into the studio with you, Jim, for our. For that first record out of the Ashes, and we tried with like me playing to a click at first, and then you're like, fuck it, scrap it. Like, because I couldn't do it. Like, I just, I never played to a click. So I, like, I just wasn't there. And so we scrapped it. And that whole album is not to a click, and you can tell. And then we ended up going in with Anthony Resta for a single and he forced me to do it and I, I sucked. I was. It was trash. And that was like that pivotal moment where I was like, I got forced into doing it and I was like, okay, you know, I got to either elevate or, or fucking step, step aside. And so that was, that was the mentality on it. And I ended up elevating and obviously working with, you know, like someone from you then to Anthony Rusta. And that's where things started changing. We started working with people that were more experienced writers and producers to then help elevate us and get us to be better players, better songwriters and just better overall, you know, like producers ourselves. And so that was a big wake up call. And that was a pivotal moment for me personally and for the band because we had to elevate as a collective. And, you know, that song definitely did some, some work for us and changed it changed our, our perception of, like, what level we were at pretty much overnight once we released it. And a lot of there was, you know, massive, like fan attention from it, but then also industry attention. And we were starting to get picked up by radio stations and getting put on full rotation and getting offered bigger shows. So that was a big, pivotal moment, I'd say always working and elevating with somebody that's better than you are, you know, for sure.
