Pela’s Studio Blog

Well…..

We have made it through the first stage of recording. All of us are back in New York after three weeks in LA. We will return to the studio next Tuesday and Wednesday, mostly to record horns and strings. Then we will have a couple of days off till we start our final 14 day stretch to finish the album. During all of our days off we will be reviewing the rough mixes, recording at my house, and doing everything in our power to make the record as good as we can.

All of us feel more than positive about what we accomplished in LA. There is still a tremendous amount of work to do, but this is the work we live for.

Enjoy your Thanksgiving everyone…. We will be signing off for a day or two.

XOXO – Pela
Eric

.

For all of our Balkan loving fans, and anyone else who speaks Croatian, this video is for you.
Tomislav in Croatian, responding to how life in the Studio is, with Pela.

-early a.m. B. Entry-

I’m looking at Eric sleeping.He looks funny without his glasses.I woke up at 5am this morning.Today is my first official day off in 17 days.Sometimes when i drink too much, it makes me wake up in the middle of the night.We sure tied one on last night.Dan kicked me out of the vocal booth at some point.I was too sloppy.My vocal take was pretty much a nosedive.

Nate was drunkenly playing our new song “East Los Angeles” on piano and i guess i was too buzzed to sing well.

Good call Dan.

I think we all knew we could cut loose last night because of our hard earned day off today.So here i am.The guys drank a 30 pack between 3 of them (i was enjoying cocktails) I always laugh when they say “what the hell is this? We drank a WHOLE case?”
Really funny…then someone mentions taco’s or popcorn and it gets pretty National Geographic real quick.I also realized i smoked a pack and a half of cigarettes which isn’t feeling to nice right now.

All in all we realize we are doing something special and larger than our individual selves.I’ve listened to the record 6 times today and its not even 8 in the morning yet.It is safe to say we are way, way immersed in this right now.I am not returning calls and have noticed i haven’t been carrying my phone with me.On several occasions i have forgotten what day it is, and time is odd in a room with no windows.

I strolled out of the hotel looking for food and coffee.. and found myself at a golf course. (Not looking too sporty i might add on 4/12 hours of sleep) I was not aware golf was an early morning sport and there i sat in my army jacket, rocking back and forth at the table outside singing to myself, with my 10 year old disc man chain smoking. The golf sweater people must’ve thought i was pretty odd.

I’m racking my brain trying to write lyrics for 2 songs I have written since we’ve been here.Its not coming too easy. Just so much going on mentally. Its very crowded in there i guess. We are totally consumed at all times and there aren’t too many moments someone is not sitting next to you or chatting or playing instruments, snoring, singing, talking on a cell phone etc etc ect….Pretty weird after 170 hours or something. I’ll admit I felt irritable to the point of feeling empty yesterday. Some of the themes in this record are very personal and unpleasant. The business of bringing songs to fruition is all of our job. But the lyrics/songwriting is my contribution and it makes me more introspective than id like to be at times. I think i have 4 days left for these lyrics….so ill be in outer space for a bit.

Maybe this explains the heroic drinking that took place….ugh.. last night. I see signs of fatigue on all of us. Even Dan Long who is co-producing the record seems a little edgy.

Eric and i are staying at a cheap hotel.But Nate and Tom are staying w/ Dan and his wife.AND there is another band crashing there too! all in a tiny 2 bedroom. Nate was all cranky the other day because someone ate his bananas and he didn’t get one..that’s a “Whodunit” if i ever heard of one:)
Jeez and i thought the Mexican Harley Davidson dudes were hectic through the hotel walls.
I’m surprised Dan and co. are not killing each other.

So here i am outside the hotel with a dayglo pink pen looking at a gas station.
The hotel smells pretty bad.Everyday this little old Mexican woman comes to clean.I am moved by her smile.Its also a thought i don’t like because i don’t think she is payed well.I try to pick up the best i can to try to help her out.

This is an odd forum to discuss the theme of the record,I have no idea how many people are actually following the blog, so in a way its quite faceless and easy.So this will be the first time Ive talked about the central theme of “Rise ye Sunken Ships”.

Much of it has to do with mental illness.Not mine or the bands, but in general
My family was hit really hard this year with the subject. My brother who has been on and of the street since high school is serving a likely life sentence in solitary confinement in Folsom Prison. He is diagnosed Schizophrenic and is considered very dangerous.
He was in a homeless shelter and stabbed the clerk (who lived) and kept fighting the cops, eventually seriously injuring two officers.

We both share the same birthday, so trying not to think about it isn’t an option. Since this happened Ive been observing the state of mentally ill people in a different fashion. My brother is not innocent, but is not viewed as fit to stand trial, due to mental instability, he has been diagnosed inside the prison by their doctors. And he sits in solitary confinement and has for 3 years now waiting for a trial that he is unfit to stand.

At some point i just started writing about it. And it feels a lot better. I lost my mother to mental illness when i was 19 as well. Again Schizophrenia and homelessness. She took her life at the age of 47 in a homeless shelter.
Nate has been giving me literature and there are some organizations that perhaps the band can help support. I know my Pela brothers would play any benefit anytime, anywhere.

Time will tell but an interesting thing is, My best friend Chris Herb our touring auxiliary keyboard/piano player (who works at a homeless shelter for at risk youth) has a brother who’s been in prison for years also. I asked him if we could cover a song of his called “Barrel of Leaves”. It is about his brother as well and inspires all of us. He agreed and in the process decided he’d like to tour with us!

As i speak there are 3 homeless people in front of the gas station. There are many here in California.Normal tax paying Americans often overlook or just don’t know what to do with the tragic situation.It kills me that this country cant do more.I am not trying to pitch anything i am just living through it and writing it down as an observation.But damn it is a real thing.And isn’t it strange that with this central theme, i am recording in the homeless capital of America. There are 85,000 homeless human beings here (according to http://www.laalmanac.com/social/so14.htm)…

This subject is rather difficult, but i am just being honest.That said, the sky is indeed blue here as well.It sort of balances out the words, and when we get on our instruments we just explode.I feel funny being that life in NYC is such a crazy existence.And seeing our New York swagger juxtaposed to L.A.is often hilarious.Tom’s accent is so funny in this setting.

Well i know this entry wasn’t the typical Tacos and Rock and Roll adventure story of late.But in many ways it is….Just a rare glimpse at what makes us tick.And what the DNA of this record is.Thanks for reading guys.
I hope this finds you well.
xo,
B.McCarthy