Day Five

I woke up this morning ready for a full day of hard work in the studio. After getting Lifetaker nailed within a couple of takes last night, I was ready to thrash out a large chunk of my main guitar for the album today. I'm working in the bar all day tomorrow so I want to get as much done as possible today.

It was a beautiful day in town, the sun shining in a clear blue sky, the air cold and crisp. I picked up some breakfast for myself and some Lussekatter for the boys from a bakery besides Skanstull train station, and enjoyed the walk down the road to the studio. I love Lussekatter, which are these saffron and currant buns that you get in Sweden around Christmas time. I was in a great mood as I walked to the studio, ready for a days work.

Before I went down into the studio, I took one last look at the blue sky before bidding it farewell for the day. As I was stood there taking a picture of the street outside, I felt a large snowball hit me on the arm. I took it for granted that one of the guys had crept up on me and were having a laugh at my expense. I ignored them and took the photo. When I was done I turned around, only to find nobody there. I looked up at the overhanging gutter from the four story building above me and noticed some rather sharp looking icicles that were in the process of melting. Oh shit! I hurry inside, trying not to think about the fact I could have been the first horror story of the winter...

This afternoon it's Johan, Linus and I in the studio. Jon is working from nine until three every day and then coming straight here and sticking around until we finish at ten pm. Long days... Nobody can doubt his commitment to the cause, that's for sure.

Anyway, I'm hoping to get in, drink some coffee, have some chat and then get cracking...

I really don't get where all the time goes, but by six pm. we've only completed two songs. It feels once again like I've spent most of the day with my guitar on my lap, waiting to put it to use.

We need to get Linus and Nico's lines of communication working better. Nico is clipping stuff at his home studio whilst we're tracking here with Linus. When Nico comes by for a listen in the late afternoon, he finds something he doesn't like with the way Linus has laid it up on the Pro-Tools rig and an argument between the two breaks out. We sit there listening to it, getting bummed out as the atmosphere in the studio turns sour. This isn't what we need. I really like both guys but they don't seem to be able to talk to each other. We decide to take a break as it's time for some food anyway.

Johan and I go to Verona for the third time in five days. I'm pretty fucking sure I won't be eating pizza for a while after this album is done. Jon stays behind in the studio for a nap on the sofa and Linus and Nico go separate ways. Johan and I discuss the situation over a beer and a Fungi.

We conclude that this actually isn't the first time we've been in a studio and this is just how it normally works. Nothing ever runs completely smoothly or on time, and we should be used to that fact by now. What we have got so far is sounding great and that's something to be positive about. We head back down to the studio determined to get some good vibes going and thrash out some songs.

Linus comes back from his dinner break and we have a constructive discussion about how he and Nico have to work together. Linus is my friend and a really nice guy and we all feel better for the talk afterwards. To make things even better, Nico happens to ring a short while after and chats to Linus, and it seems like it's a lot friendlier between them this time around. He has an idea about the Pro Tools set up which Linus is very positive about and it seems to do the trick. I'm relieved to hear it.

Nico is a really funny guy, always laughing and cracking jokes, but he doesn't hold back if something has pissed him off. After the phone call things feel a lot better and everything starts to run a lot smoother.

In three hours I work my way through six songs and I'm really happy with my evenings work when I'm done, although my head is a little done in. It's pretty stuffy down in the control room and the days work has taken it's toll on me. We're all in good spirits as we check off the completed tracks on the song worksheet. I have six more to lay down but they'll now have to wait until Thursday at least.  Jon is going to start on his guitar tomorrow whilst I'm at work.

Jon and I take a walk to Södra Station together and jump on the train home. We discuss the pros and cons of recording at home in Stockholm as opposed to being in a studio somewhere else. There's really only one main item on the cons list: work. And that's where I'm going to be for the next two days.

Unfortunately punk rock does not pay the bills, but then, that's not why we do it.  We do it because we love it.