Recording vocals. Pic by Damien Jurado.Well, we did it. We tracked about 95% of 14 songs in 7.5 DAYS(!). Damien tracked his latest (GENIUS) record, Maraqopa, in just 3 days so this probably doesn't feel *quite* as revolutionary to him, but I am STUNNED and AMAZED. I thought for sure we would have tons of stuff to re-do or tweak or add, but as of now it seems that we do not. We listened through all 14 songs at the end of the week and there were big smiles all around. Not only did we make something beautiful together, but there was SO MUCH JOY in the making. How did we do it in such a short amount of time? We did it live, in single takes, with all the "mistakes" left IN. This is how people used to make records. This is how Damien Jurado makes records now. And the resulting sound has SO MUCH LIFE IN IT, it's astounding.
I am a new artist after this experience.
Below are a few highlights from the final tracking days. Stay tuned for news on mixing, mastering and eventual album release plans!
The fabulous Barry Uhl (a member of Damien's band) came in and added lots of spooky/bendy bits to the songs with his UNBELIEVABLE collection of keyboards!
G. Mula rockin' some bermudas at Avast Studio even though we were inside for 12 hours that day. 
Buddy, pal, bandmate, brilliant backing vocalist, Anna-Lisa Notter, working her magic on some harmonies!
Dylan Rieck, cello genius, making the songs sound EPIC! 
A choir of pals including: Lauren Daniels, Eric Elbogen, Cristina Bautista, Tony Kevin Jr., Daniel Williams, Ben Obee, Salomon Navarro, Cam Shaw, Kika Westoff, Ragan Crowe, Kris Orlowski, and Sam Hatch. Making the songs EVEN MORE EPIC! 
D.J. and I listening back to the group vox. Ear candy! Photo by Cam Shaw.
Faustine added a bunch of percussion on the last day - including castanets, which she learned to play ON THE SPOT!
Damien Jurado adding his HEARTBREAKING voice to a few songs. Goosebumps to the max!
Ragan Crowe, adding some last-minute 12 string guitar to one song to make it EXTRA lush! 
A moment of joy and excitement for yours truly. Captured by Cristina Bautista. 
The final scene on the final night at Columbia City Theater. I miss it already!
New music coming your way!
-- Earl
My bandmates and I got together one wintery afternoon in Nov. of last year and recorded this Christmas tune I'd just written. It's about staying in Seattle for the holidays, with the community I love, for the first time in years (my mom lives in Cali, so to Cali I usually go!). We lit candles, ate home-made Christmas cookies, sipped our coffees, threw sounds on tape, and goofed off in all directions - it was a joyous day. 
