Recording - May 2010 - 14

That requires that you always have that complete sound picture in your mind—did that come with experience? I always had that. When you have everybody in here at the same time, it all boils down to the same thing: You have to know what you want and have a plan. I have to take my time. Sometimes I think a part is great in the studio, and two weeks later I don’t like it. The excitement in the studio of getting a track can be deceptive. Like a track can be perfect, like it happened with a country song I wrote with Vince Gill, and the piano—everything—played beautifully. But I had to get rid of it, everybody came in and started playing country. But later I found I didn’t want a country song on the album, so I took everything off except the drums and started over. Like sometimes when I have a blues song everybody starts playing blues. They think they know what to do. But each recording is a new experience. Where did you grow up? Compton. Straight Outta Compton? Yeah [laughs], but I started out playing folk, fingerpickin’ guitar, then, growing up, we played R&B and funk— So that is where the steady groove comes from that you always have even if you’re doing light picking things? Yeah, it’s going under there, and I’m playing to it, but you don’t hear it all the time. So everything is click track, always, so I have the pulse I need under there. It keeps me honest, it keeps everyone else honest, and it’s easy to edit later on if you want to move some things around.

Do you have MIDI sounds or samples you trigger that way? I just got this Axiom Pro [USB MIDI Controller keyboard from M-Audio], I haven’t figured it out yet. I usually learn just enough technology so I can play music. What happens is, everybody learns these tricks, and you stopping playing music. The fact that I can trigger and sample all that stuff, it’s all fine, but my music is more geared towards people playing. I got into MIDI in the ’80s, and after about four years of being seriously into it, I got really tired of it. It would fool me—I could put this whole track together that sounded really good, before I had a really good tune... So I came back to writing a song first, just with piano or guitar. Not to a drum loop? No. That can create the illusion that you have a good song, even just with a drum loop. Now you must realize that you’re at the opposite end for so many people with that... Oh yeah, and that’s fine, everybody finds their way. With me, the song has to work with just the guitar because I do so many solo gigs. So if the song relies on a drum loop and it’s just me singing and playing guitar... So when you do your tracking one player at a time, do you think ahead of who you’ll need down the road, or do you let that come to you as it goes along? It’s always dfferent, there is no rhyme or reason to it. Sure I add tracks as I hear I need them, but you know, I probably take more stuff out than I leave in. Like if I have a guy here who plays, I’ll go in and take out everything he did that I don’t like. And there will be some gems in there, maybe not a full part but some things I like. I do that so when I’m done all I have in there is things I like. It may not be enough, but then I know where I need something and I can go get it. But anything I don’t like, I take out—I don’t try to mix it or hide it or bury it or put reverb on it [laughs]. It may not be that I don’t like it but that it doesn’t fit. Like on one track I had John Robinson redo some because on the day of tracking, after listening to it, I found that the kick drum pattern wasn‘t right. So on one pattern I sampled the kick and added hits where I wanted them. On another one I had him do the part all over again. He’s a good player, it wasn’t about him...You’re supposed to know what you want from a player. I’ve had horns in here, strings, singers—I push things out of the way to make room, and we do it. Do you have to deal with record companies along the way? So far I haven’t had to deal with that. The record company comes in when you don’t know what you’re doing. If you’re not clear on where you are, they come in, basically to help you. It’s not really a matter of “We want this”, it’s that the record company has to come up with a product that they can sell. If you can’t do that on your own, a producer or other people will come in and help you. If I’d find I’m in over my head I’d call someone. The problem then can be that if it’s out of line with who you think you are with your music it becomes an invasion of your privacy. That’s why it’s very important as an artist to know as much as possible about how you want your music to be, so you can drive the train. All I have to do is make them money, not lose them money. Then I can keep making music. And that’s what having my own studio makes possible. Find out more about Keb’ Mo’ and his music at www.kebmo.com.

Keb’ Mo’

RECORDING MAY 2010

http://atwww.kebmo.com

Recording - May 2010

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