Recording - February 2017 - 12

2016's

We Can Do Anything is the ninth studio
album from Milwaukee's Violent Femmes
and their first in 16 years. Since the release of their 1983
self-titled album (with the classic hit "Blister In The Sun"),
the Femmes were alternative rock before the term existed:
a punk sensibility executed on acoustic instruments with
a minimal snare-drum-and-clattery-object drum setup that
we now coin alt-percussion. Over time their sound would expand into a modern indie-rock feel,
but on We Can Do Anything the band re-embraces its earlier sound.
I was excited to speak with the album's producer Jeff Hamilton, who also plays on the record, and
find out how one captures the rawness of the Femmes in such an impeccably recorded way. And it's
also not often that I get to interview a local producer about a local band from my own hometown!
Traditionally the Femmes are a 3-piece band. According
to Jeff, this album features the two original Femmes,
songwriter Gordon Gano on acoustic guitar and lead
vocals and Brian Ritchie on Ernie Ball Earthwood acoustic
bass guitar and backup vocals. For this album, the core trio
was rounded out by Brian Viglione (of the Dresden Dolls) on
snare, tom, cymbal, and vocals.
Additionally the group is augmented by their "backing band"
The Horns Of Dilemma, which includes: John Sparrow on cajon
(John is now their current touring drummer), Blaise Garza on
Interview by
contrabass
and baritone saxophones, Kevin Hearn on accordion,
Paul Vnuk Jr.
acoustic guitar, piano, organ, and vocals, and Paul Cebar on
electric 12-string... as well as Jeff himself, on mandolin, acoustic
guitar, banjo, ukulele, percussion, and vocals.

JEFF HAMILTON
RECORDS

So, Jeff-how did you get the gig?

Jeff Hamilton: I've been producing and engineering now
for thirty years. With the Femmes I started as a guitar tech,
and was soon playing with them as part of the Horns Of
Dilemma. When they recorded a cover of Gnarls Barkley's
"Crazy" back in 2008, I ended up steering those sessions.
The guys liked how I was in the studio, so when they decided
to do a full-length album, it just made sense to them.

In 2016, "Producer" is often a misunderstood term. Back
in the olden days, the producer helped guide the sound
of an album, translate between musicians, and keep all
the plates spinning. Where did you fit in this role?

When I'm in the studio, I just naturally take over. I'm interfacing
with the engineer and suggesting "let's use this mic" and "try this
compressor". As far as takes are concerned... if it wasn't the take,
or if there was a question about it, then it was my job to say, "Let's
do another one." I'm very vocal and [as a producer] you have to
be. People look to that, otherwise everybody starts second guessing things. "Well, maybe that was it... maybe we could... I don't
know..." I've found people appreciate brutal honesty.

Some do, some don't.

Yeah [laughs]. As to the nuts and bolts of production, we
were on tour when we did the record, so that meant finding
and booking a studio, often on a day's notice, then telling the
12

RECORDING FEBRUARY 2017

engineers what gear and mics to set up and to have it ready
when we got there. I would get there first, tweak everything,
and then the band would come in, we'd learn the songs on
the spot, and then we'd record them live!

There were no pre-rehearsals? You just learned and
recorded the songs then and there?

Yes, Gordon would play us songs from cassettes, CDs, or
off his Dictaphone, and everyone would offer their opinion...
filtered through Brian Ritchie first, obviously. Overall it was
kind of a unanimous thing. If Gordon would play a song and
Brian would say "I don't like that song," Gordon would say
"OK, try this one." If it was "I like that song," then I'd offer my
opinion and we'd just keep trying out and recording songs.

On this album they went back to the stripped down
sound of their first few albums. Who made that decision?

Originally Brian Ritchie wanted to do a record completely
old-school style with one microphone-everything live around
one mic. I said, "It's just not going to happen, we have to
spot-mic everything 'cos you're going to want your bass solo
up a little bit..."
However, we've been doing radio shows with one mic and
it's worked out well, but it takes a lot of time to know where to
place each other and sing and control volumes and there is a
low end lacking from the bass and whatnot.

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recording - February 2017