The Late Joys Return to the Studio

Session Under Way at Alta Vista Recording

I think we might have mentioned this before but we're so excited to be back at Alta Vista Recording we're gonna mention it AVR and AVR again. Tom Johnson and Colin MacDonald are at the controls and we're working up some new songs that we hope we'll have ready to hand out to you, dear listener, at that upcoming Jovita's gig.

Those of you who've come out to listen to us may recall our dire enviro-warning with the sweet melody, "Twisty System." That one's definitely in the mix for the finished product. Two new songs, "Everybody's Going Away" and "Honestly" are also sounding ready for sharing. The former is brand-spanking new, written this summer by Mr. P; the latter was an unfinished number from years back -- as far back as Mr. P's Boston days, perhaps (that is, days lived in the Boston area, not, heaven help us, when he (never) played for the iconic 1980s hair-band). Other songs we started include boisterous old faves, "Haymarket Rain" and "Ghost Town," but we think it fair to say that those two numbers may wind up wallflowers this round. We'll see.

For those of you who've never been, AVR is a converted house on the east side of town. To give you a sense of the layout of the place, to record these songs as a band we put Andy and his drum kit in the front room with Patrick on bass. Patrick's amp, meanwhile, was in the wee alcove formerly the home of the washer/drier. Shane played in a mock isolation booth in the kitchen. Robi strummed guitar and warbled in the control room (a converted room at the back) while his amp revved away in a converted bedroom on the other side of the house. How all the sounds managed to find their way to the same place is a marvel of modern wiring, not to mention the handy work of Tom and Colin. (Thanks, guys!)