Jude & the Strangers

This time around was a little different. I had been studying music now for about 2 years now and I got a publishing deal for some of my songs. I was told some of the money from this deal could be used for studio time. So around February of 2020 my dad asked if I could do an EP of 5 songs. I said "consider it done". Didn't have to tell me twice, but this time I wanted to focus on the song. I knew I wasn't going to have the endless hours like I did before in my basement and I was gonna be on the clock. We moved once again and I found myself in my bedroom with significantly less tools at my disposal, no more did I have a basement with drums and amps and 5 different guitars. I now had my one guitar, a bass, one microphone and a laptop (and a mandolin that my brother Christian got me for Christmas). I worked out all the drum parts on drum machines, kept some but the others I simply practiced on drums and on the first day in the studio, cut all the live drums. This was not going to be an EP filled with extreme operatic production or layers and layers of vocals and guitars like my last record. This project has light touches, all is melodically sound and filled but it retains its focus of "the song", the actual material. Theres moving parts, I love the energy this record brings simply out of the pushing the chord changes require. Working with Dave Kowalski from Teaneck Sound was an incredible oppurtunity, he is an incredible engineer who taught me so much and was so welcoming to every annoying question about recording I had. His honesty and determination kept me going, he'd push me to get a better vocal take or tell me if I was playing a major when I should've played a minor. His insight and masterful technique makes this record a key stepping point that I'm very proud of, it introduced me to the art of collaboration which makes music so much more fun.