Ghost In The Guitar - 5. R & R, Recording and Research

Fabian walked into Little M Studios and stopped at the reception desk.

Aubrey Wright, the auburn-haired receptionist, told him, “You’re part of the band now, Mr. Hall. You don’t need to check in anymore.”

“Thanks Aubrey. But call me Fabian. I’m sure you’re only a year or two older than me.”

“You’re too kind. If it’s less than ten years, I’d be surprised.”

Fabian had previously noticed her wedding ring, “Well, then, thank you Mrs. Wright.”

Aubrey smiled and slapped Fabian playfully on the arm, “Get in there. Alex isn’t here yet, but everyone else is.”

“I’m getting. See you later!”

As he walked into the studio, he said hi to everyone. They returned the greeting and then Yves said, “Hello Russell.” The statement sounded more like a question.

“Hello, Yves, everyone else.”

The rest greeted Russell as well.

Fabian looked at everyone, “You all heard that? I’m not going crazy?”

Nigel took the lead as usual, “We really did.”

Alex walked in just as Nigel spoke, “Really did what?”

“Heard me say hello.”

Alex still refused to believe, “Okay, you guys. You creeped me out, had your fun. Can you stop it now?”

“It’s not them. But anyway, late again, huh?”

“This is some sort of AI shit, isn’t it?”

“Would AI know what you did at your thirteenth birthday party?”

“Anybody could say I did something.”

“With Javier Gomez.”

“I never told anyone about that.”

“Sober, yeah.”

Alex looked at the rest of them, it was obvious from their looks of curiosity that none of them had a clue what he did; or even who Javier was.

Ryan chuckled, “Cat’s out of the bag now, Alex. May as well spill it.”

“Not a fucking chance. Oh my God. Is it really you, Russell? How?”

Russell deflected the how part of the question.

“How needs to be discussed at another time. Fabian wants to show you all what he came up with for the first three songs.”

Fabian wouldn’t take the credit, “What you came up with you mean.”

“I’ll go as far as saying we.”

“Well, Russell’s right, let’s get to it.”

They all replied some version of, “Okay, Nigel.”

They spent the next hour playing their new songs, with the occasional pause for concentrating on Fabian’s solos.

Yves echoed what he’d said after Fabian’s audition, “Damn, it sounds so much like Russell. And now even more with your new axe, Fabian.”

“I had help picking it out. Right, Russell? Russell?”

“Is he gone?” Nigel queried.

Fabian answered with the statement practically painted on his own face, “I… I don’t know.”

Nigel felt the need to delve deeper into Russell and Fabian’s ‘relationship’, “Can you always tell when he’s around?”

“Only when he’s talking, and somehow manipulating my fingers.”

Yves jumped in, “Was he doing the finger thing all the time for the past hour or so?”

Fabian paused, looking toward the ceiling. After fifteen seconds or so, “No, not all of it. He was, I think, right up until just before we started the last time through.”

“Are you familiar enough with it all, if for some reason he doesn’t, um, come back?”

“Yeah, but I don’t know what kind of input I’d have into more new songs if he doesn’t.”

“We’ll cross that bridge if and we come to it. Ryan and Yves have two more in progress. Why don’t you start with what you have for ‘Lonely Years,’ OK, Guys?”

“Sounds good.” “Okay.”

Yves and Ryan played what they had so far for the next new song, which was primarily melody and lyrics. After a couple times through, Nigel and Alex joined in, creating on the fly. They’d done this in the past a few times before getting an initial recording of something that sounded fuller. It has always worked for them.

Fabian tried playing to compliment what Yves was doing, but was having a difficult time of it. Yves had a solution.

“Why don’t you guys take a break. I’ll go through the basic flow with Fabian a few times. I’m thinking unless he gets input from Russell on anything going forward, he can play what I initially come up with, and I’ll also fill in the rest. Essentially, I’ll be lead on the new stuff, but he’ll take lead on the old stuff and the three new ones Russell already worked with him on.”

Nigel agreed, “Sounds like a good workaround. If and when Fabian gets more comfortable writing, we can revisit that option.”

Yves and Fabian played together for a while, then everyone went out for lunch. In the afternoon session, Fabian played the basic melody part of the two newest songs while Yves improvised on top of Fabian’s playing. At the end of the day, Nigel made a proposal.

“I’ll get hold of Matthew (Parker - sound engineer) now, and we’ll have him record the first cut of these five tomorrow, so we have something to come back to while we’re working on another three or four. I’m pretty sure Reid (Leon - manger) said we’re getting two others from the muppets.”

Ryan smiled and shook his head, “You know, if they ever heard you say that, they never write anything for us ever again.”

“I know, but every time I think Bart and Arnie, I picture Bert and Ernie.”

Alex pointed out, “That’s why they always present themselves as ‘Arnie and Bart’.”

Yves added, “But you have to admit, they do look a little like the muppets.”

“Swapped, yeah.”

Fabian was confused, “Swapped, Nigel?”

“Bart kind of looks like Ernie, and Arnie resembles Bert. With a little imagination.”

Fabian tried talking to Russell on the ride home, but still got no response. He tried a few more times throughout the evening with no better results.

As Fabian was laying his head on his pillow to go to sleep that night, he finally heard Russell again.

“Goodnight, Fabian.”

Fabian shot up into a sitting position, “Where the hell were you?”

“Well, it wasn’t hell, but it’s kind of a long story. Get some sleep, I’ll tell you tomorrow.”

“Why not now?”

“Too complicated.”

“Not even a hint?”

“I can do that. I guess you’d have to call it Spirit Court.”

“Like a trial?”

“Close enough. Now get some sleep.”

Sleep was not in any hurry to arrive for Fabian that night.

Next Up - Spirit Court and More Studio Time