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WC: You have an interesting way of recording artists—you’ll often sit in the recording booth right in front of the artist as they record. Why is that important, and how did it influence the dynamic you had with Israel?
JM: Yes, I’ll do that with a lot of different artists, even today. But I would tend to sit about 2 feet in front of him so I could help him with words or chord structures or whatever he needed, and he became accustomed to that. In fact, sometimes he would have trouble with a song—and he used to call me Yoda—and he would say, “Yoda, come in here, I can’t do this,” and I would go in the booth and sit and, sure enough, then he could do it. He would always close his eyes and tilt his head back when he would record. We would never use a click track: always free time. I actually tried putting a click track against him, but his music became very boxy and restricted.
And a lot of times, especially in the old days, I was acting as both the engineer and the producer on a track. So Israel and I would be sitting right next to each other and I would have my hand on the transport. I’d say we need one little bar adjusted and he’d try it again, and while he’s trying it out I’m already pushing record. So by the time he thinks he’s ready to record, I’ve already got what we needed and we can move on. So it was a way to be more symbiotic as well as quicker during our recording sessions.
the engineer and the producer on a track. So Israel and I would be sitting right next to each other and I would have my hand on the transport. I’d say we need one little bar adjusted and he’d try it again, and while he’s trying it out I’m already pushing record. So by the time he thinks he’s ready to record, I’ve already got what we needed and we can move on. So it was a way to be more symbiotic as well as quicker during our recording sessions.
The first day of recording, I brought him a blank notebook and I told him to go home that night and write down every song he’d ever sung, ever thought about singing and ever wanted to sing. I told him to write down lyrics, ideas—everything. And he did. He practically filled that notebook up with wonderful ideas about the music he wanted to make. So he really got into the preparation and brainstorming involved in making an album, which was part of putting as much decision-making in his hands as possible. He would be the first to say, “I’m not doing this alone,” but I was really trying to just steer him in the right direction rather than tell him what to do. Our mantra was “Keep it simple, keep it Hawaiian,” and we pretty much accomplished that. It was a lot of work, but a lot of fun at the same time.