there is fun in that. It can be a nerve wracking,
but it keeps you on your toes in a way that is
really important. It doesn’t mean you always
get the best sounding take, but you have a
moment that really happened, and I think that
is a compelling way to think about it. Even now
when I’m thinking about doing live music and
putting out more live records that’s what I’m
thinking about all the time. I want to fight the
tendency to over-polish, it’s kind of exciting
to just let it be. I don’t want it to sound bad,
but I do want it to communicate realness and
authenticity. And sometimes we can just scrub
the authenticity right out of it if we’re not careful.
I just want to fight that reflex.
Force yourself into a situation where you don’t
have an out – anyone who’s recorded to tape
knows this. The digital world has kind of been
deprived of it because we have so many
options. I did a video recording of the song
“Better” that was just me with a guitar in an
echo-y room with a boom mic to try to capture
my vocal and then a one take camera shot. I
was like, “I really want to share the song but
I don’t want to just play an acoustic version”. not fearful of it. I actually look forward to it. It is So that’s what we landed on, which was like a little intimidating, it does lead to a lot more the worst scenario for recording, the worst questions as far as how it’s going to work and You should listen to it, it’s a totally different
scenario for video (laughs). Because you just function. Maybe it’s not going to be what you version. It’s not as moving, so to speak. It’s
get one take, and I’m not even really singing wanted it to be, and I’m okay with all that. It just a whole different type of song anyway. It’s
into a mic, there is just a mic close. When you brings me a sense of balance and grounding actually kind of uncomfortable to watch, that’s
listen back to the recording you’re like, “Yeah, that I just think is really important. It reminds what I like about it. The camera is really close
there’s definitely not a mic close to you”. I don’t me that you don’t always need all of the things at certain points. It conveys a totally different
know why, but even as an experiment I love to share a song that means something to you. feeling but at the same time it’s a similar
gravitating toward that mindset. Again, for the It can just be you and a guitar sharing a song scenario.
reason that it puts me in a situation, and even that’s meaningful in a way that feels important. in a mindset where I don’t have an out. There’s Maybe that’s enough, maybe that’s the perfect [WM] While I absolutely love everything about
no, “Oh, I’ll just fix that in post”, because way to do it. Maybe I have several versions, but how you approached this version of “Sails”,
you can’t! I just love having that ingrained in it and woven I know that I like what I like. Was there any
in to the tapestry of versions of songs. I think it negative feedback, and if so I’d be curious to
brings a pretty amazing check to the ‘pristine’ know what it was, as well as your response.
The reason I think I selfishly like putting myself
that is good.
in that position is because I just like seeing
what comes out. I sing things differently at [Pat] I heard the feedback, “I think we need
times, sometimes as a reflex it forces me to to re-cut that piano, it sounds a little out of
sing with even more conviction, from a deeper tune, too much verb.” and I was like, “Well, I
place even. It’s even a mystery to me now, think that would just betray the integrity of the
but I think that’s why I like it so much. Like, whole thing.” Would it ruin the whole song?
“What would happen if I just had one take?” No. Would people even really know? Probably
It makes me comfortable in that space so I’m
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Pat Barrett // “Better”
June 2019
not. If you had a perfectly tuned piano would
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