CRD – Choosing A Hit Single

Choosing A Hit Single:

The choice of song was the next difficult decision the group and the band had to make, the group agreed on a song that had some pop sensibilities but didn’t take away from the band. Whilst also considering budgetary constraints and the projects academic consideration. This choice was made easier when we went to a rehearsal at Troubador Studios. This enabled us to hear the new material not already on their myspace. Taking the opportunity to practice group organisation and teamwork we also took two cameras and some recording gear, so we could listen to the set and make our minds up on the song as well as produce some extra content for the web.

Aaron listens to the mix through a door, a technique that he continues to practice every shoot.

The rehearsal went well and was good practice for us and multi-camera filming. Because this was only intended as a rehearsal, we didn’t bring any lights. But Aaron was quick to invent a novel way of lighting up the band for our first amateur photoshoot.

Thinking about the web content, I suggested a photo shoot and we took some quick pictures of the band. Both for the planning of the music video and also for use on various social networking sites.Recording the rehearsal allowed us to choose a song, that we felt produced in the right way, would be successful. Jonny’s Dead featured a driving drum hook, catchy lyrics and a guitar solo. Using the reference recording, It was decided that Jonny’s Dead fit all the criteria we had set. The song featured a good driving riff and catchy lyrics as well as being a good representation of the band.  We decided to aim the song at an audience of Rock Metal Fans but were intent on still giving the track a little bit of pop sheen. The groups major influences were Led Zeppelin, Velvet Underground, the Pogues and David Bowie. So we wanted to achieve a similar vintage production sound.Check out the original version of Jonny’s dead at Troubadour.

Troubador Studios Website