In The Studio Graveyard Train

There's a perennial dilemma which most bands have to confront at some stage. Do you give up your day job and go pro, or take the safe option, feed yourself, pay the rent but then struggle to fit gigs into your life? Alt-country band Graveyard Train must have had that conversation a hundred times. Their previous albums had been recorded on a  country property a hundred kilometres out of Melbourne, where the band all stayed together on a working holiday. This time, day job considerations meant recording had to be closer to town.  “In an ideal world, I'd love to go away and set up somewhere, which is what we have done before; sleep there, wake up and record,” laments guitarist Nick Finch. Lead guitarist Josh Crawley agrees to a point. “It's hard to get these guys out. We're on tour a lot. Everyone is taking a lot of time off work here and there. To get these guys out of the city to where we recorded the last couple of albums is a bit of an ask. On top of that, I really wanted to go into the studio. This desk here at Atlantis … all I know is that it is worth two million dollars!”

A 'HOLLOW' RECORDING

Known for their horror-country imagery, with album number three, Graveyard Train were intent on proving they were more than some kind of gimmick act with a bigger focus on songs, arrangements, harmonies and instrumentation. “I think the music is more sophisticated … ish, than the last album,” says Nick. “We've got less schlocky with the songs than the way we started out. It's become a bit darker and more musical.” “There are less straight up stories about mummies and zombies,” adds Josh. The number one objective for 'Hollow' however, was more simple than that. “The goal I guess was to get something done,” says Josh.  “It's been a while. The last recording we did would have been in 2010. We have tried to do an album last year but we just had too much touring. I mean, everyone should be recording all the time. The goal is to have more material there. There are a lot of songwriters in the group. It has taken some pretty funny avenues this time. It's a lot louder. We just got a full-time drummer around six months ago.” Acoustic guitarist Nick Finch picks up on that point. “When we did our last album, we didn't have a drummer at all in the band. Playing with a drummer live, the shows have changed a lot. It's more raucous and rocky, so we wanted to put that down I guess.”

It's that live energy that the band is known for, and something they wanted to capture on this recording. The first step in that direction was to record together in one room, all at the same time, as opposed to individual instrument takes. The other important factor was producer Loki Lockwood, known for his performance-based recording style. “ We've come in here before and separated ourselves in different rooms,” explains Josh. “This time we're playing all together and I think standing next to the bass player or guitarist, it really does make a massive difference in the feel.”

One of the features of Graveyard Train has always been their gang-style vocals, akin to a bunch of drunken pirates but within the context of a spaghetti western. Much like The Pogues, a Graveyard Train gig is all about having a rollicking good time rather than being concerned about hitting pitch-perfect notes, but that hasn't stopped them from putting a little work into their harmonies on the new album. “We always try to do proper harmonies and I guess it has advanced a little bit,” says Josh. “We always used to sing with a lower voice, but now a couple of the guys have different voices. Matt has a higher voice, so they stand out a bit more as opposed to the last recording.”

GRAVEYARD GEAR

In order to produce that energetic alt-country brand of rock, the usual instrument suspects such as dobro, banjo, guitar, and washboard are required. However, there's one additional piece of noise-making apparatus which the band wears as a badge of honour: an industrial-sized steel chain, which 'chainist' Adam Johansen hits convincingly with a hammer in the key of “rattle”. No surprises about the chain's origins. “From the shed,” Adam exclaims in a tone which made me feel ridiculous for asking. “I needed to come up with some form of percussion … I went to the shed and found grandpa's length of chain. Some call it the Manbourine!”  The rest of the band erupt into laughter at hearing Adam's new description of his chain for the first time. “ You must have been waiting for ages to put that into an interview,” goads bass player Matt.

Acoustic guitarist in the band, Nick Finch shamelessly talks up his brand of choice, “just in case they're listening,” he says. “I play a Guild acoustic guitar. I love Guild guitars! I had another one that got broken coming back from Europe. A baggage handler threw it and it snapped so I replaced it. I'm a Guild guy.” Josh Crawley has modified his musical role in the band over a period of time. “When I started with the band I was playing banjo, then I started playing lap steel, but I'm bored of those two now and I've started playing electric guitar,” says Josh. “I have a Regal dobro and a Dearing banjo, which is American made. Now I am just borrowing Matt's Japanese electric guitar, which is a Kasuga. I have always used a Fender acoustic amp and if I didn't want to take that on tour, I just 'diy' everything. But now I'll try to hire a Fender Twin. I have a lot of feedback issues with my dobro. After this recording, I'm going to put a humbucker or something in it because it's a nightmare sometimes. Any acoustic instrument, trying to put a pickup in it, is an ongoing saga for anyone. If the band sing in that perfect note, it just makes the dobro feed back. In the song 'Bit By Dog', the feedback is just this wall of voices that drives me nuts.” Matt knows the conundrum well. “At least you know we are all hitting the right note when you start feeding back! It's that perfect frequency,” he says. Matt has had similar feedback issues with his double bass, but has managed to find a solution. “I put in a magnetic pickup which is feedback-proof on stage.”

When it comes to recording fretted instruments, there are many schools of thought on strings. Do you use fresh strings and go for a bright sound, play them in a bit first or keep the old ones on and go for a more muted effect? “I like fresh strings,” offers Nick. “I have finally found a brand called Plectrum by Thomastik-Infeld and they sound really good new. They are the only brand of strings I have found that sound good new, otherwise I like to play them in.” Josh prefers the fresh approach too. “I definitely like to use them fresh when recording. I'll change mine again tomorrow for the dobro and banjo. They come in those oxygen packs and they get exposed really quickly and I find they feedback as well after a day or two. Beau, who plays steel guitar and is crazy, does not want to change his strings ever.” Changing strings is one thing double bass player Matt hopes he never has to think about. “For the double bass I'd hope they last a  lifetime,” he says. “They are bloody expensive. I wouldn't put new strings on anyway for upright or electric, they sound pretty bad when new. They sound like a piano. I would never put new ones on for a recording. They need to be played in.”

Graveyard Train hope that fans will not only enjoy the new album, but also be surprised. “I think we might lose Tamworth,” said Nick of the change in musical direction. “There's still some country stuff and some sweet stuff, but there are a lot of psychedelic weird things. We're having a lot of fun.” Josh is a little more diplomatic. “It's not like we're going down a heavy rock road or anything. I don't know that it's a massively different direction. It's just something we feel like doing at the moment.”

LOKI LOCKWOOD – Album Producer

I am definitely a fan of tape, so I track to tape. We have a Calrec desk which came from Nashville in 1986 (64 channel AMS/Calrec UA-8000 “Polar” console), which is fantastic. It was developed in London to steal the BBC contract that Neve had. So it's like an overspecced Neve desk. It just has a terrific sound. Gladys Knight and the Pips did a record on it, Michael Bolton, and Amy Grant the christian singer. When we got it, it had been warehoused for ten years.

You always end up using some reverb and a lot of compression. The tape machine does a lot of that compression at the start, so by slamming the tape machine, you get that softer, more articulate sound that compression offers. I usually track what is known as the beds, onto tape and then I move it to Pro Tools. Then I'll use external compressors often for adding overdubs. I started in the recording business well before digital so I started on tape and it is a great way to work. It is more fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants performance mixing as opposed to, you know .. 'I just want that fixed' kind of thing. We do a fair bit of editing in Pro Tools. You can turn channels on and off and that sort of thing… little volume changes, but then all of that stuff is taken out of the computer and runs back through the desk with external effects. We have about 6 multi-effects lines we can put in and sometimes I'll plug in a Sans Amp distortion channel, things like that.