THOM DAUGHERTY

BETA-TESTING 001

The Fender Tonemaster is in the shop, and I’m hoping to get it back on Saturday. It’s got an incredible top end that I really need for Eric Baker’s record. So we’re waiting until Saturday to start guitars on E’s album.

In the meantime, MP and I decided to finish something else we started a few weeks ago.

I can’t remember how long it’s been, but it was the night I drove up to Columbus to buy El Toro (my exercise bike) off of Craigslist from a man named Abu (not making this up.) My friend Laura (from 92.3 WTTS) called me to say she had a friend named Mike Barthel who really wanted to cut an edgier country album, but wasn’t sure who to make it with. She mentioned me, and then asked if I’d be up for that.

And my general attitude in life is, “Why not.”

I’d actually met Mike some time before - he also goes to Grace Community Church in Indy.

Today, we cut guitars on three of Mike’s songs. Here is a rough mix of one of them, and bare/bear/Baer with it, because it’s a work in progress.

To be honest, playing Country really isn’t that much of a jump for me.

This is Chris on the drums, Mike Petrow engineering, and yours truly playing bass and guitars. Hoping to get fiddle on this soon (something needs to pull it into the realm of Country.)

And we’ll need to record vocals too, of course.

This one is called “Life Is Good.” A song with that title should make you feel like you’re speeding down the interstate, top down, wind blowing through your hair, and you’ve got a girl with big… personality… riding in the passenger seat.

With that in mind, am I getting close?

— Thom