[Dixielandjazz] live vs studio

[James Kashishian]

Jim Beebe & others have been commenting on the "live vs studio"
recording argument.  Our 4 album is to be soon out, 3 of which have been
recorded live.  We have used the method of letting the recorder run over
a week's gig, then selecting the best songs.  The worst part of that is
having so much material to judge.  I've found that it's best to take on
a dictatorial status in this case, making most of the basic choices
myself based on best overall feeling & best audio recorded.  Then, after
a listen by each member of the band of some 20 tunes (having dropped out
another 20 or 30 tunes), come up with the final songs for the CD.

We don't do any overdubs, etc., but do rely on editing in some cases (a
particularly long solo, a booby, etc.), and spend a lot of time on the
mixdown (from 8 track digital to stereo).

At least for our band, which is built largely on audience/band reaction,
this kind of recording is now our favourite mode.  It is still
difficult, as Jim mentioned, though to try to think about playing a gig
& forget the recorder is capturing everything that is happening.  

I must admit that the gig can suffer a bit, and it's a constant struggle
to "just blow".  There is a lot of stress when a particular song has
been great right up to YOUR solo, and you know you can mess up the whole
thing if you try something too outlandish, therefore creation can be
stifled in this situation.  Just human nature, I suppose.  And, this is
from guys that have been doing session work for 25-30 years!!

Still, I prefer the live situation, and it's a heck of a lot cheaper
than going into a studio.  So, rent your Tascam DA78, a few mics &
preamps, stick 'em direct into the back of the Tascam, (no desk is
necessary if you've got a well-balanced group), pop in the old Hi8 tape,
and let it fly......  After that comes the real work in choosing tunes &
mixing.

Jim