Songwriting

A friend asked me to outline the creation of my first single as Andrew Paul “Get Up”.

Like with JOTM, I demoed everything first in my home studio, with various plug-ins and stand-ins for the live instruments. Some specific software that come to mind:

Ableton Live Suite (DAW)
EZ Drummer (drums)
Helix Native (guitar amps)
Just a few other various plug-ins

As you can see from the screenshot, there’s not a lot there. Some but not all of the drums and some but not all of the guitars were replaced in the studio. That was it. I did the vocals at home with not a very fancy mic. I’ve since picked up a vintage 1977 Princeton Reverb which is my studio amp of choice (inspired by Jim.) Now I can do that at home also.

Some of the sounds were samples I created by myself. The glisten heard at the end of the choruses was taken from a JOTM sample from The Morning Bell. It was used wildly different for that project; it turned into something else here.

The plug-ins sounds I listed above can all be accomplished in stock Ableton plug-ins, but I recommend you grab the Suite version. It’s not cheap, but it’s a worthwhile investment.

For “Get Up”, ultimately, Dave Scalia recorded the drums and I re-recorded the guitars and bass parts myself at Virtue & Vice Studios in Williamsburg. Pascal Le Beouf helped out with organ recorded remotely in Nashville. The drums are the one thing I can’t accomplish at home. Aaron Bastinelli mixed at his home studio upstate and mastering engineer Michelle Mancini worked her magic in LA.

Most importantly (and this is why I post songwriting appeals often on Twitter) is that you write a song, do your best to capture it using any means necessary on a recording, and release it. It’s my opinion that most people don’t give a fuck about what sample or what fancy guitar you used. They care about the melody and your personal interpretation of it. Your individual voice.

Last but not least, this particular creative process is heavily influenced by songwriter Tim Emmerick. He wrote the lyrics to “Get Up” and was my creative and business partner in Jesus On The Mainline. I’m forever grateful for his artful writing and thoughtful leadership.