Saturday Sunrise: The Studios

This whole process has been quite a ride. Just getting the songs gathered in over ten years was a thing of its own, but the actual process it took to get this thing kickin’ and off the ground was chaotic at best. There were ten studios we set up and took down while trying to get this thing out into the world. No joke.

When I started songwriting in Los Angeles, I would grab my guitar and write and in our tiny living room. I worked with producer, Patrick O’Doyle, Artcore Records, and did all my official recording in his studio in Crenshaw. We used live musicians on that first album, Unpainting Roses. Dang, they were good. Much better than me, if I were being honest.

Spanish Fork practice space getting packed up for the move to Nashville

My first music space was in the house we bought in Spanish Fork. We had a turret in our room that overlooked the mountains, trees, and skies during serious wind storms. It was extra super sauce day dreamy and I wrote several several songs in that space. Two of which, are on the album, “Hold On” and “Where We Go.” We did have band practice in a downstairs bedroom that was almost big enough and sound proof enough for a drum kit. Miss those guys, they were always up for a good time. They learned my songs in a flash, so effortless. Sometimes the stars just freaking align.

When we moved to Nashville, my studio was in the bedroom. The vocal booth was in a walk in closet, and the work station was situated next to the bed. And although I got a lot of recording done here, it wasn’t the best quality, my husband and I were newbies. Still, it was good practice, and built a good foundation for future recording sessions. I wrote “Dreaming and Dreaming” while living there, along with about 25 other songs, some of which will be released at some point. Nashville is an inspiring place, it’s just oozing with expression and the most undressed honesty I have ever witnessed. The human soul is exposed in Nashville, and I had front seat tickets.

The only photo I have of the Nashville studio, I have 70,000 photos of unobvious moments, but I often miss the obvious ones

When we moved out to Australia, I had a space that overlooked the bay. It was incredible, but it was wishful thinking, because I was too sick from chemotherapy treatments to get any work done. However, I did write “Isn’t It Beautiful” there, and that song has defined my motherhood, so I do not regret a year of pain and joy that eloquently cradled me in joy and light. God, prayers, and my dreamy little babies were exactly what got me through that crushing era. I did keep a blog while going through chemotherapy, because it was the only way I could think to keep everyone updated, being so far away from home. You are welcome to read Rachel’s Answer to Cancer, if you so desire.

Before the desk arrived in the Australia studio, this is the very ‘sun falling on the floor’ I refer to in “Isn’t it Beautiful”

After the desk arrived in the Australia studio, get into that view. How we got Lucky enough to be here, I’ll never know

Cutest Aussie assistant and my sister’s warrior scrabble gift to get me through

Living back in Oregon with my hubby’s parents as we recovered from a very wild year, we were able to use part of the garage and an extra bathroom to fashion a booth. We got bass and piano and vocals done for “You Had to Go” but that song changed tempo and morphed into “Everything” which you will also find on the album. I’m sad to not release those Oregon sesssions, because having my childhood friends Josh and Elyse play on that song was so special. They are on an older version of Logic, so retrieving them properly has not been possible. As I dove back in to record myself, it really grew into this beast of a song, and I’m very excited and proud to have been a part of that process.

Garage bathroom studio in Oregon

We got a lot of recording done here in Oregon, I really thought we’d release the whole album by year’s end

My loyal partner recording all the tracks

A year later in Vancouver, BC, my studio set up was in the bedroom overlooking Stanley Park. I’ll never forget how quiet and sweet our cat Uno was listening to me play to a click. I almost released a version of “Dreaming and Dreaming” that I initially had titled Sunrise. However, every technical difficulty you can imagine happened. It wasn’t meant to be. I was planning to release it on my birthday which happened to fall on a Saturday that year! (Fun fact: The actual release was in 2023, a year in which my birthday also fell on a Saturday).

Vancouver, BC studio set up in the bedroom

We took in a foster son and brought him to Montreal, QC. Honestly, I did barely any writing or recording during that time because he needed a lot of assistance and attention. There were many precautions we needed to take, so it was 24/7 for three years until he was ready to live with another family closer to his mom. During this time, I had a little time and space when the kids were in school, so I took Marie Forleo’s B-School. It was a major investment I do not regret, and I’m actually retaking it again this year, to refresh as I dive into this year head first.

This studio ended up being a bit too cold, as basement storage rooms go (especially in Montreal, ha)

I think the baby played the keyboard more often than I did in our second Montreal place. (I was struggling with postpartum depression).

While we did a term in India, I absorbed the experience fully, and did not try to do any music. Then we got to move back to my beloved Los Angeles and we chose a home within the mountains. Thank goodness we had that hiking trail during the pandemic, because it was our sanity, escape, and perspective during a tragic and difficult time for our family and for the world. This is when I started the Bathroom Concert Series, when I suddently wrote “Who Loves You” on Valentine’s Day. Still cracking up that it ended up on the album. Sometimes songs just spill out how and when they want to, it’s kind of out of your control. When they fit into a body of work you’ve been at for ten years, that’s something else entirely.

Started off in our closet, but then got to set up a bright space downstairs, this is where I really started to dive into my own production

I started with a mini studio, and then moved to a larger studio. I found my tribe online through Catch the Moon program and I am still writing with all of the dear friends I met during that time. Craig Sayer was a part of that group, and he is the one who produced my album. What else? I learned how to use my DAW, Logic Prox, and started actually producing! I could now compose and lay out all the pre production for how I wanted my songs to sound. Such empowerment to have that type control over your sound, I highly recommend it to anyone who has been afraid. You can do it. You really, really can. Just takes some focus, time, and practice. At the end of the day, it’s just another piece of software to learn, so don’t let the gatekeep-y lingo intimidate you. You got this!

I was able to record some singles that have not been released yet, but have been signed to agencies! How fun right?? The pandemic chapter hit the film industry very hard (my husband’s world) and after two years of pure torture and declining health, I drew a line in the sand and got us outta dodge! London was calling.

The London Studio (in the back garden) before we transitioned it from an art space to a music studio

Where the pre production and final vocals all happened for Saturday Sunrise! One more gear upgrade, Neumann 103 and Apollo Solo…highly recommend for projects simliar to mine (I did had more sound treatment up for the vocals of course)

Creating in this space was a total transport back to my childhood yard. Can you spy the studio?

Growing up, I didn’t have consistent attention when I was little, but I did have a yard full of trees and flowers much like botanical dream of a garden. So to be hugged by Heaven again while putting these thoughts, memories and words into music while being reminded of all the good parts of my childhood was an absolute gift.

I was visited by a fox one day while working in the studio. He sat there with me for at least 30 minutes, and as I was talking to him and taking a video, he walked right up to the window and looked straight into my eyes before quietly leaving. Of all my fox encounters, this was the most special. When you’re visited by a fox it’s a sign that you’re on the right path. They’re also closely tied to the spirit world, and their visits also could connect to someone who has recently passed away. My past foster son had passed away only weeks before, Luiza Lale helped me write a song about losing Ocean. We plan to release this song soon. I’ll let you know.

……

Sometimes I get frustrated thinking back on the last ten years, much of which just felt like pure chaos and transition. But the big take away, is that this grounded Taurus girl is NOW much better at change than ever before. The experiences I gained in each place, each home, each country, each city has provided a wealth of perspective. This has served my life and my work, in a way that sitting still never could have accomplished. Instead of dwelling on the hard realities of the last decade, I’m choosing to see it as God creating the perfect setting for actualizing my dream.

I hope that whatever has happened or is currently happening in your life, you’re able to take a moment to step back and reflect on the goodness of life. Acknowledge the ways you were helped to grow and become who you are today. There is so much pain, so much heaviness, in our personal lives and in the world, and I think committing ourselves to consistently seeking joy and seeing the roads and doors that are blown open by this pain, is the answer to life.

I’m committed to looking for light for myself, for you, and for the world.

Come back and visit often, you’re always welcome here.

Love,

Rachel