What you’ll hear on this iteration of “Brave” is Jimmy Paxson’s completed drum tracks, including his signature trash can ~ along with my “scratch” (temporary) lead vocal and guitar.
When I first wrote “Brave” with Patricia Bahia, I didn’t know how I wanted to produce it. But I knew I did not want it to sound like a “typical” blues-rock song, which it was in danger of becoming ~ the chords are basic (not necessarily a bad thing, but it can lead to a track being boring if you’re not careful).
So I went on a hunt to find bluesy songs that we could use for inspiration in crafting the perfect groove for “Brave.” I found what I was looking for in Gin Wigmore’s “Man Like That.” (an AMAZING song ~ if you don’t know it, check it out!!)
I sang the lyrics to “Brave” to Wigmore’s song, and it totally worked! Not only did it work, but it instantly took the song from being a typical blues rock missive to something far more fun and groovetastic 🎉
When we were in the studio, we had Jimmy listen to the Gin Wigmore “reference track,” and then we went to town.
This second audio is an UNMIXED version of the song “Brave,” which I had been recording with producer Seth Atkins Horan. At that stage, all the elements had been recorded, and we were moving on to decide which elements we were keeping, as well as the thousands of little (but not unimportant) decisions that Seth makes while mixing a song.
Part of what I LOVE about this recording is the incredible guitar sound Seth & I got for the guitar solo! We put my Dan Armstrong guitar through my Talk Box, but instead of using the tube that I normally would use with the Talk Box, we mic’d the hole in the box where the tube comes out of. Then Seth found some insanely amazing effects to apply to that weird sound, and it sounds SO vintage!! We both instantly fell in love with that sound, and it’s the kind of studio magic you just can’t plan.
This last one is the final version of Brave that was released to the public on July 29, 2022! (that date also happens to be my beloved niece Kate’s 16th birthday )
You can see the cover art right below as well