RECORDING CHAPTER ONE

Day 10 – Nov 13th 2019

After a full-on few days pulling together some mind-blowing music, Glenn, David, Doug and Deen sat down for breakfast to discuss the final day of recording over freshly baked croissants.

During an exhausting work out over the last ten days, Deen has worked tirelessly to pull together a collection of drum tracks. They are loud, solid and it’s like an earthquake shaking the room when played at the kind of volume it deserves.

Guide vocals are bedded down to show the way for the final lead and backing vocal performances which are yet to be added. The guitar assault of Doug and David have started to form a structure around the new songs while Glenn’s bass pulsates and flows in between the bass drum. There is no doubting the power and strength in this forthcoming piece of work.

A last walk around the gardens to take in the beautiful surroundings, the band sat down to the last supper. The food has been out of this world and an unexpected delight on these recording sessions, however, the guys need to work it all off in the coming weeks!

As the band head off on their different directions, they all have their own projects to continue or work on before returning soon. Glenn will head to the UK where be begins a two week tour, while the others return to the States and Ben Grosse will continue to craft the tracks.

It’s a wrap for the first part of the journey. Stay tuned for part two in December.

Day 9 – Nov 12th 2019

Another day after this and it will be time to head home, so a heavy working schedule would be the order of the day. The weather continues to be kind apart from the sharp coolness in the air which are great conditions for walking, something all of the team have done over the past ten days.

Once breakfast was out of the way, the band went for a photo shoot to capture the perfect group shot, watch this space for some of the best images soon.

Concentration was mainly on two new songs today. Deen built up his parts and created the right groove while Glenn worked out melodies and laid down some guide vocals so the tracks could find their way, twisting and turning into Doug’s guitar riffs.

The humour was good in the studio today, reflecting on a satisfied mood by the band on what they have accomplished over the past few days. They took delivery of some Blackstar amps giving a big crunch in the sound and Taylor acoustic guitars, one of the most beautiful guitars to play, which will be integrated into some of these new songs.

As with every day, Doug and Glen the resident chefs cooked up another amazing dish. Today it was the French classic beef bourguignon with a vegan option of roasted peppers and couscous.

The band would like to give a heartfelt thank you to their hosts Herve and Isabel for their unbelievably kind hospitality and not forgetting the champagne and red wine aperitif. Tres Bien!

Day 8 – Nov 11th 2019

As everyone gathered for breakfast on another fine day in this little corner of the south of France, the days tasks were discussed over breakfast as Glenn, David, Deen and Doug prepared for the next creative sessions.

One song became the focus today from morning until evening as they all contributed, played and tracked their various parts. Everyone immersed themselves totally into this new track with some amazing guitar riffs and melodies coming together. The as yet unnamed number is sounding epic and will be a monster of a song when completed!

Deen likes to put in a big hard hitting shift on the drums, but he likes to chill in the massive gardens that sprawl around the chateau at La Fabrique. Today he discovered the pond and decided to try his hand at some fishing. Although Hake was on the evenings menu, the band and crew were relieved to know it wasn’t caught by Deen, but prepared once again in spectacular fashion by chefs Doug and Glen!

Thursday is fast approaching and that is when the band will head back to their lives to do their own thing for a while. For the time being they will continue the long hours, working hard and using every creative fibre they have to make an album that everyone will want to hear once its completed.

Day 7 – Nov 10th 2019

Sunday broke, bathed in sunshine with a crisp chill in the air. You know the song, ‘Easy like Sunday Morning’? That would NOT describe the day ahead. An early start and right through the day and into the evening the band set out to complete all the tasks required before winding up the studio sessions later in the week.

Deen has been doing a serious work-out to complete all his parts and today was no different, although he will always find time to goof around. Ben Grosse wanted to make sure he had every fill, every snare part, all the bass drums so he could build the final drum picture and create that big Daisies sound that we’ve come to expect from Deen.

A new song called ‘All Together’ was penned to add to the collection. The chemistry between all four members is really flowing with each day, and these little gems of ideas coming from the writing sessions are appearing more and more frequently.
As the day was coming to an end, the band and crew were treated to yet another sumptuous meal by Doug and Glen. Tonight, it was a Sunday Roast with all the trimmings. At this rate, the boys will not only be leaving the studio with some great songs but possibly some excess baggage around the waistline!

New music from the studio will be posted soon, so keep an eye out on the website and social media for some exclusive nuggets.

Day 6 – Nov 9th 2019

The morning was filled with blue skies and sunshine once more, which is always an inspiring way to start any day. After breakfast the band followed photographer Fiaz around the chateau and into the garden for the first set of official band photos….

Once the promotional poses were sorted it was down to business once more. As with every day on these sessions, total concentration lay ahead as Doug, Deen, David and Glenn headed back into the creative process.

Deen has been worked hard throughout these sessions by Ben Grosse to complete a series of drum tracks that are big and loud! Rolling thunder, pouring rain, coming down like a hurricane as the famous opening line in ‘Hells Bells’ states is a good description of how Deen has approached the drumming on these new tracks.

With Glenn now stitched into the fabric of The Dead Daisies new sound, today would start to paint a more detailed picture of each song as he started to put down the guide vocals. The guitars, bass and drum parts stand alone like a strong beating heart. The addition of the vocal breathed life into the foundation of these tracks.

The day was rounded off once more with a hearty French meal prepared by Doug and Glen, La Fabriques amazing chefs. Roasted lamb and a dessert of Key-Lime pie that was absolutely mouth-watering finished off what was another wonderful day.

As the evenings are becoming longer, darker and colder it’s sends a shiver down your spine. This energy is translating into the album and will be capable of doing the same to you when it hits the streets in 2020.

Day 5 – Nov 8th 2019

The sunshine returned today and it was enough to give a welcome boost to the guys as they headed for breakfast and planned their day ahead.

Today, like any other day this week has been intense and focused. Like a new house being built from the ground up, each song has come from a spark of an idea to a guitar riff, then the foundations have been laid down, and brick by brick they are becoming, bigger and louder under the watchful eye of the foreman, producer Ben Grosse.

Taking a break from the process, Glenn, Doug, Deen and David retreated to the garden for a discussion on the latest songs. The sight of four grown men sitting in a large field on a set of childrens playhouse chairs gave a humorous and light hearted reflection into some serious planning.

Five days in to the writing and recording, it’s really starting to take shape and forming a picture of how powerful this new music is going to be.

As with every evening the team are treated to some of the best French cuisine on offer by chefs Doug and Glen. No, Doug Aldrich and Glenn Hughes have not decided to take a change of career path into a culinary one, but their namesakes cook up a storm every night. The highlight today was the most delicious cheesecake ever tasted, it was simply off the scale. La Fabriques engineer Daniel celebrated his 40th birthday today, so what better way than to share it with The Dead Daisies.

As another day comes to an end, tomorrow will bring some more magic and memories as they inch closer to creating an amazing record.

Day 4 – Nov 7th 2019

It was a damp and miserable day outside today. The rain swirled around and battered against the windows of the recording rooms while the resident animals (two ginger cats and a brown dog) took shelter inside. It was the perfect day to switch off from the outside world and concentrate totally on the task ahead, to continue creating great new music.

Once again, everyone was very focused on the tracks, writing new parts, improving on the ones that existed and removing ideas that didn’t gel. It is very easy to get distracted by the surroundings where the walls have seen nearly two centuries of history, you can also use that distraction as a creative tool and energy. Pre production is now in full swing as the first group of songs take shape.

On a break, Doug went for a stroll in the garden with umbrella in hand accompanied by Jimi, while Deen checked out some of the antique motorbikes stored away in an out-house.

The atmosphere and mystique that La Fabrique exudes, inspired the lads even more so today with the added elements of the thundering rain. Deen formulated the final drum arrangements with producer Ben Grosse on the first few numbers.
After another intense day of work, the band retired to the dining room. On tonight’s menu another spectacular dish roasted duck with all the trimmings, and once again, it was simply mouth-watering. An early night was required to recharge the batteries to lead into another long day tomorrow, creating the next set of future classic Rock anthems.

Day 3 – Nov 6th 2019

With the dawn of a new day filled with more sunshine and blue skies, the band headed down to the studios early to start work. After a hearty French breakfast including freshly baked croissants, Deen headed back to the drum booth while David, Doug and Glenn continued to look closely at song arrangements.

With the morning came a sense of intensity trying different parts and arrangements. Guitar lines loudly and softly broke the silence and slipped out of the windows into the courtyard, melodies weaved in and out as songs started to take shape being pieced together like a complicated jigsaw.

With a break for lunch outside in the garden, it gave time to reflect at a quiet distance on the mornings work and to map out the journey of where the boys could take the songs next, including titles. The aim, hope and ambition of every songwriter is to have that next piece of work they create become part of their listeners DNA, and labelling it with the right name is crucial. Now, with a clear direction, the afternoon’s work was mapped out.
The evening saw another wonderfully prepared meal by La Fabriques chefs, although Doug wanted to break in on the act to demonstrate his culinary skills. The most amazing turkey we’ve ever eaten, with potatoes and carrots were the order of the day.

The last part of the day was spent with, producer Ben, building some of the tracks in preparation to record some serious guitar parts as part of the next days creative work out.

Day 2 – Nov 5th 2019

Settling in to the beautiful surroundings of La Fabrique, the band are now in the creative space to make magic happen. With the sun bursting through the windows in the morning and walks in the beautiful French countryside, inspiration is starting to flow.

Today was filled with jamming sessions and some intense creative writing, sparking new ideas including a great new riff from Glenn and taking songs to a more finished level. The first track everyone has heard from Glenn, David, Doug and Deen playing together ‘Righteous Days’ was worked on along with producer Ben Gross to give it a new skin for future release.

To get the best results, you have to give yourself a break to chill out and refresh the batteries and La Fabrique is the perfect place for both shutting the world out to relax while still creating the place to let your musical ideas run wild. With a dinner of salmon and pears followed by Deen taking his turn to wash the dishes, yes, even rock stars have to do the chores, it was time to return to the music.

The drums create the spine of the songs, so Deen is first up in the recording booth to lay down some hard hitting grooves. Getting the perfect drum sound is imperative to the whole record, and between Deen and Ben they are cooking up a wicked hard sonic sound that will make this new record explode out of your speakers!

Day 1 – Nov 4th 2019

As November starts to kick in, so does the new era for The Dead Daisies. Over the first weekend of the month, Doug, David, Deen and Glenn arrived in the South of France from various ports to begin the creative process which will lead to a brand new collection of future classics.

While the majority of Europe start to prepare for winter, as the leaves fall off the trees, this part of France (Saint-Rémy de Provence) still draws a little warmth from the sun. The location of La Fabrique studios, an amazing residential recording studio in an old, 19th century farm will be home for the band over the coming days.

The studio is right in the middle of one of the most impressive classical music collections in the world with over 200,000 vinyls, 30,000 films and thousands of books, so there is an abundance of material to inspire the band as they make their creative journey in the coming weeks.

Along with producer Ben Grosse, who has worked with the likes of Depeche Mode, Breaking Benjamin and Dream Theatre to name a few, the band started the day setting up drum and guitar sounds in ‘The Arcade’ in preparation for recording the following day.

Once the band finished their first day of working in the studio, it was time for their first supper in one of the many dining rooms situated in the chateau.

The creative juices are flowing and the music is starting to take shape.

Day two will take them one step closer to the next great album.

Stay tuned for more tomorrow….