When I first heard the demos for this album, long before Peryodiko was even formed, I was captivated by Vin's songs. I cautioned him, however, that if he formed a band, he should make sure that it doesn't overpower the songs. When I first heard Peryodiko last year, I criticized their lack of cohesion and creativity. As individually talented as they were, I felt they had not formed a concept of what the band should be. In the year that followed, Butch Dans and Thirdline put them through a rigorous program of rehearsals and gigs. So by the time I heard them in late July, they had figured out not only how to play like a band, but how to think like a band.
As mentioned earlier, I first recorded all four of them simultaneously in the studio. This was opposed to the standard strategy in popular music of laying down a click track, then having each instrument play along with it on different sessions. With the exception of Vin, who like his brother Ebe is exceedingly self-effacing about his playing, Abe, Kakoy and Simon are first-call musicians. In live performance, the basic rhythm section is composed of Abe on drums, Simon on bass, and Vin on "continuous" rhythm guitar. Like the best drum-bass duos I've heard, Abe and Simon sound like they are joined at the hip. When I first heard Abe in Dong Abay's band, I felt he was very good, but unfinished. There were a few things about his playing that didn't sit well with me, like the way he addressed the snare drum. The same was true when I first heard him in Peryodiko last year. But he has taken a quantum leap since then, expanding his dynamic and timbral range. All my reservations have since evaporated. And to say I enjoy his playing now is a gross understatement. Simon is probably the most experienced member of the band, having played rock and pop in his youth, moving on to classical music and jazz, and now returning to rock with Peryodiko. I've actually played with him once, and he has such a comfortable pocket that not matter how far I strayed from the beat, he stayed rock steady. But that's not all. Simon is one of those rare bassists who can "lift" the music, despite inhabiting the bottom of an arrangement. I predicted that the "basics" recording would be more like classic jazz sessions. true enough, tempos were pushed, pulled, and nailed. Harmonies were deconstructed, reconstructed, and augmented. There were moments filled with sound, and others filled with space. And instruments would step forward, or recede into the background. All of this happened in "real-time" with all the members playing together. Its the most organic rock/pop recording I've heard in a long time.
Beyond the rhythm section, the usual strategy in recording popular music is to load the arrangements to the point of "fullness". The extreme example of this Phil Spector's "Wall Of Sound" approach that utilizes a battalion of parts. I too have used a similar approach. I coined the term "guitar squadron", referring to the use of up to four continuous rhythm guitar parts in some Eraserheads songs. But on Dong Abay's "Flipino", I went the other way and intentionally made use of less massive arrangements. Some have criticized this approach on that album, but I wanted a light, nimble sound to serve as backdrop to Dong's wonderful songs and rich voice. My strategy for Peryodiko was slightly similar to this. I found it quite remarkable how many bases the band covers live. So all the "basics" sessions essentially captured what the band does in any club date or concert. The main difference is that Peryodiko has Kakoy. In live performance, Kakoy alternates between three functions. At any given time in a piece, he will either augment Vin's rhythm parts, or play short riffs and/or counterpoint lines, or play solos. The "basics" sessions could have been left as is, and the arrangements would have been fine. At the start of the project, I made an unusual decision to record vocals immediately after the basics, and before any guitar overdubs. This reaffirmed my aim to not have anything step on the vocal melodies. But my gut feel was that Kakoy had magic in mind. I wasn't exactly sure what he thought of this process, so I was relieved when he responded positively. At the end of one "basics" session, I observed carefully when he laid down a tiny riff that subtly magnified something he had played earlier. I interpreted this to mean that, aside from solos, he understood that guitar overdubs were to be used mainly to focus or accentuate specific parts of an arrangement. That little event confirmed to me that we were on the same page in as far as how the arrangements should run. With the vocal sessions completed, I let Kakoy loose. This led to what I now call "The Kakoy Show".
8 October 2008 was scheduled exclusively for guitar overdubs. The day before, I texted him a list of all parts I wanted added to the songs. When he showed up in the studio, he came armed to the teeth with eight electric guitars, two acoustics, and one mandolin. I jokingly said that there were more guitars in the room than people. Kakoy proceeded to lay down a stunning array of tracks that alternately sang, soared, and screamed. I had been awake for some 24 straight hours by the time we packed up. But despite serious sleep deprivation, I missed only the last 15 minutes of this incredible session. The next day, we had what I call the "last chance session", which is designed to add the last remaining odds and ends. Vin was first up with a redo of one vocal track. I was pleasantly surprised (more like shocked) when he nailed it in one take, with only two spot punch-ins. This set the stage for the continuation of "The Kakoy Show". He first laid down a hilarious, almost atonal solo for "Piraso" using the oddest guitar he had, a beat-up "thing" that looked more at home in the hands of an impoverished blind street musician in Quiapo. He finally brought the house down with a long, sustained, but tuned feedback line for the ending of "Walang Kapalit".
I then called for a review of all the songs, in the album sequence. For the first time, the band could revel in the fruits of two months of hard work: great songs, organic playing, a solid cooking rhythm section, spectacular but tasteful guitar work, and arrangements that were full but never overloaded. High fives and handshakes were exchanged by everyone in the studio, which included Abe, Kakoy, Vin, Thirdline PA Wilmer, members of Shinji's band South Superhighway, and Johnny Alegre. But I cautioned everyone however that this was not the end. Shinji and I will take about a month to mix the songs.
There is still so much magic to do.
