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Reporter: Brent Hagerman
Spearheaded by Jed Campbell, an Irish exchange student at the University of Waterloo, CKMS has Studio Virgins; a compilation CD of local bands who have never been in a professional studio before. The Studio Virgins project took four bands (Favoured Whisper, Sees The Day, Pete Lippert, and Intransition) and paired them with Palindrome studio engineer and longtime CKMS airhead, Bill Wharrie. The results are as fresh and exciting as Jed's Canadian English...One of the participants in this new project, Walter Foddis from Intransition, recently spent some time telling me about his band and their Studio Virgins project.
ECHO: Who is in your band and what do they play?
Walter Foddis: Jennifer Bryan is our lead singer. She has a singing voice that turns heads and quiet crowds. She also plays keyboard and other assorted instruments, like the infamous Vibra-slap. Justin Kwitco is currently our bass player, but he will become our lead guitarist once our original bass player returns. Justin also sings, but currently he only sings covers. We'll get him singing on the original music path yet. Our bassist, Graham Hearne, is working and doing "stuff" in Ireland. Graham will be back in September. And there's myself--I play rhythm guitar and do the occasional harmonies. I also like to fiddle on the keyboard.
E: Can you describe your music for the good people in Echo land?
WF: Folk rock is one way. Folk pop is another. If there's a third way, it probably has the word "folk" in it too. If I called it adult contemporary, Jennifer would kill me.
E: How did you get involved with the Studio Virgins Project?
WF: I heard about it through Angela Garabet, who has a weekly show on CKMS.
E: Did this seem like a crazy idea to you guys initially? Did you think you were up for it, having never been in a studio before?
WF: No, not too crazy. We had some previous recording at a Kitchener basement-studio. However, the songs we recorded there were incomplete. We didn't realize how much effort (i.e., time and money!) it would take to make decent recordings.
E: How did the sesssion go?
WF: It was a little nerve-wracking at the first because if we made a mistake, we had to start the song all over again. Eventually, we just went with it, mistakes and all. So the best version of each song was the one with the least mistakes.
E: Are you planning to record an album? If so, did this experience teach you anything/help you make decisions about the album?
WF: Down the road, we would like to record an album. We have about six songs that are complete and several more on the drawing board. We may start as early as the fall. We learned that recording takes time! Also, that it's never too late to change how songs are played. For instance, I always use a pick to play the intro to one of our songs. But in the studio, finger-picking the intro sounded much better. We also learned it's important to give ourselves time away from the recordings to evaluate them more objectively. After several hours in the studio, mental exhaustion takes over, you lose focus, and you're not hearing the songs as well as you can. Finally, we learned that we need a drummer!
E: Now that you've been in Palindrome studios, and you are no longer studio virgins, what are you now--studio sluts?
WF: I think recording in one studio doesn't make you a slut. Now if we recorded in three different studios, that would be different!
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