In the fall I had tried to record a bunch of them myself. 2 of those efforts are up on the myspace player as "demos".

Technically, I'm perfectly capable of recording myself. I used a really nicely decked out Pro Tools HD recording rig that I' very familiar with. The demos sound fine - but ultimately, it's not what I want my CD to sound like.

A few months ago I began having thoughts of hooking up with a producer of some kind. Another set of ears that could help with the recording process. Someone to to whom I can describe a sound - and they KNOW how to produce it.

My issue is I really want to overcome that "direct to board" sound you get when you plug your electric bass directly into the board.

I want to put the bass into a space. A live space. I want it to take on a sense of existence, a realism, an authenticity and intimacy. I want it to sound alive.

I played with reverbs & delays, and while they can do wonderful things, I still couldn't accomplish what I wanted. It always sounded fake to me.

I had no idea how to find a producer who would "get" what I was trying to do. Most producers have a "FENDER" setting on their LA-2A. That's about as deep as they go with bass sounds. I needed ears, skills and an imagination. Not just a person to press "record".

Just before the holiday - purely on a whim, I scrolled thru the musician ads on craigslist. There was an ad for "ACOUSTIC MUSICIAN RECORDING" For some reason I clicked on it. Actually, I think subconsciously I knew I wanted to treat the recording of my electric bass as an acoustic recording.

It turned out to be an ad for a local producer with some very impressive credits. Her name is Cookie Marenco.

Just a few credits - Max Roach, Charlie Haden, Tony Levin, Steve Rodby, Buckethead, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Brad Mehldau, Alex De Grassi, Rudresh Mahanthappa & Vijay Iyer (one of my favorite jazz records of 2006)

Cookie is an audiophile with a new high-fi acoustic music label and she pioneered an advanced recording technique for surround called ESE (Extended Sound Environment) and is particularly interested and adept at creating realistic life like recordings.

After speaking with Cookie about my project & ideas for over an hour - I really felt that she has the perspective & skills I needed in a producer for this project.

Cookie prefers to work analog - to tape. It's an essential part of getting the "true" and "alive" sound I want.

I have 15 pieces I want to get recorded - from which I'll pick the best 9-11 for official release. The rest may eventually show up online - or as an extra EP or something like that. Who knows.

I begin recording in Cookie's Bay Area studio sometime in mid-late March. It's all paid for so . . . no backing out now.

I'd also like to chronicle some of the recording process & techniques via podcast - hopfully some simple video. Don't hold me to that part - but it's something I'd like to try if possible.

Yeah!