(This is a re-post from my Blogspot, which is going away. Originally posted 6/30/2009.)
Is it possible that my years of carrying a tape recorder in my pocket could be over?
Since 1999, I’ve used a tape recorder for everything: musical idea sketchpad, diary, confidant, “audio camera”. Some of the best and worst moments of my life have been captured on cassette tape.
Enter the iPhone 3G S. I finally stepped into the 21st century and bought the newfangled gadget, and now I’m finding myself using it for everything. Camera, memo pad, Twitter, Facebook, Email, iPod, game machine…and oh yeah, it’s a good phone too. I can talk inside my house now!
I got curious about its audio recording capabilities and a few searches led me to this app: http://www.sonomawireworks.com/iphone/fourtrack/
I was skeptical at first, but I went for it…and it’s amazing. Does everything it says on the label, and does it well. I can record a song idea very quick just using the standard earbuds/microphone that come with the phone. And when I’m done, I can transfer the raw tracks via WiFi to my studio computer and work on my idea further, or just make a mix for archival purposes. Very cool.
So I was driving home last night from a friend’s house and thought…ok, now that I have what amounts to a mobile studio in my pocket, what can I do with it that was never possible before?
Hey, I know! How about I record a whole song while driving down the interstate!
Without any thought, I put the phones in my ears, opened up the 4-track app, and laid down a vocal “bass line” to the built in metronome. By the time I rolled into my driveway, I had a vocals-only version of “If You Want Me To Stay” recorded, start to finish.
I put it in the computer today and couldn’t resist throwing real bass and some synthetic drums on there, but I left it alone otherwise. I wanted to preserve the spontaneity.
So here it is, for your listening pleasure, my mobile cover of Sly’s “If You Want Me To Stay”, more or less exactly as-is, except with a little EQ and the aforementioned bass/drum overdubs.
Just picture me driving down I-75 at 2AM while doing this.
The iPhone Experiment
9 11 2009
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