We had a good session today with Mike Hagler @ King Size. We did overdubs and final mixes for three songs:

1. With a Bottle in My Hand
2. Hard Times
3. Last Call Waltz

We’re pleased with the results. The recording process for these tunes was different from the way we did the first record. Just a Spoonful was done live to two track, with no overdubs. With these new recordings, we wanted to keep as much of the live energy as we could, but be able to take more time and care with the vocal tracks. So this time we tracked most of the instruments live (in some cases, all the instruments), and overdubbed all the vocals and some additional instrumental parts.

In some cases, we layered multiple tracks of a single instrument to create a fuller sound. We layered a couple fiddle tracks and an arco bass line for the bridge on Last Call Waltz. We did the same thing with the mandolin on Hard Times. We’ll send a sample to the folks on our mailing list next month. We think you’ll like it too.

We’re headed back to King Size tomorrow to clean up and mix four tracks:

• Hard Times
• With a Bottle in My Hand
• Wrap Yourself
• Last Call Waltz

Barring any setbacks, we should have some samples to share with the folks on our mailing list next month.

We had a great time playing at the Chicago Marathon yesterday. The city dropped us an 11-horsepower generator at 7 a.m., and we were powered up and playing streetside by 8:00. A great crowd of spectators formed early and stayed put till the very end.

The first thrills of the day were the wheel-chair athletes blasting through to kick it off. Then the serious race leaders blew through like a wisp of air, gone before we even knew they were there - it was an incredible sight (note, the first 10 finishers were all from Kenya).

And finally, the rest of the 40,000 marathoners came through in groups large and small over the next couple hours, to a constant stream of upbeat Tangleweed at Diversey and Broadway. I have to imagine we got as many waves, smiles, blown kisses, thank-you’s and outright dance-running from the racers of any band on the route. And we really enjoyed the wild run-by-greeting from our friend Jay Stanek from BIG SKY STRING BAND.

I saw several racers interviewed on last night’s TV news, and the consensus among all of them was that the crowd and entertainment along the course made all the difference between a good race and a great race. Even the WINNER OF THE RACE said his morale was greatly boosted by the massive influx of positive energy from the sidewalks. Tangleweed was proud to be a part of this event, and sends big thanks to the organizers for including us.

We played the “Bayou Benefit” at the Old Town School of Folk Music last night. It was a good scene. Chicago musicians got together to raise over $5,000 for musicians displaced by Hurricaine Katrina. If the show was recorded for posterity, we’ll pass along some sound or video files.

We had a great day recording with Mike Hagler at King Size. We recorded four songs (Last Call Waltz, Hard Times, Don’t Need a Bottle, and Wrap Yourself), and were pleased with the results. We’ll pass along a sample to folks on our mailing list soon.

On a related note, Mike is profiled in the new issue of TapeOp. It’s well worth a read if you can get your hands on a copy.