STRANGE CHARM
Waiting For The Sun
Liner notes and commentary on recording and remastering Waiting for The Sun - Tenth Anniversary
I have such great memories around the process of making this record. Some random moments I vividly recall include Richard
and me asking Rob if he might consider putting a short drum solo in Waiting For The Sun.
He was amenable to the idea and whipped out what you hear on the record in one take! It was just a perfect interlude
for that song and Richard and I were gobsmacked at the talent Rob kept in his back pocket, being just as modest as he
was amazing.
I also recall that Richard and I were looking for a smooth sounding string/pad-type synth part on the chorus of
I Never Did It. We ultimately settled on a Gregorian Men's Choir sample played in a higher register, of all things. It was very smooth.
A small part that I regret not mixing louder was this space-alien-sounding-vibrato synth mixed in the left
channel during the chorus and solo parts of The Fall. Richard and I were both laughing so hard listening back to it while we decided whether to
include it or not. Luckily we left it in. Richard could really make a synth talk! His talent was incredible and it was such a
treat to work with him. Every day he just brought it!
Steve used both a fretless bass and a 5-string bass on various parts of this record and contributed heavily to the sound. He
always looked to bring many voices and tonal qualities
to his bass parts and I think he did a great job on this. Even though he was using somewhat different basses than he typically used
Steve adapted quickly and made me a huge fan of that deep sound. I mixed the original version of this record with lots of bass because
I loved that sound so much, prompting the remastering after a decade of critical listening. Maybe just brighten things up a bit? Yes, that's better.
Another magic moment happened when recording vocals for
Something You Got when Beth was singing a scratch track using a cheap stage mic while the band
played live in the room. We intended to re-record her part later using a higher quality condenser mic
but her performance was so incredible on that take that we ultimately had to use it, mic quality be damned! These days,
I always use a good mic for recording "scratch" tracks just in case lightning strikes again. Beth brought the magic ingredient that made all this special for us.
Such a great talent and such a beautiful person. What an honor it was to share a stage with her for all those years. Although she never performed live with us, Dorothy
Cannon provided her lovely backing vocals for this record.
Strange Charm existed for the better part of a decade. With my
bandmates Beth Milton, Richard Spanswick, Steve Morgan and Rob Neidig,
I think we found the right combination of people to realize our original music ideas.
After 7 years, 2 records, and 85 live shows with the same personnel, Strange
Charm disbanded in the fall of 2014. Our parting was very amicable and we remain
friends to this day. Being a part of this band was really a lot of fun and happily,
we accomplished pretty much everything we had set out to do.
I am grateful to my amazing bandmates for the opportunity of sharing this experience.
This record was remastered (but not remixed), in the fall of 2024 to brighten up the sound while staying true
to the original recordings. We originally issued writing credits to everyone in the band as this was a very collaborative effort but have
noted the source of these songs on this page with the primary lyricist listed first.
-Randy Brewer
All songs Copyright © Strange Charm, the individual authors noted, and Interstate Wanderlust
Music, publisher, all rights reserved. BMI Affiliated. Recordings used with permission.
Some songs contain  lyrics.
If you enjoyed this music, you might want to check out Strange Charm's self-titled first album
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Bespoke Recording
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