The Daniel Kortchmar Interview Set II

All the records we ("The Section") made including 'Tapestry' and James Taylor; we were all in the room together. Everyone's in the same room playing at the same time. From playing on 'Tapestry' and Sweet Baby James that lit us all up. "I was taught to play in the studio by some very astute fellows. Namely Peter Asher, Lou Adler and Carole (King). They always brought me back to the song; what's best for the song? Don't play over the melody, play something that's going to help. This was before you could amplify an acoustic guitar so James is playing to the mic. We're all walking on egg shells. Keep it down to a level where James' (Taylor) guitar and vocal can be heard. We were all sitting down close to each other. Peter Asher made the template for that music when he produced "Sweet Baby James." That's how we learned to play together. That record and the next one, 'Mudslide Slim.' That's where Russ, Lee and I learned to play that music." "We got into the studios from that. Peter Asher was the first producer to put the names of the accompanists on the albums. This is why the wrecking crew is not well known because they played on many records but they weren't listed.” “These records came along and we were kind of the next generation of the wrecking crew. Because Peter and Lou (Adler) were putting the names of the musicians on the albums we got recognition. We started getting a lot of calls, especially Russ (Kunkel) and Lee (Sklar).” “That sounds like an obvious thing but it isn't. Very, very few records are made like that anymore. They're mostly made peace meal, one part at a time. When I was producing a lot of records in the eighties and nineties I would put all the guys in the room. I produced a 'Spin Doctors' album where they were all in the room together. I never really got into doing one part at a time.” “As far as analog to digital I think that's overrated. If Tom Dowd had ProTools, working on all those early Aretha records, he would have absolutely loved it.” “The analog sound that you're (JFS) talking about comes to the signal, not where it ends up. Really good engineers know how to mic stuff. They know how to mic a drum kit and mic a room that has four or five guys in it. At that point the difference between recording to tape or ProTools is minuscule. More is made out of it then is there. It's about the chain - the mic's and preamps that you use. Again, it very much has to do with guys in a room. You don't have guys in a room together you're not going to get that sound. It's what happens when everyone plays together." “All my favorite guitar players growing up were like that too. Steve Cropper, Curtis Mayfield, Cornell Dupree, David T. Walker - all those guys knew how to set up a song. Everybody else was listening to lead guitar and I was listening to these guys. To me, Steve Croppers playing on those Stax/Volt Records is the essence of how you play a song. You have to serve the song.” “I have a huge ego, but when I have to find the right part for a song that upstages my ego. When I was playing with James (Taylor) and Carol (King) I was jamming all the time, everyday. I was able to play solos, turn up and play louder.” “When you hear a song like 'You've Got A Friend,' forget your ego. That's a great song, all I try to do is find some way to help tell the story.” “Musicians never want it to end. They don't want to be part of a moment that only lasts a few years and goes away.” “Musicians are all about love and the musicians I know (and I know a lot of them) absolutely love each other. They love playing together, they glow, and I do too. It a profound situation to play music with other people. It creates a bond, especially when you've been playing and listening since you were ten. It was a lifetime thing with all of us.”