WEEKEND WARRIOR SESSIONS

One of our favourite types of sessions is something we've nicknamed the Weekend Warrior Session. They're exactly what we pictured when we built OCL. If you don't already know, we're a residential recording facility. The top two floors of our building are the residence for the band. The first floor is the kitchen, dining room, and living room (with one bedroom on that floor), and the second floor is the other four bedrooms. The use of this space is complimentary when you record with us. The Weekend Warriors are the ones who come in, forget about everything else for the weekend, and focus only on their band and their recording. Here's what that usually looks like.

FRIDAY NIGHT

More often than not, especially if the band is from out of town, the group arrives Friday evening. This is something we will absolutely do our best to accommodate every time. Arriving the night before means you have time to load-in, go to the grocery store (and the liquor store), and settle in before you even have to think about recording. This is also a great time to do some last minute pre-production, or one final rehearsal in the hall before you start tracking. The best thing about staying the night before is the opportunity to focus; you don't have to worry about traffic on the way to the studio, or the dishes in your sink at home.

SATURDAY

Saturday always goes by incredibly quickly. The goal for Saturday is to lay down the bed tracks for each song. These tracks are the foundation for the rest of the weekend. Because our live room is so big, the majority of our tracking is done live off the floor, meaning all the players are on the floor recording at the same time. If the bed tracks are done with time left in the day, we will move on to overdubs and vocals. After the session, you have some time to hang out. In the summer months, the swimming pool will be available as well as the BBQ outside. We sit on about six acres of property with fields all around us, so you don't have to worry about noise or neighbours.

SUNDAY

With bed tracks wrapped, the focus on Sunday is overdubs and vocals. Sunday is usually a little calmer, with a little more time to sit back and look at things. This when you have a chance to build on the foundation you started on Saturday, adding character and layers to the tracks. Out of town artists often stay Sunday evening after working late and head home on Monday, while local artists usually head home Sunday night. Either works for us.

NOW...

Not everyone is able to finish an entire project over the course of a weekend. If you want to add additional production, like strings or horns, that'll take some extra time. You might need more time for vocals. We've even had bands book a few weekends and stay a few times so that they can finish the album without taking time off from their day jobs. Whatever your schedule is, we'll work with you to find something that works.