Under the Hood, Episode 1: "This Pain"




Metalworks Studios, Mississauga, November 2009. L-R: Chris Crerar, Russ Boswell, Franklin McKay, Mark Kelso.



 

November 2009. Metalworks Studios, Mississauga. I walked into a real recording studio for the first time since the 1980s — back when I was a kid in Sault Ste. Marie, saving every dollar I had to cut demos at Satellite Sound.

This time I wasn't alone. This time I had a band.

Mark Kelso on drums — first-call Toronto session drummer, four Junos, who's played with everyone from Herbie Hancock to Michael Bublé. Bernie LaBarge on guitar — fifty years in the business, a Juno nomination of his own, sessions with Ian Tyson and Kim Mitchell. Russ Boswell on bass — the guy behind Corey Hart, David Wilcox, and Serena Ryder. I played piano. And co-producing alongside me: Paul Gross, co-founder of Toronto's legendary Phase One Studios (not the actor), and Chris Crerar, Metalworks' senior mastering engineer whose credits include Prince's Musicology.

That's what "This Pain" sounds like. Not a kid with a demo anymore — a room full of the best players in the country, and me trying to keep up.

Keep coming back — there's always more under the hood.

— Franklin
franklinmckay.com

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