THE MAKING OF DRAWN TO DUST (according to D. James) continued...

"Fast forward to March, 2006. After some scheduling woes and other variables, we finally landed a couple weeks in the Clubhouse to mix the record. Max had sent me a copy of the working versions of the songs, so while I was very familiar with the songs themselves, I had a very faint concept of what I’d be doing in the studio, and my role in the grand scheme.

Max and I had an immediate working rapport. We tracked strings the first day. After discussing the overall concept for the record, I quickly realized that this may well be the record I’d been wanting to work on for years. That turned to be the case and then some.

As the first week went by, more and more friends showed up. The first of our cohorts was Jason Merritt, a.k.a. Whip, from Timesbold. I clearly remember seeing an immediate closeness between Max and Jay, one that has endured many years. Jay and I also built a quick familiarity, based on the fact that he had grown up and gone to school with my wife, Erin. Jay’s presence made me feel more comfortable making musical suggestions, and I found myself feeling more and more a real part of Camphor’s evolution.

By the end of the first week in the studio, all of us were there. Ryan became one of many heroes, as he laid down brilliance on virtually every song. Levon and I shared many a moment talking jazz greats, between bass tracks. And Jon Natchez and Jesse Sparhawk added guitars, lap steel, and harp to the ever growing list of fun that I was to start mixing soon.

My favorite moment of the session came late in the first week, when we started on the song “Mistakes”. We took a listen to the song, and at once, we all scratched our heads in wonderment. Max had reservations about the song as it stood, and I think we all felt the same way. Jay walked in with the nylon string guitar and began strumming and he suggested that we break the song back down to basics. I then suggested that everyone set up in the live room, and we track the song totally live, with everyone there. Well, that’s exactly what we did, and it was quite possibly one of the single best memories I have of that entire session, if not my entire career of making records. I looked out into the live room, and saw my newest and closest brothers making beautiful sounds together. That is why I sit in a chair for twelve hours a day pushing buttons!

I could easily go on for days with the memories I have of those days with everyone in the studio. But, by the end, when everyone had come and gone, it was again just Max, Jay, and I left to mix the record. I would do my thing for a few hours, adding parts, taking them away, manipulating instruments, then grabbing “the boys” for a listen. After several more days, and a few bottles of Jameson, the record was finished. I remember the three of us, sitting outside on a brisk March night, smoking in silence, knowing that Jay was back to Portland the next day. We all felt that indescribable feeling that happens scarcely during a lifetime. No word can describe it.

There are so many moments that all of us shared that will live in my heart and soul forever. After years of making records, and being a part of so many special creations, I feel a part of something more deeply than ever with Camphor. Friendships grew very deep roots in a short period of time, and I feel like these guys are the brothers I never had. I must be blessed. "

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