Cecilio and Kapono Recording (Part 5)

The making of our first album was a dream come true. Devonshire Studios, Burbank California. I remember walking in the Devonshire studio and realizing this is all real. A real studio, the best producer, Michael Stewart, in the industry. Michael just got through finishing Billy Joel’s first album, Piano Man. The real surprise was asking who the musicians were. They said, Craig Durgie (sp) on keyboards, Leland Sklar on bass, Russ Kunkle on drums, by that time I said, “you mean James Taylor’s Band, The Section”...WOW!!! The Best musicians in the music industry. This was frickin’ exciting!!! I was intimidated and nervous, but these guys were the coolest!!! They made us feel comfortable and they truly was there for us, and they loved our music. Dreams come true!!! It was so easy recording with them. They listened to the music and like pros made it special. They knew when to stay out and when to throw in a little trick of theirs. All the tracks were one takes with a second take for security. Listening back in the control booth to what we had recorded was like magic. I couldn’t believe it and I was sooooo grateful!!! I remember when we were listening back to one of the songs Leland Sklar said “I cant believe I’m hearing these beautiful voices in my headphones and when look to the side of me I see two guys that look like wrestlers,lol!!! The whole room cracked up. You see we recorded live, so everyone was in the studio recording at the same time. When we got to “All In Love Is Fair,” our producer had added a pipe organ and strings, it blew my mind. That whole recording sessions blew my mind. And the end product was AMAZING!!! I was so PROUD of how our songs turned out. The album cover was amazing. A concept from one of the vintage Hawaiian shirts I used to wear except they added our faces in the hibiscus flowers. Reflecting on all this is really CRAZY, but SO GOOD!!! The record company had no clue as to how it would do, but they put there best efforts into it. Well, the BIG TEST is how will it be received by the public...
The journey continues next TBT. Have an Aloha day!!!