Droogies!
Well, the day has come and I am packing it in.
Yesterday was the last day in the studio, I finished the last solo and the last sentence of the last song, and the week before all of the remixes were done, so . . . it is time now to prepare all of the goofy administrative stuff that goes into an album.
I was listening down to all of the songs until after 11:30 PM last night when I finally told Jeff Balding that I had to go. I had a meeting to be at, at 7:00 AM this morning, but as you can see I didnt make it because I got really ill again.
The songs to me are fantastic. There is a lot going on, there are amazing solos by both Polie and myself, loads of double bass, fast parts, slow parts, beautiful singing, Mustaine snarls, yelling, gang vocals, voice-overs, special effects, and layers of intricate sounds in the background that Jeff and I are deciding on what will help the song and what will not.
For example, last night we were working for almost half an hour on whether or not to put the sound of a jail cell door clanging shut (kinda like in Captive Honour) in a song called Kick the Chair. We ended up muting it for now, but it was a tough decision because there is a lot going on right there already (youll see soon).
This incredible amount of layering, I believe, will be 100% acceptable and expected when I start on my solo work, but for the Megadeth music that we have all grown to love and enjoy, I have to be cautious.
Dont want to get slagged here at my own boards now, do I?
I am excited as hell to know that I am going to see the old guard today. Jeff Young got in last night, and Chuck Behler and Nick Menza come in today. I have told them all that I am not going to be there, because I wanted to surprise them, and pop in to see the looks on their faces after they hear what we all did to make them shine!
I also just want to see them and tell them thanks and that I love them and I wouldnt be where I am today without what they did with me.
Jimmy DiGrasso couldnt make it because his precious daughter is having a birthday today and I fully understand his decision; it was the right thing to do. So he will be participating in writing, as will Marty because of his priorities in his new life.
Junior is going to be filmed in the immediate future as is Chris Poland. Kelly Lemieux and Lee Ving are going to have something to say, hopefully, in print too for the MD.45 project, and there are two bonus tracks and three tiny segments that were to have been used as segues on the original release but were not.
I want to take this time to personally thank some people that have made this whole project complete:
To Lance Dean [Pre-production engineer, Assistant Engineer, Pro Tools Editor, Project Foreman] LD, you are my brother and I am so amazed at our friendship. Ever since TWNAH you have been there for me. Ya dont say much, but your looming mass, and gentle demeanor make me feel safe, no matter what sh*t is currently on its way to the fan.
To Ralph Patlan [Engineer, Assistant Engineer] Talladega, I had no idea you were as good as you are. John has no idea how fortunate he is to have you representing him. I hope that this is just the beginning of many projects that we work on (Megadeth, Mustaine, new bands, old band re-mixes, etc.). Take care and no one will ever know about the bass part
To my assistants Scott Sarge Harrison, Bo "Bodiac" Caldwell, and Cathy Vericolli [Pro Tools operators, Art Directors, Background Vocals, Administrative Aides, and 'kind audience' for my silly lunch and dinner stories everyday] Guys, you are the best assistants I have ever had in a studio. You guys made this entire project effortless and fun; even when it was starting to not be fun. My best wishes to you all; in everything that you do and I hope to gainfully employ you soon.
To Keith Schreiber [Pro Tools Editor, Pre-Production Assistant Engineer] Keith, you keep getting better every day. Blessings to you, your wife, and your new son Justus. Thank you for all of the hard work that you did, you are really good. I hope to use you on something musical soon and not just engineering.
To the other interns: Graham, Robert, James, and the few skuzzy dudes and the freaky chick who ate Philly cream cheese by the block in the beginning that thankfully left I am grateful to you all, especially the skuzzy dudes and Philly for leaving  Graham thanks for all of the candy runs, and I hope that we made friends with the people down at RA. My best wishes to you too in the music industry.
To John Harris [Phase Four studio owner] Thanks for letting me come into your studio. I am glad that you made the repairs that you did for me. I know that it must be hard to make the choices that you did, because in order to have me there, you had to do a lot of scrambling, repair work, and also the lock out cost you, but I hope that everyone who is in the Phoenix metro area will consider your place for their recording needs.
To CRAS [Conservatory of Recording Arts and Sciences] Thank you for supplying me with your interns. I know the situation in which you provided them and your apprehension for putting your students back over there, and all I can say is these kids were great. You should be proud.
To my teachers Ric Flauding, Darien Bennett, Michael Guido, and Rick Linamen [Guitar Teacher and Pastors] Thanks for keeping me glued together during this marathon. I especially appreciate how you have made me feel comfortable being dependent on someone. I have never wanted to depend on people, but you have shown me that there are people out there that you can depend on (just like there are people who are waiting to screw me). I fell a bit during this mega-session and you were there to help hold me up.
To John Orkiseski [Personal Assistant] Jon O, thank you. Thanks so very much for all that you do. You mean very much to me and my family. I never thought that I would actually be friends with a drummer, but it just shows to go ya!
To Jeff Balding [Co-Producer, Engineer] El Duce, what can I say? Go Predators! The Raiders are still cooler than the Titans too! Seriously, you have coaxed what I feel is the best work out of me over the years, and excluding the outside influences to reek havoc on what we do, when we do it, there is something magical about working with you. I aint queer or nothing, but I love you man!
To my Family I am coming home! Thank you for giving me back to Megadeth for the last four months. I promise this will have been worth it.
To Dave McRobb, and the system lords I am so honored by your dedication and dignity. I could not have chosen you from a list and done any better regarding grace, tact, humor, knowledge, courtesy and tolerance with the Droogies. I plan on thanking all of you face-to-face soon. Dave you are my brother and I am blessed to have you in my life, as well as these fine people that you have assembled for the cause.
And to you the Droogs! I have no words to express the constant joy, and humor that you bring to my life. You are a bright spot in my day. And even though there are people that may try to hurt me with there words, posts, threads etc., I know that the majority of you would be there with me shoulder-to-shoulder if we ever needed each other. I pledge this next period of my musical career to doing things right and having fun with you all, unlike any way or thing that I have done in the past.
So . . . I have only left out my managers and the labels which goes without saying and of course my Lord, who gave me back my arm and the ability to play again (I believe better than before, too). I have surrendered my career to the one and my life and soul to the other and I can only say that I am in a place of peace that I have never known. Thank you from the bottom of my heart, to the managers and to the Lord for keeping me off of the scrap heap.
In closing, I told Jeff last night that I was already thinking of my next record. But then a little voice told me, I will kill you if you say that again!
So here are the song titles:
1. Blackmail The Universe
2. Shadow Of Death
3. My Kingdom
4. Of Mice And Men
5. Truth Be Told
6. The Scorpion
7. Kick The Chair
8. Something That Im Not
9. Tears In A Vial
10. Die Dead Enough
11. Back In The Day
Happy Easter to you all, and I wont be posting for a few days, so Peace and Love to you over this holiday weekend.
MSGD!
