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Interview: Mike Got Spiked
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Page 3 |
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The Mic: What is the process of making a CD?
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Conall: Well the first thing to do is write the songs and rehearse them
'til you can play them in your sleep. Then we like to do a pre-production demo,
nothing too fancy, just enough to be able to hear how the songs sound recorded.
This helps us to fine-tune them and get them as good as possible before heading
into the studio. We usually lay down the drums live with all of us playing and
then add any necessary overdubs, extra guitars, bass and finally the vocals and
backing vocals as well and any percussion or sound effects we feel might add
to the sound.
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We then like to give ourselves a few days for our ears to recover before the
mixing process. This is where we get the levels and tones just right so
everything can be heard clearly and in the right relation to each other.
There's also the panning to sort out for the stereo mix so that everything is
in the right place. If you wear a pair of headphones it'll sound like you're in
the room with the band, the kit sounds like you're sitting behind it with the
snare in the middle, the cymbals on the left and right etc, It's a long and
complicated process but when done right it makes good takes sound great.
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The mastering process is something that I still don't fully understand, it's
a final EQ on the track to make it sound as full and rounded as possible while
also bringing the overall levels up to album quality. Then it's just a matter
of getting the artwork together and getting the CDs duplicated.
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Of course this is where the real work starts. There's no point in having an
amazing CD unless you get people to hear it. You've got to get it out there and
promote the hell out of it. Getting radio play, getting it into the stores and
- my favourite part - touring like crazy.
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The Mic: How do you get the word out about your music?
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Conall: Relentless touring. We travel everywhere and anywhere, playing
shows and meeting people. There is a lot to be said for slick marketing
campaigns etc but I've always found that the best way to discover great new
music is by word of mouth. If someone who's taste in music you respect tells
you about a band you've gotta check out then you're more likely to give them
a listen than if a flashy MTV ad tells you about them.
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The Mic: How is your local response to your music?
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Conall: More often than not the response we get is extremely positive.
We put so much of our energy into putting on a good show that even if the
people wouldn't normally be into our style of music they come away from the
show feeling thoroughly entertained and ready for more!
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The Mic: What is the farthest you have traveled for a gig?
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Conall: We have travelled all over the country, far and wide to play
shows - Over 130,000 mikes in three years - Sometimes this has meant overnight
drives, up to 18 hours at a time to get to our next show but I think the
furthest we've ever travelled for a show was from Dublin, Ireland to
Montreal, Canada... what's that? about 5,000 miles?
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The Mic: What tune on the CD are you most proud of?
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Conall: My favourite tune on our debut album is probably "Speechless".
It was the first song we ever wrote together as "mike got spiked" and to this
day is still one of my favourites to play live. We still use it as the closing
number to our set on most occasions. Of our more recent recordings I'm most
proud of the song, 'Fool for the Ladies'. Technically the new recording hasn't
been released on CD yet but I feel it's a different kind of song for us, not
so heavy or screamy and it lets us explore our quirkier, funkier side.
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The Mic: Where can people access your music on the web?
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