Rainbow Fresh

Like most Rainbow Fresh songs, 'The Things That We Do' was written long before it was recorded.  If I had to guess, it was probably written in 2009 or 2010.  All of the recording and mixing was done at Sound Over Sound Studios in West Caldwell, NJ, most of it during the summer of 2012. 
The drums, played by Adam Fischel, were actually recorded on January 4th, 2011.  On that day, Adam also recorded the drum tracks for 'A Girl Just Like You', 'Don't Stop Whatcha Doin'', and 'All Because Of You'.  I believe 'The Things That We Do' was the last song we recorded during that session. 
On February 24th, 2011, Chip Moore's bass track was recorded.  He also played the tracks for 'A Girl Just Like You' and 'All Because Of You', during that session.
Two days later, I recorded the rhythm guitar tracks.  I remember going to the studio before work and I had about an hour, which is hardly enough time to do anything.  Somehow, I managed to get a great first take.  I don't think something like that has ever happened before or since, so you can imagine how proud I was.  Anybody who has ever recorded with me will tell you that I'm not a 'one-take' guy.  Because of that, I thought that this tune might turn into something special.  None of the other guys were particularly excited about recording this song, but I really wanted to do it, despite agreeing with them on some level about it's lack of commercial appeal.
It wasn't until the springtime of 2011, May 5th, to be exact, that anything else was done to this tune.  On this day, I recorded the main solo, and the harmonies that go along with it.  Sometimes, when I record a guitar solo, I don't have a definite idea mapped out, which is a just an awful strategy.  But I had something completely worked out for this session beforehand. 
Wow!  A year passed by before 'The Things That We Do' was revisited.  On May 8th, 2012, I did some vocal takes.  For me, vocals are the toughest thing to do.  The vocal makes or breaks a song.  It's the thing that 99% of us focus on when listening to a tune.  If the vocal ain't happening, the song ain't happening.  I returned to the studio on May 16th to try some more vocal takes, and to see if I could do better than the week before. 
On June 8th, 2012, Martin Purcell, Jon Bross (our co-producer, engineer, and owner of Sound Over Sound Studios), and I recorded some vocal harmonies.  It was fun for me to get behind the mixing board and try to motivate/coach these guys during their takes.  That's usually their role.  We got some good stuff that day, and I remember being happy with how everything went.
We continued to work on harmonies on June 17th, 2012, and on July 7th, 2012. 
On July 16th, 2012, we recorded shakers.  Jon Bross, who is a great percussionist, played the part.  I also experimented with an acoustic arpeggiated rhythm track, and repeated the same idea using an electric guitar.  I didn't feel like either track was any good, though.  We also added a few more little harmonies.
On July 24th, 2012, We decided to scrap the arpeggiated rhythm tracks from the last session.  I re-cut the electric one, this time with better results.  The arrangement was slightly changed, and this made all the difference.  Jon Bross had a great idea for a vocal harmony over the last pre-chorus of the song, so we went for it.  We also added harmonies on the altro section.
I cut some little guitar solos in the altro section on August 7th, 2012.  Just some call/response stuff to add some depth to the last chorus.  Also, we fine-tuned the harmonies in the same section.  No more tracking was done at this point. 
On August 22nd, 2012, Jon Bross and I began mixing the song.  He did some more mixing on August 28th, and finally, on September 5th, we made the final mix.
On November 1st, 2012, Jon Bross asked me if I wouldn't mind re-mastering the song using a new word clock he had just purchased for his computer.  So, we did.  This is the version that we're going with.
On November 6th, 2012, I wrote this story.  It's all true!  I hope you enjoyed reading about it.
Rich Seiner