Back in 2006, as my career was just finding its rhythm, I got a call in from none other than the legendary Matt Wallace – the mastermind behind Faith No More and Maroon 5. This time, the adventure was all about diving headfirst into the universe of St. Louis Pop Punk band LUDO, a fresh band with a vibe like no other. Matt had recently started recording at Sound City more often, as he just set up Studio Deluxe at the SoundCity Center.
Our journey at Sound City, where drum tracking, under the magic touch of Wallace’s trusted engineer Mike Landolt, set the tone. Shifting gears to Studio Deluxe, just a stone’s throw away, we plunged into overdubs. Imagine Moog and percussion/vibraslaps vibes in one room, while guitars chugged along in another.
LUDO wasn’t your run-of-the-mill rock band. There was an unmistakable coolness, intelligence, and down right hilarious energy about them.Andrew Volpe, the front man, was a storytelling maestro, weaving tales with literary twists and wild reveals. Tim Ferrell, the guitar wizard, sprinkled technical magic with stacks of harmonized lines.
The pace was chaotic, in the best possible way. Multiple sessions, each room buzzing. Tim Convey injected Moog synth goodness, and Matt Palermo spiced things up with shakers and tambourines.
In the midst of all this controlled chaos, I soaked up some serious lessons – attention to detail, juggling multiple sessions for the same track, and the delicate dance of importing session data without accidentally removing something crucial during multiple drive synchronizations.
And that, my friends, is how the wild ride with LUDO unfolded in my early years as a budding engineer in 2006.
If you have not heard LUDO before, check them out extremely creative and fun. Stand out tracks for me off of “You’re Awful, I Love You Album”: “Love Me Dead”, Go Getter Greg”, “Lake Pontchartrain” and
“In Space”
