Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1077792
The advent of digital recording has freed ar tists from the confines of the traditional recording studio and has made it possible for ar tists like Lent to maintain a robust touring schedule while still working on producing projects from remote locations. Lent's most recent project was the CD "Just Believe" with local singer/songwriter Linda Arceo. "I hadn't met Mike, but had seen him at some jam sessions," Arceo says. "I heard he was looking for a project. He interviewed me, listened to my songs and found I was inter- ested in the art of recording and he took me on." "Linda had been doing some work with engi- neer/singer Richard Bryant, whom I've worked with a lot," Lent says. "They had recorded some demos, but Richard really felt that the best thing to do would be to have a producer come in to oversee it. He and I saw the project from start to finish. "The first step for me was to sit with Linda and have her play all the songs on acoustic guitar," Lent explains. "I recorded them on my iPhone so I would have a basic recording of the songs the way she plays them. From there, I did arrange- ments, writing parts for the players, taking them from solo performances to a band format." This step is key to the process, because it enables the producer to record the various per- formers in widely scattered locations. A layman may envision the recording process as they've seen it in films of the Beatles: huddled together at Abbey Road Studio, playing live while shirt- sleeved producer George Martin supervises the lads and runs the mixing console. That's not how it's done in the digital age. Lent's first step was recording the basic bass and drum tracks. "We spent two days on that with bassist Dave Marotta and drummer Mike Shannon," Lent says. "We recorded in two different loca- tions: a studio in Pacific Grove and at Folktale Winery in Carmel Valley. We did six songs in the first session then came back later and did the rest. No way we could have done that without having written out the parts beforehand." Using that foundation, Lent called on a crack crew of musicians to put their touches on the tracks, including local play- ers Gary Meek, Tom Ayres and John Nava. Back- ground vocals are an inte- gral component of the CD and for that he turned to some of the best around: Laurie Hofer, Tammi Brown and Richard Bryant himself. "Producing is kind of like being a movie direc- tor," Lent explains. "You're not doing everything, but you're overseeing the big picture." Arceo is pleased with the results. "Working with Mike brought my game up to a different level," she says. For more info, please visit www.mikelent.com and www.lindaarceomusic.com. Photos: Kelli Uldall Since 1997, Lent has held the high-profile guitar chair in singer/songwriter Barry Manilow's band, a job that has taken him around the world. 190 C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • W I N T E R 2 0 1 9 (Left) Lent with student guitarist Erich Drollinger. (right) Engineer Richard Bryant was involved with Arceo's CD for the entire two-year project. "Having a great engineer like Richard frees a producer up for creative thought," Lent says.