When Lightning Struck in the Studio
It started to pour. I could hear it pounding on the ceiling through the studio headphones. Crack - BOOM! Lightning struck in downtown Madison. Audrey Martinovich and I were in the middle of a recording session at Audio for the Arts. My anxiety grew with the intensity of the storm. How can we keep recording in this? We had less than an hour left and the storm was now a full blown winter thunderstorm. A rarity in Wisconsin for the first week of March.
I shared my concerns with Audrey, I knew I was all but done. However, Audrey did what she does best, calmly steering the session towards success. “How about we take a short break?” I watched the Capitol building in awe as lightning bolts lit up the sky and rain screamed down from the heavens. “Wait a second, I thought. How cool would it be if we captured lightning and thunder in the audio take?” After all, this was the title track, “Walk Through”. A song calling for personal transformation amidst a country in unsettling turmoil.
You could feel the energy in the air, it was buzzing. I was ready for the third take. I tapped into it and laid down the best vocal take of my life. Full body chills! Right when we finished, we both knew that was the one. “Did you get chills?! I giddily exclaimed to Audrey. “Yes!” She called back. We did it, we captured lightning in a song.
You can listen to “Walk Through” here: https://thejeffreyjamesshow.bandcamp.com/track/walk-through.
Congrats to Audrey for winning Live Sound Engineer of the Year at the Wisconsin Area Music Industry Awards! Working with Audrey on Walk Through was unforgettable. It’s been amazing watching her grow into an award-winning, Grammy voting, badass engineer! Audrey and I are both up for a few Madison Area Music Awards this year, and the final round of voting ends today! The $5 to vote supports the MAMA’s mission: The Madison Area Music Association (MAMA) is a non-profit, volunteer-backed charitable organization committed to giving every child the gift of music. We strive for a future where every child has the chance to play.
Categories we are finalists in:
Artist of the Year - The Jeffrey James Show
Album of the Year - Walk Through - The Jeffrey James Show
Performer of the Year - The Jeffrey James Show
Performer - Singer/Songwriter - The Jeffrey James Show
Country/Folk Album - Walk Through - The Jeffrey James Show
Folk Song - Walk Through - The Jeffrey James Show
Producer of the Year - Audrey Martinovich
You can vote here: https://themamas.org/.
Thanks for voting for us! If you haven’t checked out Walk Through yet, go find it on your favorite streaming platform, and hit play!