We’ve learned a lot since we started our music careers. How to put on an entertaining live show, how to interview well, how to sell merch. But that knowledge don’t mean a lot if our songs don’t connect with people. A good song, to us, means it is well written, catchy, filled with truth and inspired by God. We believe this combination has the ability to move mountains inside of someone. The catch? The ultimate question? How do we write such a song?!?
We learned a lot from our last studio experience. Our Heartbeat EP includes tracks we’re very proud of, but it took way too long to record. Simply put, we weren’t as prepared as we should have been. The demos were not fleshed out, leaving us to debate and experiment in the studio.
This is usually not the end of the world as many artists can afford to approach studio time in this way. However, those constant lulls in the booth hindered our progress. Without a clear vision / roadmap for each song, who we are and what we envisioned for the EP got misinterpreted at times.
As our amazing producer, Brandon Rush once said to us, “You’re are at your best with instruments in hand, sitting in a room together, and playing. Workshop every idea without the stress of expensive studio time hovering over you.” As a band, we decided to change our mindset for this next project; pushing each other to write, play, discuss, and listen to each demo more frequently before going into the studio.
After the Heartbeat EP tour, we quickly found out that writing from scratch with all four of us in a room was not productive. (lol) Don’t get us wrong, we work great with each other! But sometimes you need space to simply put your idea “out there”, then get feedback to help flesh out the idea with fellow band members. Our new approach allowed us time to write as much as possible then join forces (with instruments in hand) and play live together in a room.
Ease-of-Use Workflow
“The origin of a MB&I song usually starts with a brief demo sent in our group text. From there, another member will add to it or give writing feedback if they feel inspired, that be in person or over an iPad/iPhone.” - Erik Wurgler
Once we figured out an ease-of-use workflow we were able to take advantage of inspirations that caught us by surprise. For Erik, it was usually singing an idea in the car and recording it on his phone. David and Scott glued themselves to their iPads when inspiration hit. Whereas Jordan recorded his guitar jams to find inspiration within his melodic demos. This is how 65+ songs can get written in a year.
Tear down the barriers between you and documenting your ideas. Why wait for some fancy studio time? If the song isn’t catchy, soulful, relatable, or powerful while using GarageBand it’s probably not a great song.
We should probably stop blogging about the new songs or we may end up leaking the upcoming track list. Needless to say, we are excited to get into the studio again. Stay connected with us over social media for sneak peeks into our LOVE IS project.
It’s never too late to learn!
If you are looking for free, comprehensive guides on topics like, How to Record in GarageBand, check out Beginner Guitar HQ. Their team has created some great articles you can use as jumping off points.
- My Brothers And I