How ‘Deep Fried Society’ Was Recorded in One Night

Some bands spend months in the studio. Some spend years. We spent one night.

The recording of Deep Fried Society started at 11:47 PM on a Friday and ended at 6:12 AM on Saturday. Here’s how it went down.

The Setup

We booked the cheapest studio we could find—a converted garage owned by a guy named Dave who insisted we call him “Sound Dave.” Sound Dave had three rules:

1. Don’t touch the vintage microphone on the shelf (we touched it)
2. No food near the mixing board (Tommy brought a bucket of wings)
3. Keep it under 120 decibels (we did not)

Track by Track

“Too Loud Too Stupid” was the first take. Literally the first thing we played. Rex walked up to the mic, screamed the opening line, and Sound Dave said, “That’s a take.” It took 47 seconds.

“Featherstorm” took the longest at three takes. Jeannine wanted to nail a specific guitar riff that she described as “Bach meets a car accident.” She nailed it on take three.

“Deep Fried Society”—the title track—was written in the studio. Rex had the lyrics on a napkin from the chicken place next door. The napkin had grease stains. The grease stains are now framed.

The Result

Five tracks. One night. Zero regrets. The album hit underground charts in three cities and was described by one reviewer as “what happens when you give four maniacs Red Bull and recording equipment.”

We consider that a compliment.