What was your recording schedule like?
We recorded between two and four days a week for four to eight hours a day, for six weeks. We let the record sit for a few weeks before mixing and mastering. During this time we readied the artwork, done by Luego's lead guitarist and Art Director, Nick Jaeger.

Notable instruments/gear used?
Jaeger semi-hollowbody custom guitar, designed by Larry Jaeger, our lead guitarist Nick's dad. We also used a Yardbox - a copy of the distortion pedal Jimmy Page used on the first few Zeppelin albums, and an upright piano.

What's the story behind the album?
Ocho is an album that has become more than just a title. It is a universe full of new and differing textures. It sort of freed us from any preconceptions of where a song should go, or how we should express ourselves.

How does it compare to your last album in terms of music style and recording process?
It is completely different from the previous album. We demoed the songs in the summer, filed them away for a few months, then recorded them after marination and rumination. Much more time was devoted on the front end to dreaming and arranging, and even writing some songs in studio. The intention from the beginning was to make a more impressionistic recording - even at the expense of it being a little less radio-friendly.

Did you learn any lessons from the last album that you wanted to change with this session?
Yes. The last record, Taped-Together Stories, took forever. With Ocho, there was a small, involved group of people, and it only took six weeks. We wanted to take textures, from fuzz, to bowed upright bass, to weird harmonies, from sparsity to complexity. We wrote the record more to make an artistic statement, than to tell a narrative. This was the first time we said "Fuck it" and made the record that came solely from us. On Ocho, the goals to achieve in the art were in this order: weirdness, varied-textures, album cohesiveness and pop.

How did the material for the album come into fruition?
I was blindly motivated to create - to exploit the ragged, broken, and optimistic emotions I was going through by putting them on tape as immediately as I could. I would go to Jeff [producer/bassist/shepherd], and we would arrange and record and play all the parts in demo form in a four hour session. We called these "jumpin' buddies" sessions.

What kind of sound were you looking for and how did you achieve it?
The sound was neither modern nor retro - but a priority was placed on warmth in the recording. This was achieved partially through using older equipment, but also through arrangements and recording techniques. Most background vocals were performed live, and even when overdubs occurred they usually were performed live with other overdubs to capture some comradery and energy. A lot of the percussion was done together as well, which added a lot of energy to the recordings. I felt entirely insane during the making of Ocho. So I wanted it to sound insane.

What kind of recording equipment did you use (analogue/tape, software, etc.)?
Pro Tools LE software - vintage equipment (guitars and amplifiers) to get an older sound out of a newer interface. Fender and Gibson guitars and Fender amps, mostly.

What did you try to accomplish in the studio that you're not able to do live?
Greater variety of sounds - it was important for the first record to be replicated live - to sound like a live band was performing well in the studio. For the second record, it was more important to create more imaginative textures around more imaginative, less literal songwriting. Also transitions were important to link songs together in a way that would be difficult to do live.

Any good stories/ridiculous events from the session that you'll be telling for a while?
I was completely out of my mind, blinded by heartbreak and weariness and I wanted to record in that state. I wanted you, the listener, to feel the salt on my cheeks, the dryness of my mouth, the patheticness of my mind. So the cover of the record is two batteries, which references an invention that Jeff Crawford made up in the second grade. Two batteries for the price of one. Jumpin' Buddies! During the making of the record, we also watched Herbie Goes Bananas. In that movie, Herbie's nickname is Ocho. His racing number is always 53. You'll see a 53 racing number in the artwork. You'll see a matador and a toro, and that is a reference to the artwork for the cover of Herbie Goes Bananas. We really wanted to get out there, REALLY out there, for this record. Because hey, why the heck not?

http://www.myspace.com/luego