Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Chain recording memories from Ryan Hoffman


Ryan Hoffman and Alex Pain with Chain at City Gardens, Trenton NJ, Photo: Ken Salerno

Which is your favorite Chain 7", "True Till Death" or "What Holds Us Apart" and why?


I like them both for different reasons, but overall, "What Holds Us Apart" is my favorite.

Any stand out memories from recording the "True Till Death" 7"?

Writing the songs was a great experience but the recording process sucked! You would have to clear it with Bratton, but from the best of my knowledge it was recorded for under $500. So it wasn't fun at all, we just rushed through our set and most of the music and vocals were first takes. That was the one really great thing about Curt, he would nail it on the first take.


More Ryan and Alex from City Gardens, Photo: Unknown

Any stand out memories from recording the "What Holds Us Apart" 7"?

It was right about the time when Dag Nasty's "Field Day" was released and Bratton and I really like the sound quality of the record, and heard from Brian Baker it was inexpensive to record. Again we were on a very strict budget and rushed through it but this experience seemed more relaxed. I can remember the recording engineer telling us stories about Dag Nasty bringing skanky girls to their sessions which was hilarious. Also, there were stories about the studio's claim to fame, the 80's metal band Dokken. But what really helped make it a fun experience was bringing everyone in for backing vocals: Trevor (Foundation Records), Porcell, Steve from Turning Point, Dennis Boiling Point, Randy Pushed Aside and many others. That helped make it super fun.



Ryan with Chain Of Strength at the Country Club, Reseda CA, Photo: Dave Sine

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Fuck da haterz...get in line...Chain rules :)

S.E. said...

The recording memory features are genius. Fucking awesome.

DOUBLE CROSS said...

Thanks guys, glad you dig the recording memories. We kicked it off with Chain, but hopefully we can continue this feature with other bands and records. Thankfully the Chain guys have been great recalling these memories.

Reid Black suggested we due something like this awhile ago with Judge on the "Bringin' It Down" LP. Maybe at some point we'll do that, but really there are hundreds of records out there to look into. We'll see what we can dig up

And one last thing about Chain, as much as I love those two 7's, I also gotta say, these guys have always been super cool and down to talk / contribute to this site and that's much appreciated.

-Tim DCXX

Anonymous said...

great stuff...................keep it coming!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

I can't get behind a band that wears turtlenecks.

Tone Loki said...

Dear Nike,

Hurry up and reissue those Nike Force already!

seanmo said...

are these two photos of the same jump? it looks like a two angle replay.

Anonymous said...

Tim -
I would think that recording memories for all of the early/classic Rev releases might be pretty great. With the Anthrax book coming out and the release party/show at the end of the month, I would think it might be a good time to revisit some of that classic Rev stuff. I would love to hear some love given to the Side By Side 7"...

it's time for side by side said...

oh yes yes!!! side by side!!! the best band from the youth crew!!, their ep is so great......

Anonymous said...

"I wanna seeee"............ I would be interested to see what Jules is up to nowadays...Actually, I wish in most interviews such as the Chain interviews that there would be a little insight into what everyone is up to nowadays, such as jobs and what not. I always find that kind of interesting for some reason.

TTD said...

this is why doublecross is easily the best blog to ever exist on the interweb in terms of core. the detail and coverage is overwhelming, where as can you read about a late 80s hardcore powerhouse from a direct band member, and see 2 alternate angles of the same action shot in the entry. how you guys keep this up is unbelievable. major thanks.

Unknown said...

IWASTHERE!

Turtlenecks? Urban Myth. Unless you have a pic....shut it!