Most artists do not, a rare few do.The two reasons that rate the highest,Quality and the depth of your production.The scope of it.And I was quite determined to produce myself,enjoyed the expierence tremendously yet came to find out very clearly,my shortcomings and wealnesses.Things that I needed to work on.Through this though I learned a lot.I do so much on my records that it is hard for me to be honestly objective about them.I love all my children as they say.I have to put on so many different identitties.Classic and wonderful MPD.I want to savor the expierence of every cut to the fullest,The world may not choose to ever hear it no matter of what I can deliver as an artist,so I have to dig it as I may be the only one that ever does.What an irony to release a thing that the world loves and you detest?You don't want to perform it nor ever listen to it.Your big hit is a bastard step-child to you.Some feel I felt this way about (oo)(oo) and I did not.I was in the end most fortunate to have such a fine producer.I consider it to be a great wisdom on my part to have given him almost and completely total control.To have the honor to work with this guy,the master and go-to guy for digital recording shortcuts,the expierence of doing a totally major label style of production.The demos had two other marvelous writers join in before we even began to record.The tune was upon completion decidedly different from our original idea.We were tapped to do our best,perfection.Mike agreed to do the session because he knew he was going to have a fun time doing it.And he did.Gary Lefkowith is also producing for the same reason.We walked away with a fifty-sixty thousand dollar production for 5 grand.Plus the expenses of taking the band to NYC and put them up.So sadly,the band was very pissey about it,resistant to it in every way,thinking they could cop his genius and do it on a home studio.Good Luck with that.Yes the totally sound,idea,and concept of the tune was changed in every way.Which is what I was paying for and expected.And was hand delivered.I had such an awesome time doing it.They loved the awesome talent of my fantastic band understanding their feelings as well and I was very proud of my boys.Despite all they came through like top LA session men.Yet you know poo-poo on all of that shit.I wish somebody would have paid my way to NYC to do a session like this.This was the right guy for what the project needed to have and also the way it needed to be done.We had to adapt to that no matter of the sacrifices we would have to temporarily make.What an awesome tune!A perfect combination of R&B and hard rock.What we would sound like as a major label heavy hitter.at the end of the day if i walked into a Bar and it was playing on the jukebox I would say "Turn it up please" not "Turn it off."Does it not register with you the genius producers,certified,love to work with me and do so at rates way far reduced from their normal rates.They are rough boys too,they do not go in for any bullshit.They if necessary, even dress me down so that I get humble and real.I don't respond with an ego trip,I fall into my place.They all have different approaches and so I choose the best guy for a project. Making me not a beggar but a chooser,yet I will beg to get the right cat on board.I pleaded in tears to Tom Morris.Oh thank you God,I was a completely broken human being.My stuff just jumps right off the tracks out at you.He set the volume and tone knobs on the guitar as well as the amp.It is the work in my life that was better even then the pleasure.In recording you may set up a sound that is kind of weird,but after mixing you are going to go to mastering.You get to the final mixdown and you think that that is it and it is not,and that shit is jammin' yet if you do not master it can be subject to a lot of interpretation.Cause it will not always play the same way.You may go from the final mix to setting up mp3's,why did you go this far and not finish it off?You have already forked out the money.If your producer can not matser for you you can with ease find a good lab to do it for less than 5 hundred bucks.I ought to be charging you money to even tell you this.When your tune is mastered it plays out the same way every time no matter of what device is reproducing it.You have someone with perfect pitch hearing fine-tuning the highs,mids,and lows,separating and panning it.Single glass mastering,yes you are cutting upon the finest grade of glass.Laboratory spec stuff.At high speed.Blowing up the wonderful final mix you so loved and making it forever this way.If you do not do this final step you may hear your tune online and go "where is the guitar solo?I cannot hear the drums,what happened to the five part harmony voices?I only hear two parts!This is how my friends,the big dogs run."If you can't run with the big dogs you have to stay on the porch with the puppies!" What is the motto of the big dogs? "We live to play,and we play to live!"I am giving away vital secrets here.so you may learn from them.I love my work and all of the challenges that go along with it,all of the sacrifices.If you are dedicated in this way you will find that you are somehow working with good and brilliant people that you can place your trust in.You went in thinking about it like this,but came out sounding like that.Fully developed.You have got to leave the fantasy people behind you.When you most need them they will not be there and this is only human.It ain't a thing that is for everybody.For musicians,you want to hook up with the killers.Full time players who have dedicated their lives to playing music.Quite different from the life of glamour that you may have imagined it to be,much dedicated hard work,tons of never ending long travels.But the minute you hit the stage you let them know what you are all about.Harder and so much harder as you grow older,you have got to begin to take really good care of yourself.Yet that is another story for my book.I am writing to you right now from the road actually.In my hotel room waiting to go on tonight.I am going to go for a swim and get ready to go on.