"For a young band about to make a record, make sure you get the vocals right"
About this Quote
It sounds like shop talk, but it lands as a quiet manifesto: pop history is littered with bands who nailed the vibe and botched the one thing listeners actually carry out of the room. Jerry Harrison’s advice is almost comically unromantic. Not “find your voice” in the self-help sense, but get the literal vocals right. Tune, phrasing, conviction, clarity, doubles, harmonies, mic choice, comping. The unglamorous stuff that turns a promising demo into a record people believe.
Coming from Harrison - a musician shaped by the art-rock rigor of Talking Heads and later a producer who’s watched inexperienced bands enter the studio thinking guitars and attitude will do the heavy lifting - the line is less a technical note than a diagnosis of how records succeed. Vocals are the human interface. They’re where meaning, charisma, and identity live, even in genres that pretend to be anti-personality. A “young band” can hide behind noise, groove, or gear; the vocal can’t hide. It either connects or it exposes you.
The subtext is also about power in the studio. The singer is the vulnerable one, the one forced into repeatable takes under fluorescent scrutiny while everyone else tweaks tones. “Get the vocals right” is a producer’s way of saying: prioritize the listener’s intimacy over the band’s internal mythology. You can always re-amp a guitar. You can’t easily fake a performance that feels true.
Coming from Harrison - a musician shaped by the art-rock rigor of Talking Heads and later a producer who’s watched inexperienced bands enter the studio thinking guitars and attitude will do the heavy lifting - the line is less a technical note than a diagnosis of how records succeed. Vocals are the human interface. They’re where meaning, charisma, and identity live, even in genres that pretend to be anti-personality. A “young band” can hide behind noise, groove, or gear; the vocal can’t hide. It either connects or it exposes you.
The subtext is also about power in the studio. The singer is the vulnerable one, the one forced into repeatable takes under fluorescent scrutiny while everyone else tweaks tones. “Get the vocals right” is a producer’s way of saying: prioritize the listener’s intimacy over the band’s internal mythology. You can always re-amp a guitar. You can’t easily fake a performance that feels true.
Quote Details
| Topic | Music |
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