Beauty Pill - the pictures

So, when we last left me (see the previous entry), I was sitting in the balcony at the Artisphere, watching Beauty Pill record in the Black Box Theatre. Here's how it looked from that perch...

I was expecting that, since it was the last day the band was scheduled to be in the space, it would be a time of reviewing finished tracks. And yet, as I was watching, a guitarist came in and Clark began talking to him about a new track he wanted to add to a previously-recorded bit. It took about a half-hour to set up the guitar...
(making records is a lot like making movies or TV, a lot of waiting between actual creating)

And while I'm watching this, someone new arrives to check out the scene as well. We chat about how cool it is to watch the process unfold and, when I ask the guy if he'd heard Beauty Pill before, he tells me that he's Chad Clark's brother! Ha. I hand him one of my bizniz cards and ask him to pass it on to Clark and tell him I said hello and would have something on the blog later. Shortly thereafter, the guy's phone rings and Clark looks up to wave him down. We exchange goodbyes and he heads off. A few minutes later, Clark looks up and seems to be waving for me to come down, too. I look around me. Yep, I'm the only one here. I point to myself. "Me?" He nods.
I guess his brother put in a good word.

And so, I returned to the actual studio, where the adventure started, and sat quietly while the guitarist finished his track. My view got much better.

In a break, I asked the photog who the guitarist was and he told me it was Ryan Nelson, who co-wrote the song in progress with Clark some time ago. (BTW, Nelson said he had a terrible toothache, so more praise for his playing and good attitude.)

After Clark signed off on the guitar part, there was a brief break while the mics were being reset for a vocal part to be done by Jean. Clark and I chatted briefly and, though he didn't seem to remember our correspondence about the film, he was very gracious about having me crash his party. I'll keep y'all posted when the next phase of the project - the album release "exhibit" takes place.

In the meantime, here's a piece that explains the project in more detail and tells the story behind the song that was being recorded.

Live from the Artisphere - Beauty Pill records

Throughout the month of July, DC area band Beauty Pill has been working in full view of the public, recording a new album in the Black Box theatre of the Arlington modern art museum, the Artisphere, while the public looks on from behind a large window on a balcony perch above the well-stocked studio space. That's where I'm sitting right now, watching as guitarist Ryan ( last name I don't know) lays down some chunky guitar rhythms to pair with an atmospheric music bed that band founder/producer Chad Clark was reviewing when I first came into the session.

And when I saw I came into the session, I mean it. I walked directly into the Black Box studio, not seeing any signage to tell me otherwise, and found myself right behind the soundboard, where Clark was working. Wow, I thought, they really ARE letting the public get a close look. And as I looked for a place to sit, a nice young woman came up nd introduced herself. "I'm Jean," she said politely, putting out her hand. I shook it and told her my name. Then she asked if I'd been here before (yes, to the Artisphere, no to a recording session) and offered to walk me up to the balcony, where the audience is supposed to be. What can I say?
I like to be in the heart of the action.


As I was just typing that line, Clark looked up and directed a comment to me. (I'm the only one here.) "we're professionals. That's all you need to know," he said. I gave him a thumbs- up and he flashed one back.

Actually, I needed to know more. Thanks to this brave new world on instant info acces, I pulled up the band's site to learn who I am watching here. While I've heard the band's music before and once had some phone./mail exchanges with Clark over using one of his songs in my long-lost family rock&roll comedy film, I had no idea what he looked like, nor did I know when I was shaking her hand that the nice young woman is Jean Cook, one of two women in the band.

I will post some pictures when I get home. Though I envy the guy who's roaming the studio, getting up close with his pro camera.

Alas, this wonderful opportunity to watch a band at work ends tonight (I just heard about last week and barely made it here myself) so I can't tell you to rush right over yourself.

However, the second phase of this "exercise in radical transparency" ( a phrase attributed to the band, as if they said it in unison) will occur in the winter, when it is said they will return for another interactive installation that will feature the new album.

Considering I typed this on an iPad, forgive the typos...
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