How long did it take to make Do You Think I’m Weird??
It took about 3 years to complete the album from start to finish. Sometimes songs are written, but they don’t make it on the album so they’re set aside for a later release. Sometimes they never end up on an album!
The recording process took about two years. When you are recording in your off time (nights and weekends) it takes longer to record. Recording one night a week is not a very efficient way of recording, but that is what we had to work with. Both of us were performing a lot at preschools, raising children, cooking, cleaning and rehearsing with multiple musical groups or doing theatre. And while recording Do You Think I’m Weird? was a priority, our schedules are very demanding and didn’t allow for long days in the studio. So we made it work slowly over a long period of time.
Did anything else slow the process down?
Oh boy, YES! In the middle of recording our wonderful recording engineer had a roller blading accident and broke his knee cap! He was out of commission for a several weeks, so that set us back a bit.
Then there was the pandemic (which we probably don’t need to talk about), but needless to say that put the recording process on hold for months. When the pandemic started we had basically finished all the recording, with the exception of a few tracks. We ended up recording the final tracks at our homes (kids talking, keyboard tracks, drums…) and sending them into our mixing engineer. Our recording engineer then got a really bad case of poison oak (poor guy!) and was unable to work for several weeks (again).
When the music was finally done and we needed some last tweaks to the art, Christine Benjamin (our incredible artist) had severe back pain and ended up having back surgery! This (understandably) put the final art on hold for a couple of months.
Christine and Brad are both in good health now and the album was eventually completed. Yay! It was definitely a wild ride getting to the point of completion though!
Do you two have any favorite tracks?
Steve: I really like Sketchbook. The lyrics are a story, which is different from a lot of our songs. The harmonies and melody sound really great together and the song moves along really well from start to finish.
Jenn: I love Let Me Breath You In. I’m a sucker for a sweet lullaby that parents can relate to. While we never get to play them live, I imagine parents playing them to their babies or toddlers at bedtime (getting as many snuggles in as possible). If we can help create such tender moments between a parent and a child, then that makes me a happy musician. I also really love our cover of Luna. It’s a song I’ve loved since high school when I was a huge Smashing Pumpkins fan.
How many instruments are on this album?
There are the basics that we use everyday:
- Baritone Ukulele
- Glockenspiel
- Kazoo
- Vocals (Tons of vocals)
Then there’s this list:
- Bass Ukulele
- Bass drum
- Vibraphone
- Electric Baritone Ukulele
- Shakers
- Tambourines
- Claves
- Cowbell
- Vibraslap
- Guiro
- Cabasa
- Cymbals
- Keyboards
- Vacuum cleaner
- Children’s toys
What do you hope people like about the album?
Steve: I hope that people like the melodies and lyrics. I really want kids and families to dance, sing and relax listening to this new album. Don’t take it all too seriously, it’s just for fun after all.
Jenn: I hope people enjoy the special moments that are created when hanging out with their kids and listening to The Dilly Dallies. I love thinking that we’re bringing families together over a shared love of fun and creative music.
Enjoy the music!!!