At Red Bull Studios, L-R: Brian Byrne (guitar, vocals), producer/co-engineer Sean Beavan, Sal Bossio (guitar, keys), Ryan Hunter (vocals, guitar, drums), Jeremy Velardi (bass)
Photo: Eric Stenman
Envy on the Coast’s second album was recorded at Red Bull Studio (Santa Monica, Calif.) with producer Sean Beavan (Marilyn Manson, System of a Down, NIN) co-engineering with studio manager/engineer Eric Stenman. “The band drove their tour van to the studio to record,” Stenman says. “One interesting note is that Ryan Hunter — normally lead vocalist and guitar player — played all of the drums on this record. The band auditioned drummers during their first week in the studio. When none of them clicked, Ryan stepped in.”
Beavan confirms: “We tracked everything live as a band with Ryan Hunter playing drums. He’s just a fantastic musician with a real feel for groove. Red Bull has three iso booths, so we had a room for each amp and the band played together in the big room with the drums.
“We were looking for a dirty, sexy Southern sound like Zeppelin meets the Allman Brothers, with a little Hendrix thrown in,” Beavan continues. “Like if Rage came from Alabama. Funk-rock, Southern-fried.”
Stenman says the band recorded using a combination of Red Bull’s Neve 1081 and SSL 9000 K Series mic pre’s. Immediately following, they got back in their van to fill their support slot on Taking Back Sunday’s U.S. tour.
