It (doesn’t) End With Us.
Story time! That one time I recorded on Lewis Capaldi song “Love The Hell Out Of You,” for the new film, “It Ends With Us.”
On Sunday, July 28, I was running into a bridal shower in Westlake (my second of four events that day), when I got a text from a number I didn’t recognize asking if I was free for a last minute recording session the next night (Monday), in Little Italy. It was some guy named Dave Eggar, who I hadn’t heard of but would soon learn I have heard a LOT of… “Patrick gave me your number…” Huh? A few minutes later, Cleveland percussionist Patrick Duke Graney texted me separately saying “Dave has played with everyone – he does Lewis Capaldi’s string arrangements.” Lewis who? I googled him. OH. I know this guy. Okay, yes, I’m in.
Btw, I *almost* said no – I had been running one million miles an hour for weeks (as we do in the busy season) and I had been looking forward to a full day off for the first time in a month the next day…
Anywho, fast forward to Monday night at Patrick’s recording studio. After a bit of basic research on Dave Eggar’s work, I knew it was going to be a huge learning experience. But when OPUS 216 goes in for recording session work with an artist (especially local, Cleveland-based), we are typically either given written parts or, at the very least, a lead sheet with harmonies. Not only was neither available for this, but the song was in D-flat major (oh, goody goody), and I hadn’t really practiced outside of gigs in the previous week. “Way to wreck a career opportunity, Ariel. Hope they are ready for some disappointment!”
Dave and I chatted for a bit before getting started and realized we have some similarities in background and mindset (he’s a Juilliard alum, I’m from CIM, and we both realized the traditional path to orchestras/concertizing wasn’t our thing). Once we got to tracking the song, I was mesmerized – I sat on the carpet in the corner while Dave listened to the track and added layer up on layer of cello, experimenting with harmonics, pizzicato, and big melodic lines. I’m pretty sure he kept almost every take. After 9 or so layers, we all went back out to listen to the rough mix. Then, it was my turn – back into the studio room, where I think I ended up with 7 layers of me – different octaves (including octaves I usually avoid in session work), all dictated by Dave and either sung or played back for me to replicate. Then, for the last layer, “ok, try some Lindsay Sterling-flourishes with echoes.” Lol ok. That ended up being my favorite part of the final mix you hear in the Bridget.
Anyway, I could write a novel about how much I learned by just being in the room with an artist with Dave’s level of experience during the creative process, but I’ll stop here. Infinite thanks to Patrick for giving him my name and forever gratitude to Dave (and the wonderful guitarist Phil Faconti) for the artistic guidance in real time. When Dave texted that the song was out, it was almost midnight on Saturday night: three weeks is a pretty fast turnaround in this world for an artist of Capaldi’s caliber, and the fact that it’s for the new Blake Lively film is wild to me.
Yay us. Listen here: https://open.spotify.com/track/1zuihTylZH1dbfqS10fXpi?si=kQMof7UcT3mfq_d9_gnIaA
I’ve never been so glad I said yes to something for which I almost said no.
Learn about Dave:
https://www.domomusicgroup.com/daveeggar/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_Eggar
Learn about Phil:
https://www.attacktheatre.com/phil-faconti-rowhouse
Learn about Patrick:
https://archives.berklee.edu/_flysystem/fedora/2022-10/50253-Original%20File.pdf
