Studio Tan Part 2
The Ocean is the Ultimate Soloution    Part 3

This track was recorded in the same studio I first heard Gregory Peccary in at the Record Plant in Hollywood. Frank had been experimenting with mic's and recording techniques etc. as was his want to do.
He came up with an incredible alternative tuning for his Fender 12 string, and an inventive process for recording it. ( This guitar had been modified I think by Rex Bogue-who had built Mahavishnu's custom guitars, restored Zappa's "Hendrix Stratocaster" that Jimi had set on fire at the Monterey Pop Festival(!), as well as being the inventor of "Balls Deluxe" built-in pre-amps!!)
This guitar had low string and high string discreet stereo outputs which Frank panned left and right. It also had a Barcus Berry pickup buried in the neck at the head stock,which he panned center.
The tuning was so that the low three strings were tuned to the intervals of M7-M7-m7, and the high strings to a tritone-M3 &m3!! So every note or chord he played was an incredibly complex and atonal harmonic event!!!
Couple this with the innovative panning and the result was this wonderful "glass shattering" guitar sound that was completely unique and to my knowledge has never been duplicated since!
So he called bassist Dave Parlatto (from Orchestral Favorites) and myself into the studio to jam. At this point I was playing my own black, double bass, 5 tom Gretch kit (which is now owned by my good friend Wes Falconer and can be seen at his Kansas City "Explorers Drum Shop"-Wes got it from Danny Carey of "Tool"-another good friend and exellent drummer who still has and still plays my roto toms from "Missing Persons"!!!). Anyway, we played an inspired jam that went all over the place musically and lasted 45 minutes!
Frank edited it down to 15 mins. or so (whatever it is on the record now) and used only the best sections. (But I remember some absoutely burning sections were not used-maybe someday they'll release the original in it's entirety ).
Sometime soon after that my best friend, Pat O'Hearn came down to L.A. to play a week at the "Light House" in Hermosa Beach with legendary jazz saxophonist Dexter Gordon - who you might have seen acting and playing in the movie "'Round Midnight". I invited Pat to stay at my little place in Laurel Canyon to visit and to save him from having to pay for a hotel.
Pat played the first nights show while I was in the studio working with Frank, so I told him to come by the Record Plant after and meet Frank and listen to what we were doing.
Pat had his big accoustic bass in the car and he didn't want it stolen so we took it inside.
Frank, upon seeing Pat walk into the studio with an accoustic bass, excitedly asked" Do you play that thing?!". Pat nodded "yes", and Frank said "Whip it out!!"

Part 3