I recorded this piece for the upcoming documentary film on Seymour Bernstein directed by Ethan Hawke

Schubert Liszt Standchen

Anything But You - The Back Story

In the beginning of the summer my lovely niece Kyra surprised me with the idea of re-releasing this song at the end of the summer. She got me thinking about it till finally I went back into the original session and started looking at the mix. I quickly realized I was opening a can of worms and my gut said to stay with the original intention. I decided instead to remaster that final mix with the tools and approach I've learned in the time since.
I made the recording alone during a period when I was touring a bunch and writing for and/or playing on multiple projects. I’d been going crazy with my own work trying to find the right producer/engineer and studio to work in. I was at this strange standstill and moved all my gear to my NY apartment. On a break I found myself setting up microphones and getting sounds together for this song. At that point the song wasn’t much more than half of a chorus. I got my head inside what I was doing and within a day or two had recorded all of the tracks.
Listening now I can hear how I had been experimenting in smaller spaces and using really upfront sound sources with no added ambience or reverb. I stuck almost exclusively with pre and early 60s instruments and microphones, including 1930s radio king drums, some ancient cymbals with a K or two thrown in, an early 60s Hofner Beatle bass, Vox Continental organ and Wurly, a late 50s Airline guitar and late 50s Ampeg guitar and bass amps...etc By the end I did use some newer vintage instruments and pedals including a Casio SK – 1(which I never record without), a beloved Kurzweil module for the choir sound in the chorus, an early memory man deluxe and an awesome Ampeg analog delay that no record should be without. Microphones include early 60s EV 676 and 660, RCA 44BX, AKG D1200E and Shure Unidyne III through some old preamps I reclaimed from a Tandberg 2 track and a Teac mixer.

Bill Finizio

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