Curtis Grippe, owner of STEM Recording Studio, shares his personal journey working with Tim McDonald, reflecting on their creative process and the stories behind their recordings. Here’s Curtis in his own words.
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Tim McDonald was referred to STEM Recording by Travis from Japhy’s Descent and Thomas Laufenberg of the Pistoleros in 2016. We met at the studio and really hit it off and have been working together ever since. We had known each other peripherally having shared multiple Tempe stages with our respective bands in the 90’s but had never really gotten to know each other beyond that. Tim fronted a band called Big White Mercury and then later formed a band called Looking For Aldous Huxley.
One of the most important things that happens when you first sit down with an artist or band is you get a glimpse of how they approach their craft, what their influences are and how they communicate their musical thoughts and ideas. All these things help to develop a common language that will make things infinitely easier as we move forward with the recording process.
Tim had continued writing after his band days were over and was looking for a way to document his new songs without having to coax a group of aging musicians into his living room enough times to adequately pre produce his collection and then getting them into a studio at the same time to track the songs. Having a familiarity with my playing as a drummer and Thomas’ as a guitarist, Tim floated the idea of using us to track the things that he could not and we were both on board right away.
We started by having Tim play an acoustic guitar track followed by a vocal track and then I would add drums. Tim played bass at first but we soon opted for professional bassists. Thomas would then add some color and maybe a solo or riff here and there and the songs began to take shape. Tim always had a pretty good idea of what he wanted the finished product to sound like but was willing to let the song go places that he hadn’t imagined. Tim’s open mindedness made the sessions much more enjoyable for all of us. We would discuss a drum part and I would go out to the kit and my body would do something else and 90% of the time we went with what happened once I got behind the drums. There was a trust in our sensibilities and situational awareness that we would do what was appropriate for the song.
Once the basic tracks were done, Tim’s wife Lana, a very talented pianist, added piano and keyboard tracks. Tim also contributed keyboard and synth tracks and then we were ready to mix.
In my opinion, Tim’s compositions were well thought out, melodic and pleasant to the ear, but it was his lyrics that caught my attention. Tim is a deep thinker and the subject matter of his songs spanned his entire existence (and maybe a little before and after) from the wonders of childhood to the heaviness of adulthood and everything in between. Tim’s ability to inject humor into an otherwise serious thought is done seamlessly and is both refreshing and thought provoking.
At times as I read his lyrics it felt like I was reading from an author more than a songwriter, so when he told me he had written a book I felt compelled to read it. The book is called For the Death of Dustin Essary and it was a joy to read. He tells the story in his own 14-year-old voice of finding out that his childhood friend was stricken with cancer and how they dealt with living through it and ultimately Dustin’s death. I have had the privilege of having several friends who have authored books and I make it a point to read them all. This is one of my favorites.
Tim has two siblings, Llory and Michael who are both accomplished musicians. Michael has joined to play bass on some of the recordings and Llory, who began her music career at the age of 13 after seeing David Bowie as Ziggy Stardust in concert. Tim credits Llory with being the catalyst of his music career by giving him his first guitar when he was 16-years-old. Llory still performs regularly throughout Arizona as Combo Deluxe with Steve Botterweig on drums and Darryl Icard on bass.
Tim and I are currently working on our third record (yes we still call them records) entitled In Between the Madness. Tim is also working on a side project featuring bass player/producer Keith Lentin and former David Letterman drummer Anton Fig. Our first two recordings were entitled Forever Once Already and Frontier Motel. All of Tim’s recordings are done under the name of Broken Poets, although he refers to himself, Thomas and I as The Greatest Band That Never Existed.
Tim no longer has a strong desire to perform live but doesn’t rule it out in the future. “I never had the drive to perform that my sister did,” he said. “I know it’s almost weird but my music just doesn’t lend itself to bars and there really isn’t anywhere else to play that sounds good.”
Tim has partially filled the void of playing live by making his own videos. He began by using stock footage from the internet but soon began shooting his own. “I wrote a song called Driverless Car and I filmed the entire video from the back seat of a Waymo,” he said. “Things are constantly moving in nature just like when you are in a car and the music moves with it.”
Tim has a website at www.brokenpoets.com and his videos can be seen on YouTube at Broken Poets – Music for the Melancholy.
