STAIND Guitarist Says Recording Process For New Album Was 'Miserable'

In a brand new interview with GuitarWorld.com, STAIND guitarist Mike Mushok spoke about the recording process for the Massachusetts band's upcoming self-titled seventh album, which is scheduled for release on September 13.

"We started in Aaron's [Lewis, vocals] barn in Western Massachusetts," Mushok said. "We worked with (producer) Johnny K again. We worked with him on the last record, and, for me, he was real easy to work with. He did the engineering and he was the guitar tech. So Johnny brought in his own gear, compressors and stuff like that, and we tracked the drums there. I did my guitars in our rehearsal space in Springfield because it was closer for me to drive to every day.

"Anyway, we demoed everything in December and had 17 or 18 songs by Christmas. Aaron, Johnny and I came back in January and went over the songs. We chose eight or nine to go over. Aaron and I wanted to change some arrangements and we were on the same page.
"During the sessions, it was clear Jon [Wysocki, drums] wasn't ready or on the same page, and the motivation wasn't where it needed to be. After thinking long and hard, we decided to do something different and decided to split up and do all the parts separately.

"I worked up at a studio in Springfield and Aaron worked in his barn, and that's how we kind of finished the record. It was the first record we had a deadline with the label. They wanted the finished product by May 1, so we had to get it done. We thought we weren't going to be able to do it, but we did and turned it in and they accepted it and were happy with it. That was cool because getting a phone call from the label asking for more songs is never fun to receive.

"It ended working out, but I would not like to live January to April of this year again. It was miserable."

STAIND will perform a handful of shows in September, including Southern California's Epicenter festival on September 24, with full tour plans yet to be announced.