CHIMAIRA’S LIVE STUDIO CAM IS A GOOD CURE FOR INSOMNIA

So as you may have heard by now, Chimaira are allowing fans to watch them live in the studio as they record their new album. The way it works is, you go to their official site and if the “Live Cam” icon in the upper right corner of the screen is red, you can click on it and watch whatever the fuck they’re doing at the moment. Sounds pretty cool, right?

Unfortunately, as I watched drummer Andols Herrick finish up his tracks yesterday afternoon, I remembered something I already knew: being in the studio is not super exciting. In fact, it’s pretty tedious. Herrick played some drums, picked his cuticles, played the same song again, picked his cuticles some more, fucked around with the cymbals a little, spoke (inaudibly) with producer Ben Schigel, played the same song again… and then I woke up an hour later with drool all over my keyboard.

I’m not blaming Chimaira, mind you; it’s not like I think they should be performing or in any altering their work routine for the camera, or that watching Dave Lombardo or whomever lay down drum tracks would have been any more exciting (Although it might – might – be more fun to watch when guitarists Rob Arnold and Matt DeVries are doing their thing, since then at least one will be able to get a better sense of what the songs actually sound like.). I respect that they’re trying to make the process as transparent as possible for the fans, something this band in particular has always been really good at (Go check out their DVD The Dehumanizing Process if you don’t believe me.). In fact, the live web cam might make a good lesson for any aspiring musicians who still hold the illusion that there’s anything to being in a successful band besides work, work, work.

That being said, once that lesson is learned, there’s really no reason to watch this web cam. So for now, I’ll just wait for the highlight reel from the inevitable “making of” DVD which is sure to accompany the finished album.

-AR