by L. Kent Wolgamott, Lincoln Journal Star
The drummer, bassist and keyboard player are set up in a large room, playing a smooth, slow blues. In an adjacent booth, watching the trio through the glass door, guitarist and singer Shawn "Lil' Slim" Holt is doing his thing.
The Lil' Slim Blues Band is making a new record the old way: live in the studio, one or two takes with no overdubs, no recording of individual instruments played to a track, no layered vocals, no modern tricks.
"We're definitely cutting it the way his dad (Magic Slim) used to make records," said producer/engineer Charlie Johnson. "This is going to be a no-frills blues record with none of the trimmings."
Last weekend's old-school recording was taking place in Lincoln's newest old studio, Fuse Recording.
At 19th and N streets for decades, Fuse was razed for the Antelope Valley project at the end of 2009. For Johnson, who had joined Fuse about a year before it was shut down, and partner Tim Kechely, who took over the studio space in late 2006, it was a terrible time to shut down.