There you have it. Now we have something to call our upcoming album as we discuss the recording with our friends and fans. A title for our new record. We decided the best way to commemorate the 4 great days we spent in the San Fernando Valley back in February was to put it right in the name. Movie buffs may recognize the name also pays tribute to a not-to-be-forgotten movie from back in the nineties. 

When we last talked about the new Wookie recording there was still a few items to be decided on, much less acted on. We had completed the audio portion of the product without having given much thought to the CD itself, so we have spent the summer working on that. Now we think we've got that part covered too. Artwork that's actually art on the cover, pics and credits on the inside, a CD for folks who listen to their tunes that way, and streaming practically everywhere if that's your preference. In fact, we are ready to announce an announcement…

So, enjoy your weekend, but don't stray too far from Wookie. Something big is about to kickoff!

Thanks to all who came out to Navajo Live last night to see the band. We had a great night of music, dancing & re-connecting with friends. We are doing our best to recreate the big sound of our upcoming record, and we were very fortunate to have Robert Fedeli on organ, and Doug Harrison on guitar for last night's performance. What was unexpected was to have Bob Sheehan in the house who played drums on two songs and Ted Stern (Hatfield Rain) who played violin on one. From the stage it all sounded fantastic. It's great to have such talented friends! Thanks to the Ballad Mongers who opened the show. Oh, and we also announced the name of the new record!

Work is ongoing on Wookie Garcia's third album, which just like its predecessors will be released on CD as well as a digital download.  We did have the ‘is a CD really needed anymore’ discussion, but for now we think it's best to offer it. The band also considered the possibility of pressing a LP of this new collection, but those plans are on hold for now. It seems that the 50-minute length of the album is not a good fit on a modern two-sided record. The band was not interested in trying to decide which 1 or 2 songs to cut after we had just worked so hard to record them, so we'll work on what can be done now and revisit the record idea later. 

What is new and exciting (and kind of modern and retro) is that Wookie will be releasing at least one track as a single prior to the record's release. Everyone will be able to hear and purchase the singles here on our website and listen from your favorite streaming service. More to follow soon on the release of our first single!

Wookie Garcia will be performing at the Spirit of the Fourth celebration in Rancho Bernardo. The day-long event kicks off at Webb Park at 9 am, and includes an afternoon parade, leading up to the concert at Rancho Bernardo High School. We will follow the Tucson Arizona Boys Chorus and Santino and Friends onstage, then the fireworks display will start immediately afterwards. Follow the link for all the info. We'll see you there!

Recording is officially complete on our project begun back in February. Our producer, Rami Jaffee, enlisted a few of his friends to add some final touches to our new record. Of course, he played organ, electric piano, mellotron and/or accordion all tracks.  Jessy Greene (Wilco, Jayhawks) has now contributed to all three Wookie Garcia albums and once again played violin. Ben Peeler (Mavericks, Wallflowers) played lap steel and pedal steel and performed on three tracks, and finally, Kristin Mooney (Peter Himmelman) sang background on one song. Each of these industry pros played and sang like pros and have added immeasurably to the overall sound.

Rami and our engineer Oliver Roman are now monitoring levels and tweaking knobs and laying out the final sequence of the tracks. Thanks to all who have helped on this project. We are moving on.

Listening, listening, listening…this is what Wookie Garcia has been up to these last couple of weeks.  We have been listening nonstop to basic tracks, overdubs, and rough mixes of our newest recording. Oliver, our mixing engineer, has been hard at work incorporating guest overdubs into the band tracks to create a seamless overall sound. We think it's safe to say that most of the songs are nearing final mix status as we write this. 

This is the first time our group has worked with an outside producer on a recording project, so it has been an adjustment for us to trust others with creative decisions with the same ease we've relied on professionals for technical guidance. Our producer, Rami, has the knowledge of how to create records that sound great and push the songs to their absolute best.

Next for the group will be to consider things like what order the songs will be in, what the artwork will be, and (of course) what it will be called. Stay tuned.

Wookie Garcia and a few of our closest friends have gathered twice in the past month to work on the band's latest recording. More than half of the 12 tracks have received additional vocals-some harmonies, some oohs and aahs. With this in the can, we also added a little more guitar and called it a day. Thanks to Rob and Satellite Studio West, and Mike at Earthling Studios for their time and attention.

Meanwhile, back in LA, our producer/keyboardist Rami and engineer Oliver are also at work on this project. Organ and other keys will likely be added to nearly all the songs, possibly along with some lap steel on a couple of tunes. Then, we will listen to what we have and decide if recording is indeed complete. 

Thanks to the Wookie choir: Bob S.; Doug; Jen; Diane; Emily; Kyle & Brian. It takes a village, as they say.

(Photo by Mark Tucker)

In February, the band (and a few close friends) spent a Los Angeles weekend recording basic tracks for our next CD release. Basic tracks generally mean the band as we sound live: guitar; bass; drums and vocals. To this we had time left over to add some additional guitar parts and various percussion instruments (shaker, tambourine etc.). We exceeded our own high expectations, leaving town after four days with 12 almost completed songs. At least they seemed almost completed after starting from scratch. 

Back in San Diego, we have begun recording additional backing and harmony vocal tracks. This work is still ongoing. Keyboard parts will also be recorded soon. At that point, we should be just about finished and ready to mix. But knowing the band's penchant for adding this and that to our previous recordings, we still may find some additional pieces to these puzzles. To close with the ultimate recording band cliche; this sounds like the best thing we've ever done!

(photo by Mark Tucker)

Wookie Garcia is welcoming our new drummer Neil Anders Matthews to the band with a live performance! Join us on Sunday evening October 16 at Navajo Live. We will play from 8:45 on after a set by Shark Jones (a seriously good band). So, bring some friends and come dance with us at Navajo Live!