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Tales from the Recording Studio

by Greg Rank

Where Magic Happens and Stories Become Songs

Polished Shoes

Home Studio A (The Live Studio)

Written in 1998 but recorded live in 2020, this upbeat novelty track captures the joy of playing music with friends—even in the face of life's hardest challenges. A 4:04 journey in the key of A at 129 BPM that proves music is medicine for the soul.

Recording Date: April 21, 2020
Genre: Novelty • Mood: Upbeat, Ironic, Funny, Satirical
Structure: Verse-Chorus with instrumental sections

👥 The Band

Greg Rank - Guitar, Producer, Engineer
The songwriter and studio mastermind, capturing lightning in a bottle
Terry Larson - Bass (deceased)
An incredible musician who played through chemo with neuropathy in his hands, largely playing bass without being able to feel his hands. His spirit and dedication shine through every note.
Rod Leeburg - Drums
The rhythmic heartbeat keeping the groove alive with his parlor drum kit

🎛️ Studio Gear

🎸 Strings:
Japanese Les Paul (upgraded copy)
Fender Jazz Master Bass & Amp
🥁 Percussion:
Parlor drum kit
CAD drum mics
🎙️ Recording:
Berringer XR-12 mixer
Sennheiser vocal microphone
"Always a joy playing with Rod and Terry. Terry was going through chemo and had neuropathy in his hands and largely played bass without being able to feel his hands."

🎨 Album Art Story

Greg photographed his grown daughter's childhood tap shoes on paper, then titled and signed it in his own handwriting. As he puts it: "The title of the song inspired this, plus we are parents who never throw sentimental things away." The black and white aesthetic mirrors most tap shoes, creating a perfect visual metaphor for the song's nostalgic yet playful spirit.

Jukebox Patsy

Studio Location: TBD

This song has a backstory worthy of a country ballad itself—born on Highway 50 during a road trip to a Folk Music Camp in Moab, Utah, when two musicians stumbled upon a castle and a woman named Donna with a heart full of memories.

👥 The Collaborators

Mary Sue Ulven - Co-writer and vocalist, the storyteller who channeled Patsy Cline's spirit in Donna's music room
Greg Rank - Co-writer and musician, the road trip companion who helped transform a stranger's story into song
Donna - The inspiration, the castle owner whose love story and mysterious disappearing jukebox song became the heart of this tribute

🎸 The Origin Equipment

Two guitars in a castle's kitchen with Donna, where Mary Sue and Greg first discovered this story.

"We were not expecting song inspiration from a sole proprietor with an Airbnb castle in Austin, Nevada. Where humans go, stories follow."

The song captures not only Donna's heartbreaking tale of love and loss but also celebrates those serendipitous moments when travelers become friends and their stories become eternal through music. A mysterious Patsy Cline song that kept disappearing from a jukebox became the centerpiece of this touching tribute to love, memory, and the power of song to preserve what matters most.

🎪 S tudio A or Studio B?

Ah, the eternal question! Studio B. This was a multitrack process. A Cubase Project. The Gibson J-45 doing the heavy lifting while the Les Paul, it's whammy bar and an octave dropper in a pedal for the bass. A simple piano riff to round out a Patsy Cline vibe.

This was our first formal song collaboration. Greg started the song with a verse and chorus and Mary Sue built the story, counting the syllabals, paid attention to the rhyme scheme and jazz feel by breaking up the bars out of traditional 4/4 format.