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Beanpoleland.com Updated: 11/30/2001
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Week 3 - Monday 3/25/1991

Recording Mr. Einstein. Berg gets fed up with Winegar.

Winegar re-recorded the flanged guitar melody line that had bothered him on Friday, this time with better timing. He quickly replaced the doubled Emax II string parts as well. I played 'skank' guitar chords, using Wallace's own Fender Telecaster through Winegar's Vibrolux/Jenson speaker cabinet combo while Puig shaped the envelope of the sound with his Fairchild. Following this, Winegar added Fender Electric XII 12-string arpeggios for the pre-choruses. Puig took the guitar direct and passed it through Fairchild and Urei compressors simultaneously. Winegar doubled these parts with an acoustic guitar, captured with a Schoepps mic.

Both Berg and I had a go at performing the 8th note piano parts before we stepped aside to let Winegar play the part. For Berg, this was the last straw. He told Wallace and Urbano that he felt ignored, misunderstood and unappreciated by the band. After speaking with them, Berg left the studio for the day.

As Winegar added a shaker part in the studio, Puig remarked that he was amazed by Winegar's ability to play along with the rhythm track so perfectly. As if on cue, Winegar strode into the control room bearing a Dixie cup filled with his own urine, which he promptly offered to Gates. As Urbano recorded a tambourine track, the control room air grew thick with noxious fumes, making everybody feel nauseated. That completed the sessions for the day.

That evening, Wallace, Puig, Gates, Urbano, and I met to discuss the possibility of Berg quitting the band. Wallace told us about Berg leaving the studio in the afternoon and his reasons for doing so. To make matters worse, two week's worth of growing tension between Berg and Winegar had finally come to a head a few days ago. The story takes place in the apartment shared by Berg, Winegar and Gates. On Friday morning, while Winegar was sleeping in the bedroom, Berg was in the living room complaining to Gates about Winegar's intolerably messy living habits. From the open bedroom door they heard Winegar groan, "Stick your thumb up your ass." Berg exploded into action, grabbing a cup full of water, running into the bedroom and dumping it on Winegar's head. Winegar screamed obscenities as Berg marched out of the room. For days afterward, they were not on speaking terms.

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