Some projects just hit different, and working with Handsome Jack was one of those. This one had everything—vintage gear, raw energy, and a no-frills, straight-to-tape recording process that captured the band’s essence perfectly.

I teamed up with my longtime collaborator Ben McLeod from All Them Witches, and we headed up to Lockport, NY, in the dead of winter 2018. The band had set up shop in a jam space inside an old radiator factory—an industrial relic that gave the recordings an undeniable atmosphere. Everything about this project felt old-school in the best way.

We tracked everything live straight to a vintage Tascam 388 8-track machine. No endless takes, no digital safety nets—just pure, in-the-moment performances. Even the vocals were cut directly to tape, locking in that raw, unfiltered emotion you just don’t get with modern workflows. Any overdubs were minimal, done digitally only where necessary, but the heart of the record was built on pure analog grit.

The mixing process was just as wild. We banged out all 11 songs in one marathon, day-long session, and by the time we were heading back to Nashville, we had the final masters in hand. It was a fast, instinct-driven process, and honestly, that’s what made it work.

Handsome Jack has the kind of sound that doesn’t need polish—it just needs to be captured the right way. Their talent, combined with this raw and organic approach, made for a record that feels timeless.