A couple months ago some musician friends of mine were talking about doing some recording in a place called ‘the tank’. I was super curious. What is ‘The Tank’? I did a little research and found out The Tank is a big metal tank in Rangely, Colorado that has the most amazing natural reverb. It’s run by a group called The Tank Center for Sonic Arts.
There’s quite a bit of history there but the gist is that it’s a big, really big metal tank. The top is domed, and the bottom is convex. So unlike any normal tank, this one has super special acoustic properties that create the most amazing reverb you’ve ever heard. At least that’s what people were saying. So I called them up and booked a recording session along with my buddies.
When I booked the session, the nice man informed me that I was going to be the first bagpiper to record in the tank. This was either going to be really cool, or a complete nightmare. The interesting thing about the bagpipes is that they never stop. It’s not like a regular wind instrument where you can pause or get softer or louder. The pipes are either on or off. No in-between. The grace notes and embellishments create the dynamics between notes and give it the distinctive, well, bagpipe sound. The tank was rumored to have a 30-45 second reverb tail. That means any noise made in the tank will reverberate and continue to sound for 30-45 seconds. It could be beautiful, or complete chaos!
So I was pretty nervous going in. It could be a complete waste of time and money or it could be freakin’ awesome!
I booked the appointment for a Thursday evening as it can get pretty hot there in Rangely during the day. And I waited. I did a bit of practicing, thinking that slow tunes would sound better than fast jigs or reels.
Finally the big day came. I packed up the Jeep and made the 4 hour or so drive from Denver on a clear, sunny day. My session was at 7:00 PM so I left around noon, thinking I had plenty of time. But, as fate would have it, frikkin I-70 was stopped for blasting. Oh dang, I wasn’t going to make it! Thankfully traffic finally started moving and I was on my way. I arrived in Rangely around 6-ish. Plenty of time to check-in to my quaint lodging at the Moosehead Lodge, grab some ice and water at the local Ace Hardware and head over to the studio.
I was actually a bit early so the gate was still locked. So I hung out in the heat and enjoyed the ambience of one of Colorado’s oldest and largest oil field.
As I sat on the bumper of my Jeep and absorbed the peace and quiet. I heard the lonely sound of an echoing trumpet. Someone was in the tank playing music, and it was really cool!
Eventually Michael, the recording engineer showed up and we drove up a little hill to the entrance to the tank. He gave me the grand tour before we got to work. The setup is pretty cool. Inside the tank there are a number of microphones wired up in different places to capture different aspects of the sound. There’s also a remote video setup. It’s all masterminded in an attached container that’s been turned into a full-on recording studio, complete with Pro Tools, a console, a video monitor, and even a bed!
Now came the big moment! I warmed up a bit outside, then stepped into the tank and started playing. It wasn’t chaos, it was wonderful! Thankfully, I know how to tune my pipes. The drones echoed continuously and were reinforced by the tank. The chanter cut through with its own echo and added a big, wonderful tone to the whole thing. Slow tunes reverberated majestically and even quick tunes like jigs and reels sounded pretty fun with the big echo.
I had a blast and played until my lips gave out! It was super hot and sweaty but I persevered until the very last moment. I played a bunch of mostly simple tunes and hopefully got some great recordings.
The next morning we hung out while Michael Thompson recorded some of his songs on guitar. Then Friday evening we gave a concert for a tiny audience. I opened up for Michael and played for about half an hour or so. It was endless fun, and our fans were very appreciative.
I’ll be posting some of the music after I go through all the tracks. But just playing in the tank was one of the coolest things I’ve ever done. The sound was massive and awe-inspiring all at the same time. The crew at the tank were super-awesome and made it the experience of a lifetime. Michael, Caleb, and Samantha were the best!
I can’t wait to go back to Rangely and spend some quality time with my bagpipes in the tank!
