NOW HEAR THIS: The Session with Christian James Hand
The podcast of record for music nerds …and the people who love them.
Podcast
The podcast of record for music nerds …and the people who love them.
If you’re a big ol’ music nerd, of which I gleefully admit I am, a song isn’t just a song; it’s your sustenance. You want, nay, need, to know everything about the song or the band.
Before he was a headphone entrepreneur and billionaire, Jimmy Iovine was a music engineer and producer. I was so much a fan of the way he produced and the sounds he got from the artists he worked with that I would purchase albums solely because he produced them — I knew I would more than likely dig the band. It was true way more than it was false.
Music, at least for me, is so much more than just the band or the artist. Musicians, and almost all artists, stand on the shoulders of others.
So if names like George Martin, Robert John “Mutt” Lange, and Tom Dowd mean something to you, or you’ve ever had an inkling of curiosity about how a song gets made, then you will want to listen to this podcast. You won’t learn so much about what a producer like Martin, Lange, or Dowd actually do, or what they contribute so much (a producer’s role is nebulous at best and perennially in flux) as you will learn how a song is built and recorded in a studio.
If you’ve ever wondered what it might be like to build a song from scratch, then The Session with Christian James Hand is the podcast you must listen to.
The Session with Christian James Hand pulls back the curtain of the recording studio, takes specific songs, and dissects them track by track to show you how they were recorded. This podcast is a Music 101 course, so you’re not going to get bogged down in the technical linguistics that can accompany “studio speak.”
Hand provides a charged, and often hysterical, look at how a song gets built — track by track, from the ground up. One track for drums, another track for bass, a track for guitar, a track for vocals …well, you get the idea.
As a drummer and producer himself, Christian James Hand provides commentary with astute knowledge and an energetic panache’ that makes even the dullest songs sound amazing.
I heard him break down Eddie Money’s “Two Tickets to Paradise.” Now I like Eddie Money enough. Growing up in Ohio, my FM radio station gave Money more East Coast cred than Springsteen. In any event, I knew enough as a kid to know Money is not a strong singer. Unique sound, yes. However, after listening to Hand break it down, I came away with a new respect for Money’s ability to stay in his lane.
Speaking of FM radio stations, there is one caveat. Technically speaking, The Session is not its own podcast, as such. And the reasons behind that are legal and, I can only presume, arcane. So, CJH is part of the KLOS morning show with Davey, Daisy, and Daffy or whoever (it’s actually Frosty, Heidi and Frank).
I find listening to FM morning shows akin to having a root canal …without any anesthetic. Provided you can tolerate the comedic (?) preamble interjections of the hilarious FM morning crew and the occasional sound effect (HONK!), you’re going to enjoy The Session.
Seriously though, don’t let the morning show nonsense turn you off because CJH is more than adept at navigating that nonsense.
BUT, if you can’t tolerate the hilarious shenanigans of the morning crew, you have options. You can follow thesessioniglive on Instagram, but you gotta catch it live (2p ET, 11a PT — M-F). As the bio points out:
Saving music…one song at a time.
No archive.
They happen and then they’re gone.
Back-up IG: @theothersignal
Again, I’m not tackling why there is no archive. In the event you DON’T know, the music industry as a whole is perhaps more litigious than the legal personal injury industry — and Don Henley doesn’t want you to know how poorly he sings.
In addition to Instagram, CJH also has been known to take The Session on the road. I had the luck of seeing him break down a Metallica song (I forget which one) at a Guitar Center in Sherman Oaks a few years ago. His background as a producer and drummer allowed him to shine light onto Lars Ulrich’s playing …with a fair amount of hilarity.
Now that the world is opening up, post-pandemic, I’m sure the venues will more than likely change. That said, I would bet dollars to donuts; the fun of seeing The Session with Christian James Hand live will not.
Like any good musician or artist, seeing CJH live is where it’s at for me. While you can hear and sense his energy on the radio, and you can witness it on IG, seeing it live takes it to a whole other level. If you feel strongly about music as both a craft and art form, you will recognize a kindred spirit in Christian James Hand.
One of the best things about The Session is that there is no pretense. There is no Greil Marcus like examinations of the band or the songs. For me, CJH takes the piss out of the song and removes some of the high-brow silliness that can often creep into music analysis. You can sense his glee and amazement when he injects a “Will you fucking LISTEN to that? AMAZING!”
Exactly! Sometimes a simple drum fill IS amazing.
But to be fair, CJH analyzes the technical aspects and not the lofty, ethereal, and much more subjective elements of a song.
Christian James Hand reminds us that it’s not all the nonsense surrounding the song, it’s the song, and only the song, that matters.
Don’t be put off if you don’t know anything about studio wizardry, and just like the song, you will enjoy The Session. I promise.
The Session has yet to dive into the deep recesses of music and sticks to songs you know. These are songs that you will recognize. Much to his benefit, CJH doesn’t dive into The 13th Floor Elevators territory …not yet anyway.
The Session with Christian James Hand reminds us that it’s only rock & roll . . . and you’ll like it.
I promise.
All the socials:
The Session on IG — live shows 2p ET, 11a PT — M-F