I think, therefore I Blog...

In an effort to connect more deeply with our fans, we have decided to start "blogging"...

Ok... here goes. Perhaps a semi-humorous story from my past. Ok, here is one; back in the early '90s, I had a temporary gig as a stage hand/assistant for REM. They were recording the album "Monster" in Atlanta. My job consisted of making sure they had enough food and beverages, as well as guitar strings, drum sticks... you name it, if they ran out of it, it was my job to go and get it.

I worked with them for about a month during the recording. Having alway been a fan of the band, it was a great experience being able to hear them jam all day, recording new songs like "What's Your Frequency Kenneth". I remember going home to my bass guitar a couple of times and working out bass lines to songs that nobody on the outside world had heard yet. I played a couple of the songs briefly on the bass to my bandmates (from memory of course; no tape recorders allowed in the studio).

Overall, the band was a great group of people, always very friendly, and very down to earth. Not bad musicians either.

You know, this might be an interesting thread... I can share my experiences of REM's recording of "Monster" from my very fuzzy memory. Here then, are some working titles of upcoming installments:

1. Bill Berry's driving range
2. These are not the right sized coffee filters
3. Mike Mills needs a Doctor!
4. Peter Buck's amp gets new tubes
5. Charles Cote on stage with REM (it really happened)

That's all for now. Check back soon for my first official installment of "Making a Monster: The Untold Story from Behind the Scenes."

While you are here, please check out song clips from our latest CD, Max Q at http://www.theReverseEngineers.com.

That's all for now,

Charles Cote
Bassist -- The Reverse Engineers