# Working with Ghosts

By [Mitch Bradford](https://paragraph.com/@mitchbradford) · 2022-01-05

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I stepped into **Studio D** at [The Village](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Village_\(studio\)) and had a choice.

I could either (a) read up on all the history of this legendary studio and freak myself out before the recording sessions for my next record or (b) ignore the history and have that gap in my head for the entire sessions.

Was there any good choice?

![Tom Petty in Studio D at The Village, 📷: Robert Sebree](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/6b79bb9c8f680cab8d839830bf23188a938a0f6db419cf74381f67312fbc4d26.png)

Tom Petty in Studio D at The Village, 📷: Robert Sebree

I went with option (b).

I didn’t read anything while we recorded in **Studio D**. Instead, I kept my head down, focusing on the part I had to play: getting my voice right, writing great lyrics, and making the best record possible.

I even walked head down in the hallways in the mornings, so Tom Petty’s gold-plated records like “Wildflowers” or Fleetwood Mac’s “Tusk” wouldn’t catch my eye.

![The hallway on the way to Studio D.](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/7ca301a2b5a05afcd5125fc5861b77d6c309ce3247d37976dabb87df4fd17898.jpg)

The hallway on the way to Studio D.

But then a funny thing happened.

It felt like the history of **Studio D** began working with us.

When we recorded “More Than Life” (one of the title tracks), we needed a poppier chorus. Suddenly, the Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers’ adage “Don’t bore us / Get to the chorus” showed up in my head. Then a harmony hit -- a simple “ooooh, ahhhh, ooooh” that lifted the melody and made the song pop.

Or the analog equipment. Engineers kept bringing in old gear for us to apply on the record. Chorus reverbs and analog systems that hadn’t been touched in years. Some dated back to the studio’s founding.

![An EMT 250. One of the first digital reverb units ever made. Property of the original studio owner, Georgie Hormel. (see right)](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/85678602700600fbe0387982d656240121de2409264eae631b196c64ed100ffb.png)

An EMT 250. One of the first digital reverb units ever made. Property of the original studio owner, Georgie Hormel. (see right)

When we made the decision to record this music live on the studio floor at The Village in Studio D, everyone told us we were idiots. “They don’t do it like that anymore” or “the vocal bleed will kill your mix.”

But by making music like they did in the past, something more exciting happened. We weren’t there to treat the studio as some ancient history museum and just honor the ghosts.

We were there to embody the work.

And if you’re there to embody the work, the ghosts start working with you.

\-- **Mitch**

Jan. 2022

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*Originally published on [Mitch Bradford](https://paragraph.com/@mitchbradford/working-with-ghosts-2)*