Herman’s doing repairs again
Several of our early demos were recorded at Ramrod Studios in Sydney. The studio was owned by Herman Kovac, and it was always a pleasure to record in his small and cosy studio.
Herman would often say things like, “another catchy song ruined by an awkward arrangement”, “I’ll do it, but it doesn’t sound right”. He was never afraid to tell us when we were going wrong, and his advice has proved invaluable over the years. Over time, we were able to reflect on the advice he provided and benefit from it.
Herman has been involved in music for a lifetime. He was the drummer for the Australian band The Ted Mulry Gang in the 1970s. Their most popular song is “Jump in my car”, which was released in 1975. At the time, that song ousted Swedish superstars Abba from the top of the charts.
A quirk of Herman’s in the studio is that he would get distracted and begin making repairs to the studio while a session was in progress. As a result, you had to learn the basics of recording a song while he was doing repairs. One of the most memorable experiences of recording early Satellite Train demos was working with Herman.