JSDC Records “Off The Floor” in One Day at Hapy Hipi Owned by Celebrated Car Owner Tim Schmidt
If Sabbath. Can. Do it.
Canadian indie rock trio JSDC recently emulated what Black Sabbath did way back in 1969. Led by vocalist Ozzy Osbourne, Sabbath’s self-titled debut album, Black Sabbath, was recorded in a single twelve-hour session on 16 October 1969. That quick turnaround with virtually no overdubs for the recording, didn’t inhibit Sabbath’s success as the pioneering band went on to become one of the most notorious heavy metal bands ever.
Today, with a nod to the alt-rock of Green Day and Blink-182, indie trio JSDC recorded their new LP, Off The Floor, at Hapy Hipi Studios in King City — an eye-opening facility owned by gearhead guru and world famous car collector Tim Schmidt.
JSDC’s members, who are all fathers, include guitarist/vocalist Josh “JS” Smitheram, bassist/vocalist Dave “DC” Collie, and drummer Joel “JS” Schonewille. Decades after Black Sabbath’s “one day debut” LP, JSDC is proud of what they themselves accomplished in one day at Hapy Hipi Studios. Smitheram says of the world-class facilities at Hapy Hipi: “The space was visually impressive with many guitars, amps and Tim Schmidt’s awesome cars. The studio booth felt like we entered a space ship. And, Chuck, the sound engineer, knew his stuff but was very laid back. The session was five hours of just us doing what we do best — rock ‘n roll.”
JSDC co-founder, Collie, says of their new LP of six original songs, “Off The Floor is fun, one-maybe two-take rock — short, snappy songs of sheer raw energy!”
Meanwhile, Chuck Carvalho, Hapy Hipi’s Studios Manager/Head Engineer, quips about JSDC: “They were a great band to work with. We did that one so quickly it should have been named ‘Off The Floor…in a hurry!’”
That comment seems to echo Black Sabbath’s experience, with that band’s guitarist and founding member Tony Iommi once saying of recording their debut LP: “We thought, ‘We have two days to do it and one of the days is mixing.’ So, we played live. Ozzy was singing at the same time, we just put him in a separate booth and off we went. We never had a second run of most of the stuff.”
Similarly, JSDC’s drummer Schonewille explains, “We recorded all six songs live with just the three of us playing, with no overdubs. We’re super happy with how it turned out, and look forward to officially releasing the recording.”
JSDC create a fun, authentic vibe with their audiences when they perform live, and they also tell a fascinating aspect of how they came across Hapy Hipi Studios. JSDC co-writer Dave Collie, who penned the songs Open and Just Ain’t Right on their new LP, has a way of connecting with people, almost selling himself as a cool dude you’d like to get to know. In fact, he sold one of his guitars to engineer Chuck Carvalho. Collie explains, “Chuck and I hit it off, and he said he was going to keep the guitar in the studio he ran. Studio, what studio? He talked up Hapy Hipi, then Josh, Joel and I checked it out and we soon ended up recording there with Chuck. It’s like that with another awesome musician called Dave who runs ‘David’s Music Channel,’ and we met through a guitar trade, but we kept in touch and he’s become part of the JSDC’s DNA. I guess I’m good at selling myself. But, like JSDC, I’m just trying to be authentic, keeping it real, and having some fun.”
The other four songs on Off the Floor — Tension, Rose Gold, Lightning, and Let It Out — were written by Josh Smitheram
JSDC’s new six-song, original music LP, which was mixed and mastered by Chris James, will be officially released at an all-ages record release party at Turtle Jacks in Richmond Hill, Ontario on October 28, where the band will be offering some fun, cool merch. And, there may be two guest performers for the trio — Dave Collie’s youngest son Austin Collie will play keyboards and Joel’s daughter Emme Schonewille is slated to sing.
Drop in on JSDC’s music site, Spotify and Apple Music, and check out the JSDC YouTube channel to listen to Off The Floor.
