Behind the Board: Steve Morgan of Deadcode Discusses His Studio Preferences

Obviously, bands and musical projects can begin in the most unconventional of ways, but the roots of Deadcode may be the most unique you’ll ever hear. Guitarist Steve Morgan, Chief Technology Officer for cyber security firm Halborn, was taking a cyber security class taught by future lead singer Stephen Sims of the SANS Institute. Each of them is extremely well regarded within the space of cybersecurity. And although each of them had a background in 2000s-era rock bands, it was their expertise in cybersecurity which was the basis of their friendship. Their friendship began to grow even more as they discovered how much more they had in common. Bands, films, old stories from the road. When they finally got around to writing a song together, it was clear that this was a partnership developing.

Morgan and Sims went on to call their partnership Deadcode, and their debut album Nothing and Nowhere is set for release this Friday, May 30th. Electronic in nature, this is rock n’ roll bolstered by synths and dark beats. They recently released the song “Left You For Dead,” featuring vocals from She Wants Revenge’s Justin Warfield. Most of the songs on the album were composed through Sims and Morgan sharing ideas back and forth. Sims was in California, and Morgan was in Florida, and they would shoot ideas to each other until something felt right. Warfield was also a valued contributor, and he has since become Deadcode’s manager. Songwriting can be a magical experience, and fortunately for Morgan and Sims, they are a match made in heaven.

In addition to their talents at songwriting, Sims and Morgan are also extremely capable in the recording studio. Morgan joins us today for a Behind the Board interview in which he discusses memorable studio sessions, taking on challenges, dream studio setups, and more.

What’s the weirdest sound you’ve ever recorded and included in a track?

Steve Morgan: “One afternoon, a melody came into my head that went well with a song that we were working on (which eventually became the song ‘Don’t Let Me Go’).

“I ran downstairs to my piano and recorded it on my iPhone to capture it before the melody left me. And that lo-fi single-take of the piano performance is the actual audio recording that made the album. It’s at the end of the song, and it ended up being mixed together with a sample of the 1940s movie trailer of Ayn Rand’s The Fountainhead, which is a favourite book. The piano melody and the old movie sample matched really well together to have this eerie dystopian vibe.”

Describe your most chaotic studio session ever.

“During the recording process of Nothing and Nowhere, we went to NRG Studios out in Los Angeles to capture the final vocal takes. While those sessions were generally smooth and relaxed, we were sharing the time in studio A with the rap artist Future. We had the day slot, and he had the evening slot. Every morning, we returned to the studio, and we stepped into the chaos that happened after hours. It looked like Victoria’s Secret had sponsored a frat party. Even though we play rock music, Future definitely has the ‘rock star’ life, according to the evidence left behind of his studio sessions.”

Deadcode Guitar and Synth, photo courtesy of Deadcode

Deadcode Guitars, photo courtesy of Deadcode

Analog vs. Digital—pick a side and tell us why.

“As the musician/engineer for the band, I’ll pick a side for guitars, synths, and music production/recording.

“For guitars: Digital. I personally own a couple of Analog head units, like a Bogner Uberschall and a Marshall JCM800. I also own a Kemper Profiler, Axe-FX 3, and Line-6 Helix. Comparing the modellers to the real thing, there is no difference to my ear. With Digital, you have nearly the same sound, but without all the weight, maintenance, and inconsistencies with mics and tubes.

“For synths: Analog. Not because of any difference in sound, but because I like to touch and feel the knobs and buttons and think less about ‘presets.’ Hardware synths are just more fun for me to record.

“For Production/Recording: Digital with a final analog mixdown. It all ends up digital anyhow in the end when we make an MP3/wav/aif or whatever file, 99 percent of listeners hear. And I mix in Ableton Live and Pro Tools, which are standard DAWs. But running the final mix through an analog converter to saturate the sound often makes a great tone to the digital mix when it sounds a little rough.”

Deadcode ‘Nothing and Nowhere’ album artwork

What’s one studio trick or secret you’ve never revealed before?

“If I told my secrets, it wouldn’t be a secret anymore! But one trick that can make tracks sound great, have Tom Lord Alge mix your songs! He did nine of our eleven and brought them to life sonically.”

Share a recording fail that ended up being a surprising win.

“All of my ‘fails’ in recording that end up being a win are the result of moving song arrangements around in a DAW, and accidentally putting them in the wrong place. I call them ‘Happy Accidents.’ Forgetting to move the drums with the rest of the song in the grid, and then a drum pattern that wasn’t supposed to be there ends up sounding much better than what was before.”

Deadcode in the studio, photo courtesy of Deadcode

If budget wasn’t a factor, what would your dream studio look like?

“Please don’t take this as bragging or showing off, but I’m lucky enough to say budget isn’t a factor right now with the studio building. I’ve had huge success outside of Deadcode by founding a cybersecurity company called Halborn, and that success has allowed me to carry out my musical passion with nearly no limits.

“I currently have a collection of Vintage Pre-Amps (Neve/Avalon/Universal Audio/Manley), SSL Mixing Consoles, 30+ guitars (Mayones/Gibson/PRS/Fender/BC Rich/Taylor/Martin/Dingwall), 22 synths from Moog/Oberheim/Access/Korg/Roland, several terabytes of plugins and sound samples, a dozen microphones from Neumann/Blue/Shure/AKG, and most importantly, my own dedicated private studio in a stand-alone building at my home in Miami Beach, which allows me to focus without interruptions and get ‘in the flow state.’”

Which song was unexpectedly challenging to produce, and why?

“The most challenging song on Nothing and Nowhere to produce was ‘Staring at the Sun.’ A few songs were written in a matter of days. But this one, I kept going back trying to fix the verse again and again because it felt like it was dragging. I probably created 15 variations of it. To be honest, I’m still not completely satisfied with the verses, but the rest of the band likes it, and I have to move on at some point, or go crazy.”

If you could have any artist, living or dead, produce your next track, who would it be?

“If I could have an artist to work with and produce my next track, I’d pick Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails. Two of my top three artists I was blessed enough to have remix one of our songs. KMFDM did a version of ‘Leave It All Behind,’ and Celldweller did a remix version of ‘No Illusion.’ Both of those artists/producers are some of my all-time favourites. NIN would be the final of the three to complete my bucket list.”

Deadcode with Tom Lord, photo courtesy of Deadcode