After the world was turned upside down by the Covid-19 pandemic, most people’s perspective on life and what’s important really changed. 

Although it felt like the world had stopped spinning, at times, it was during these days, months, and years of uncertainty that many of Venice’s “Stained Glass” songs were conceived. Each member of Venice was quietly and privately cataloguing their artistic interpretation of this new reality and uncertainty by recording or writing down little snippets of ideas, like guitar riffs, melodies, or lyrics…all of these came about while looking at life through a new lens.

“Once it was safe for us to gather, we brought the band back together to begin working through the collection of ideas we had stored away during our individual isolations”, says the album’s producer, engineer, and multi-instrumentalist, Michael Lennon. “We set up a simple multi-track studio on my back patio in Los Angeles, California”. Surrounded by colorful hanging Tahitian pareos to brighten the room and block the direct sunlight, the band gathered in a circle, facing each other. The backyard's screened patio allowed for an open, outdoor feel with Venice Beach breezes, and provided shelter from any unwelcomed weather. “There was an openness and freedom that we felt by being outdoors and not being confined to the traditional, stuffy, windowless studio environment”, says Pat Lennon, Venice’s guitarist and vocalist, and cousin to Michael.

“Although I knew we’d later be replacing many of the tracks we recorded on the patio, I wanted to be able to capture the individual tracks because there’s always a magic that happens during those first takes of any song or groove or even a vocal performance”, says Michael. 

“And thank god we did”, adds Michael’s brother and one of the band’s co-lead vocalists, Marky Lennon, “on songs like ‘Odds & Ends’, or ‘Set My Course’, the final lead vocal was recorded on the back porch with a Shure sm58 microphone, an inexpensive mic we use for live shows. Those early takes on a handful of the new songs had a clarity, a rawness and honesty that we couldn’t top.” Michael leans back in, “I’ve come to realize that ‘performance’ is 90% of a lead vocal, not the microphone or preamps you’re running through. Of course, having all those things combined is the goal, but performance is king.”

“Performance on the instrumental side was just as important”, adds Kipp Lennon, brother of Pat and cousin of Michael & Marky, and the band's other co-lead vocalist. “For instance, most of Mark Harris’ bass tracks were from the original back porch recordings…magical stuff was happening…so we left it alone and turned it up.”

They set up the writing circle using an electronic drum kit, small tube amps, direct acoustic guitars and bass and the sm58 stage microphones for vocals.  This small and simple setup allowed the band to work on ideas at low-volume levels by using headphones or low-level playback through studio monitors without bothering the neighbors with live drums. “Lunches made by Michael’s wife, Danielle, and visits from their dog Sachi, kept us grounded and let us stay in the creative bubble without leaving that space”, says bassist, Mark Harris.  Michael and drummer, Andre Kemp, who co-produced Stained Glass, would later re-record the drum tracks with real drums in a friend’s studio. 

“The beauty of this approach on Stained Glass was that one person’s idea would be presented to the other 5 musicians and each guy added a different color to that idea”, says Michael. “Whether it was an unexpected drum beat, or a moving guitar line, those simple ideas turned into pieces of art, colored by the different musical and lyrical contributions. That only happens when you are working that idea out, together, and playing as one unit”.

That was the main inspiration for the album title; like a kaleidoscope, each guy's experience and taste in music was bringing a different color to the songs, but together their contributions made one piece of art, one song. Michael concludes, “if you zoom out, each song becomes its own color and all those songs or colors come together to form one big piece of art, one big piece of ‘Stained Glass’”.