Moline musician to record at Abbey Road
It’s been a long and winding road for Kerry Tucker of Moline – one that’s often left him in pool of tears. But it will lead him back to the door of one of his favorite places on Earth.
One week before last Christmas, Tucker (and many close family and friends) said goodbye to the love of his life, at a memorial service for his wife Tracey. She died at 54 on Dec. 13, 2023 in Iowa City, after a courageous 5 ½-year battle within colon cancer.
On Dec. 10, at University Hospitals, six days before Kerry’s popular band Einstein’s Sister was due to play its last show at RIBCO (to honor the longtime bar’s closing) in Rock Island, he and Tracey had an amazing talk, when he knew she was on her last legs.
“One of the main things I wanted to know from her was if it was OK if I played the gig,” Kerry said recently, noting she said “of course,” since RIBCO owner Terry Tilka meant the world to her. She also attended virtually every RIBCO show Kerry ever played, with many bands.
In Iowa City, Tracey told him that she saved up some money for him to go back to Abbey Road Studios in London, the home of immortal Beatles recordings, and studio for countless other famous artists. “She wanted me to take Dylan to England to have the same experience she had,” Kerry said of their son, who didn’t go with them on their April 2023 visit. “That trip we had was one of the best memories she ever had.”
Tracey told him: “You have this door that’s opened. You have this ability – if I told you when you were 25, you know people who could set it up at Abbey Road that you could record there, you would have jumped on this in a heartbeat,” Kerry recalled. “So let this be that outlet for you.”
She died on Wednesday, Dec. 13, and Saturday night was the RIBCO gig, which was therapeutic and very moving for Kerry.
“There was a light that flashed when I started singing, which I thought was kind of cool,” he said. “When I wasn’t playing, I was in tears the whole time, because so many people were there, for me, and it was very emotional.”
“For Terry and Tracey, I’m glad that I did it,” Kerry said. “Everybody in the crowd were there for Tracey and Terry both. That was the beautiful thing about it. It was really a good night.”
During the Dec. 10 hospital talk, “I honestly think she was holding it together, just so we could have that beautiful final talk,” Kerry said. “I’m so much more at ease about her being gone, because of it.
“Tracey said watching me and Miles together at Abbey Road was like seeing two musical twins meeting for the first time,” he posted on Facebook about veteran engineer Miles Showell. “He has re-mastered some of my all-time favorite albums (The Beatles, The Who, The Police, Paul McCartney), has tons of great stories, is incredibly knowledgeable and is one of the absolute kindest men to ever walk the earth.”
It was tough losing Tracey so close to Christmas. She played piano for First Presbyterian Church in Coal Valley since she was a teenager.
“Tracey’s life was a testament to kindness, compassion, and selflessness,” her obituary said, noting her journey was “dedicated to helping others and spreading joy through her various roles.”
She and Kerry married on Sept. 12, 1999 at her Coal Valley church.
“As the pianist, she added a melodious touch to worship services, and her involvement in the food pantry reflected her deep commitment to alleviating the struggles of those in need,” Tracey’s obit said. “Her work in the pantry was not just a role; it was a testament to her compassionate spirit.
“A lover of music, Tracey shared her passion by teaching private piano lessons for many years. Her influence resonated through the notes played by those she inspired. Her career in food service at Willard Elementary School, Moline, endeared her to the hearts of countless children who adored her for her warmth and kindness.
“Tracey was known for her compassion, caring nature, sensitivity, strength, and boundless love. Her greatest joy in life was her son, for whom she dedicated her time and energy,” the obit said. “From helping with homework to attending band concerts and swimming competitions, she was his biggest fan and took immense pride in raising a son known for his gentlemanly qualities.”
Dylan is now a 21-year-old St. Ambrose junior, studying cybersecurity and is a straight-A student. Kerry teaches guitar part-time at the private Davenport school.
The Abbey Road link
The journey to England’s hallowed recording studios came about after Kerry attended a summer 2019 seminar at Abbey Road, with Tracey and Dylan.
“We just happened to be there the 50th anniversary of the photo shoot for the ‘Abbey Road’ album cover,” Kerry recalled. “I’m lucky enough to just savor this. I’m never gonna be here again.”
“It was insane – it all took place in Studio 2, where a majority of the Beatles recordings were done, some of the Pink Floyd,” he said. “The room has a boatload of history. They would play things that were done there and show us where in the room they were done. That’s crazy.”
For mixing of a 2020 reunion single for Einstein’s Sister (“Begin Again” and “Standing Still”), Kerry contacted Nick Davis in London, who mixed one of his favorite albums, XTC’s “Nonsuch” from 1992.
“That album was our reference album for Einstein’s Sister. That was always the album we brought in when we were mixing an album, and said this is what we want our album to sound like,” Kerry said.
Davis’ biggest claim to fame is that he recorded and mixed the Genesis album “We Can’t Dance” (1991), as well as Mike and the Mechanics’ “Living Years” (1988).
“I begged him to do this because of the XTC record, but his credentials go way beyond that for sure,” Tucker said.
Of “Nonsuch,” he said: “If you want to sell someone a stereo, that’s the record to put on. The drums kick in and it’s like, ‘Oh my God.’”
“I explained to him the situation, who we were and I just said, ‘You’ve mixed some of the best sounding records I’ve ever heard,” Tucker recalled of his email. “With people like him, I always give it a shot.”
Kerry recorded nearly all the tracks for the Einstein’s single from his Moline basement. He wasn’t in London for the mastering of the single.
Davis is in Surrey, England, and after mixing it, he recommended Abbey Road engineer Miles Showell to master it. He and Miles have worked on many records together, including Genesis and the 2018 Phil Collins box set, “Plays Well With Others.”
The mixing process is the combination of several instrumental and vocal tracks into one seamless recording, whereas mastering is a collective equalization, because every track is recorded differently. The mastering engineer balances all the tracks by volume and brightness, for example.
“Tracey was like the good luck charm. They just adored Tracey,” Kerry said of their 2023 visit. “That just clinched the friendship right there.”
“I thought it was unreal,” Kerry said of the resulting 2020 single. “I don’t know if it’s because Nick and Miles have worked on so many albums that I love, that they get what Einstein’s Sister does – I sent very few notes. Nick just throws the mix up and it’s exactly the way I hear it in my head, but better.”
“Tracey thought that Nick Davis was the super cool uncle we never had,” Kerry posted on Facebook of their 2023 visit. “Nick has recorded, co-produced and mixed some of the best sounding albums ever recorded. The last three XTC albums are brilliant and his surround re-mixes of the entire Genesis catalog are mind-blowing.”
“That being said, Tracey adored both of them and they were way beyond kind to her,” he said of Davis and Showell. “Both of them checked in throughout the year to see how she was holding up. She loved that.”
Back last year for EP
Last April, Kerry met Nick for the first time and returned to Abbey Road to have Einstein’s sister “Exit Strategies” mastered by Showell.
In addition to mastering the “new” 2023 Beatles song, “Now and Then” (based on a John Lennon demo from 1977) and re-mastering The Beatles’ groundbreaking “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” (50th anniversary edition) in 2017, Showell’s resume includes Queen, The Rolling Stones, The Police, The Who, Tears for Fears, Paul McCartney, Genesis, Sade, Phil Collins, and Dire Straits.
“Having Miles and (mix genius) Nick Davis work with Einstein’s Sister for now a second time, is beyond words,” Tucker wrote. “The difference this time is when I was invited to attend the mastering session, I went!”
When he was there, Showell actually cut the vinyl record for the EP.
“Miles is incredibly knowledgeable, he’s great at what he does,” Tucker said this week. “There’s probably nobody on Earth that does a better job than what he does. He understands the technical aspects of things, but he also loves the music. That’s the great combination to have that.”
“It’s exactly the ideal job for him,” he said. “It’s so strange because his job involves working with my heroes.”
Showell has re-mastered classic albums part of Tucker’s childhood, up to working on contemporary records today.
“It’s insane to think of all the tapes that have been in that room, and all the memories for me, as one person,” Kerry said.
It’s also crazy to know he mastered the Beatles last-ever song, “Now and Then.” “Tears started flowing from my face, it was just crazy,” Kerry said of when he first heard it.
Last spring, Tracey’s health was good and she was pretty strong, and she and Kerry visited Paris the same trip, over about a week. “She loved it; she loved everything about it,” he said. “I’m so glad we got that in.”
Through his contacts with Davis and Showell, Tucker scheduled recording time in January 2025 to record some new songs of his at Abbey Road. Kerry said he has the option to play on pianos that Paul McCartney used to record “Lady Madonna” and “Martha My Dear.”
“This is insanity, and it’s all available to me,” he said. “Those are the choices I’m making right now.”
Kerry plans to record in the smaller Studio 3, where most of “The White Album” (1968) was recorded, and a lot of Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon.” Other big artists who have recorded there are Kanye West, Amy Winehouse, Dua Lipa and Lady Gaga.
“It has a ton of history; there’s thousands of great recordings done in this room,” he said. Kerry has new songs he will bring there, to both have mixed, recorded, and mastered by Showell.
When he goes to England, he doesn’t want to bring a guitar but record with one there. Kerry will use an Epiphone guitar used by XTC.
He said Dylan is very excited about the trip. Writing new music is also very therapeutic, though he hasn’t written about Tracey.
Another dream is to take Einstein’s Sister to record at Abbey Road one day. The last time they all recorded as a group was in 2000. Everything after, individual musicians recorded their tracks separately.
The Fab Four influence
The Beatles (who recorded 190 of their 210 songs at Abbey Road from 1962-1970) are naturally one of the most influential and covered bands in history. The 1965 classic “Yesterday” (penned by Paul) has 2,200 cover versions, one of the most covered songs in the history of recorded music. “Yesterday” was voted the best song of the 20th century in a 1999 BBC Radio 2 poll of music experts and listeners and was also voted the No. 1 pop song of all time by MTV and Rolling Stone magazine the following year.
Kerry (who also performs with Einstein’s partner Bill Douglas as Douglas & Tucker) said for Einstein’s Sister, he usually wrote music and Douglas the lyrics.
“I would say every song that Bill and I have written, there’s a hint of Beatles in it,” Tucker said. “It’s the game-changer for us. I don’t even think I can put it into words. It’s our DNA.”
Their songs are so catchy, people usually feel like they’ve heard them before even the first time hearing them, he said.
“Like ‘Michelle’ is a good example of that. It’s so melodic, so absolutely, stunningly, beautifully written, and the first time I remember hearing it, I thought ‘I think I’ve heard this before.’ It’s got that melody to it…Every song the Beatles kind of wrote did that for me; it’s why I wanted to be a songwriter.”
“What are the Beatles doing, they have this magic DNA thing in their songs?” Kerry asked. “I’m still trying to figure it out – I’ve never figured it out. It’s insane, it’s something about them.”
The heartbreaking thing of walking into Abbey Road, and it does have a magic to it, but Kerry realized: “It is just a room and four men walked into that room, and created 11 or 12 records, and that it’s no different than what most bands do.
“That’s kind of heartbreaking when you realize the gods didn’t bring down these records from the heavens or whatever,” he said. “That was crazy that just four guys made these records. Over seven years, they made all this incredibly amazing music. The basically wrote a song every 11 days while they were together. That’s crazy.”
Though Tucker has made demos for other artists and music for his publisher for over 20 years, the new songs will be his first commercially released solo recordings.
Nick Davis will come up from Surrey to engineer and mix the sessions. Matty Jones (who is now the senior recordist at Abbey Road) has agreed to assist Nick, and they last worked on the Nick Mason (from Pink Floyd) “Saucerful of Secrets” live CD and Blu-ray.
Miles Showell will master the recordings upstairs in Room 30.
“The 10-year-old Beatle geek kid in me has been crying on the inside for the past three weeks, while the amazing staff at Abbey Road has been putting this together!” Tucker posted on Facebook.
“Seriously folks, I’m freaking out just a little bit here. This is just unreal! I will NEVER be able to repay Nick, Miles and Tracey (and the Abbey Road staff) for this amazing opportunity,” he wrote.
You can check out Studio 3 HERE and learn more about Showell HERE.
Douglas & Tucker will perform at Davenport’s The Grape Life (3420 Elmore Ave.), on Friday, March 22 at 8 p.m. Reservations are strongly recommended and there’s a $5 cover.
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