Inside the Studio with Mark Hornsby: Miking and Making Invisible

Nick D’Virgilio is one of the most talented musicians I’ve ever met. As a founding member of Spock’s Beard, Nick is well known in the progressive rock world and is currently a member of the award-winning UK prog band Big Big Train. In addition to making his mark as a drummer, Nick is also a songwriter and a multi-instrumentalist, and we’ve been work-ing together in studios all over the world for over 20 years. A few years back, he mentioned to me that he had begun writ-ing a rock opera. At the time, he had been touring the world with Cirque Du Soleil’s Totem show as the primary drummer and assistant music director. For six years and almost 1,400 shows, he performed from a drum booth backstage, looking at the other performers and audience only on video monitors. It was at this point he started working on a concept album that would later be titled Invisible. When he began writing, he started by draw-ing comparisons between his current work situation and the nine-to-five grind so many people can relate to on a day-to-day basis. Almost like a scene out of Office Space—picture a guy sitting in the same cubicle day after day, often contemplating what life is all about. In Nick’s story, one day that guy gets up and just walks out, and a new journey begins to unfold.