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WCA #078 with Chris Dugan

WCA #078 with Chris Dugan

Chris Dugan  is an American engineer and producer. He is also a drummer, videographer, and photographer.

Dugan began his musical pursuits as a drummer. Needing to be resourceful, he learned to do basic recordings for his high school bands. Engineering was an instinctual progression and it was the purist recording styles of the 60s and 70s that really inspired him. In 1996, he opened Nu-Tone Studios in Pittsburg, Ca with fellow engineer Willie Samuels. Nu-Tone quickly became an indie band favorite, drawing the local rock scene and labels like Lookout, Adeline, and Alternative Tentacles. In 2002, Dugan began engineering for Green Day out of JingleTown Recording in Oakland, Ca, at that time called Studio 880.

Dugan has worked with bands such as U2, Iggy Pop, Green Day, and Smash Mouth. He has also worked with producers Rob Cavallo, Butch Vig, Bob Ezrin, and Jeff Saltzman. In 2010, he won the Grammy for Best Rock Album of the Year for engineering Green Day’s “21st Century Breakdown.” In 2011, he won the Grammy for Best Musical Show Album for engineering Green Day’s “American_Idiot: The Original Broadway Cast Recording.”

Chris talks with Matt via Skype about working for Green Day, being a dad and his roots at Nu-Tone Studios.

Enjoy

Photo Credit: Niall David Photography

WCA #077 with Andrew Stern

WCA #077 with Andrew Stern

A jack of all trades and master of some, his areas of expertise run the gamut of daily station operation; from the foundations of real-time networking for AoIP, to FOH and live sound recording, IP phones and SIP trunking, MPEG audio, and video standards and codecs, radio automation, HD radio transmission, to remote broadcast coordination, even security cameras, and keycards! Andrew stopped by Matt’s house to talk about his job duties, where the worlds of audio and IT collide while they consume loads of coffee!

WCA #076 with Gary Hobish

WCA #076 with Gary Hobish

Gary Hobish brings over 30 years of experience as a professional recording engineer/producer to A. Hammer Mastering which he runs out of Secret Studios in San Francisco. He started as an assistant engineer at legendary Bell Sound Studios in New York City but found his way  to San Francisco in 1976. He has worked in many disciplines in recording and music, most notably as Mastering Engineer/ Tape Historian at Berkeley’s Fantasy Studios and Chief Engineer at San Francisco’s CD Studios.

Gary began his specialization in the field of Mastering at Fantasy Studios in 1982, and has been credited on hundreds of albums covering all genres of recordings — from classic jazz to classic rock, alt-rock, rap and hard rock to folk, classical, spoken word and even sound effects. His projects include such names as NRBQ, Dream Syndicate, Flipper, The Feelies, Dr. John and Willie Nelson. An expanded list of Gary’s credits can be found at the All Music Guide or Artist Direct.

Matt visits Gary at his mastering room located at Secret Studios in San Francisco, where they chat about the advantages of mastering in a rehearsal facility, working relationships with mix engineer’s and his adhoc survival strategy.

More on Gary and A Hammer Mastering

WCA #075 with Mitch Dane

WCA #075 with Mitch Dane

Nashville producer Mitch Dane has managed to cross the lines into almost every genre In his 20+ years of production/engineering experience. Though most of his work can be heard on Rock, Roots/Rock and Singer/Songwriter records, Mitch continues to work fearlessly in other styles like Bluegrass/Americana. In his own words: “I like to collect the best aspects of every genre of music and bring them together in hybrid productions.” His desire to grow and to learn is constant, making every project he touches relevant and refreshing.  This personal philosophy has worked well, considering Mitch’s fingerprints mark over 200 records, four of which are Grammy nominees.

        •        Grammy award for his engineering.
        •        ASCAP award for his songwriting.
        •        Over 25 years of production/engineering experience.
        •        Owns a full production/recording studio in Berry Hill called Sputnik Sound with his partner, Vance Powell.
 
Matt and Mitch talk about how an early childhood accident would set the tone and approach for his future career , raw natural tracks vs overly manicured ones and Mitch’s advice on studio ownership. Enjoy.
 
 

WCA #074 with Tremaine Williams

WCA #074 with Tremaine Williams

Tremaine  Williams (AKA: “Six7”) was born and raised in Raleigh, North Carolina. He began his musical journey by taking piano & drum lessons while in elementary school, as well as becoming a classically trained singer in the Raleigh Boychoir.  He grew up playing in church but was also heavily influenced by R&B. He began to dabble in music production in high school as a hobby.  After lending his production works to emerging singers in North Carolina, Tremaine enrolled at Full Sail University in 2003.

Upon graduating in October 2004 with his Associate of Science degree in Recording Arts, Tremaine achieved one of his many career goals, as he received an internship at Hidden Beach Recordings. His career catapulted when he moved to Los Angeles, California and became a standout intern at the label from November 2004 to June 2005. Tremaine achieved another benchmark in his career when he joined the Recording Academy as a voting member at age 21 in December 2005. After a short stint with producer JR Hutson, Tremaine left to start his own music production company by the name of Six7 Music, rightfully named by the fact that he is 6 feet 7 inches tall, in July 2006.

In 2008, Tremaine engineered a performance for The Time featuring Rihanna at the 50th Annual GRAMMY Awards, which led him to his position as engineer/programmer with the legendary Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis at FlyteTyme Productions for 3 and a half years. He has engineered one GRAMMY award winning album and 6 GRAMMY Nominated albums. Tremaine is credited on songs by powerhouse artists such as Chaka Khan, El Debarge, Usher, Janet Jackson, 50 Cent, Jill Scott, Ledisi, Keyshia Cole and Ruben Studdard which is nothing short of amazing for his 11 years in the music industry.

In 2012 Tremaine was elected to the Recording Academy’s Los Angeles Chapter Board of Governors and as of 2015 now serves as Chair of the Membership Committee. As one of the youngest members ever elected, he hopes to make a difference and proudly represent the next generation of music makers.

Aside from albums, he has moved into the TV/Film world. His work can be seen and heard on the hit showEmpire, BET Sunday Best, Apollo Live, ComicView, Keeping up With The Kardashians, Real World and Bad Girls Club.  He also scored his first feature film, “The Last Fall” which airs regularly on BET.

Most recently Tremaine has been on the road with Mariah Carey  for “The Elusive Chanteuse Show” Tour,  “All I Want For Christmas is You” Special in New York at the legendary Beacon Theater and  “#1 to Infinity” at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.

With the talent and desire to achieve that Tremaine ultimately possesses, there is no doubt that he will be a major force in the music industry for many years to come…

Matt and Tremaine discuss his journey from North Carolina to California as well hustling, staying focused and being present.

WCA #073 with John Schimpf

WCA Session #073 with John Schimpf

John Schimpf got his start in the music industry working in clubs and theatres as a production manager and sound engineer, and working as a recording engineer for the University he was attending while pursuing a classical music degree. As a student he built what became the technological backbone for a music industry program developed at that University. In 2001, he went on to become an engineer and crew chief with one of the largest live sound companies in California where he began working with and learning about large scale music productions in detail. In 2002 he took a job as a studio manager in Stockton, CA where he began recording and producing projects in many genres while learning the critical balance between technician and artist. Through that business John was asked to begin managing several high-profile artists while on tour. That experience opened the door to continue touring for the next 10 years, working with management groups from New York and LA. His lean and pragmatic style allowed him to become a valuable member of many touring groups, saving artists money while providing unprecedented consistency within the organizations he served. John has toured in over 20 countries with a diverse set of artists within many major performance venues around the world. Throughout his years of touring he has continued to actively work in the studio, recording and producing many different projects. In 2012 John took a position as the general manager of the newly built 25th Street Recording, a world-class recording facility in the heart of Oakland, CA. He oversees all aspects of the business including its staff, client acquisition, planning and technical direction, where his regular client base includes Grammy winning and multi-platinum selling artists, producers and engineers, as well as new talent from the greater Bay Area and Los Angeles. John continues to immerse himself in a wide range of media and production projects around the globe continually acting as a media producer and artist manager.

John joins Matt at WCA headquarters  to discuss John’s thought process when it comes to running a studio. Studio managers should pay attention.

25th Street Recording

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WCA #072 with Mike Kalajian

WCA #072 with Mike Kalajian

Mike Kalajian is the son of an audio technician/audiophile who was exposed to music and recording equipment at a very early age through family including his Uncle’s home recording setup  which fascinated Mike and started to draw him in to the audio experience. Mike’s parents say his first word was actually “speaker” and at  9 years old  was given his first guitar along with a 1/4 inch reel to reel . Mike wasted no time and immediately started writing and recording his own music. All of this took him to the next step in audio indoctrination, the building  of his first basement “studio” in junior high where he and a friend  started recording fellow student musicians for $20/song on a cassette 4-track. After high school, attendance at Full Sail followed.  20+ years later, Mike has recorded over a hundred albums and Ep’s for other artists, toured with his own band, and mastered countless recordings. Of all the facets of engineering he found mastering to be the most rewarding. I talk with Mike Kalajian (pronounced Kalasion) about his background, his thriving mastering business Rogue Planet Mastering as well as his workflow.  Mike is a really nice guy who is passionate about what he does and I found it a pleasure speaking with him. Enjoy. -Matt

WCA #071 with Niko Bolas

WCA #071 with Niko Bolas

Finding detailed information on Producer/Engineer/Mixer Niko Bolas is a challenge. Niko is not a publicity hound and generally avoids big star-studded events. He’s a man that stays focused on the work in front of him and he puts his all into it. Looking at his discography you’ll notice a couple of things, repeat clients such as Neil Young, Melissa Etheridge, Robert Cray, and the late Warren Zevon for example. The other thing you’ll notice is the large number of records he has worked on coupled with the fact that he’s not a household name except to those in the know. He’s passionate about what he does and takes it seriously. We discuss that passion as well as Niko’s work style. Richard Dodd makes an appearance during the interview which adds a bit of laughter to the situation. You’ll dig it. Enjoy -Matt

Photo Credit: Robert Cabral

WCA #070 with Al Schmitt and Steve Genewick

WCA #070 with Al Schmitt and Steve Genewick

What can you say about Al Schmitt that has not been said? The man truly is a legend and a complete professional.  He has scored a pile of Grammy wins and nominations over the years, recorded and mixed more than 150 gold and platinum albums plus his credit list includes Henry Mancini, Sam Cooke, Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles, Sammy Davis, Jr., Natalie Cole, Thelonious Monk, Elvis Presley, Madonna, Michael Jackson, Paul McCartney, to name just a few.

Steve Genewick has been Al Schmitt’s assistant for the last 15 years working with artists such as  Diana Krall, Chris Botti, Gladys Knight, Neil Young, George Benson, Quincy Jones, Burt Bacharach, and Paul McCartney. Steve is a three-time GRAMMY® nominated recording engineer with over twenty-five years of experience, both as a studio and live recording engineer.  Steve has worked primarily out of Capitol Studios as a staff engineer since 1994.  When not at Capitol, Steve can be found working at any number of major recording studios in Los Angeles or mixing at his home studio.

My conversation with Al and Steve revolves mainly around their new video coming out called ” The Art of Recording a Big Band“. The seminar-turned film follows Al and Steve as they teach a group of people their methods for recording a big band out of Capital Studios.

The Art of Recording A Big Band from Shevy Shovlin on Vimeo.

 

WCA #069 with Magnus Lindberg

WCA #069 with Magnus Lindberg

WCA #069 with Magnus Lindberg

Magnus Lindberg is a freelance engineer based in Stockholm, Sweden. Despite his young age of 35 he has already been an audio professional for 14 years, working with a wide range of independent bands and artists from all over the world.

Starting out at a young age with various intern ships, most noticeable the one at Sound City Studios, LA he then found himself a part of the production team at Tonteknik Recording, under which roof he stayed for about 8 years until moving to Stockholm and becoming completely solo. Although he has been doing many projects in studios in London, Paris etc he is now a co-owner of a brand new facility in central Stockholm in which he conducts his mixing and mastering work which nowadays takes up most of his time. While not doing engineering he also play live drums (and does studio engineering) in Cult of Luna, a well established band in the alternative rock/metal scene.

Matt talks with Magnus about Stockholm, his business practice, building a new studio from the ground up and the gear he uses to do his job.

Website: www.magnuslindberg.com
Facebook: www.facecbook.com/magnuslindbergproductions
Twitter: mlprod
Studio: www.redmount.studio
Band: www.cultofluna.com

WCA #068 with John Paterno

WCA #068 with John Paterno

WCA #068 with John Paterno

John Paterno is an LA-based audio pro.  He has worked with a wide range of artists, including Robbie Williams, Soraya, Badly Drawn Boy, Lustra, The Thrills, Tim McGraw, Robben Ford, Eros Ramazzotti, and The Steve Gadd Band in his 25+ years in the music business.

John moved to Los Angeles two weeks after graduating from the University of Miami’s Music Engineering program, and quickly gained footing as a ‘freelance assistant’ until he was offered a position at Sunset Sound/Sound Factory as a staff engineer/assistant.  It was at Sound Factory where he ended up on a session with Tchad Blake and Mitchell Froom, and was for the next several years involved in many of their seminal records — projects by Los Lobos, Suzanne Vega, American Music Club, and the Latin Playboys, among many others.

John’s first projects as an engineer include Ted Hawkins’ ‘The Next Hundred Years’,  that dog’s ‘Retreat From the Sun’, and co-producing the Los Lobos score for the film ‘Feeling Minnesota’.  From there he worked with a range of producers including Mitchell Froom, Joe Chiccarelli, Byron Gallimore, and Stephen Duffy.

In 2004 he won a Latin Grammy for his work on the ‘Soraya’ record.

John has also produced or co-produced projects for Mitchell Froom, Lustra, Robbie Williams, The Lilac Time, The Black Molly’s, and many other artists.

In addition to producing and mixing projects, John has also: written songs with new artists; composed for TV and film; written articles for Tape Op magazine and the Universal Audio site; and has done instructional videos on mixing with PureMix.

Website:  www.musicdafoz.com
Instagram: paternodafoz
Twitter: @paternodafoz

WCA #067 with Matt Wright

WCA #067 with Matt Wright

Matt Wright grew up in an extended musical family, of both musicians and aficionados. Every family gets together involved extended periods of both playing music and arguing about pop records, which strongly influenced his relationship with music: a) He’s a lifelong musician because of it, b) He was raised listening to the canon of great pop records, and c) He was surrounded by people who thought that pop music and record albums were important. They were more than just a consumer product for teenagers to buy and eventually throw away. A great pop record was a work of art that was worth arguing about and that you could have an ongoing relationship with.

Matt toyed around with cassette recorders when he was young (My First Sony, anyone?), but Matt was never one to get too excited by the technology itself (aside from a new Walkman or CD player being a cool toy). Matt had no interest in the Sound Crew when I was in high school – mixers, speakers, amplifiers (other than the guitar kind) all seemed rather dull to him. It was only after Matt had his first multitrack experience, watching a couple of friends use Cakewalk Pro Audio 9 to build a complete arrangement of a song from just a couple of guitar riffs that he got excited about recording technology. Something clicked for him when he realized that not only could he learn to make music recordings that sounded more like real records and less like My First Sony, but that he could also use the technology of recording to expand what he could do creatively with music.

Today, Matt’s interest in and philosophy for record production and engineering are still driven by the principles discovered in these early moments. Matt believes in striving for exceptional quality at all times – in arrangement, in performance, and in sound. He believes the technology should serve the record-making process in the most transparent way possible, never dictate it. And he believes that a record album is an art form in its own right, not just a translation of live musical performance and that making a great record is something worth pursuing for its own artistic merits.

Matt and Matt talk about his transition from intern to chief engineer at Prairie Sun Recording, being a new dad, and his absence of gear lust.

Read more about Matt at www.mattwrightsound.com

WCA #067 also features part 3 of a series of discussions on acoustics with Realtraps general manager James Lindenschmidt!

jwl

WCA #066 with Graham Hick

Working Class Audio with Graham Hick

WCA #066 with Graham Hick – Public Radio, Interviewing Well, Dressing for the Job, and the role of a Master Control Engineer.

Graham Hick has been an audio professional for the past 17 years. He is an amateur musician who holds a BA in music recording from Columbia College. He has written for Tape Op magazine and been a featured speaker and panelist at their professional conferences, taught audio production at Columbia College for five years, worked in jingle studios, voice studios, post-production studios, and public radio. He has also done some live sound and even did a stint in Hollywood where one of the sound editing crews he was on was nominated for an Oscar in 2009 (Transformers – Revenge of the Fallen). Currently working at Minnesota Public Radio as a Master Control Engineer, he is able to use all of the skills and knowledge gained in the field throughout his entire career. Now wearing bifocals and taking care of a 12-year-old cat Graham lives a quiet, happy and modest life in Minneapolis. His very brief IMDB film credits page can be viewed at http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3476550/

WCA #065 with Brad Brooks

WCA #065 with Brad Brooks

Brad Brooks is that rare quadruple threat of writer, player, singer, and performer. His songs combine the melodic sensibility of Elvis Costello, the best instincts of Wilco and Brian Wilson, along with the orchestral sophistication of Queen. Brooks is rooted in a kind of Victorian California romanticism; and with the release of his record “Harmony Of Passing Light” Brooks joined his peers with the best work of his career. His gift for melody and his soaring vocals remain the most immediately impressive traits of his music. Brooks’ voice can wail like a blue-eyed soul singer, whisper plaintively, croon with just a touch of twang, or soar through the most demanding melodic acrobatics, and he pulls off all of these different guises on “Harmony” without the record sounding disjointed. Rather, it’s an album with multiple textures that still feels unified. Brooks has found the essence of his own unique voice, and been one of the Bay Area’s best-kept secrets for years. He’s also survived stage 4 throat cancer as of last year, and has been in the studio with his live band recording a new record with Adam Rossi at AR Audio in SF, with songs mixed by Craig Schumacher of Wavelab from Tucson. Brooks has also shared the stage with Phil Lesh of the Grateful Dead, opened for Grammy-winning band Train, Imagine Dragons, and Linda Perry

For this episode Matt talks with Brad to get a perspective of recording from the other side of the glass. Brad talks about his experiences as an artist when it comes to recording.

Check Brad out at:  http://www.bradbrooksmusic.com/

WCA #064 with Johnny Sangster

WCA #064 with Johnny Sangster

Johnny Sangster is known for his production and engineering work with Mudhoney, Posies, The Supersuckers, Smoosh, and The Makers, and also as guitarist for the Tripwires, Mark Pickerel and His Praying Hands, The Dear John Letters, and Steve Turner’s Bad Ideas. Johnny has also served as bassist for the legendary Roy Loney in the Longshots. Originally from Seattle, Johnny Sangster relocated to Europe in 1984 where he led the Copenhagen-based The Sharing Patrol until ’97. The Sharing Patrol recorded for EMI and toured extensively through Europe, Scandinavia, and the former Soviet Union.

Upon returning to Seattle in ’97, he took up engineering full time at Conrad Uno’s Egg Studio, a place well established by Uno’s work with The Young Fresh Fellows, Gas Huffer, and the Presidents of the United States of America. In the period of the late ’90s and early 2000s. Johnny Sangster worked the Posies, the Murder City Devils, the Supersuckers, Zeke, The Fireballs of Freedom, Dr. Explosion, The Makers, Gerald Collier and many others.

In 2001 Johnny Sangster teamed up with Robb Benson of the Nevada Bachelors (whose debut record Johnny had produced). The project turned into the band The Dear John Letters and proceeded to release three full-length albums to significant local acclaim.

In 2002 he recorded several tracks for Mudhoney’s Since We’ve Become Translucent. This led to producing and performing with Mudhoney guitarist Steve Turner on his three solo releases: Searching For Melody, And His Bad Ideas, and New Wave Punk Asshole. Johnny also continued to collaborate with Mudhoney on their 2006 release Under a Billion Sons and 2007’s Live Mud.

The latter half of the 2000s was a very productive period, with many records recorded and released. A full discography is available @ www.sangstermania.com.

In 2007 Johnny founded Crackle & Pop! Studio with partners Andrew Smith and Scott Masoner. The studio is a small and affordable place to track and to mix.

Johnny Sangster is currently playing guitar for Tripwires, a band fronted by John Ramberg (formerly of Model Rockets) and backed by Jim Sangster on bass and Mark Pickerel on drums. Since the releases of their debut “Makes You Look Around” and the follow-up “House to House” the Tripwires have garnered the attention of audiences throughout the Northwest and beyond.

Matt and Johnny discuss parenting, studio overhead, retirement, and Johnny’s studio space Crackle and Pop!

WCA #064 also features part 2 of a series of discussions on acoustics with Realtraps general manager James Lindenschmidt!

Links for part 2.

http://realtraps.com/p_minitrap.htm
http://realtraps.com/install_mt.htm

jwl

WCA #063 with Joey Sturgis

WCA #063 with Joey Sturgis

WCA #063 with Joey Sturgis

Joey Sturgis is an educator, speaker, and fixture in the emergent modern rock music pantheon producing, engineering and mixing  bands such  as Asking Alexandria, Of Mice & Men, We Came As Romans, Blessthefall, and The Devil Wears Prada. He took his passion for drums and guitars and combined it with his love for understanding how things work and how to do things more efficiently. And he built a career with it. When other bands started hitting him up about how he was recording, he knew he had discovered something special. Joey Sturgis Tones develops, simplifies, and ultimately makes available the tools necessary to execute the creative visions of musicians, producers, and songwriters from any walk of life. Joey is indeed, a new breed of music professional.

Matt and Joey discuss the many aspects of Joey’s music world and his skills as an entrepreneur.

Links for Joey:

WCA #063 also features the first of a series of discussions on acoustics with Realtraps general manager James Lindenschmidt!

Linkes for James and Realtraps.

The filtered pink noise listening test we spoke about is here:
http://realtraps.com/lf-noise.htm

Realtraps  room setup strategy is here:
http://realtraps.com/art_room-setup.htm

WCA #062 with Maor Appelbaum

WCA #062 with Maor Appelbaum

WCA #062 with Maor Appelbaum

Maor Appelbaum is a mastering engineer and musician. After working as staff engineer (mixing, recording and mastering) for famed record producer Sylvia Massy Shivy at Radiostar Studios in Weed, California, Maor moved to Los Angeles where he opened his private mastering suite.

Maor has had the pleasure of mastering recordings for major international acts such as: Faith No More, Yes, Walter Trout, Eric Gales, Starset, Ill Nino, Dokken, Fates Warning, William Shatner, Gus G, Common Kings, Sepultura, Yngwie Malmsteen, Halford, Fight, Armored Saint, Lita ford, Seven The Hardway , Marco Mendoza, Angra, Treponem Pal, Wayne Hussey, Therion, Cynic, Nekromantix, Butcher Babies, Billy Sherwood, The Top Chops and more…

He has mastered the works of well-known music producers such as: Matt Wallace, Mike Clink, Mike Plotnikoff, Bob Horn, Ben Grosse, Bassy bob Brockmann, Toby Wright, Justin Gray, Roy Z, Sylvia Massy, Gilby Clark, Warren Riker, Ryan Greene, Ulrich Wild, Fabrizio Grossi, Logan Mader, Stan Katayama, Ben Schigel, Mark Lewis, Jacob Hansen, Tue Madsen, Eyal Levi, Jason Suecof, Thomas Lang and more… Also, he does mastering for unsigned artists of all genres from all over the world.

Maor has an extensive background with the international music industry – He is well aware of the various music styles and sounds that are developing vastly as the today’s technology develops.

To Maor, being a mastering engineer is the best way possible to combine his love and passion for music, with his various skills- objectivity, subjectivity, and technical & artistic prowess. He finds pleasure in his job, more than anything, thanks to the variety of music and sounds he gets to master from all over the world.
It is a profession he takes pride in, and masters.

Maor speaks with Matt about moving to the the United States from Israel and the challenges he encountered, his economic philosophy and working with clients.

http://www.maorappelbaum.com/

Articles by or about  Maor.

 

WCA #061 with TW Walsh

WCA #061 with TW Walsh

WCA #061 with TW Walsh

TW Walsh is a solo artist, musician, songwriter, and mastering engineer. As a mastering engineer, TW Walsh has over 700 projects under his belt, including work for Sufjan Stevens, Benjamin Gibbard (Death Cab For Cutie), The Shins, Cold War Kids, Pedro the Lion, David Bazan, Starflyer 59, Kristin Hersh, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and Damien Jurado.  As a songwriter and recording artist, TW was a member of Pedro the Lion, Headphones, and The Soft Drugs and has released several solo albums including his most recent “Fruitless Research”.

Our discussion covers family, touring, mastering, as well as building his own control surface! Enjoy.

WCA #060 with Brian McTear

WCA #060 with Brian McTear

Brian McTear is a nationally respected record producer, musician, and the owner of one of Philadelphia’s most revered independent recording studios, Miner Street Recordings in Fishtown. In the 18 years since he moved to the Philadelphia music community, Brian has worked with countless local artists like Dr. Dog, Kurt Vile, and The War on Drugs, as well as national artists like Sharon Van Etten and Joan Osborne, whose grammy nominated album “Bring it on Home” he mixed in 2011.

McTear is also the  founder of Weathervane Music , a non profit arts and culture organization whose mission is to advance independent music and the community that surrounds it. In 2010 he created and launched the organization’s flagship series, Shaking Through, a documentary series that takes place in Philadelphia and captures the recording studio performances of 7 – 10 select independent musical groups each year as they each record one song in two days. .

Weathervane’s membership program has allowed thousands of music fans, musicians and home recording enthusiasts, in countries all around the world, the opportunity to download and remix the beautifully captured Shaking Through recordings. More recently, Weathervane has been developing a program to provide teaching materials for college and university recording programs, a project that will change the way future engineers learn to record music.

Brian and Matt chat over Skype about Miner Street and Weathervane music as well as the music business as a whole. Special thanks to WCA listener and Weathervane Music member Bob Bailey for his many messages that finally got Matt off his ass to check into Brian and his amazing ventures!

 

 

WCA #059 with Tardon Feathered

WCA #059 with Tardon Feathered

Tardon Feathered runs an audio operation that keeps recordings alive. His Mr. Toads transfer business specializes in bringing back audio off of media made on machines that are no longer made or very few people have. Whether it’s a priceless family 3″ tape recording, that lost bandmaster on the 8 track, a live recording on a videocassette that doesn’t look anything like VHS, or even 78 rpm records, he is equipped to transfer most anything. These days, it’s not too big of a stretch to include digital sources such as floppy discs, Syquest, Jaz, DVD-RAM, and MO drives as near-obsolete formats because of the difficulty in finding any units to play them back on. Tardon is able to handle simple projects like the transfer of priceless 16, 33, 45, and 78 rpm recordings, to complete restorations of tape libraries (including tape baking and splice replacement!) and transfer them to whatever digital format you need via the highest quality signal chain available. It would be near impossible to make a list of the formats he is able to work on, but I think you get the idea. You can hear some of his work on the site Wolfgangs Vault where Tardon helped digitally transfer the entire catalog. Want to hear a Little Feat show from 1975 or a Police show from 1979? That’s all possible due to Tardon’s expertise in outdated formats and how to handle them.

Matt went out to Vallejo, California to talk with Tardon and his trusty dog Verna about his recent move out of San Francisco and the nature of his business.