Gary Noble is that multiple Grammy awarded and nominated technician with the ear that inspires magic. He is known for his knack of ” bringing the artists’ & producers’ visions to light.” His ear is attuned to many genres of sound and music as reflected in his expansive catalog of award-winning songs. His philosophy on life…” MUSIC IS LIFE. MIXING IS HOW I MEDITATE ON LIFE,” inspires him and motivates the focus he shares within each body of work.
Major record labels like Sony Music, Atlantic Records, and Universal Music Group recognize this and summon Mr. Noble regularly to give the music of artists like Jessie J and Abd Al Malik (which won 2 French Grammys} enhancements that can only be described as hypnotic. Movie studios know him as well, turning to him to mix songs for the soundtrack of blockbusters like “Amy”“Sex in the City: The Movie” and “After The Sunset.” His work is also reflected in the commercial world. An example of his work is the Crystal Light campaign featuring Estelle’s smash “Star”.
Noble recognized his musical gift at the tender age of 5. He would sit and listen to his parents’ record collections for hours on end. Living in New York, he was exposed to a virtual melting pot of different cultures and styles of music. By age fifteen he was a mobile DJ, which helped to fuel his passion for creating and mixing music even more. That experience would be the jumping-off point for him to ascend toward the ultimate career of Mixing Engineer. He studied at the Institute of Audio Research and worked at various studios in New York to hone his craft. He eventually met Salaam Remi(he produced Jazmine Sullivan, Amy Winehouse, Nas, The Fugees) who chose him to be his main engineer. The rest is history.
Today Noble’s talents are known by artists worldwide. Most recently, his skills helped British songstress Amy Winehouse’s “Back To Black” snag a dominating 5 Grammys in 2008. He also mixed the Grammy-nominated Nas single “Cherry Wine” featuring Amy Winehouse and produced by Salaam Remi. He also worked on Chronixx’s critically acclaimed Grammy-nominated album “Chronology”.
Gary Noble’s work has earned the music industry’s respect and highest honors. Artists he has worked with have earned all of the top accolades including American Music Awards, Billboard Music Awards, the MOBO (U.K.) Awards and The Grammys. And with each recognition, the artists themselves credit Gary with making it all possible.
About this Interview:
Gary joins me to talk about his journey from Jamaica to New York, his move to Miami, his musical partnership with producer Salaam Remi and his approach with keeping artists in the zone. Enjoy! – Matt
Producer/engineer Bobby Owsinski is one of the best selling authors in the music industry with 23 books that are now staples in audio recording, music, and music business programs in colleges around the world, including The Mixing Engineer’s Handbook, Social Media Promotion For Musicians, Music 4.0: A Survival Guide For Making Music In The Internet Age and more. He’s also a contributor to Forbes covering the new music business, his popular production and music industry blogs are nearing 8 million visits, and he’s appeared on CNN and ABC News as a music branding and audio expert. Bobby has worked on over a hundred 5.1 surround projects and DVD productions for a variety of legendary superstar acts including The Who, Willie Nelson, Neil Young, Iron Maiden, The Ramones, and Chicago among many others, and recently produced and mixed albums that appeared at #2 on the Billboard Blues Chart and #5 on the iTunes Rock Chart.
Bobby joins me to talk about his podcast, diversification, being humbled, his views on the state of the studios as well as his musical beginnings and transition to producing and engineering, Enjoy! – Matt
Daniel Holter is a producer, mixer, composer and songwriter. He studio Wire & Vice is located in a 1920s-era post office near Harley Davidson and the original Miller brewery just outside Milwaukee, WI. He’s hosted a diverse range of musical artists, from Rihanna and Eric Benet, to Chester French, Maritime, and Skillet. Over the years, Daniel has mixed music by artists such as Nick Lowe, Field Report, Over The Rhine, Amos Lee, Blitzen Trapper, Collections of Colonies of Bees, Phil Keaggy, Crowded House, Dead Horses, WebsterX, and Ryan Higa. He’s also composed and/or produced thousands of cues currently being used by such varied clients as Apple, Nike, Google, Microsoft, GM & Gatorade, virtually all of the top shows on HBO, ESPN, CBS, ABC, NBC, Fox, and all across the globe in tv, radio, advertisements, video games and film. Photo by Andrew Feller (http://www.andrewfeller.com/)
About this Interview:
Daniel joins me to talk about his studio, his licensing business, family, divorce, winning and his creative drive. Earlier in the show I’m joined by former WCA Alum Mike Wells (WCA #113) to talk about his new file delivery service Swan! Enjoy! – Matt
Brad Phillips is an engineer, producer, and studio owner based out of Woodruff, SC. He is a 1999 graduate of the Belmont University Music Business and Audio Engineering program. Since leaving Nashville in 2001, he’s been working out of his own studio facility in South Carolina. Studio 101 is a commercial recording facility well-suited for live band tracking, serving solo artists, bands, and songwriters across many genres. Some of his engineering credits include, Jim Sonefeld (Hootie & The Blowfish), Ashland Craft(The Voice), Mac Arnold & Plate Full Of Blues, Delvin Choice(The Voice), Outshyne, Phat Lip, J. Adam Broome, Mark Webb Jr., Michael Land, Emily Lynch, Jacob Johnson, Scotty Hawkins, Newspring Church plus many others.
About this Interview:
Brad joins me for a chat to talk about Woodruff, South Carolina, running his studio (Studio 101), clients, eminent domain, his love of church and his time spent painting football, baseball and soccer fields. I also interview Dr. Jeremy Steel in Lafayette, California about Chiropractic medicine. Enjoy! – Matt
ZACK OHREN is an Oakland-based audio engineer & producer whose work includes over a thousand recordings over a two-decade long career. Alongside his friend and former co-conspirator Aaron Hellam, he ran Castle Ultimate which quickly became synonymous with high-quality, accessible recordings. Since 2013, he’s been mainly working out of Sharkbite Studios. Zack has been described as “wizard fast” and “brutally honest” – skills that have helped him settle into a niche of heavy, often technically demanding music. He has worked with artists such as Machine Head, The Ghost Inside, Exmortus, Fallujah, Decrepit Birth, Suffocation, Set Your Goals, As Blood Runs Black, Cattle Decapitation, Entheos, Carnifex, All Shall Perish, Sworn Enemy, and Immolation among others.
About this Interview:
Zack joins me to talk about his journey with former studio partner Aaron Hellam and the series of studio locations known as Castle Ultimate that they created, the challenges with studio landlords, neighbors as well as lessons learned and where he’s at today. Enjoy! – Matt
Phil Greiss is a multiple-award-winning record producer. He left his name on numerous gold, platinum & diamond records, focusing on both production and songwritting aspects of Pop songs. Very much at ease on his own or collaborating with others, he’s been known to deliver award winning albums and songs, and chart topping singles wether composing, writing, producing, arranging, mixing, or all at the same time. Having completely produced, composed, arranged, recorded and mixed both of Zaho’s first albums, he has had the privilege of working or collaborating on projects featuring artists such as Willy William, J Balvin, Kat Dahlia, Kendji, Vianney, Maître Gims, Corneille, Sean Paul, Trey Songz, Justin Nozuka, Lefa, Gage, Don Choa, Tunisiano, Khaled, La Fouine, David Carreira, KC Porter, Rohff, Conor Maynard, Soprano, Karim Ouellet, Cheb Mami, Idir, Mario Pelchat, Andrée Waters, Grand corps malade, Nancy Logan, Sarah Riani, Humphrey, Mokobe, K-Maro, Vai, Neimann, Christophe Willem, Outasight and many others. He owns and operates his own indepedant production/publishing company with its own studio facility, working along every single industry’s major labels
About this Interview:
Phil joins me to talk about his childhood musical and audio experiences , travel tips, mentorship, his draw to pop music and an early experience with the magic of radio broadcast compression and limiting. Enjoy! – Matt
Adam Muñoz has been an engineer in the Bay Area since 1991. Having joined the Fantasy Studios team as a full-time House Engineer in 2008 Adam has had the opportunity to engineer sessions for many local and national recording artists. Adam has worked with artists like Herbie Hancock, Dave Mathews, Marcus Miller, Snarky Puppy, Jason Moran, Lisa Fisher, Joanna Newsom, Ambrose Akinmusire, Bruce Cockburn, Jerry Granelli, Etienne Charles, Neal Schon, Animals As Leaders, Eric Gales, Tiffany Austin, The Marcus Shelby Orchestra, Bomba Estereo, Brad Mehldau, LaToya London, Carie Rodriguez, Rupa and the April Fishes, Rinde Eckert, Autopsy, Allison Miller’s Boom Tic Boom, Sean Paul, Lyle Lovett, Matt Nathanson, Six Pence None the Richer, Hank Williams III, Otis Redding and Vince Guaraldi.
Adam’s long-time relationship with Bill Frisell and producer Lee Townsend resulted in the 2015 AND 2016 GRAMMY Award nomination for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album.
Adam came to Fantasy after many years as an independent engineer working out of some of the finest studios in the San Francisco and abroad. As a staff engineer at Different Fur and Brilliant Studios, Adam worked on many notable sessions for artists like Faith No More, Mr. Bungle, Fantomas, Sleep, Neurosis, Chris Isaak, Bonnie Raitt, The Cranberries, Paula Cole and on George Winston’s Grammy Award-winning project “Forest.” Adam has been fortunate to have worked along side many super talented producers and engineers including Andy Wallace, Matt Wallace, Howard Johnston, Billy Anderson, Frankie Blue, Karl Derfler, Marc Senasac, John Cuniberti, Judy Clapp, Mike Curb, Steven Haigler, Thom Wilson and more.
Adam’s background also includes ADR/VO, Foley, lock-to-picture sessions and orchestral film scores.
Photo by Monica Jane Frisell
About this Interview:
Adam joins me to talk about his journey starting out as a DJ examining the credits on the back of records to working as a house engineer at the world famous Fantasy Studios in Berkeley, California. We talk studio leadership, survival, dedication and the increasing difficulty of repeating his journey in todays recording world. Enjoy! – Matt
JACK ENDINO is a Seattle-based record producer, engineer, and musician who has made over 500 records in his 30-year career. Jack helped create what became known as “the Seattle Sound” of the early nineties, having recorded or mixed 44 out of the first 100 releases on the legendary Sub Pop record label, including debut records by Nirvana (“Bleach”), Soundgarden (“Screaming Life”) and Mudhoney (“Superfuzz Bigmuff”). Some of his international clients include Brazil’s Titas (5 albums from 1993 to 2005) and Grammy winner Nando Reis (4 albums), Mexico’s Guillotina (3 albums), Ireland’s Therapy?, Iron Maiden’s Bruce Dickinson (UK), and The Ganjas and Yajaira from Chile. Recent clients include Zeke, Windhand, and High On Fire. Jack still maintains his workaholic pace, having produced records in 14 countries and continuing to play in bands as guitarist, bassist and vocalist. Journalists have called him “Chief Architect of the Seattle Sound” and “Godfather of Grunge” but Jack says “I’m just a guy who likes to make rock records.” He currently manages a recording studio in Seattle called Soundhouse.
About this Interview:
Jack joins me to talk about baking tapes, audio formats, operating with a low overhead, forensic re-mixing, producer malpractice and his life of recording, mixing, mastering and playing in 4 bands. Enjoy! – Matt
Jonathan Wyner is the Education Director at iZotope in Cambridge, MA, Chief Engineer at M Works Mastering, and Professor at Berklee College of Music in Boston. He’s mastered and produced more than 5000 recordings during the last 34 years. Mastering, recording and mixing since 1983, he established M Works mastering studios in Cambridge, MA in 1991. Among the artists’ projects he has worked on are: James Taylor, David Bowie, Aerosmith, Kiri Te Kanawa, Aimee Mann, London Symphony, Miles Davis, Thelonius Monk, Pink Floyd, Bruce Springsteen and Nirvana. His project Invention and Alchemy received a Grammy Nomination in 2005. Jonathan has conducted seminars around the world and presented with George Massenburg, Doug Sax and Bob Ludwig among others. In January 2017 he presented the keynote talk for the NAMM TEC Tracks. He’s authored a book, ‘Audio Mastering: Essential Practices’ published by Hale Leonard/Berklee Press. With the iZotope team he authored and developed ‘Pro Audio Essentials’, an online ear training site that garnered a TEC award in early 2017.
About this Interview:
Jonathan joins me to chat about the details of mastering and how he got into it, health, teaching, the bacon and chia seed diet , plus a double pun, a brilliant analogy and a few good laughs! Enjoy! – Matt
Mark Needham is a mix/recording engineer and producer with 40+ years experience in the music business.
Originally from Eureka CA, Mark moved to San Francisco, co-founded the Blue Bear School of Music and taught music recording. Also, he built Bear West Recording, and his first client (in studio) was blues great Taj Mahal. During this phase of his career in SF, he worked with notable local acts, including platinum selling artists Cake & Chris Isaak. In 2000, he moved to Los Angeles, where his initial projects were Fleetwood Mac’s 1st collection of new material in 8 years, “Say You Will” and multi-platinum ‘Hot Fuss’ by The Killers. Recent clients include an array of internationally recognized superstar artists including: Imagine Dragons, Shakira, Pink, and Dolly Parton.
About this Interview:
Mark joins me to talk about his early Bay Area days, working with Chris Isaak, Lindsey Buckingham, the Killers and Imagine Dragons, band development, working in Nashville, survival and moving to Los Angeles. Enjoy! – Matt
Lucy started out in the industry as a runner at Envy Post Production straight after graduating with a Classical Music degree from the University of Nottingham with no idea of what a .wav was or even what ‘5.1’ meant. After hours of training outside her work hours and during lunch breaks, she quickly progressed to being an audio assistant in the machine room. She became an Audio Assistant Manager, being the go to person for overseeing large projects, representing her team in meetings, and generally making sure everything ran smoothly. During this time, I again was finding time to train in the studios with the tracklayers and mixers, learning my way around not only Protools but the DAWs such as the DigiDesign Icon Desk.
She was promoted to tracklayer after a few years in the machine room where she edited music, dialogues, atmospheres, foley and sound-effects. She was regularly being requested by both the Post Producers and Clients to run voice-over recording sessions. Here She also provided fully mixed Sound Design for TV shows such as Rise of the Machines, D-Day Laid Bare and Strip the City. I was also mixing animations and short films in my spare time (see my work page).In 2013, she was named as one of Broadcast Magazine’s ‘Hot Shots’, an annual feature on rising stars of the industry under 30. This was totally unexpected and it was such an honour to be listed alongside all of those talented people.She left Envy in 2015 and she is currently working as a Freelance Sound Editor across all genres; across all editorial disciplines for Television, Film and Computer Games. These include computer game ‘Guitar Hero Live’, recent hit Channel 4 comedy ‘Derry Girls’ and soon to be released feature comedy ‘You, Me and Him’.
Since going freelance she recieved her first uk broadcast Dubbing Mixer credit and has been mixing Eastenders and multiple factual television programmes over the last few years. Her career has gone from strength to strength, constantly working with new clients and always learning new skills.
In 2015 she took part in a mid-career-level Mentoring Scheme run by WFTV UK (Women in Film and Television) and she has been part of the BAFTA Crew Programme since 2015. She is also a full member of AMPS (Association of Motion Picture Sound).
She has been interviewed for a number of online publications and has lectured 3rd Year Audio Production students at the University of Lincoln multiple times since 2016, with another booked for next term.
She has a particular interest in foley, Drama, Film and Animation and hopes to do more of these this year.
Kevin Army is a legendary Bay Area producer, engineer and mixer best known as producer of the classic punk album Energy by Operation Ivy and for engineering Insomniac by Green Day. He is also known for his work with The Mr. T Experience, Pinhead Gunpowder, American Steel and Jawbreaker. 14 years ago Kevin stepped away from the recording world and concentrated on being a record dealer. After dipping his toes back in the water for a few select projects in the last couple of years he made the decision to jump back in.
About this Interview:
Kevin joins me at my house/studio to discuss his 14 year hiatus from recording and what followed, his decision to get back in to recording, the early days of his recording career, mentorship and his favorite method for record bands. Enjoy! – Matt
Ryan Worsley is one of Canada’s most sought-after music producers, with a growing track record of discovering, capturing and elevating the unique sound of countless bands and artists. With over twenty years of experience in the music industry, Ryan has become the consummate producer, providing his clients with world-class songwriting, audio engineering, and mixing capabilities. He works across pop, rock, indie, and folk genres, always striving to create innovative, fresh, and musical recordings that highlight the essence of the artists he works with.
Ryan’s impact is demonstrated in his work with Dear Rouge (Universal Music), from the outset of their career, providing production, songwriting and mixing on “Black To Gold” (2015), ultimately resulting in a Juno Award for “Breakthrough Group of the Year” (2016). His work with the band continues, with production and mixing credits on 2018’s well-received release, “Phases”.
Ryan is regularly asked by labels across Canada and the US for his mixing expertise, including Courage My Love’s “Synestathia” (Warner Music), Said The Whale’s “As Long As Your Eyes Are Wide”, and Emilie & Ogden’s “10,000” (Secret City Records). He has also crafted mixes and radio singles for artists Basia Bulat (Rough Trade Records/Secret City Records) and Mathew V (604 Records).
Career highlights include participating in “Mix With The Masters” with mixer extraordinaire Tchad Blake and having his work recognized by the Western Canadian Music Awards with a nomination for Producer of the Year and award for Engineer of the Year (2015), as well as multiple subsequent nominations.
About this Interview:
Ryan joins me to talk about the importance of having a great team, networking, thinking long-term, Canadian health care, the benefits of having a manager, and the importance of having a supportive spouse or partner. Enjoy!
James Ivey is not only the Technical Editor for Pro Tools Expert.com he’s also a producer, engineer, drummer and Dad. Pro Tools Expert is one of the most popular and highly regarded hi-tech audio blogs on the Internet. In his role, James reviews some of the latest equipment which means quickly learning how to get the best out of it then taking part in their weekly podcast which is regularly listened to by over 27,000 people around the world. From London Guildhall University, to working on pop videos, selling Pro Audio gear to the likes of Pete Townsend, to full time gigging drummer, James eventually found himself working for Avid via Sibelius . While working for Avid at a trade show, James met Russ Hughs of Production Expert . That meeting lead James to his current position at Pro Tools Expert and to freelancing as an audio professional for the last 8 years.
About this Interview:
James joins me for a chat about Pro Tools Expert, kids, building a studio in his London backyard, GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome), new gear vs. vintage gear, working for Avid, networking, freelancing and not having voice mail.
Billy Decker was born on August 28th, 1967, and raised in Nebraska. He got a BS in criminal justice at the University of Nebraska and then went on to be Salutatorian at Full Sail Center for the Recording Arts in 1992. In 1994, Decker moved to Nashville where he’s been working ever since. He’s mixed 14 #1s to date – most recently, Parmalee’s “Carolina”. Billy has mixed for Sam Hunt, Darius Rucker, Chris Young, and Jaime Lynne Spears. Decker also mixed George Jones’s last album before he died. Billy Decker made history in July of 2014 when Sam Hunt became the most added new artist of all time. Decker works in a unique way.“I mix really fast. Most of my mixes are finished in between two and three-and-a-half hours. To be able to do this, I use a lot of templates in Pro Tools. Instead of spending two hours EQing a kick drum, I can do it in 30 seconds, because I’ve set up templates for the album that outline all the basic parameters for each instrument. Then, I can focus on fine-tuning and bringing levels up and down—working on the entire mix, rather than focusing on individual adjustments. It’s a good way to work. It’s real fast, efficient, and, most importantly, it’s fun.”
About this Interview:
Billy Decker joins me to talk about mixing hit songs in two to three hours, beating cancer and keeping it under wraps, the yearly slump, Facebook networking, endless revisions and mixing in the box. -EnjoyMatt
Ken Sluiter is an American recording engineer/producer/mixer from Chicago, IL now based in Los Angeles, CA.
Ken grew up in a small town called Wilmington, IL, about an hour outside of Chicago, IL. He was obsessive listener of 70’s AM radio and what is now called “classic rock”. One day while walking through a department store with his mother, he spotted the cover of “Rock and Rock Over” by Kiss. From that point on, he was hooked. Every dime he could scrape up went to the record section of the department store. More records from Kiss, Led Zeppelin, Sweet, Aerosmith, Van Halen, Cheap Trick, Beatles, Foghat, even Styx (Ken was young) were to follow. This all naturally led to borrowing a friends’ Silvertone guitar, then guitar lessons etc..
While playing in garage bands with friends, Ken was the one that kinda understood how to set up the P.A. That led to recording rehearsals, shows, cassette four tracking/overdubbing etc…. When his guitar teacher purchased an Oberheim OB-8, he gave Ken his “hand me down” Korg MS-20. That combined with discovering a college radio station led to a passion (which continues to this day) for all things new wave/synth pop. Soon Ken was hooking synths and drum machines to his Commodore 64’s MIDI sequencer. After spending more time “in the city” and discovering the Wax Trax label and Medusa’s dance club, the guitar started collecting dust and the focus became the stiff, cold groove of the machines.
After graduating college in 1992, Ken started his studio career working on jingles in the ad industry-dominated studio scene in downtown Chicago. The worked ranged from national ad campaigns to local furniture stores. It was in this environment that Ken learned to record, edit (w/ grease pencil and razor blade) and mix fast to meet the tight deadlines the advertising industry required. At the same time, he started assisting at studios that recorded local and regional bands. In 1994, Ken bought his first Pro Tools rig (a four track version that was the size of a fridge) and started working with other engineers as an editor. This enabled Ken to use his editing-skills learned in the jingle studios with engineers and producers that had previously never been exposed to the power/flexibility offered by the Pro Tools platform. It also allowed Ken to bypass some of the “dues paying” associated with being as assistant engineer (more on that later).
By the mid-nineties, Ken partnered with Dave Trumfio and Mike Hagler, founders of Kingsize Sound Labs. For many years, they made indie-rock records for the exploding indie/alternative rock scene that was happening in Chicago. Some notable acts that worked at Kingsize included Wilco, Billy Bragg, Andrew Bird, Neko Case, Mekons, The Frogs, Archer Prewitt, Kelly Hogan, Jonny Polonsky, Steve Earle, OKGO, My Morning Jacket, Jesus Lizard, The Sadies and hundreds of other bands. Label clients included Atlantic, Geffen, Warner Brothers, Virgin as well as Touch and Go, Sub Pop, Matador, Merge Records and Bloodshot Records.
During this time, Ken played and recorded with studio parter, Dave Trumfio’s new wave revival band, Pulsars. Pulsars made two albums for Almo Sounds/Geffen. Ken also co-founded local power-pop luminaries, Box-o-car, who in addition to recording two records, supported acts such as Iggy Pop, Cheap Trick, Teenage Fanclub, Mathew Sweet, The Kills and many more.
By 2003, as the indie explosion ran it’s course in Chicago, Ken re-located to Los Angles to continue his craft. As Ken felt he “skipped” much of the assisting phase of a traditional engineers’ career path; he pursued assisting opportunities including assisting Andrew Scheps on Weezer’s “Red Album”, Greg Fidleman on Red Hot Chili Peppers’ “I’m With You” as well as Jim Scott on multiple records. Ken also assisted on scoring sessions, in which he learned the ropes of orchestral recording from Sean Murphy and Dan Wallin among others. Ken also stayed busy as a Pro Tools editor working on projects ranging from Barry Manilow to Pink to Metallica.
It was during this time that Ken got involved with EastWest Studios in Hollywood. Ken was a key member of the crew that brought the studios back on-line as the rooms had been closed since Cello studios closed in 2004. This included working with the technical staff to “shake out” the analog gear as well as configuring Pro Tools systems for each room. Ken was also the recordist for the entire EastWest “Hollywood” series of orchestral virtual instruments.
In 2009, Ken signed on to engineer/mix two records for Jerry Lee Lewis wth legendary drummer Jim Keltner as producer. That project included doing overdubs with a “who’s who” of rock royalty, including Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, Willie Nelson, John Fogerty, Shelby Lynne, Kris Kristofferson, Robbie Robertson, Nils Lofgren, Aaron Neville, Mavis Staples, Gillian Welch and Jon Brion. Ken also mixed tracks with performances by Mick Jagger, Ron Wood, Sheryl Crow, Derek Trucks, Kid Rock, Daniel Lanois, Ringo Starr, John Mayer, James Burton, Leon Russell, Tim McGraw, Neil Young and Slash.
Other projects Ken engineered and/or mixed include records by The Pretenders, Marshall Crenshaw, Heart, Andra Day, Veruca Salt, Flogging Molly, James Blunt, Divine Fits (Britt Daniel), The Format (Nate Ruess), Ron Sexsmith, Kathleen Edwards, Young Dubliners, MxPx and Dwight Yoakam.
Ken also worked closely with producers Wally Gagel and Xandy Barry on a series of “iTunes Originals” sessions for artists that that included BRMC, The Decemberists, PJ Harvey, Maroon 5, Metric, Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros and Best Coast
As a producer, Ken has worked with Weezer (”Christmas With Weezer”), B52’s (“Squidbillies”-theme song), as well as soundtrack songs with Debbie Harry and Shirley Manson (“Tehran 1979” from American Gods), Siouxsie Sioux (“Love Crimes”-Hannibal) and Marc Almond (“Snakecharmer”-Hannibal)
Recently, Ken has worked closely with producer Joe Chiccarelli, mixing records for artists such as Morrissey, Augustines, Nightriots, Ivan and Aloysha and Victorian Halls. Ken has also worked closely with film composer Brian Reitzell on several film scores and soundtracks including “Hannibal” (Season 3) on NBC, “American Gods” on Starz, “Kicks” for Focus Features, as well as ad’s for Nike and Apple.
About this Interview:
Ken Sluiter joins me for a great conversation about 90’s era Chicago, his transition to Los Angeles, working with Andrew Scheps and Jim Keltner, having a great baby sitter, mixing in the box, social media and much more! Many thanks to WCA Alum Brad Wood (https://www.workingclassaudio.com/wca-095-with-brad-wood/ ) for introducing me to Ken at NAMM. Enjoy!
Dave Collins is an Grammy Award winning mastering engineer located in Pasadena, California. Dave has worked with artists of many genres include Sting, Metallica, Soundgarden, D’Angelo, Bruce Springsteen, and Madonna as well as many major film soundtracks. Dave makes a point to work on projects of all sizes from aspiring artist demos to major label releases.
After over 30 years of experience, Dave built a new state-of-the-art facility “from the sound up” in consultation with acoustician Thomas Jouanjean of Northward Acoustics in Brussels, Belgium. The studio is specifically designed to provide a creative, yet highly accurate, listening environment – capable of achieving the perfect balance for your sound. Of particular note is the custom signal path Dave has designed. From equalization, to analog to digital conversion, to dynamics, all equipment has been purpose-built specifically for mastering – these proprietary designs are the result of over three decades of listening experience with proven results.
About this Interview:
Mastering badass Dave Collins (Sting, Metallica, Soundgarden, D’Angelo, Bruce Springsteen, and Madonna) joins me to discuss his background, how he got into mastering, working with projects of all sizes, budgets and location. We also touch on in the box mastering, keeping your perspective about working in audio compared to working in other industries, the importance of listening and keeping your overhead in check. Enjoy!
WCA #164 with Steve Albini – Fascist Haircuts, Analog Longevity, Reusing Analog Tape, Surviving 20 years, Poverty and the Cycle of Money.
Steve Albini needs no introduction really. Musician, engineer and studio owner known for his work with Nirvana, Page, and Plant, PJ, Harvey as well as thousands of other bands. Yes, thousands. Steve is well known for his long term practice of sticking to analog recording methods and his dedication to the bands he records with regards to respecting the band dynamic. He also has played in the bands Big Black, Rapeman as well as his current band Shellac. Steve is part of a program called the Letters to Santa Program of Chicago with his wife Heather Whinna and Jeff Tweddy of WIlco known for its work raising money for poverty-stricken individuals and families in the Chicago area.
NAMM 2018 was a fantastic experience this year. The crowds were massive, the activity was electric and there was sooo much to see. In this episode I give you a recap from not only my perspective but also from the viewpoint of my friends Chris Selim from Mixdown.Online and Lij Shaw from Recording Studio Rockstars. There’s also interviews with Universal Audio and Whitestone Audio. It was a great time and the amount of cool people and products was encouraging. Enjoy!
John Karr is well regarded as one of the top sound engineers in San Francisco, with a professional career spanning over 30 years, engineering shows and albums for over 20,000 bands, in every genres you can imagine.From recording studio’s to local house gigs to national tours of theaters and large music festivals, across the United States, Japan and Europe.
John has worn the hats of F.O.H. and monitor engineer, studio producer, session musician, composer, and live sound mentor @ at S.F. City College and Expressions School for Music in Emeryville Ca, He has over 60 album recording credits, including the theme songs for KALW Rose Agular’s Your Call Radio and KSAN Steven Weed’s Weed in the morning. Other notable accomplishment’s include 7 years tenure as head sound engineer/manager and sound system designer of The Independent – which has won international praise as “The Best Sounding Live Music Venue in San Francisco”.
About this Interview:
John Karr joins me for a great chat covering his approach to working in multiple genres, accepting gigs of all shapes and sizes, bringing humor and humanity to the audio work environment and how he dealt with an accident that left him without the use of his legs for 6 months. John has been working his ass off since arriving in San Francisco 1988 and it’s a pleasure to have him as my guest. Enjoy!
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