Category: Recording

I never actually met Simon. The only connection I had to Simon was listening to Simon’s bass parts in my studio and mixing them in Boats Without Oars’ album Places, Pictures. Simon tragically passed away in 2015. The album stands in Simon’s memory, and I was honored to be a part of it.

The goal for the album was simple yet challenging: take 7 home recordings by some talented high schoolers from Denver and turn them into a record. Yes, the recordings were a bit rough around the edges, and I’m sure the band would’ve done things differently had they had the chance to go back and clean everything up. With Simon’s sudden death, there was no such luxury. In hindsight, I think the imperfections only highlight the power of the songs and reinforce the aesthetic of Boats Without Oars…one of those recording “happy accidents.”

After hours of mixing, back and forth notes between the band and me, and revisions, I believed I had succeeded in doing Simon’s memory justice. The album was off to the masterer. It certainly increased the pressure of the project knowing that my mixes were a very concrete representation of Simon’s final musical stamp on the world.

Doing music for so many years, it would be a lie to say I haven’t questioned why the hell I’m still working in this profession. It’s certainly not the glamour (that was only tempting as a teenager). On the surface, my work in general doesn’t create a huge impact on the world. It doesn’t save lives. It doesn’t heal wounds. It doesn’t solve injustice…at least, on the surface it doesn’t. Music has the power to do all of these things in small (and sometimes big) ways. Working on Places, Pictures reminded me that at it’s core recording is just that: a record, a document. Recordings can help us document a certain time in a musician’s life, reflect on that time, and enjoy their art from that period. The album serves as a document of the music of Simon Katz and the band, and I hope it serves as a record of Simon’s creativity, genius, and the other qualities I was unfortunately never able to experience first hand. I hope it helps those close to Simon through their grieving and provides catharsis. Mixing this album gave me a strong reminder that music does impact the world in strong and positive ways.

If you’re a fan of emo, math rock, post rock, or punk, give the album a listen. You’ll hear the thoughts of a great musician that was taken from this world too soon.

Remember that one time I said there’s no such thing as a short production cycle? Maybe you don’t, but humor me anyways. Well, that was a lie. Last summer I took a break from mixing the sophomore WBPT album to work on The Sextet’s debut album, In a Natural State. The whole project–clocking in at 57 minutes of groove jazz–was tracked and mixed in a grand total of 6 days, two for tracking and four for mixing.

The affair was utterly refreshing despite the 90+ degree weather outside. We recorded everything live with all six musicians in the same room (drums, bass, piano/keys, alto sax, trumpet, and trombone). It was an experiment. I had never worked out of The Map Room before, but everything ran smoothly with the band finishing up three more tunes than expected. Josh and Kris run a well-thought out studio.

Paul Paresa (piano), Robert Castillo (bass), and Dave Kelsay (drums) lay down some nasty grooves on the album. I definitely had to take a shower after that session (nah, but really, it was like super hot out). The last track, Moving On, got in rotation on local jazz radio station KMHD, and they had the following to say: “The song brings an outstanding debut to a memorable conclusion.” I wish Robert the best in Kansas City where he’s recently relocated. Keep those catchy bass lines coming.

Relive our two days in the studio on bandcamp here, or hell, just play it on Spotify.

photo cred: Daiva Trudeau (truphotos)

That’s it. I confess. I’ve been dating sound engineering for the past 8 years now.

I’m celebrating my wonderful single life with the release of two new singles this fall by Almost Rock and White Bear Polar Tundra. They are both very different in style, but both end products turned out great in terms of sound production.

The Almost Rock single Cavity is a three-minute straight ahead indie-pop song. I engineered everything at my home studio, and we headed up to Seattle to have Matt Bayles mix the single at Red Room Recording (in addition to the rest of the forthcoming five-song EP Barley Love).

Listen to the single on bandcamp here.

White Bear Polar Tundra’s reggae chill-rock single Waves was recorded at Big Red Studio in Corbett, Oregon by Eric Broestl. We recorded all the basics (drums, bass, guitar) to an analog 24-track Studer tape deck. The final take is a straight through pass. It’s hard to replicate that energy working in the digital realm.

I recorded overdubs at my home studio, including the very delicate backing vocal tracks by the lovely Carmelle Christine. Again, Matt Bayles mixed everything in Seattle at Red Room. He is great to work with, and an open-book when it comes to talking about recording techniques and strategies.

Listen to the single and download it for free here.

Happy Holidays!

I’m slowly finding that there’s no such thing as a short production cycle. No matter how hard you try. This particular project was an all-together pleasant affair with the multi-talented Devan Wardrop-Saxton (director, playwright, and songwriter). We recorded this indie-folkpop cuteness over a few months in little morning sessions with plenty of tea and chit-chat. No, it doesn’t sound British. Give Devan’s EP, City Where You Live, some love over on bandcamp.