Gear Club Podcast

In this Record of the Week, John and Stewart dig into Waterloo Sunset by The Kinks. With its dreamy atmosphere, raw mono mix, and Ray Davies' poetic storytelling, the song captures a fleeting moment of beauty in 1960s London. Because of its lo-fi charm, Waterloo Sunset stands as one of the most emotionally resonant and sonically unique recordings of its era.

We first interviewed producer and engineer Ed Stasium in Episodes 80 and 81, where he spoke with John and Stewart about recording some truly seminal albums with Gladys Knight & the Pips, the Ramones, Talking Heads, and Living Colour, as well as his pivotal role in the design and construction of the Power Station in NYC. These episodes offer a fascinating inside look into music history— we highly recommend checking them out. In this episode, John catches up with Ed about his recent work on records from the Hoodoo Gurus and The Dictators, remixing Tim by The Replacements and outtakes from Talking Heads: 77, and his latest immersive audio projects.

Take a closer look at Queen's epic song with John and Stewart. With aggressive guitars, rich vocal harmonies, and an over-the-top premise, the track is classic Queen. Ogre Battle also marks a pivotal moment in the band's evolution, as their recordings reached a new level under the guidance of producer Roy Thomas Baker.

In this episode, I sit down with Grammy winning producer and engineer Kevin Killen. We first interviewed Kevin in episodes 46 and 47, where he talks about his career in recording studios from Dublin to NYC, and working with Peter Gabriel, Kate bush, U2, Elvis Costello, and a host of others. If you haven't already, go check ‘em out. Since then, Kevin has moved to his personal studio, and is teaching as an adjunct professor at the NYU Clive Davis Institute and Steinhardt School. He's also been busy working with the likes of Tony Levin and Cara Dillon, and recording drum sample packs for Toontrack at Peter Gabriel's Real World Studios. Listen in as he catches us up on all of it.

In this special episode, we pay homage to an artist who's a Member of the rock and roll hall of fame, has won Seven Grammys out of 38 nominations, sold over 150 million albums worldwide, with three of those in the Grammy hall of fame. In their almost 40-year career they've played almost 1500 concerts, released 38 albums, have a supposedly endless vault of unreleased material, and have nonetheless remained an enigma. We're talking about the one, the only, Prince. Listen in as we talk to the engineers who worked most closely with Prince in the studio on seminal albums across different eras of his wide-ranging career. There are amazing stories, pivotal moments, and behind the scenes insights into the work and personality of an artist very few people got to know up close and personal. 

Paul Prestopino was a musician, inventor, and technician with a long and varied career. From 1970 until its closure in 1989, Paul was a technician at the Record Plant in NYC, a venerated studio that helped produce an endless stream of hit records and launched dozens of careers for the engineers and producers that worked there. While working at the studio, Paul, known to everyone as “Presto,” was charged with the maintenance and care of the recording equipment, but he also played on dozens of albums for bands like Aerosmith, The Hooters, Alice Cooper, Slade, and Edgar Winter. He was also an integral member of the bands of Peter, Paul, and Mary, John Denver, and The Chad Mitchell Trio. Paul was part of the lifeblood of the Record Plant, and his passing in 2023 was felt deeply by those who worked with him at the studio. Our very own John Agnello organized this special memorial episode for Paul, where we interview Record Plant alumni and Paul's brother, Greg Prestopino, to pay homage to a man who touched so many lives through his work and music.   

Our guest is Doug Wimbish, one of the most renowned bass players of all time, known for his work with a wide range of artists, including Living Colour, Tackhead, Sugarhill Gang, Mick Jagger, Annie Lennox, and many more. He is also the founder of WimBash, a series of community-based charity events supporting music education. In this episode, John and Stewart talk with Doug about his extraordinary journey through the music industry. They discuss topics such as his start at All Platinum Records, the birth of Sugar Hill Records, recording "Rapper's Delight", his life-changing encounter with Jaco Pastorius, and his experiences touring with music icons. Doug also shares his thoughts on mentoring young musicians, the evolution of bass playing, and the importance of giving back to the music community. 

To celebrate Bob Dylan's birthday, we've compiled a special Gear Club episode that offers a behind the scenes look into Dylan's Life and music. Bob has been described as a shape-shifter, a song and dance man, and the Shakespeare of our time. Over his 60 plus year career, he's written more than 500 songs that have been covered by over 2,000 artists. He's played nearly 4,000 concerts. He's won 38 Grammys, an Oscar, and a Nobel prize in literature. But who is this guy? What's he like to work with? Listen in as Chris Shaw, David Mansfield, Toby Scott, and Steve Addabbo share their recollections of the man on stage and in the studio.

Producer and Engineer William Wittman was one of our early guests in 2017 with a two parter, Episodes #15 and #16, where he discussed making seminal records with Cindy Lauper, Joan Osborne, and The Outfield, his time coming up through NYC recording studios, and his work/prank relationship with our very own John Agnello. In this episode, I catch up with Bill about making records with his band Too Much Joy, drum mic techniques, the things we like about in the box mixing, and working at the famed Van Gelder studio in Englewood, NJ.

In this episode, John and Stewart sit down with producer, engineer, musician, song writer, studio owner, and the Godfather of Jangle Pop, the one and only, Mitch Easter. Mitch has always been and continues to be a staple of the Indie Rock scene in North Carolina and beyond. First operating out of Drive in Studio located in his parents' garage, and in 1994 moving to his current studio, the Fidelitorium. Mitch has worked with a laundry list of seminal artists, including R.E.M., Helium, Pavement, Wilco, Ben Folds Five, Pylon, and Polvo. He's also an active musician and writer, releasing music for almost a decade with his band "Let's Active" and currently as a solo artist. In this episode Mitch discusses building, operating, and outfitting his recording studios, the joys and perils of tracking to analog tape, producing the first R.E.M. records, and why it's not always a good idea to fix everything in a recording.

In 2018 the H9000 Harmonizer®, Eventide's flagship multi effects processor, won a TEC award for best signal processing hardware. We had the team behind the H9000's design and development on the podcast in Episodes #66.1, #66.2 and #66.3 to talk about the process of designing, building, and testing the latest in Eventide's revered Harmonizer line. Now we're back to talk about what's new at Eventide and the 2023 TEC award for best signal processing software awarded to their revolutionary equalizer plugin, SplitEQ. Russell Wedelich is the VP of development and director of signal processing at Eventide and had a heavy hand in writing the DSP code that went into the H9000. He's also the lead DSP engineer responsible for the SplitEQ plugin and its patented technology. Russ and I got to chat about what went into developing SplitEQ, the new Eventide H90 Harmonizer pedal, and the culture that makes Eventide so consistently innovative. For more from Russell and the rest of the H9000 team check out Gear Club Episodes #66.1, #66.2 and #66.3.

In this episode, we're delighted to talk with industry legend, Thom Panunzio. Getting his start as an assistant at NYC's Record Plant, Thom went on to work in every facet of the music business. He's produced, mixed, and engineered albums for Tom Petty, Bob Dylan, Joan Jett, Ozzy Osbourne, Bruce Springsteen, Patti Smith, Alice Cooper, and Aerosmith just to name a few. He helped design The Hit Factory in NYC, A&M Studios in LA, and the Thom Thom Club in Santa Monica, and was the Executive VP for Universal Music and head of A&R at Geffen Records for many years. Thom talks with John and Stewart about his time on staff at the Record Plant, his favorite mixing desks, his reluctant entrance into the world of A&R,  and how the industry and technology has changed over the course of his almost 50 year career. 

Mastering engineer extraordinaire Greg Calbi is a dear friend and was our guest on Gear Club Episode #2 way back in January of 2017. Over the last 50 years Greg has mastered a seemingly endless list of albums across every genera of music, and it's almost a certainty he's had a hand in the making of one of your favorite records. In this episode Greg and I got to chat about Sterling Sound moving from Manhattan to its new facility in Edgewater NJ, his workflow from converters to compressors to clients, and the unique changes, challenges, and expectations of modern mastering.

In this episode, we sit down for a conversation with renowned rock photographer Bob Gruen. Bob has been documenting the artists, concerts, and clubs that have come to define rock music, and is responsible for some of the most iconic images of the idiom. Listen in as Bob talks with hosts John and Stewart about his artistic philosophy, his move from film to digital, and being a part of music history.

This month, we're thrilled to have David Mansfield on the show, a composer, multi-instrumentalist, producer, and arranger with a long and storied career. We have each worked with David for a long time, and know firsthand the talent and depth he brings to all the music he touches. Growing up in New Jersey and beginning his career in local bands, he started playing with Bob Neuwirth at The Bitter End and, at 18, joined Bob Dylan's Rolling Thunder Revue. From there, he went on to tour and record with Dylan over many albums, and in his 50-year career has worked with an endless variety of artists, including Sting, Van Morrison, Johnny Cash, Emmylou Harris, Bobby McFerrin, David Byrne, The Wainwrights, The Roches, really the list goes on and on. He's also composed an equally extensive list of music for film and television, including The movies “Heaven's Gate” and “The Apostle” and, most recently the Showtime Limited Series “George & Tammy”. In this episode, David discusses his early career and influences, touring with Dylan, his scoring and composition work, and demonstrates the Psaltery, one of the more unique of his many instruments.

In this episode, we talk with Jorma Kaukonen, electric guitarist extraordinaire for Jefferson Airplane, vocalist/blues picker for Hot Tuna, prolific solo artist, and all-around great guy. At 81 years young, Jorma is still writing, teaching, and gigging with no signs of slowing down. Listen in as we chat about his early career playing Bay Area clubs with Janis Joplin, life in The Airplane, his guitar mentors, speedskating, touring, and teaching guitar at his Fur Peace Ranch in Ohio.

Michael Imperioli is an Emmy award-winning actor, writer, novelist, and musician best known for his role as Christopher Moltisanti in the HBO series "The Sopranos". Since 2006 Michael has fronted the indie rock band "Zopa", and is currently working on a new album with our very own John Agnello. In this episode, Michael talks with our hosts about the parallels between acting and music performance and production, his musical influences, writing songs and screenplays, working on the new record, and whether you can know if a project is going to be a hit.

In this special Gear Club episode, we celebrate the post-Beatle life of John Lennon, who would have turned 82 this year on October 9th. After The Beatles broke up, John and Yoko moved to New York where John produced, recorded, and played songs that spoke to the post-60s generation as they struggled for justice and an end to war. John Lennon impacted the lives of all those he came across, and that impact continues to live on. To mark the occasion of his birth, we've collected first-hand accounts from the producers and engineers who worked most closely with John as he wrote and recorded songs from “Imagine” to “Starting Over”. These people include Shelly Yakus, Jack Douglas, Rod O'Brien, Ed Stasium, Jay Messina, and Greg Calbi.

Dave Darlington is a Grammy award-winning engineer, producer, mastering engineer, and musician who has recorded, mixed, composed, and played in just about every genre of music. He's worked with the likes of Wayne Shorter, C+C Music Factory, Sting, and Miles Davis among many others. In this interview, Dave takes us through his journey to becoming an engineer, the joys and trials of running his own studio, Bass Hit, shares his recording ethos and inspiration, and gives some key advice on how to get ahead in the industry. 

In this episode, John & Stewart chat with GRAMMY award-winning engineer and producer, Steve Marcantonio. Steve is a staple of the Nashville music scene but got his start in New York at The Record Plant under the instruction of the likes of Roy Cicala and Jay Messina. Listen in as Steve discusses his journey through the ranks at The Record Plant, his move to Nashville, and shares some insights on how to get a leg up as an engineer.

Matt Wallace is a producer, engineer, and musician with over 30 years in the industry, working with the likes of Maroon 5, The Replacements, Faith No More, O.A.R, and Paul Westerberg. Lately, Matt's been working extensively on new and catalog mixing in ATMOS from his studio in Van Nuys, CA. In this interview he takes us through the technical and artistic aspects of ATMOS mixing, his production philosophy, working with Faith No More and The Replacements, and why making records isn't about the gear. 

In this episode, we talk with Grammy award-winning guitarist and vocalist, Peter Frampton. As a teen, Peter got his start in music with bands The Preachers and The Herd, co-founded Humble Pie at 18, and went on to have a solo career that has spanned 21 albums and more than 50 years. Peter chats with John and Stewart about his most recent record; Frampton Forgets The Words, his writing and recording process, early influences, and his love of playing live.

This is part two of our interview with world-renowned guitarist Steve Vai, whose new record, Inviolate, was released on January 28, 2022. In this episode, we dive deep into Steve's creative process, where his ideas come from, and how they transform into music. He also talks about his years with Frank Zappa, his work as an in-demand sideman, and his orchestral compositions. To hear all about the record, and Steve's three-neck guitar, the Hydra, check out his part one interview.

Steve Vai is a Grammy award-winning musician, composer, producer, and inventor of the Hydra: a three-neck, 36 string beast of a guitar with a steam-punk attitude and endless possibilities. Steve shows just what the instrument is capable of on his newly released album, ‘Inviolate'. In this episode, John and Stewart chat with Steve about his creative process, his fantastic new record, and the inspiration and design behind the Hydra. This is part one of a two-part interview. 

This is part two of our interview with veteran Engineer and Producer, Ed Stasium. In this episode, Ed talks to John and Stewart about his time in LA, working with Mick Jagger, Living Colour, Motörhead, and The Smithereens, and shares a story about how editing drums saved his life.

Ed Stasium is a musician, engineer, and producer with a career in music that spans almost 50 years. Getting his start at Tony Camillo's New Jersey studio, he went on to record Gladys Knight, The Ramones, Talking Heads, Living Colour, The Smithereens, Mick Jagger, and Motörhead, to name a few. In this episode, Ed gets in-depth about recording Gladys Knight's "Midnight Train to Georgia," his time with The Ramones, the first Talking Heads record, and his role in the building of New York's iconic Power Station. This is part one of a two-part interview.

Bill Schnee is a musician, producer, Grammy-winning engineer, and more recently, a writer, with his new book "Chairman at the Board." With over 50 years in music, Bill has plenty to share, having worked with Miles Davis, Steely Dan, Dire Straits, Carly Simon, Ringo Starr, and Whitney Houston, to name a few. In this episode of Gear Club Podcast, he sits down with John and Stewart to talk about the writing of the book, his early years as a musician and young engineer, his recording ethos, and shares a few stories from his book. For the full experience, watch the interview on our YouTube at https://bit.ly/GC79YouTube

In this episode, Eventide founder Richard Factor takes us to outer space on a Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence. Richard is the founder and president of the SETI League: a non-profit, membership-supported group of amateur skywatchers hoping to catch signals of intelligent life from outside our solar system. Richard walks John and Stewart through the inception of SETI, the hows and whys of this galactic search, and one story about a real-life tin foil hat. For video of this episode, show notes, photos, and more, go to gearclubpodcast.com

With a career spanning over 5 decades, Terry Manning is an accomplished audio engineer, producer, multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter, composer, and photographer. Terry got his start as a teenager in the legendary Memphis music scene at Stax Records and Ardent Studios. He has worked with the likes of Led Zeppelin, ZZ Top, Otis Redding, The Staple Singers, Shakira, Joe Walsh, Lenny Kravitz, Shania Twain, and Bryan Adams - not to mention his quintessential role in Big Star’s debut album, #1 Record. Listen in as Terry sits down with John, Stewart, and special guest host Bill (William) Wittman to discuss what it's like to be on both sides of the talkback mic as a musician and producer, running a destination studio in the Bahamas, his longtime friendship with Jimmy Page, and the making of Led Zeppelin III. For the full experience, watch this interview on our YouTube or at gearclubpodcast.com

Brendan Benson is a musician, singer-songwriter, producer, and founding member of The Raconteurs. As a solo artist, he’s released seven studio albums, most recently “Dear Life” released on Third Man Records in 2020. Brendan talks with John and Stewart about the recording of Dear Life, his writing process, The Raconteurs, and over 20 years of making music, from Detroit to Nashville. This interview was recorded at Sear Sound in January of 2020. For the full experience, watch this episode on our YouTube channel or at gearclubpodcast.com  

In this episode, Dweezil Zappa and our hosts take a closer look at his father Frank Zappa’s vast music catalog, his gear, and some of his more unconventional instrumentation choices. All in an effort to explore Dweezil’s approach to tackling his father’s work in his show, Zappa Plays Zappa. They’ll also delve into more details of Dweezil’s multi-faceted online music platform, Reward Music. For the full experience, watch this full interview on our YouTube channel & check out Part 1 at gearclubpodcast.com

This week, our hosts talk to Grammy award-winning guitarist and son of Frank, Dweezil Zappa. Dweezil recently launched Reward Music, an online platform for artists to host their website, engage with fans, sell music and merchandise, all while keeping 100% of sales. Dweezil talks through the features and benefits of reward music for artists and fans alike, showcasing the need for a paradigm shift away from traditional music revenue streams. Keep on the lookout for part 2, where we’ll go more in-depth with Dweezil on his career and his father’s music and legacy.

As a renowned music supervisor for film and television, Randy Poster is known for his work with directors Wes Anderson, Martin Scorsese, Todd Phillips, and Sam Mendes, among many others. He has had his hand in a countless number of works including The Irishman, The Queen’s Gambit, Boardwalk Empire, The Hangover, Divergent, The Wolf of Wall Street, Lost, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Tiger King, and Joker, just to name a few. With a career that spans over 2 decades, multiple genres, and several awards, listen in as he chats with our hosts about how he got into music supervision, the nuts and bolts of the process, and more!

Chris Allen is a Grammy-nominated recording and mix engineer based in New York City. He’s been the chief engineer at Sear Sound for over a decade and was a protégé of the late Walter Sear. Chris has worked with an impressive and varied list of artists, including Yoko Ono, Paul Simon, Fleet Foxes, Nels Cline, Andrew Bird, Ravi Coltrane, and Dr. John. Chris sat down with John and Stewart in studio A at Sear to discuss microphones, interns, crazy sessions, keeping things fresh after 16 years at Sear Sound, and carrying on Walter’s legacy of excellence in recording.

During the 2019 AES convention, Gear Club took over Studio A at Sear Sound for several days of interviews. While there, the guys had the opportunity to talk to the owner and studio manager, Roberta Findlay. Roberta has a long history in film, working as a director, writer, producer, composer, camera operator, and actress in scores of movies from the 1960’s through the 1980’s. For the past few decades, she has booked and managed Sear Sound, founded by her and her partner, the late Walter Sear. Listen in as Roberta shares some amazing stories about the studio and film making, talks about how the studio came to be, and the impact that Walter had on the music being made there.

In this live episode, we chat with Producer/Engineer Kevin Killen, Tony Shanahan & Lenny Kaye of the Patti Smith Band, James Mastro, owner of Hoboken's Guitar Bar & member of The Bongos, and Gerry Leonard, best known for his work with David Bowie. This episode originally aired on April 23 as a live stream in Eventide’s Quarantide series. Be sure to catch more live Gear Club episodes on Eventide’s Facebook or YouTube every Thursday at 4PM ET

Join us this Thursday at 4PM EDT live on the Eventide Facebook & YouTube as we interview producer/engineer Ed Stasium, along with Record Plant Studios alumni Shelly Yakus, Jack Douglas, Jay Messina, Greg Calbi, Rod O'Brien, & Steve Marcantonio. With combined credits including The Ramones, John Lennon, Aerosmith, Van Morrison, The Band, The Raspberries, & Tom Petty, to name a few, this is a live, interactive episode you won't want to miss!  

Join us this & every Thursday at 4 PM on the Eventide Facebook page for a special live episode. This week, our hosts will be joined by producer/engineer Kevin Killen, Tony Shanahan & Lenny Kaye of The Patti Smith Band, James Mastro (owner of Hoboken's Guitar Bar & member of The Bongos), & Gerry Leonard, best known for his work with David Bowie. So tune in on the Eventide Facebook where our hosts will be taking listener questions.

Join us each Thursday at 4PM EDT Live on the Eventide Facebook Page for a special live stream episode! Tune in, ask questions & hang out with us in the comments as we chat with a bunch of our industry friends, both old & new! This Thursday, April 16 we talk with William Wittman, along Rob Hyman & Eric Bazilian of The Hooters

Jules Standen is a producer, engineer, and founder of the audio website gearslutz.com. Beginning in 2002 as a forum for engineers, Gearslutz has grown into a Mecca for all things audio, from gear forums and classifieds, to gear databases and reviews, Q&A sessions with famous producers and engineers, and a worldwide audio community. Jules began his career in music in the early ’80s at Matrix Studios in London, working with the likes of The Smiths and Siouxsie and the Banshees. He went on to a successful freelance career as a producer and engineer, before devoting his full attention to the website. Listen in as Jules talks to John and Stewart about how he got started, demo production, click tracks, and the beginnings and future of Gearslutz.com.

In this episode, the guys chat with musician, composer, Professor, filmmaker, music technologist, and author, Paul Lehrman. Paul was in NYC for the 2019 AES convention and stopped by Sear Sound to talk with John & Stewart about his career in the music industry. Listen in as Paul shares his deep knowledge of MIDI, the history of early electronic instruments and music, playing the bassoon, orchestrating performances of the near lost 1924 electro-mechanical composition “Ballet Mecanique” and more.

Sylvia Massy is a producer, mixer, recording engineer, educator, and author who has worked with everyone from Tool to Johnny Cash. In addition to hosting a Mix with the Masters workshop at AES 2019, Sylvia was part of a panel discussion with other women on their experiences working with Prince, hosted by the Women’s Audio Mission. At AES, she made time to come sit down with us at Sear Sound to talk about her studio in Ashland, Oregon, current work, mentors, mixing, and of course, a few Prince stories.

Everyone at Gear Club was saddened to hear of the passing of The Left Banke’s Steve Martin Caro, singer of Walk Away Renée. That song was the subject of a Gear Club song of the week, first appearing in episode 20. Eventide co-founder Steve Katz worked with The Left Banke back in the 60’s and recently related some details of Walk Away Renée’s recording to Gear Club. This episode is a reprint of that Song of the Week, followed by Steve Katz’s memories and insights into the recording.

This is the final installment of our 3-part series surrounding the Eventide H9000. In part three, the guys talk to the H9000 developers as a group and wrap up with Joe Bamberg, who wasn’t able to make the group interview.

This episode is the second in our three-part series surrounding the Eventide H9000. In this episode, John and Stewart talk with Pete Bischoff, Tim Sternfeld and Don Elwell about how they got to Eventide, the projects they've worked on at Eventide and their own backgrounds in music and technology.

In 2018 Eventide’s flagship multi-effects processor, the H9000, received a TEC Award in the category of Signal Processing Hardware. Being such a powerful and innovative tool, we wanted to find out more about the work that went into its development, and get to know the people behind it. The staff at Eventide were kind enough to sit down with Stewart and John to talk about the H9000, Eventide, and their own backgrounds in music and technology. This is a three-part series, with individual and group interviews with the team that designed and developed the H9000. In part 1, the guys talk to Greg Kellum, Jackson Firlik, and Russell Wedelich.

This is part two of our interview with the incomparable engineer and mixer Shelly Yakus. In this episode, Shelly offers advice on how to be a good assistant and talks about his own training underneath the likes of Roy Cicala and Phil Ramone. He also discusses recording to digital vs. analog, mixing methods, and building recording studios.

Shelly Yakus is a true living legend of music and recording. His mixing and engineering work has helped shape the sound of rock and pop music. With credits including Tom Petty, John Lennon, Patti Smith, U2, Van Morrison, The Band, Lou Reed, Stevie Nicks, Meatloaf, Madonna, the list goes on and on, and on. Shelly has an unrivaled work ethic and deep understanding of the studio, knowledge that he has passed down to generations of engineers and producers who have had the pleasure of working with him. This is part one of a two-part interview with Shelly, where he shares some of that wisdom, along with stories from the studio and his personal journey through the music industry, from working at his father’s Ace Recording Studios in Boston, To New York City’s Record Plant, building studios for A&M Records, and beyond.

At this year’s AES Convention, Gear Club camped out in Studio A at the venerated Sear Sound in New York City for two great days of interviews with visiting engineers, producers, and artists. During this time, Kurt Vile stopped by to talk with the guys about his writing and recording process, meeting some of his musical heroes, his current projects, and collaborating in the studio. A singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist based in Philadelphia, Kurt has worked extensively with Gear Club’s very own John Agnello. He has spent over a decade bouncing between touring and recording with his band the Violators, as a solo act, and in collaborations with Courtney Barnett, The Sadies, and others. Kurt recently wrapped up a tour with Dinosaur Jr., and will be playing with The Violators January 18th at the 4xFar festival in Thermal, CA.

This week, John and Stewart sit down with Dan Korneff. Dan has spent the past few decades producing, recording and mixing some of the biggest names in new rock including Paramore, Pierce the Veil, Breaking Benjamin, Sleeping With Sirens, and My Chemical Romance. For the past eight years, he’s operated out of Sonic Debris, his 2000 square foot multi-room recording studio in West Babylon, NY. Dan talks to the guys about building & modifying his eclectic collection of gear, moving from assisting to engineering & producing, and his recording process, from pre-production to mastering.

This week, John and Stewart sit down with a man who has worn many hats, Steve Addabbo. Steve got his start as a musician and studio technician, but continued on to managing, producing, engineering, and mixing. He played a key role in launching the careers of Suzanne Vega and Shawn Colvin, and has owned and run the New York City recording studio Shelter Island Sound for over 30 years. Steve has also mixed numerous Bob Dylan box sets, winning a Grammy in 2015 for his work on “The Cutting Edge”. Listen in as Steve shares his insights and experiences from almost 50 years of working in the music industry.