Idiots With Instruments

Joining us today is Dan Coutant, owner of Sun Room Audio, a world-class audio mastering studio located in New Windsor, NY. For over a decade Dan has worked with band and labels from around the world to produce amazing polished music. His studio is purpose-built specifically for mastering and critical listening and his focus on excellence and customer care is second to none. He is a true sorcerer of sound and a super nice fella.

Today is a very special episode. We are airing an uncut practice session to show you how easy it is to get distracted and spend your time working on nonsense. But, don't "get it twisted" as the kids say...Do they still say that? Who cares. The main message here is is: IF IT AIN'T FUN, DON'T DO IT.

Today we have the extreme pleasure of talking with Sonnet Simmons, award-winning singer/songwriter, vocal coach and Vice President of CATCH THE MOON MUSIC LLC. She also runs 6FigureSongWriter.com, an extensive training suite where you can learn everything there is to know about writing music for sync and licensing!

Joining us today is Chris Albright, Licensing and Supervision dude at Audiosocket. For those of you unfamiliar, Audiosocket is a music licensing company that gives media creators a way to quickly discover and license music. Before working at Audiosocket, Chris worked for the infamous record label, Victory Records as the music licensing and publishing specialist. He has a deep knowledge of the dark art of placing music in media and has experience with all the aspects of music publishing and licensing.

Andris is Poom-less as we speak to Chris Aiken, our new bestest pal, and bass-player of STRUNG OUT! Chris is super awesome and talks at length about his love for music, his career, and how he's found a fulfilling side hustle while on tour: giving lessons to fans! It's endlessly fascinating and a super good idea! You should do it too!

This episode starts with some crazy news: Andris shaved his poom and is now the co-bassist of Strung Out. Crazy, right? We do some more jamming then, we talk about THE GREAT PIVOT. Much like a nimble Silicon Valley startup, Red Hot Rebellion prides itself on being able to change strategies when the market and the mood strikes us. Paradigm shifts, synergy, disrupting, MVPs, and cheese-moving abound!

Joining us today is Vinnie Fiorello of the legendary band Less Than Jake! Vinnie is a god damn Renaissance man of punk rock and cool shit. He is the co-founder of Fueled by Ramen Records, founder of Paper and Plastick Records, an author, a toy-maker, a tattoo shop owner and the drummer of Less Than Jake (the only band to rival Kiss in the sheer volume of band merchandise they’ve created in their 26-year career).

Dino Monoxelos has shared the stage with countless household names, recorded numerous sessions and performed in the pit orchestras of many Broadway shows. He is the author of four books with the legendary music educator Mel Bay and has written instructional columns for Bass Guitar Magazine and Bass Frontiers Magazine. Currently, he is an active educator and clinician, currently serving as Senior Product Specialist/Clinician for Ampeg Amplifiers, where he is affectionately known as “The Ampeg Guy.”

Joining us today is Josh Rabinowitz, executive vice president and Director of Music at Grey Townhouse WPP where he heads up the United States’ largest in-house music team and services major international advertising clientele. Josh is widely recognized as an industry leader in Music Supervision, Content Production and Programming and is considered by many to be “the voice” of Music inBranding and Advertising.

Ever wonder how to get your music onto a Spotify Playlist? Us too! In this action-packed episode, we interview George Goodrich, CEO Playlist Push, a service that helps of musicians get their music on Spotify playlists. George offers advice on how to gain millions of streams, make money and gain attention from labels and talent buyers.  Become a patron of Idiots With Instrument and help us continue making great shows and music! CLICK HERE:  http://www.idiotswithinstruments.com

We start out talking about Doug’s sweet rock n roll sweater vest and how he hurt his finger and is now horribly disfigured. Then, we get to work on writing 6 new songs. OK, that’s an over exaggeration. We start ONE new song called, “Come Out Swinging.” But, for some reason, we spell it weird on the whiteboard as, “Cum Oot Swanging.” Don’t mock our creative process!

Doug storms out at the beginning of the episode so Jim and Andris carry on chatting. We recounted our recent experience recording at Encore Studio and talk about Jim and Andris’s two-piece punk side project, Fifty Dollar Famous.

Have you ever wondered how songs get placed in movies, TV and Web shows? Well, you’re in luck. In this exciting episode, we talk with our good friend, music supervisor, BEN HOCHSTEIN. Ben has extensive experience in music placement and clearance for scripted, reality, and live programming. Some of his career highlights include work on shows for Netflix, Paramount, TV Land, Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, Bravo, NBC, ESPN, CMT, TBS, the WWE, NBCSN, MTV and more.

If you’ve ever been interested in how we arrange songs, this is a good example. We take different riffs and chord progressions and, through trial and error, put it all together into something that actually sounds like a solid start to a song. After working everything out, we descend into complete insanity and by the end of the episode, we not only have a new song, but also a brand new crappy TV sitcom. All in all, a typical day for Red Hot Rebellion

We talk to Nick Tieder, the General Manager of Frontiers Music North America. Frontiers Music was born in Italy in the mid-90s and quickly became synonymous with high-quality rock and metal. While Frontiers has been busy mining the wealth of rock n roll talent in the UK and Scandinavian scenes, signing, developing, and nurturing US bands has become a massive priority for the label. Nick has over 20 years experience and is currently located in Nashville, TN.

Jim conducts an in-depth interview with Songwriter/Producer Friedemann Findeisen, creator of the Holistic Songwriting methodology.  Friedemann is a best-selling author and a Bachelor of Music. He has written over 1000 pieces of music in a wide variety of styles (listen to the showreel here). He is a frequent guest speaker at conservatories all over Europe. Holistic Songwriting means no-BS, hardcore songwriting technique for professionals. No more, no less.

We start out again by saying we have no agenda for the episode. Imagine that! Us not being prepared! But then we decide to play all the new songs we’ve been working on. We have a series of have serious technical problems that cause us to get completely slap happy. Shit keeps breaking and then the episodes ends in a dramatic finish.

We go back to the woodshed and start working on a brand ass new song. This is a good example of taking different parts and slapping them together, seeing what works, what doesn’t, changing tempos, keys, etc. to make something out of nothing. Then, everything falls the F apart. Good times!

We play some music and then, we talk to the King of Partying, Andrew W.K.! Andrew talks about the mystery and majesty of songwriting. Philosophical musings abound! Andrew's new album, You're Not Alone, is a powerhouse of life-affirming party rock anthems. Andrew played almost the entire thing himself! Holy shit! Indeed he is The One Man Party Machine! He is the epitome of DIYing music. A true master.

This is definitely one of the wildest episodes we've recorded to date. We had the extreme pleasure to talk to Snow, you know, the Informer guy. He's a super nice guy and has an INCREDIBLE story.  Snow is a Guinness Book World Record Holder, a former prison inmate (twice!), a Kiss fan, and a gifted musician.  Our conversation covers all of these points and many many more.  The big takeaway is: let go, and let it flow!

We start this fine episode by reflecting on (and playing) the two new songs we have in the works. Doug gets pissy. Jim makes fun of him. Andris is awkward. Next, we interview Mark Ignoffo, recording engineer to the stars. Mark got his start in Chicago and recorded some amazing bands, including a very young Smashing Pumpkins. He also played on a few Smashing Pumpkins songs that made it on their first album. And he recounts that Billy Corgan had the loudest amp he’s ever recorded.

We start out chitty chatting about nonsense then get down to work on two new songs: “Sweaty Betty” and “Holdin’ It Down.” Jim has trouble remembering his parts, as usual. And accidentally identifies this episode as episode 7. It’s not. It’s episode 8 (or 9 if you count episode zero as episode 1...nevermind).  Doug accidentally spits out some music theory and amazes us all. Andris keeps talking about how fat he is but he is far from the fattest member of the Red Hot Rebellion. Progress is ma

Today we talk to our friend and brochacho, Ryan Malott of 500 MILES TO MEMPHIS. Ryan takes us through his songwriting and recording process and offers some insight on what it's like being in a hardworking independent band slugging it out on the highways and bi-ways of America. Ryan's work ethic is second to none, and his music is goddamn fantastic. He's also a fan of the show, so the conversation devolves into a series of callbacks to previous episodes and general silliness.

“Who’s the idiot and who’s got the instruments?” -John Fryer In this episode, we interview the world-famous producer, John Fryer and ask him how we can possibly make songs one tenth as good as the ones he’s helped create. John is most well known for his production work for bands like Nine Inch Nails, Depeche Mode, White Zombie, Cocteau Twins, Jesus Jones, Love and Rockets, Stabbing Westward and his own music projects This Mortal Coil, Dark Drive Clinic and Black Need Noise.

We have an arrangement for another new song that we're tentatively calling, "All Teef (F the F)." Jim forgot his "order up" bell but magically some bell-like sound effects show up anyway.  Some advice for the studio and live environment are shared. When you tune your instrument, MUTE YOUR INSTRUMENT. No one wants to hear that stuff. It's a sign of an amateur. Don't do it. It makes everyone crazy.

We have the extreme pleasure to talk to singer/songwriter, Stolar, who in the past four years has written over 1,000 songs. Stolar shares with us some of his songwriting philosophy and techniques and boggles our minds with his organization and life skills. After the interview, we decompress and discuss our thoughts on rockin’ music and what we’re trying to accomplish as a band. Then, as usual, we devolve into extremely immature banter that has nothing to do with anything.

On this exciting episode, we welcome our first guest, producer, engineer and damn fine human being, Chris Suttle. Chris talks about how he got his start in recording as well as the importance of working with a producer or engineer that fits with the bands' personality. We all give some "what not to do" tips for the studio.

In the last episode, we gave Doug some homework and boy, did he deliver. Doug brings 38 starts to songs -- different riffs and chord progressions he has recorded while writing at home. This episode is an excellent example of exploring the possibilities of a new song and letting the music try to lead you in the right direction. We go in a lot of different directions, trying out different styles, tempos, etc. before getting something we like. Feast your ears on the majesty.

We talk at length about writing music. Then, lo and behold! we actually write some new music! But it happens waaay at the end of the episode. Jim brings an article about “ridiculous songwriting tips” that he found on the Internet. After initially critiquing the article, the lads find some helpful gems to help spark creativity. Also found in the article? Silly bullshit. But it might help you too, so keep an open mind.

Doug goes into an in-depth conversation about his new amplifier. He also swears this is the last amp he will ever buy, which we know is bullshit, but we humor him and let him gush about this amazing gush-worthy amplifier. Then it gets a little weird, as Doug and Andris start objectifying music gear. Then, we shift gears and talk at length about pre-production, getting ready for the studio, and the importance of being prepared before your step a foot in a recording studio.

We play an older song, a new song and then the conversation devolves into a therapy session for struggling with perfection and imposter syndrome. Jim has a minor meltdown about how his voice is out of shape and how writing vocal melodies is difficult due to his singing style. Also discussed are the differences between playing live and when recording. Some tips for recording vocals, guitar and drums are shared.

In this episode, Jim, Doug, and Andris take fall ass-backward into a quest to make the most magnificent rock n roll record in history. The lads lay the foundation for what's to come on the Idiots With Instruments as well as take a trip down memory lane to discover Red Hot Rebellion is a little older of a band than some of them thought.  And in true Red Hot Rebellion fashion, they pledge to do something insane: drag the public along with them as they endeavor to write and record their new album.