Podcast appearances and mentions of Al Schmitt

Paula is a Music Studio Executive with 30+ years of experience.She has been an anchor of excellence in the L. A. Recording World, from Kendun to Sound CIty to Capitol Studios, and is held in the highest esteem amongst her colleagues, artists, producers and record labels. As Vice President of Capitol Studios, she has worked with top line artists including Paul McCartney, James Taylor, Barbra Streisand, DIana Krall, Frank Sinatra, amongst others. She was instrumental in securing a "Star" on the Hollywood Walk of Famefor the beloved and legendary engineer, Al Schmitt, who was both her dear friend and loyal client for years at Capitol Studios. She continues to leverage her expertise and experience, to ensure client satisfaction and secure long lasting relationships in all her endeavors.She is a recipient of a She Rock" Legend Award and is a member of NARAS, SCL,Guild of Music Supervisors, Board Member of Pacific Jazz Orchestra, and is featured in Dave Grohl's documentary, "Sound CIty".

Make mine a phantom center! Steve talked about the birth of mixing in Atmos, recording strings for the last Beatles song, Now And Then, how to record immersively, building a home mixing studio, mics for strings, object bed mixing, and the LFE sub. Get access to FREE mixing mini-course: https://MixMasterBundle.com My guest today is Steve Genewick a Grammy-nominated recording engineer with 30 years of experience, both as a studio and live recording and mix engineer. Steve has had the pleasure of working at iconic recording studios around the world such as United Recording, East West Studios, Sunset Sound and Village Recorders in Los Angeles, Abbey Road and Angel studios in London and La Fabrique Studios in France. For 20 years, Steve had the great honor of working alongside the legendary 23-time Grammy award-winning producer and engineer, Al Schmitt. They worked with artists such as Diana Krall, Chris Botti, Gladys Knight, Neil Young, George Benson, Quincy Jones, Burt Bacharach and Paul McCartney. Steve also joined Al for “Mix With The Masters” seminars for nine years in the south of France, in addition to collaborating on their instructional film “The Art of Recording a Big Band”. Steve worked primarily out of the famed Capitol Studios in Hollywood as a staff engineer from 1994 to 2022. At Capitol, he worked with countless renowned artists such as Elton John, Bastille and Trisha Yearwood. Steve was among the first studio mixers to begin mixing music in Dolby Atmos, working on projects with Beck, Gregory Porter, LL Cool J, Sam Smith and Niall Horan, and on the popular video game Apex Legends. In 2017, Steve received the Pensado Award for Best Recording Engineer. He was also a part of the Universal Audio and Capitol Studios team that won a 2020 TEC Award for their Capitol Chambers plugin. Check out Steve's earlier episode on RSR231. Thanks to Matt BOUDREAU at the Working Class Audio podcast for making our introduction! THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS! http://UltimateMixingMasterclass.com https://gracedesign.com/ https://www.native-instruments.com use code ROCK10 to get 10% off! https://lewitt.link/rockstars https://iZotope.com use code ROCK10 to get 10% off! https://www.adam-audio.com https://RecordingStudioRockstars.com/Academy  https://www.thetoyboxstudio.com/ Listen to this guest's discography on Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/playlist/steve-genewick-atmos-mixes/pl.u-76oNkrMF1JKbp If you love the podcast, then please leave a review: https://RSRockstars.com/Review CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE SHOW NOTES AT: https://RSRockstars.com/447

Yo what's up this is toru and in a way so are you.For those of you who don't know me, I'm a music producer, artist, and entrepreneur.I make music for that space between the dance floor and the bedroom, which has been streamed millions of times and licensed by brands big and small, including companies like Apple.I believe that regardless of what you produce, whether it be music, art, physical goods, or even spreadsheets, you have a process, whether you know it or not.To explore this further, I created The ProducerHead Podcast.ProducerHead is a place to have conversations with Producers about their experience and process to share what works and what doesn't. To help each of us learn and improve our own processes along the way.Today's guest is Eric Boulanger, a professional mastering engineer and founder of The Bakery, a Los Angeles-based mastering studio.Eric has mastered GRAMMY-award winning and nominated projects, including work with Green Day, Hozier, Selena Gomez, The Doors...and the list goes on.I won't spoil the surprise, but Eric even had the chance to re-master a beloved childhood record.If that weren't enough,Eric was mentored by industry legend Al Schmitt, who, if you don't already know, won GRAMMYs for projects that include:George Benson's Breezin',Toto's Toto IV,Qunicy Jones' Q's Jook Joint,Luis Miguel's Amarte Es Un Placer,Ray Charles Genius Loves Company,Chick Corea's The Ultimate Adventure, andSteely Dan's Aja.I mean. That is a list. And, for the record that is not a complete list.In this conversation we dive into   - Learning to trust your own ears and preferences.   - His take on digital v. analog gear in creating quality music.   - How knowledge of mastering can influence your production and mixing work.   - Some of his favorite tools and plug-ins   - Selecting reference tracks for your own mixes and masters.   - His experience as a musician and its ongoing role in his life and career.   - The importance of resting your ears outside of work.   What I really appreciate about Eric and this conversation is what seems to be a strongly held belief to not offer shortcuts and tactics. Instead, Eric presents questions that encourage us to think and further develop our own working philosophies as well as our ears. I'm stoked to share this episode with you. It is full of gems.Alright, here we go, Episode 7 of ProducerHead with Eric Boulanger, starts now.That's it for this episode of ProducerHead. Appreciate you coming through and being a part of it. My hope is that it helps you unlock a bit more creativity and find progress in a way that matters to you.Before we go:There are three simple and zero cost ways to support the ProducerHead Podcast.1 - Tap in and subscribe or follow wherever you're listening, whether it be Spotify or Apple.2- If you haven't already, drop a review on Apple or Spotify. The feedback is appreciated and helps me continue to do what's working while improving along the way.3 - Send this episode to one person who would enjoy it. Do not underestimate the power of word of mouth. The most old school of methods are often the most effective.Finally, let's stay connected:I regularly share ideas that help me develop my creative process along with music recommendations, and even give away free music and sample packs. Head to torubeat.com and sign up to receive all of these things and stay up on all things ProducerHead.You can also stay connected with me and the Podcast, @torubeat on Instagram, YouTube, and tiktok.The theme music is one of my own songs. It is called “Room To Breathe” and available on all streaming platforms.Again. For real. Thanks for being here with me and I look forward to catching you in the next episode of ProducerHead.This has been toru, and in a way, so are you.Peace.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/producerhead/donations This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit torubeat.substack.com

Ten years ago, on a bit of a whim, I invited bassist Will Lee to come over to my home studio in Brooklyn to do an interview with me for a new project I was starting: a podcast. A year or two earlier, my friend Michael Fusco-Straub had turned me on to Marc Maron's WTF podcast, and I was totally hooked on the concept of casual long form interviews among peers. At the time Maron spoke almost exclusively to comics, and I thought there might be a space for something similar but focused on music. Although I didn't have any real experience as a journalist or a broadcaster, I knew I could do it. In fact, maybe more than anything else I've ever done professionally, it was the most natural decision I can ever remember making.  But the format was a bit of a mystery. Who was I supposed to be? An expert on music? A friend of my guests? I thought maybe we would perform together. Or maybe they would demonstrate something. Or maybe it would be a document of the local scene in New York - in the early episodes I asked my guests “where are you coming from today” and “where are you going after this”. Actually, those are pretty good questions. Maybe I should go back to asking them again.  I spent a month futzing with my Will Lee interview, carefully editing each pause and “um”, working and reworking the introduction. I designed a crude logo based on a Google Earth image of my house in Park Slope, and built a website on Squarespace.  I posted the episode and sent an email to my friends to explain the new project. I wrote:  Since moving to New York nine years ago, I have tossed around the idea of conducting informal interviews with musicians in my studio when they come in to record. Over the years so many great players and singers have shared tremendous insights and history with me, and it seemed like such a missed opportunity not to record it. Of course, everything changes when the “red light” is on, so the question for me became how to maintain that same level of spontaneity and candor in a somewhat more formal setting. Then I sat nervously with a pit in my stomach, not knowing what I had just done. Would anyone like it? Would anyone care? Was I any good at it?  Ten years and 268 episodes later, I continue to refine, to tweak and futz, to agonize and scramble to the finish line every time. As I write these words it is 12:30am, and I sit in my darkened studio - essentially an extension of my bedroom - with my wife, Amanda asleep just a few feet away, and our daughter asleep in the next room. That is to say that The Third Story has become an extension not only of my life, but of my entire household. Fortunately the initial nausea has passed but it has been replaced by a constant sense of urgency to get the next episode finished.  I have also developed a style, an unstructured but intentional approach to talking to people, in search of a narrative thread in each journey, an attempt to get somewhere together. Sometimes it's more technical, sometimes it's more esoteric, sometimes it's personal. There is no real theme to the show, and there is no real dogma. If it's interesting to me, the hope is that it will be interesting to others too.  The good news about an ongoing show like this one is that there's always another episode to make, so you can never get too precious about any of them because there will be more. The bad news is the same as the good news: no matter how much time you spend on one episode, or how good it was, you still have to make another one, and you're probably already behind schedule. The project has become a way of moving through both space and time for me. It provides a kind of structure when I travel - nearly everywhere I have gone over the last decade, I have returned home with at least one interview.  Whether talking to Gabriela Quintero in Mexico, Jorge Drexler in Spain, Madeleine Peyroux in Paris, Butch Vig in Los Angeles, Howard Levy in Chicago, David Garibaldi in Oakland, David Maraniss in Madison, or Jack Stratton in Cleveland, the interviews have provided purpose to my movement through the world.  I have traveled specifically to cover jazz festivals like Copenhagen, Newport, Montreal and Umbria, and chronicled my own tours too. I have used the platform to mark the passage of time and significant events along the way. From The 2016 and 2020 Elections to the Covid outbreak, from my 45th birthday to my father's 80th, from the 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris to memorializing lost friends like Tommy LiPuma, Clyde Stubblefield, Tim Luntzel or Richie Cole.  I have captured both first and final conversations with some remarkable people. I did the first long form interview with Jacob Collier in his house in London in 2014, and the last long form interview with Creed Taylor in his New York apartment 2015. Interviews with Peter Straub, Howard Becker, Clifford Irving, George Wein and Al Schmitt now live on as part of their legacies.  While The Third Story has never become what you might call “popular” it has become kind of a cult show. I continue to be astounded when I meet someone who knows the show. It happens more often than I expect, and I have made more than a few real meaningful friendships that way too.  When several years ago I was invited to publish my episodes on All About Jazz, I knew I was making credible content. When in 2022 I was asked to partner with WBGO Studios, it was an acknowledgement that I was on the right path, and when we won a Signal Award in 2023 I was further encouraged.  By the way, my logo was eventually redesigned by a real graphic designer, Michael Fusco-Straub (the same guy who turned me on to Marc Maron to begin with). Last month, on another whim, I called Will Lee again to see if he would like to meet up for a reunion and to help me celebrate my tenth anniversary. When I first talked to Will for episode one, he was still performing nightly on The Late Show with David Letterman and we talked about his career as one of the most recorded bassists in history, his early education, playing on Letterman, his solo projects… the kind of general overview conversation that has come to loosely define what I do here. This time was more casual and more conversational. We sat on the couch in his Manhattan apartment and traded quips, and I managed to gently extract some new information from him.  Then I asked my wife, Amanda, to join me to help process this anniversary in more domestic terms: how does it look and feel to live with someone who is constantly in the process of mining another life story for content and making podcast episodes? What are the similarities between her career as a yoga teacher and mine as a… whatever I am? What do raising a child and producing a podcast have in common? It was extremely entertaining, as is usually the case when Amanda joins me on the show.  At the risk of getting too sentimental, I will simply say that making The Third Story is one of the great privileges and joys of my life, I am grateful to all of the extraordinary people who have shared their stories with me, and I am even more grateful to you for listening to it. www.third-story.com www.patreon.com/thirdstorypodcast www.wbgo.org/studios www.leosidran.substack.com  

My guest is Paula Salvatore, VP of Client Relations & Studio Marketing, Universal Music Group. Paula has worked with Al Schmitt, Paul McCartney, John Mayer, Frank Sinatra, Quincy Jones, Diana Krall, Phil Ramone & David Foster. She has worked 33 1/3 years in Capitol Studios/UMG Studios. Paula is featured in Dave Grohl's documentary "Sound City" as the Studio Manager in the 80s. She was instrumental in getting Al Schmitt a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in front of the Capitol Records building. In this episode, we discuss The Rolling Stones Sewing Clothes The Fashion Path Kendun Studios First Job at a Recording Studio Rose Mann-Cherney Candace Stewart Sound City Capitol Studios Rental Furniture The Front Office Al Schmitt Women in Studios Basic Human Skills Supporting Clients Matt's Rant: Revisiting Saying No to Work Links and Show Notes Paula on Instagram Paula on Linkedin Capitol Studios Candace Stewart on WCA Al Schmitt & Steve Genewick on WCA Credits Guest: Paula Salvatore Host: Matt Boudreau Engineer: Matt Boudreau Producer: Matt Boudreau Editing: Anne-Marie Pleau  WCA Theme Music: Cliff Truesdell  Announcer: Chuck Smith  

Over the almost 500 episodes of the Inner Circle podcast I've had some excellent guests that are true legends in the music business. One is the late Al Schmitt, who unfortunately left us in 2021.  Al won 20 Grammy awards over his long career, recorded and mixed over 150 gold and platinum albums, and even had his own star on Hollywood's Walk Of Fame appropriately in front of his beloved studio home, Capitol Records Studios. In this replay from November 2018, we talked about his stint as a staff producer for RCA, working with Paul McCartney, his favorite instrument to record, some of his favorite gear and techniques, and much more. I originally spoke with all via phone from his home outside of Los Angeles. var podscribeEmbedVars = { epId: 88753248, backgroundColor: 'white', font: undefined, fontColor: undefined, speakerFontColor: undefined, height: '600px', showEditButton: false, showSpeakers: true, showTimestamps: true };

Los Angeles; Sr. Managing Director, Producers & Engineers Wing and Recording Technology, Recording Academy. A former recording engineer, Maureen has worked on GRAMMY winning recordings for artists including Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, and Santana—as well as well as on numerous other projects, including two Billboard Number One Dance songs. She has a degree in Broadcast Communication Arts from California State University, San Francisco, and has taught seminars on the theory and practice of recording for companies including ABC and CBS Television. She has also worked in both artist and studio management, was the longtime Los Angeles editor for Mix magazine, and has published three books related to recording. Her most recent, co-written with its subject, is Al Schmitt on the Record: The Magic Behind the Music, chronicling the life and career of the most awarded recording engineer in history.

This episode of Big Blend Radio features Will Hawkins, founder of Nine Mile Station Band, who are getting ready to release their self-titled album on July 21, 2023 with an album release show on July 29 at The Troubador. Mixed by multi-grammy award-winning producer Al Schmitt and engineered by grammy-award winning Niko Bolas, the album features 11 original cuts of modern Americana, with influences as diverse as Tom Petty, Fleetwood Mac, Bruce Springsteen, Wilco, Nick Cave, Neil Young and Bob Dylan. WATCH THIS PODCAST WITH MUSIC VIDEOS ON YOUTUBE: https://youtu.be/BXmDvwCYonI  NINE MILE STATION are: Will Hawkins - Lead vocals and guitar Fernando Perdomo - Lead Guitar Nick Moran - Drums Brendan Vasquez - Bass More at https://www.ninemilestationmusic.com/ 

This episode of Big Blend Radio features Will Hawkins, founder of Nine Mile Station Band, who are getting ready to release their self-titled album on July 21, 2023 with an album release show on July 29 at The Troubador. Mixed by multi-grammy award-winning producer Al Schmitt and engineered by grammy-award winning Niko Bolas, the album features 11 original cuts of modern Americana, with influences as diverse as Tom Petty, Fleetwood Mac, Bruce Springsteen, Wilco, Nick Cave, Neil Young and Bob Dylan.WATCH THIS PODCAST WITH MUSIC VIDEOS ON YOUTUBE: https://youtu.be/BXmDvwCYonININE MILE STATION are:Will Hawkins - Lead vocals and guitarFernando Perdomo - Lead GuitarNick Moran - DrumsBrendan Vasquez - BassMore at https://www.ninemilestationmusic.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

My guest on this episode is Eric Boulanger, who's the founder of The Bakery mastering studio as well as a professional studio violinist.  A protege of legendary mastering engineer Doug Sax, Eric has mastered GRAMMY-winning or nominated projects for Green Day, Hozier, Selena Gomez, Colbie Caillat, OneRepublic, Imagine Dragons, Neil Young, The Plain White T's, Chris Botti, and many more. A classically trained violinist since the age of three with over two decades of professional experience, Eric has trained at such renowned institutions as The Juilliard School, Manhattan School of Music and Tanglewood. His performances and recordings range from orchestral and chamber music, Broadway musicals, contemporary pop music, and film/television scores. In part 1 of the interview we spoke about playing in the string section on Family Guy sessions, working as an intern at Capitol Studios with Al Schmitt, rebuilding the vinyl cutting room at Mastering Lab, having the legendary Doug Sax as a mentor, and much more. I spoke with Eric via Zoom from his home in Los Angeles. On the intro I'll take a look at the class-action lawsuit filed against DistriKid over music takedown notices, and Sonible acquired by Audiotonix, and the Blue Microphone brand being sunsetted. In the upcoming part 2 of my interview with Eric, we'll talk about his unusual mastering studio, installing a familiar piece of equipment, the reason for the vinyl renaissance, why he chose the gear in his studio, and much more. var podscribeEmbedVars = { epId: 86526804, backgroundColor: 'white', font: undefined, fontColor: undefined, speakerFontColor: undefined, height: '600px', showEditButton: false, showSpeakers: true, showTimestamps: true };

Jackson Browne, Al Schmitt, and me.

Drawing on the concepts presented in Matt's book, Hooks: Lessons on Performance, Business, and Life from a Working Musician, Kat Edmonson joins Matt to discusschoosing the right environment to spark and capture inspiration,coping with criticism and expectations in high-exposure performance opportunities,gaining strength through improvement, perseverance, and creativity,realizing one's authentic aspirations and pursuing a new path, andfinding meaning and balance that transcends the public persona.  Kat Edmonson is an award-winning songwriter and singer "with an equal foothold in jazz, cabaret, and vintage cosmopolitanism pop" (The New York Times). She has been featured on Austin City Limits, Tiny Desk Concerts, A Prairie Home Companion, and The Late Show.The New York Times describes her music as "fresh as a spring bouquet," while NPR says, "Hearing Edmonson makes it virtually impossible to do anything but stop and listen."Kat holds a deep and longstanding commitment to creating the highest quality recordings possible, working with multi-GRAMMY®-award-winning producers and audio engineer legends Frank Filipetti, Fernando Lodeiro, Ed Cherney, Phil Ramone, and the recording giant Al Schmitt (24-time-GRAMMY®-award-winner) who said of Kat, "She is a tremendous talent … with a style and charm that reaches fans in the worlds of blues, rock, pop, and beyond."In 2013, The Songwriters Hall of Fame awarded Kat the Abe Olman Scholarship Award for Excellence in Songwriting. "Intuitive about melody and handy with a turn of phrase (The New York Times), the songsmith has been writing since she was a little girl, having published over 40 songs. JAZZIZ magazine says, "…her lasting contribution might very well be her songs." NPR says, "She's a savvy student of '60s film soundtracks, jazz-pop stylists, and Brill Building songcraft, nodding to her influences at every turn. But her take on those stylized musical languages is so fresh and fluent that the referencing never feels cumbersome." Her original song "Lucky" was featured in the Coca-Cola "Footprints" ad from the 2014 Winter Olympics.The Texas native began crafting her signature sound while performing in Austin's local club circuit for years before releasing her debut LP, Take To The Sky, in 2009. In addition to her headline tours, Kat has gone on the road in support of Lyle Lovett, Chris Isaak, Gary Clark, Jr., Jaime Cullum, and Shawn Colvin and has opened shows for Smokey Robinson, George Benson, Amos Lee, Michael Kiwanuka, Asleep at the Wheel, Nick Lowe, and Willie Nelson.Kat Edmonson lives in New York.In winter 2022, Kat made her theatrical debut in "The Hang,": a new jazz opera by Taylor Mac and Matt Ray. Upon its opening, the off-off Broadway show received "Critic's Pick" in The New York Times, highlighting Kat's "extraordinary artistry." About her performance, Vulture praises the burgeoning actress for her "weightless, soaring scat arias," The Wrap says, "Kat Edmonson emerges as the Teresa Stratus of off-off-Broadway." "The Hang" imagines the final hours of the life of Socrates as he asks his friends to use every moment left to think on virtue.Matt Wilson gained national exposure as the "Piano Man" in the First National Tour of Billy Joel and Twyla Tharp's Tony-award-winning musical Movin' Out. In 2005, the Texas State Senate honored Matt with a resolution for his achievements in Fine Arts, and he was accepted to the 2016 - 2018 Texas Commission on the Arts Touring Roster. Matt continues to tour with his band, headlining numerous public, private, and social events. In 2021, Matt released his first book, Hooks: Lessons on PerformaSupport the show

Duane Eddy, Lou Josie, Marty Cooper, David Gates, Al Schmitt, and me.

It's all about the vibe! Adam talked about recording the Bloc Party Alpha Games, overdubbing cymbals, recording like Al Schmitt, guitar pedals mixing in the box, why the Mini Moog has nothing new to say, and where to use Slate Virtual Console. Get access to FREE mixing mini-course: https://MixMasterBundle.com My guest today is Adam Greenspan A Grammy-nominated engineer, mixer, and producer who had a pretty good start to his career engineering Faith No More's “Album of the Year” at age 20. He later spent time at two world-class studios, Westlake Audio and The Village Recorder, working with artists such as Marilyn Manson, Rage Against the Machine, and Bono before going freelance in 2000. Adam has been a guest on the show for episode RSR289 when we talked about his background in music. Today we will see what's new in his studio. Thanks so much to Adris Evelis at JZ Microphones for making our introduction. THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS! https://UltimateMixingMasterclass.com https://www.Spectra1964.com https://MacSales.com/rockstars https://iZotope.com/Rockstars use code ROCK10 to get 10% off any individual plugin https://jzmic.com Use code ROCKSTAR to get 40% off the Vintage series mics plus get a FREE shock mount ($120 value) https://www.adam-audio.com https://RecordingStudioRockstars.com/Academy Use code ROCKSTAR to get 10% off https://www.thetoyboxstudio.com/ Listen to this guest's discography on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/41EUvInitzHuunTO3hsWOj?si=47e697a94ea445e8 If you love the podcast, then please leave a review: https://RSRockstars.com/Review CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE SHOW NOTES AT: https://RSRockstars.com/397

From session guitar player, to forming Toto, to winning multiple Grammys, to now touring the globe with Ringo Starr.... Steve Lukather has done it all, but a big part of his history takes place right here at Sunset Sound Recorders in Hollywood, CA. Steve returns to studio 2 to sit down with host Drew Dempsey, Sunset Sound owner Paul Camarata & long time friend/collaborator & recording engineer Niko Bolas to discuss his days playing on 100s of records with legendary producers like David Foster, to tracking Africa in studio 2 with Toto and Al Schmitt. It all happened here and sit back and listen to these amazing stories that only took place here at Sunset Sound. I promise this is the greatest Steve Lukather interview and Sunset Sound Roundtable ever!   ALSO.... 25 Limited Edition Toto "Africa" Work Orders!!! LINK BELOW! https://sunsetsoundstore.com/collecti...   Host: Drew Dempsey: https://www.instagram.com/dfdproducti... Filmed at Sunset Sound Recorders Studio 2 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sunsetsound... Facebook: @sunsetsoundrecorders Website: www.sunsetsound.com Merchandise: WWW.SUNSETSOUNDSTORE.COM   #toto #stevelukather #eddievanhalen

Grammy nominated recording engineer Steve Genewick has thirty years of experience, both as a studio and live recording and mix engineer. He has had the pleasure of working at legendary recording studios around the world such as Capitol Studios, United Recording, Village Recorders in LA, Abbey Road Studios in London, and La Fabrique in France. Steve has worked primarily out of Capitol Studios as a staff engineer since 1994. At Capitol Studios he has worked with countless artists such as Elton John, Bastille, and Trisha Yearwood. Steve was also amongst the first of studio mixers to begin mixing music in Dolby Atmos, working with artists such as Beck, Gregory Porter, LL Cool J and Nial Horan and on the popular video game Apex Legends. In 2017 he received the Pensado Award for Best Recording Engineer, and he was a part of the Universal Audio and Capitol Studios Team that won a TEC Award for the Capitol Chambers plugin at the 2020 NAMM Conference. For the last 20 years, Steve has had the great honor of collaborating with 23 time Grammy award winning engineer/producer Al Schmitt, working with artists such as Diana Krall, Chris Botti, Gladys Knight, Neil Young, George Benson, Quincy Jones, Burt Bacharach and Paul McCartney. Steve has also joined Al for Mix With the Masters seminars for the past seven years in addition to their collaboration on their instructional film “The Art of Recording a Big Band”.  When not working at Capitol, Steve works independently at numerous major recording studios in Los Angeles or at his home mixing studio. He has had the pleasure of working with the best in the business, and has always delivered to the highest of standards. IN THIS EPISODE, YOU'LL LEARN ABOUT: Working at Capitol Studios Learning in school vs. real world experience How to work your way up the ranks in a big studio What makes a great assistant engineer? Being adaptable How to be prepared for studio sessions Why the studio industry is actually the hospitality industry Learning to speak to musicians in their language Why engineering rock records isn't different than working in any other genre Working with the legendary Al Schmitt Work/life balance Being one of the first Atmos engineers Remixing classic albums for Atmos To learn more about Steve Genewick, visit: http://stevegenewick.com/ To learn more tips on how to improve your mixes, visit https://masteryourmix.com/ Download your FREE copy of the Ultimate Mixing Blueprint: https://masteryourmix.com/blueprint/ Get your copy of the #1 Amazon bestselling book, The Mixing Mindset – The Step-By-Step Formula For Creating Professional Rock Mixes From Your Home Studio: https://masteryourmix.com/mixingmindsetbook/ Join the FREE MasterYourMix Facebook community: https://links.masteryourmix.com/community To make sure that you don't miss an episode, make sure to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or on Android. Have your questions answered on the show. Send them to questions@masteryourmix.com Thanks for listening! Please leave a rating and review on iTunes!

Episode one hundred and fifty-eight of A History of Rock Music in Five Hundred Songs looks at “White Rabbit”, Jefferson Airplane, and the rise of the San Francisco sound. Click the full post to read liner notes, links to more information, and a transcript of the episode. Patreon backers also have a twenty-three-minute bonus episode available, on "Omaha" by Moby Grape. Tilt Araiza has assisted invaluably by doing a first-pass edit, and will hopefully be doing so from now on. Check out Tilt's irregular podcasts at http://www.podnose.com/jaffa-cakes-for-proust and http://sitcomclub.com/ Erratum I refer to Back to Methuselah by Robert Heinlein. This is of course a play by George Bernard Shaw. What I meant to say was Methuselah's Children. Resources I hope to upload a Mixcloud tomorrow, and will edit it in, but have had some problems with the site today. Jefferson Airplane's first four studio albums, plus a 1968 live album, can be found in this box set. I've referred to three main books here. Got a Revolution!: The Turbulent Flight of Jefferson Airplane by Jeff Tamarkin is written with the co-operation of the band members, but still finds room to criticise them. Jefferson Airplane On Track by Richard Molesworth is a song-by-song guide to the band's music. And Been So Long: My Life and Music by Jorma Kaukonen is Kaukonen's autobiography. Some information on Skip Spence and Matthew Katz also comes from What's Big and Purple and Lives in the Ocean?: The Moby Grape Story, by Cam Cobb, which I also used for this week's bonus. Patreon This podcast is brought to you by the generosity of my backers on Patreon. Why not join them? Transcript Before I start, I need to confess an important and hugely embarrassing error in this episode. I've only ever seen Marty Balin's name written down, never heard it spoken, and only after recording the episode, during the editing process, did I discover I mispronounce it throughout. It's usually an advantage for the podcast that I get my information from books rather than TV documentaries and the like, because they contain far more information, but occasionally it causes problems like that. My apologies. Also a brief note that this episode contains some mentions of racism, antisemitism, drug and alcohol abuse, and gun violence. One of the themes we've looked at in recent episodes is the way the centre of the musical world -- at least the musical world as it was regarded by the people who thought of themselves as hip in the mid-sixties -- was changing in 1967. Up to this point, for a few years there had been two clear centres of the rock and pop music worlds. In the UK, there was London, and any British band who meant anything had to base themselves there. And in the US, at some point around 1963, the centre of the music industry had moved West. Up to then it had largely been based in New York, and there was still a thriving industry there as of the mid sixties. But increasingly the records that mattered, that everyone in the country had been listening to, had come out of LA Soul music was, of course, still coming primarily from Detroit and from the Country-Soul triangle in Tennessee and Alabama, but when it came to the new brand of electric-guitar rock that was taking over the airwaves, LA was, up until the first few months of 1967, the only city that was competing with London, and was the place to be. But as we heard in the episode on "San Francisco", with the Monterey Pop Festival all that started to change. While the business part of the music business remained centred in LA, and would largely remain so, LA was no longer the hip place to be. Almost overnight, jangly guitars, harmonies, and Brian Jones hairstyles were out, and feedback, extended solos, and droopy moustaches were in. The place to be was no longer LA, but a few hundred miles North, in San Francisco -- something that the LA bands were not all entirely happy about: [Excerpt: The Mothers of Invention, "Who Needs the Peace Corps?"] In truth, the San Francisco music scene, unlike many of the scenes we've looked at so far in this series, had rather a limited impact on the wider world of music. Bands like Jefferson Airplane, the Grateful Dead, and Big Brother and the Holding Company were all both massively commercially successful and highly regarded by critics, but unlike many of the other bands we've looked at before and will look at in future, they didn't have much of an influence on the bands that would come after them, musically at least. Possibly this is because the music from the San Francisco scene was always primarily that -- music created by and for a specific group of people, and inextricable from its context. The San Francisco musicians were defining themselves by their geographical location, their peers, and the situation they were in, and their music was so specifically of the place and time that to attempt to copy it outside of that context would appear ridiculous, so while many of those bands remain much loved to this day, and many made some great music, it's very hard to point to ways in which that music influenced later bands. But what they did influence was the whole of rock music culture. For at least the next thirty years, and arguably to this day, the parameters in which rock musicians worked if they wanted to be taken seriously – their aesthetic and political ideals, their methods of collaboration, the cultural norms around drug use and sexual promiscuity, ideas of artistic freedom and authenticity, the choice of acceptable instruments – in short, what it meant to be a rock musician rather than a pop, jazz, country, or soul artist – all those things were defined by the cultural and behavioural norms of the San Francisco scene between about 1966 and 68. Without the San Francisco scene there's no Woodstock, no Rolling Stone magazine, no Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, no hippies, no groupies, no rock stars. So over the next few months we're going to take several trips to the Bay Area, and look at the bands which, for a brief time, defined the counterculture in America. The story of Jefferson Airplane -- and unlike other bands we've looked at recently, like The Pink Floyd and The Buffalo Springfield, they never had a definite article at the start of their name to wither away like a vestigial organ in subsequent years -- starts with Marty Balin. Balin was born in Ohio, but was a relatively sickly child -- he later talked about being autistic, and seems to have had the chronic illnesses that so often go with neurodivergence -- so in the hope that the dry air would be good for his chest his family moved to Arizona. Then when his father couldn't find work there, they moved further west to San Francisco, in the Haight-Ashbury area, long before that area became the byword for the hippie movement. But it was in LA that he started his music career, and got his surname. Balin had been named Marty Buchwald as a kid, but when he was nineteen he had accompanied a friend to LA to visit a music publisher, and had ended up singing backing vocals on her demos. While he was there, he had encountered the arranger Jimmy Haskell. Haskell was on his way to becoming one of the most prominent arrangers in the music industry, and in his long career he would go on to do arrangements for Bobby Gentry, Blondie, Steely Dan, Simon and Garfunkel, and many others. But at the time he was best known for his work on Ricky Nelson's hits: [Excerpt: Ricky Nelson, "Hello Mary Lou"] Haskell thought that Marty had the makings of a Ricky Nelson style star, as he was a good-looking young man with a decent voice, and he became a mentor for the young man. Making the kind of records that Haskell arranged was expensive, and so Haskell suggested a deal to him -- if Marty's father would pay for studio time and musicians, Haskell would make a record with him and find him a label to put it out. Marty's father did indeed pay for the studio time and the musicians -- some of the finest working in LA at the time. The record, released under the name Marty Balin, featured Jack Nitzsche on keyboards, Earl Palmer on drums, Milt Jackson on vibraphone, Red Callender on bass, and Glen Campbell and Barney Kessell on guitars, and came out on Challenge Records, a label owned by Gene Autry: [Excerpt: Marty Balin, "Nobody But You"] Neither that, nor Balin's follow-up single, sold a noticeable amount of copies, and his career as a teen idol was over before it had begun. Instead, as many musicians of his age did, he decided to get into folk music, joining a vocal harmony group called the Town Criers, who patterned themselves after the Weavers, and performed the same kind of material that every other clean-cut folk vocal group was performing at the time -- the kind of songs that John Phillips and Steve Stills and Cass Elliot and Van Dyke Parks and the rest were all performing in their own groups at the same time. The Town Criers never made any records while they were together, but some archival recordings of them have been released over the decades: [Excerpt: The Town Criers, "900 Miles"] The Town Criers split up, and Balin started performing as a solo folkie again. But like all those other then-folk musicians, Balin realised that he had to adapt to the K/T-event level folk music extinction that happened when the Beatles hit America like a meteorite. He had to form a folk-rock group if he wanted to survive -- and given that there were no venues for such a group to play in San Francisco, he also had to start a nightclub for them to play in. He started hanging around the hootenannies in the area, looking for musicians who might form an electric band. The first person he decided on was a performer called Paul Kantner, mainly because he liked his attitude. Kantner had got on stage in front of a particularly drunk, loud, crowd, and performed precisely half a song before deciding he wasn't going to perform in front of people like that and walking off stage. Kantner was the only member of the new group to be a San Franciscan -- he'd been born and brought up in the city. He'd got into folk music at university, where he'd also met a guitar player named Jorma Kaukonen, who had turned him on to cannabis, and the two had started giving music lessons at a music shop in San Jose. There Kantner had also been responsible for booking acts at a local folk club, where he'd first encountered acts like Mother McCree's Uptown Jug Champions, a jug band which included Jerry Garcia, Pigpen McKernan, and Bob Weir, who would later go on to be the core members of the Grateful Dead: [Excerpt: Mother McCree's Uptown Jug Champions, "In the Jailhouse Now"] Kantner had moved around a bit between Northern and Southern California, and had been friendly with two other musicians on the Californian folk scene, David Crosby and Roger McGuinn. When their new group, the Byrds, suddenly became huge, Kantner became aware of the possibility of doing something similar himself, and so when Marty Balin approached him to form a band, he agreed. On bass, they got in a musician called Bob Harvey, who actually played double bass rather than electric, and who stuck to that for the first few gigs the group played -- he had previously been in a band called the Slippery Rock String Band. On drums, they brought in Jerry Peloquin, who had formerly worked for the police, but now had a day job as an optician. And on vocals, they brought in Signe Toley -- who would soon marry and change her name to Signe Anderson, so that's how I'll talk about her to avoid confusion. The group also needed a lead guitarist though -- both Balin and Kantner were decent rhythm players and singers, but they needed someone who was a better instrumentalist. They decided to ask Kantner's old friend Jorma Kaukonen. Kaukonen was someone who was seriously into what would now be called Americana or roots music. He'd started playing the guitar as a teenager, not like most people of his generation inspired by Elvis or Buddy Holly, but rather after a friend of his had shown him how to play an old Carter Family song, "Jimmy Brown the Newsboy": [Excerpt: The Carter Family, "Jimmy Brown the Newsboy"] Kaukonen had had a far more interesting life than most of the rest of the group. His father had worked for the State Department -- and there's some suggestion he'd worked for the CIA -- and the family had travelled all over the world, staying in Pakistan, the Philippines, and Finland. For most of his childhood, he'd gone by the name Jerry, because other kids beat him up for having a foreign name and called him a Nazi, but by the time he turned twenty he was happy enough using his birth name. Kaukonen wasn't completely immune to the appeal of rock and roll -- he'd formed a rock band, The Triumphs, with his friend Jack Casady when he was a teenager, and he loved Ricky Nelson's records -- but his fate as a folkie had been pretty much sealed when he went to Antioch College. There he met up with a blues guitarist called Ian Buchanan. Buchanan never had much of a career as a professional, but he had supposedly spent nine years studying with the blues and ragtime guitar legend Rev. Gary Davis, and he was certainly a fine guitarist, as can be heard on his contribution to The Blues Project, the album Elektra put out of white Greenwich Village musicians like John Sebastian and Dave Van Ronk playing old blues songs: [Excerpt: Ian Buchanan, "The Winding Boy"] Kaukonen became something of a disciple of Buchanan -- he said later that Buchanan probably taught him how to play because he was such a terrible player and Buchanan couldn't stand to listen to it -- as did John Hammond Jr, another student at Antioch at the same time. After studying at Antioch, Kaukonen started to travel around, including spells in Greenwich Village and in the Philippines, before settling in Santa Clara, where he studied for a sociology degree and became part of a social circle that included Dino Valenti, Jerry Garcia, and Billy Roberts, the credited writer of "Hey Joe". He also started performing as a duo with a singer called Janis Joplin. Various of their recordings from this period circulate, mostly recorded at Kaukonen's home with the sound of his wife typing in the background while the duo rehearse, as on this performance of an old Bessie Smith song: [Excerpt: Jorma Kaukonen and Janis Joplin, "Nobody Loves You When You're Down and Out"] By 1965 Kaukonen saw himself firmly as a folk-blues purist, who would not even think of playing rock and roll music, which he viewed with more than a little contempt. But he allowed himself to be brought along to audition for the new group, and Ken Kesey happened to be there. Kesey was a novelist who had written two best-selling books, One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest and Sometimes A Great Notion, and used the financial independence that gave him to organise a group of friends who called themselves the Merry Pranksters, who drove from coast to coast and back again in a psychedelic-painted bus, before starting a series of events that became known as Acid Tests, parties at which everyone was on LSD, immortalised in Tom Wolfe's book The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test. Nobody has ever said why Kesey was there, but he had brought along an Echoplex, a reverb unit one could put a guitar through -- and nobody has explained why Kesey, who wasn't a musician, had an Echoplex to hand. But Kaukonen loved the sound that he could get by putting his guitar through the device, and so for that reason more than any other he decided to become an electric player and join the band, going out and buying a Rickenbacker twelve-string and Vox Treble Booster because that was what Roger McGuinn used. He would later also get a Guild Thunderbird six-string guitar and a Standel Super Imperial amp, following the same principle of buying the equipment used by other guitarists he liked, as they were what Zal Yanovsky of the Lovin' Spoonful used. He would use them for all his six-string playing for the next couple of years, only later to discover that the Lovin' Spoonful despised them and only used them because they had an endorsement deal with the manufacturers. Kaukonen was also the one who came up with the new group's name. He and his friends had a running joke where they had "Bluesman names", things like "Blind Outrage" and "Little Sun Goldfarb". Kaukonen's bluesman name, given to him by his friend Steve Talbot, had been Blind Thomas Jefferson Airplane, a reference to the 1920s blues guitarist Blind Lemon Jefferson: [Excerpt: Blind Lemon Jefferson, "Match Box Blues"] At the band meeting where they were trying to decide on a name, Kaukonen got frustrated at the ridiculous suggestions that were being made, and said "You want a stupid name? Howzabout this... Jefferson Airplane?" He said in his autobiography "It was one of those rare moments when everyone in the band agreed, and that was that. I think it was the only band meeting that ever allowed me to come away smiling." The newly-named Jefferson Airplane started to rehearse at the Matrix Club, the club that Balin had decided to open. This was run with three sound engineer friends, who put in the seed capital for the club. Balin had stock options in the club, which he got by trading a share of the band's future earnings to his partners, though as the group became bigger he eventually sold his stock in the club back to his business partners. Before their first public performance, they started working with a manager, Matthew Katz, mostly because Katz had access to a recording of a then-unreleased Bob Dylan song, "Lay Down Your Weary Tune": [Excerpt: Bob Dylan, "Lay Down Your Weary Tune"] The group knew that the best way for a folk-rock band to make a name for themselves was to perform a Dylan song nobody else had yet heard, and so they agreed to be managed by Katz. Katz started a pre-publicity blitz, giving out posters, badges, and bumper stickers saying "Jefferson Airplane Loves You" all over San Francisco -- and insisting that none of the band members were allowed to say "Hello" when they answered the phone any more, they had to say "Jefferson Airplane Loves You!" For their early rehearsals and gigs, they were performing almost entirely cover versions of blues and folk songs, things like Fred Neil's "The Other Side of This Life" and Dino Valenti's "Get Together" which were the common currency of the early folk-rock movement, and songs by their friends, like one called "Flower Bomb" by David Crosby, which Crosby now denies ever having written. They did start writing the odd song, but at this point they were more focused on performance than on writing. They also hired a press agent, their friend Bill Thompson. Thompson was friends with the two main music writers at the San Francisco Chronicle, Ralph Gleason, the famous jazz critic, who had recently started also reviewing rock music, and John Wasserman. Thompson got both men to come to the opening night of the Matrix, and both gave the group glowing reviews in the Chronicle. Record labels started sniffing around the group immediately as a result of this coverage, and according to Katz he managed to get a bidding war started by making sure that when A&R men came to the club there were always two of them from different labels, so they would see the other person and realise they weren't the only ones interested. But before signing a record deal they needed to make some personnel changes. The first member to go was Jerry Peloquin, for both musical and personal reasons. Peloquin was used to keeping strict time and the other musicians had a more free-flowing idea of what tempo they should be playing at, but also he had worked for the police while the other members were all taking tons of illegal drugs. The final break with Peloquin came when he did the rest of the group a favour -- Paul Kantner's glasses broke during a rehearsal, and as Peloquin was an optician he offered to take them back to his shop and fix them. When he got back, he found them auditioning replacements for him. He beat Kantner up, and that was the end of Jerry Peloquin in Jefferson Airplane. His replacement was Skip Spence, who the group had met when he had accompanied three friends to the Matrix, which they were using as a rehearsal room. Spence's friends went on to be the core members of Quicksilver Messenger Service along with Dino Valenti: [Excerpt: Quicksilver Messenger Service, "Dino's Song"] But Balin decided that Spence looked like a rock star, and told him that he was now Jefferson Airplane's drummer, despite Spence being a guitarist and singer, not a drummer. But Spence was game, and learned to play the drums. Next they needed to get rid of Bob Harvey. According to Harvey, the decision to sack him came after David Crosby saw the band rehearsing and said "Nice song, but get rid of the bass player" (along with an expletive before the word bass which I can't say without incurring the wrath of Apple). Crosby denies ever having said this. Harvey had started out in the group on double bass, but to show willing he'd switched in his last few gigs to playing an electric bass. When he was sacked by the group, he returned to double bass, and to the Slippery Rock String Band, who released one single in 1967: [Excerpt: The Slippery Rock String Band, "Tule Fog"] Harvey's replacement was Kaukonen's old friend Jack Casady, who Kaukonen knew was now playing bass, though he'd only ever heard him playing guitar when they'd played together. Casady was rather cautious about joining a rock band, but then Kaukonen told him that the band were getting fifty dollars a week salary each from Katz, and Casady flew over from Washington DC to San Francisco to join the band. For the first few gigs, he used Bob Harvey's bass, which Harvey was good enough to lend him despite having been sacked from the band. Unfortunately, right from the start Casady and Kantner didn't get on. When Casady flew in from Washington, he had a much more clean-cut appearance than the rest of the band -- one they've described as being nerdy, with short, slicked-back, side-parted hair and a handlebar moustache. Kantner insisted that Casady shave the moustache off, and he responded by shaving only one side, so in profile on one side he looked clean-shaven, while from the other side he looked like he had a full moustache. Kantner also didn't like Casady's general attitude, or his playing style, at all -- though most critics since this point have pointed to Casady's bass playing as being the most interesting and distinctive thing about Jefferson Airplane's style. This lineup seems to have been the one that travelled to LA to audition for various record companies -- a move that immediately brought the group a certain amount of criticism for selling out, both for auditioning for record companies and for going to LA at all, two things that were already anathema on the San Francisco scene. The only audition anyone remembers them having specifically is one for Phil Spector, who according to Kaukonen was waving a gun around during the audition, so he and Casady walked out. Around this time as well, the group performed at an event billed as "A Tribute to Dr. Strange", organised by the radical hippie collective Family Dog. Marvel Comics, rather than being the multi-billion-dollar Disney-owned corporate juggernaut it is now, was regarded as a hip, almost underground, company -- and around this time they briefly started billing their comics not as comics but as "Marvel Pop Art Productions". The magical adventures of Dr. Strange, Master of the Mystic Arts, and in particular the art by far-right libertarian artist Steve Ditko, were regarded as clear parallels to both the occult dabblings and hallucinogen use popular among the hippies, though Ditko had no time for either, following as he did an extreme version of Ayn Rand's Objectivism. It was at the Tribute to Dr. Strange that Jefferson Airplane performed for the first time with a band named The Great Society, whose lead singer, Grace Slick, would later become very important in Jefferson Airplane's story: [Excerpt: The Great Society, "Someone to Love"] That gig was also the first one where the band and their friends noticed that large chunks of the audience were now dressing up in costumes that were reminiscent of the Old West. Up to this point, while Katz had been managing the group and paying them fifty dollars a week even on weeks when they didn't perform, he'd been doing so without a formal contract, in part because the group didn't trust him much. But now they were starting to get interest from record labels, and in particular RCA Records desperately wanted them. While RCA had been the label who had signed Elvis Presley, they had otherwise largely ignored rock and roll, considering that since they had the biggest rock star in the world they didn't need other ones, and concentrating largely on middle-of-the-road acts. But by the mid-sixties Elvis' star had faded somewhat, and they were desperate to get some of the action for the new music -- and unlike the other major American labels, they didn't have a reciprocal arrangement with a British label that allowed them to release anything by any of the new British stars. The group were introduced to RCA by Rod McKuen, a songwriter and poet who later became America's best-selling poet and wrote songs that sold over a hundred million copies. At this point McKuen was in his Jacques Brel phase, recording loose translations of the Belgian songwriter's songs with McKuen translating the lyrics: [Excerpt: Rod McKuen, "Seasons in the Sun"] McKuen thought that Jefferson Airplane might be a useful market for his own songs, and brought the group to RCA. RCA offered Jefferson Airplane twenty-five thousand dollars to sign with them, and Katz convinced the group that RCA wouldn't give them this money without them having signed a management contract with him. Kaukonen, Kantner, Spence, and Balin all signed without much hesitation, but Jack Casady didn't yet sign, as he was the new boy and nobody knew if he was going to be in the band for the long haul. The other person who refused to sign was Signe Anderson. In her case, she had a much better reason for refusing to sign, as unlike the rest of the band she had actually read the contract, and she found it to be extremely worrying. She did eventually back down on the day of the group's first recording session, but she later had the contract renegotiated. Jack Casady also signed the contract right at the start of the first session -- or at least, he thought he'd signed the contract then. He certainly signed *something*, without having read it. But much later, during a court case involving the band's longstanding legal disputes with Katz, it was revealed that the signature on the contract wasn't Casady's, and was badly forged. What he actually *did* sign that day has never been revealed, to him or to anyone else. Katz also signed all the group as songwriters to his own publishing company, telling them that they legally needed to sign with him if they wanted to make records, and also claimed to RCA that he had power of attorney for the band, which they say they never gave him -- though to be fair to Katz, given the band members' habit of signing things without reading or understanding them, it doesn't seem beyond the realms of possibility that they did. The producer chosen for the group's first album was Tommy Oliver, a friend of Katz's who had previously been an arranger on some of Doris Day's records, and whose next major act after finishing the Jefferson Airplane album was Trombones Unlimited, who released records like "Holiday for Trombones": [Excerpt: Trombones Unlimited, "Holiday For Trombones"] The group weren't particularly thrilled with this choice, but were happier with their engineer, Dave Hassinger, who had worked on records like "Satisfaction" by the Rolling Stones, and had a far better understanding of the kind of music the group were making. They spent about three months recording their first album, even while continually being attacked as sellouts. The album is not considered their best work, though it does contain "Blues From an Airplane", a collaboration between Spence and Balin: [Excerpt: Jefferson Airplane, "Blues From an Airplane"] Even before the album came out, though, things were starting to change for the group. Firstly, they started playing bigger venues -- their home base went from being the Matrix club to the Fillmore, a large auditorium run by the promoter Bill Graham. They also started to get an international reputation. The British singer-songwriter Donovan released a track called "The Fat Angel" which namechecked the group: [Excerpt: Donovan, "The Fat Angel"] The group also needed a new drummer. Skip Spence decided to go on holiday to Mexico without telling the rest of the band. There had already been some friction with Spence, as he was very eager to become a guitarist and songwriter, and the band already had three songwriting guitarists and didn't really see why they needed a fourth. They sacked Spence, who went on to form Moby Grape, who were also managed by Katz: [Excerpt: Moby Grape, "Omaha"] For his replacement they brought in Spencer Dryden, who was a Hollywood brat like their friend David Crosby -- in Dryden's case he was Charlie Chaplin's nephew, and his father worked as Chaplin's assistant. The story normally goes that the great session drummer Earl Palmer recommended Dryden to the group, but it's also the case that Dryden had been in a band, the Heartbeats, with Tommy Oliver and the great blues guitarist Roy Buchanan, so it may well be that Oliver had recommended him. Dryden had been primarily a jazz musician, playing with people like the West Coast jazz legend Charles Lloyd, though like most jazzers he would slum it on occasion by playing rock and roll music to pay the bills. But then he'd seen an early performance by the Mothers of Invention, and realised that rock music could have a serious artistic purpose too. He'd joined a band called The Ashes, who had released one single, the Jackie DeShannon song "Is There Anything I Can Do?" in December 1965: [Excerpt: The Ashes, "Is There Anything I Can Do?"] The Ashes split up once Dryden left the group to join Jefferson Airplane, but they soon reformed without him as The Peanut Butter Conspiracy, who hooked up with Gary Usher and released several albums of psychedelic sunshine pop. Dryden played his first gig with the group at a Republican Party event on June the sixth, 1966. But by the time Dryden had joined, other problems had become apparent. The group were already feeling like it had been a big mistake to accede to Katz's demands to sign a formal contract with him, and Balin in particular was getting annoyed that he wouldn't let the band see their finances. All the money was getting paid to Katz, who then doled out money to the band when they asked for it, and they had no idea if he was actually paying them what they were owed or not. The group's first album, Jefferson Airplane Takes Off, finally came out in September, and it was a comparative flop. It sold well in San Francisco itself, selling around ten thousand copies in the area, but sold basically nothing anywhere else in the country -- the group's local reputation hadn't extended outside their own immediate scene. It didn't help that the album was pulled and reissued, as RCA censored the initial version of the album because of objections to the lyrics. The song "Runnin' Round This World" was pulled off the album altogether for containing the word "trips", while in "Let Me In" they had to rerecord two lines -- “I gotta get in, you know where" was altered to "You shut the door now it ain't fair" and "Don't tell me you want money" became "Don't tell me it's so funny". Similarly in "Run Around" the phrase "as you lay under me" became "as you stay here by me". Things were also becoming difficult for Anderson. She had had a baby in May and was not only unhappy with having to tour while she had a small child, she was also the band member who was most vocally opposed to Katz. Added to that, her husband did not get on well at all with the group, and she felt trapped between her marriage and her bandmates. Reports differ as to whether she quit the band or was fired, but after a disastrous appearance at the Monterey Jazz Festival, one way or another she was out of the band. Her replacement was already waiting in the wings. Grace Slick, the lead singer of the Great Society, had been inspired by going to one of the early Jefferson Airplane gigs. She later said "I went to see Jefferson Airplane at the Matrix, and they were making more money in a day than I made in a week. They only worked for two or three hours a night, and they got to hang out. I thought 'This looks a lot better than what I'm doing.' I knew I could more or less carry a tune, and I figured if they could do it I could." She was married at the time to a film student named Jerry Slick, and indeed she had done the music for his final project at film school, a film called "Everybody Hits Their Brother Once", which sadly I can't find online. She was also having an affair with Jerry's brother Darby, though as the Slicks were in an open marriage this wasn't particularly untoward. The three of them, with a couple of other musicians, had formed The Great Society, named as a joke about President Johnson's programme of the same name. The Great Society was the name Johnson had given to his whole programme of domestic reforms, including civil rights for Black people, the creation of Medicare and Medicaid, the creation of the National Endowment for the Arts, and more. While those projects were broadly popular among the younger generation, Johnson's escalation of the war in Vietnam had made him so personally unpopular that even his progressive domestic programme was regarded with suspicion and contempt. The Great Society had set themselves up as local rivals to Jefferson Airplane -- where Jefferson Airplane had buttons saying "Jefferson Airplane Loves You!" the Great Society put out buttons saying "The Great Society Really Doesn't Like You Much At All". They signed to Autumn Records, and recorded a song that Darby Slick had written, titled "Someone to Love" -- though the song would later be retitled "Somebody to Love": [Excerpt: The Great Society, "Someone to Love"] That track was produced by Sly Stone, who at the time was working as a producer for Autumn Records. The Great Society, though, didn't like working with Stone, because he insisted on them doing forty-five takes to try to sound professional, as none of them were particularly competent musicians. Grace Slick later said "Sly could play any instrument known to man. He could have just made the record himself, except for the singers. It was kind of degrading in a way" -- and on another occasion she said that he *did* end up playing all the instruments on the finished record. "Someone to Love" was put out as a promo record, but never released to the general public, and nor were any of the Great Society's other recordings for Autumn Records released. Their contract expired and they were let go, at which point they were about to sign to Mercury Records, but then Darby Slick and another member decided to go off to India for a while. Grace's marriage to Jerry was falling apart, though they would stay legally married for several years, and the Great Society looked like it was at an end, so when Grace got the offer to join Jefferson Airplane to replace Signe Anderson, she jumped at the chance. At first, she was purely a harmony singer -- she didn't take over any of the lead vocal parts that Anderson had previously sung, as she had a very different vocal style, and instead she just sang the harmony parts that Anderson had sung on songs with other lead vocalists. But two months after the album they were back in the studio again, recording their second album, and Slick sang lead on several songs there. As well as the new lineup, there was another important change in the studio. They were still working with Dave Hassinger, but they had a new producer, Rick Jarrard. Jarrard was at one point a member of the folk group The Wellingtons, who did the theme tune for "Gilligan's Island", though I can't find anything to say whether or not he was in the group when they recorded that track: [Excerpt: The Wellingtons, "The Ballad of Gilligan's Island"] Jarrard had also been in the similar folk group The Greenwood County Singers, where as we heard in the episode on "Heroes and Villains" he replaced Van Dyke Parks. He'd also released a few singles under his own name, including a version of Parks' "High Coin": [Excerpt: Rick Jarrard, "High Coin"] While Jarrard had similar musical roots to those of Jefferson Airplane's members, and would go on to produce records by people like Harry Nilsson and The Family Tree, he wasn't any more liked by the band than their previous producer had been. So much so, that a few of the band members have claimed that while Jarrard is the credited producer, much of the work that one would normally expect to be done by a producer was actually done by their friend Jerry Garcia, who according to the band members gave them a lot of arranging and structural advice, and was present in the studio and played guitar on several tracks. Jarrard, on the other hand, said categorically "I never met Jerry Garcia. I produced that album from start to finish, never heard from Jerry Garcia, never talked to Jerry Garcia. He was not involved creatively on that album at all." According to the band, though, it was Garcia who had the idea of almost doubling the speed of the retitled "Somebody to Love", turning it into an uptempo rocker: [Excerpt: Jefferson Airplane, "Somebody to Love"] And one thing everyone is agreed on is that it was Garcia who came up with the album title, when after listening to some of the recordings he said "That's as surrealistic as a pillow!" It was while they were working on the album that was eventually titled Surrealistic Pillow that they finally broke with Katz as their manager, bringing Bill Thompson in as a temporary replacement. Or at least, it was then that they tried to break with Katz. Katz sued the group over their contract, and won. Then they appealed, and they won. Then Katz appealed the appeal, and the Superior Court insisted that if he wanted to appeal the ruling, he had to put up a bond for the fifty thousand dollars the group said he owed them. He didn't, so in 1970, four years after they sacked him as their manager, the appeal was dismissed. Katz appealed the dismissal, and won that appeal, and the case dragged on for another three years, at which point Katz dragged RCA Records into the lawsuit. As a result of being dragged into the mess, RCA decided to stop paying the group their songwriting royalties from record sales directly, and instead put the money into an escrow account. The claims and counterclaims and appeals *finally* ended in 1987, twenty years after the lawsuits had started and fourteen years after the band had stopped receiving their songwriting royalties. In the end, the group won on almost every point, and finally received one point three million dollars in back royalties and seven hundred thousand dollars in interest that had accrued, while Katz got a small token payment. Early in 1967, when the sessions for Surrealistic Pillow had finished, but before the album was released, Newsweek did a big story on the San Francisco scene, which drew national attention to the bands there, and the first big event of what would come to be called the hippie scene, the Human Be-In, happened in Golden Gate Park in January. As the group's audience was expanding rapidly, they asked Bill Graham to be their manager, as he was the most business-minded of the people around the group. The first single from the album, "My Best Friend", a song written by Skip Spence before he quit the band, came out in January 1967 and had no more success than their earlier recordings had, and didn't make the Hot 100. The album came out in February, and was still no higher than number 137 on the charts in March, when the second single, "Somebody to Love", was released: [Excerpt: Jefferson Airplane, "Somebody to Love"] That entered the charts at the start of April, and by June it had made number five. The single's success also pushed its parent album up to number three by August, just behind the Beatles' Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and the Monkees' Headquarters. The success of the single also led to the group being asked to do commercials for Levis jeans: [Excerpt: Jefferson Airplane, "Levis commercial"] That once again got them accused of selling out. Abbie Hoffman, the leader of the Yippies, wrote to the Village Voice about the commercials, saying "It summarized for me all the doubts I have about the hippie philosophy. I realise they are just doing their 'thing', but while the Jefferson Airplane grooves with its thing, over 100 workers in the Levi Strauss plant on the Tennessee-Georgia border are doing their thing, which consists of being on strike to protest deplorable working conditions." The third single from the album, "White Rabbit", came out on the twenty-fourth of June, the day before the Beatles recorded "All You Need is Love", nine days after the release of "See Emily Play", and a week after the group played the Monterey Pop Festival, to give you some idea of how compressed a time period we've been in recently. We talked in the last episode about how there's a big difference between American and British psychedelia at this point in time, because the political nature of the American counterculture was determined by the fact that so many people were being sent off to die in Vietnam. Of all the San Francisco bands, though, Jefferson Airplane were by far the least political -- they were into the culture part of the counterculture, but would often and repeatedly disavow any deeper political meaning in their songs. In early 1968, for example, in a press conference, they said “Don't ask us anything about politics. We don't know anything about it. And what we did know, we just forgot.” So it's perhaps not surprising that of all the American groups, they were the one that was most similar to the British psychedelic groups in their influences, and in particular their frequent references to children's fantasy literature. "White Rabbit" was a perfect example of this. It had started out as "White Rabbit Blues", a song that Slick had written influenced by Alice in Wonderland, and originally performed by the Great Society: [Excerpt: The Great Society, "White Rabbit"] Slick explained the lyrics, and their association between childhood fantasy stories and drugs, later by saying "It's an interesting song but it didn't do what I wanted it to. What I was trying to say was that between the ages of zero and five the information and the input you get is almost indelible. In other words, once a Catholic, always a Catholic. And the parents read us these books, like Alice in Wonderland where she gets high, tall, and she takes mushrooms, a hookah, pills, alcohol. And then there's The Wizard of Oz, where they fall into a field of poppies and when they wake up they see Oz. And then there's Peter Pan, where if you sprinkle white dust on you, you could fly. And then you wonder why we do it? Well, what did you read to me?" While the lyrical inspiration for the track was from Alice in Wonderland, the musical inspiration is less obvious. Slick has on multiple occasions said that the idea for the music came from listening to Miles Davis' album "Sketches of Spain", and in particular to Davis' version of -- and I apologise for almost certainly mangling the Spanish pronunciation badly here -- "Concierto de Aranjuez", though I see little musical resemblance to it myself. [Excerpt: Miles Davis, "Concierto de Aranjuez"] She has also, though, talked about how the song was influenced by Ravel's "Bolero", and in particular the way the piece keeps building in intensity, starting softly and slowly building up, rather than having the dynamic peaks and troughs of most music. And that is definitely a connection I can hear in the music: [Excerpt: Ravel, "Bolero"] Jefferson Airplane's version of "White Rabbit", like their version of "Somebody to Love", was far more professional, far -- and apologies for the pun -- slicker than The Great Society's version. It's also much shorter. The version by The Great Society has a four and a half minute instrumental intro before Slick's vocal enters. By contrast, the version on Surrealistic Pillow comes in at under two and a half minutes in total, and is a tight pop song: [Excerpt: Jefferson Airplane, "White Rabbit"] Jack Casady has more recently said that the group originally recorded the song more or less as a lark, because they assumed that all the drug references would mean that RCA would make them remove the song from the album -- after all, they'd cut a song from the earlier album because it had a reference to a trip, so how could they possibly allow a song like "White Rabbit" with its lyrics about pills and mushrooms? But it was left on the album, and ended up making the top ten on the pop charts, peaking at number eight: [Excerpt: Jefferson Airplane, "White Rabbit"] In an interview last year, Slick said she still largely lives off the royalties from writing that one song. It would be the last hit single Jefferson Airplane would ever have. Marty Balin later said "Fame changes your life. It's a bit like prison. It ruined the band. Everybody became rich and selfish and self-centred and couldn't care about the band. That was pretty much the end of it all. After that it was just working and living the high life and watching the band destroy itself, living on its laurels." They started work on their third album, After Bathing at Baxter's, in May 1967, while "Somebody to Love" was still climbing the charts. This time, the album was produced by Al Schmitt. Unlike the two previous producers, Schmitt was a fan of the band, and decided the best thing to do was to just let them do their own thing without interfering. The album took months to record, rather than the weeks that Surrealistic Pillow had taken, and cost almost ten times as much money to record. In part the time it took was because of the promotional work the band had to do. Bill Graham was sending them all over the country to perform, which they didn't appreciate. The group complained to Graham in business meetings, saying they wanted to only play in big cities where there were lots of hippies. Graham pointed out in turn that if they wanted to keep having any kind of success, they needed to play places other than San Francisco, LA, New York, and Chicago, because in fact most of the population of the US didn't live in those four cities. They grudgingly took his point. But there were other arguments all the time as well. They argued about whether Graham should be taking his cut from the net or the gross. They argued about Graham trying to push for the next single to be another Grace Slick lead vocal -- they felt like he was trying to make them into just Grace Slick's backing band, while he thought it made sense to follow up two big hits with more singles with the same vocalist. There was also a lawsuit from Balin's former partners in the Matrix, who remembered that bit in the contract about having a share in the group's income and sued for six hundred thousand dollars -- that was settled out of court three years later. And there were interpersonal squabbles too. Some of these were about the music -- Dryden didn't like the fact that Kaukonen's guitar solos were getting longer and longer, and Balin only contributed one song to the new album because all the other band members made fun of him for writing short, poppy, love songs rather than extended psychedelic jams -- but also the group had become basically two rival factions. On one side were Kaukonen and Casady, the old friends and virtuoso instrumentalists, who wanted to extend the instrumental sections of the songs more to show off their playing. On the other side were Grace Slick and Spencer Dryden, the two oldest members of the group by age, but the most recent people to join. They were also unusual in the San Francisco scene for having alcohol as their drug of choice -- drinking was thought of by most of the hippies as being a bit classless, but they were both alcoholics. They were also sleeping together, and generally on the side of shorter, less exploratory, songs. Kantner, who was attracted to Slick, usually ended up siding with her and Dryden, and this left Balin the odd man out in the middle. He later said "I got disgusted with all the ego trips, and the band was so stoned that I couldn't even talk to them. Everybody was in their little shell". While they were still working on the album, they released the first single from it, Kantner's "The Ballad of You and Me and Pooneil". The "Pooneil" in the song was a figure that combined two of Kantner's influences: the Greenwich Village singer-songwriter Fred Neil, the writer of "Everybody's Talkin'" and "Dolphins"; and Winnie the Pooh. The song contained several lines taken from A.A. Milne's children's stories: [Excerpt: Jefferson Airplane, "The Ballad of You and Me and Pooneil"] That only made number forty-two on the charts. It was the last Jefferson Airplane single to make the top fifty. At a gig in Bakersfield they got arrested for inciting a riot, because they encouraged the crowd to dance, even though local by-laws said that nobody under sixteen was allowed to dance, and then they nearly got arrested again after Kantner's behaviour on the private plane they'd chartered to get them back to San Francisco that night. Kantner had been chain-smoking, and this annoyed the pilot, who asked Kantner to put his cigarette out, so Kantner opened the door of the plane mid-flight and threw the lit cigarette out. They'd chartered that plane because they wanted to make sure they got to see a new group, Cream, who were playing the Fillmore: [Excerpt: Cream, "Strange Brew"] After seeing that, the divisions in the band were even wider -- Kaukonen and Casady now *knew* that what the band needed was to do long, extended, instrumental jams. Cream were the future, two-minute pop songs were the past. Though they weren't completely averse to two-minute pop songs. The group were recording at RCA studios at the same time as the Monkees, and members of the two groups would often jam together. The idea of selling out might have been anathema to their *audience*, but the band members themselves didn't care about things like that. Indeed, at one point the group returned from a gig to the mansion they were renting and found squatters had moved in and were using their private pool -- so they shot at the water. The squatters quickly moved on. As Dryden put it "We all -- Paul, Jorma, Grace, and myself -- had guns. We weren't hippies. Hippies were the people that lived on the streets down in Haight-Ashbury. We were basically musicians and art school kids. We were into guns and machinery" After Bathing at Baxter's only went to number seventeen on the charts, not a bad position but a flop compared to their previous album, and Bill Graham in particular took this as more proof that he had been right when for the last few months he'd been attacking the group as self-indulgent. Eventually, Slick and Dryden decided that either Bill Graham was going as their manager, or they were going. Slick even went so far as to try to negotiate a solo deal with Elektra Records -- as the voice on the hits, everyone was telling her she was the only one who mattered anyway. David Anderle, who was working for the label, agreed a deal with her, but Jac Holzman refused to authorise the deal, saying "Judy Collins doesn't get that much money, why should Grace Slick?" The group did fire Graham, and went one further and tried to become his competitors. They teamed up with the Grateful Dead to open a new venue, the Carousel Ballroom, to compete with the Fillmore, but after a few months they realised they were no good at running a venue and sold it to Graham. Graham, who was apparently unhappy with the fact that the people living around the Fillmore were largely Black given that the bands he booked appealed to mostly white audiences, closed the original Fillmore, renamed the Carousel the Fillmore West, and opened up a second venue in New York, the Fillmore East. The divisions in the band were getting worse -- Kaukonen and Casady were taking more and more speed, which was making them play longer and faster instrumental solos whether or not the rest of the band wanted them to, and Dryden, whose hands often bled from trying to play along with them, definitely did not want them to. But the group soldiered on and recorded their fourth album, Crown of Creation. This album contained several songs that were influenced by science fiction novels. The most famous of these was inspired by the right-libertarian author Robert Heinlein, who was hugely influential on the counterculture. Jefferson Airplane's friends the Monkees had already recorded a song based on Heinlein's The Door Into Summer, an unintentionally disturbing novel about a thirty-year-old man who falls in love with a twelve-year-old girl, and who uses a combination of time travel and cryogenic freezing to make their ages closer together so he can marry her: [Excerpt: The Monkees, "The Door Into Summer"] Now Jefferson Airplane were recording a song based on Heinlein's most famous novel, Stranger in a Strange Land. Stranger in a Strange Land has dated badly, thanks to its casual homophobia and rape-apologia, but at the time it was hugely popular in hippie circles for its advocacy of free love and group marriages -- so popular that a religion, the Church of All Worlds, based itself on the book. David Crosby had taken inspiration from it and written "Triad", a song asking two women if they'll enter into a polygamous relationship with him, and recorded it with the Byrds: [Excerpt: The Byrds, "Triad"] But the other members of the Byrds disliked the song, and it was left unreleased for decades. As Crosby was friendly with Jefferson Airplane, and as members of the band were themselves advocates of open relationships, they recorded their own version with Slick singing lead: [Excerpt: Jefferson Airplane, "Triad"] The other song on the album influenced by science fiction was the title track, Paul Kantner's "Crown of Creation". This song was inspired by The Chrysalids, a novel by the British writer John Wyndham. The Chrysalids is one of Wyndham's most influential novels, a post-apocalyptic story about young children who are born with mutant superpowers and have to hide them from their parents as they will be killed if they're discovered. The novel is often thought to have inspired Marvel Comics' X-Men, and while there's an unpleasant eugenic taste to its ending, with the idea that two species can't survive in the same ecological niche and the younger, "superior", species must outcompete the old, that idea also had a lot of influence in the counterculture, as well as being a popular one in science fiction. Kantner's song took whole lines from The Chrysalids, much as he had earlier done with A.A. Milne: [Excerpt: Jefferson Airplane, "Crown of Creation"] The Crown of Creation album was in some ways a return to the more focused songwriting of Surrealistic Pillow, although the sessions weren't without their experiments. Slick and Dryden collaborated with Frank Zappa and members of the Mothers of Invention on an avant-garde track called "Would You Like a Snack?" (not the same song as the later Zappa song of the same name) which was intended for the album, though went unreleased until a CD box set decades later: [Excerpt: Grace Slick and Frank Zappa, "Would You Like a Snack?"] But the finished album was generally considered less self-indulgent than After Bathing at Baxter's, and did better on the charts as a result. It reached number six, becoming their second and last top ten album, helped by the group's appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show in September 1968, a month after it came out. That appearance was actually organised by Colonel Tom Parker, who suggested them to Sullivan as a favour to RCA Records. But another TV appearance at the time was less successful. They appeared on the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, one of the most popular TV shows among the young, hip, audience that the group needed to appeal to, but Slick appeared in blackface. She's later said that there was no political intent behind this, and that she was just trying the different makeup she found in the dressing room as a purely aesthetic thing, but that doesn't really explain the Black power salute she gives at one point. Slick was increasingly obnoxious on stage, as her drinking was getting worse and her relationship with Dryden was starting to break down. Just before the Smothers Brothers appearance she was accused at a benefit for the Whitney Museum of having called the audience "filthy Jews", though she has always said that what she actually said was "filthy jewels", and she was talking about the ostentatious jewellery some of the audience were wearing. The group struggled through a performance at Altamont -- an event we will talk about in a future episode, so I won't go into it here, except to say that it was a horrifying experience for everyone involved -- and performed at Woodstock, before releasing their fifth studio album, Volunteers, in 1969: [Excerpt: Jefferson Airplane, "Volunteers"] That album made the top twenty, but was the last album by the classic lineup of the band. By this point Spencer Dryden and Grace Slick had broken up, with Slick starting to date Kantner, and Dryden was also disappointed at the group's musical direction, and left. Balin also left, feeling sidelined in the group. They released several more albums with varying lineups, including at various points their old friend David Frieberg of Quicksilver Messenger Service, the violinist Papa John Creach, and the former drummer of the Turtles, Johnny Barbata. But as of 1970 the group's members had already started working on two side projects -- an acoustic band called Hot Tuna, led by Kaukonen and Casady, which sometimes also featured Balin, and a project called Paul Kantner's Jefferson Starship, which also featured Slick and had recorded an album, Blows Against the Empire, the second side of which was based on the Robert Heinlein novel Back to Methuselah, and which became one of the first albums ever nominated for science fiction's Hugo Awards: [Excerpt: Jefferson Starship, "Have You Seen The Stars Tonite"] That album featured contributions from David Crosby and members of the Grateful Dead, as well as Casady on two tracks, but  in 1974 when Kaukonen and Casady quit Jefferson Airplane to make Hot Tuna their full-time band, Kantner, Slick, and Frieberg turned Jefferson Starship into a full band. Over the next decade, Jefferson Starship had a lot of moderate-sized hits, with a varying lineup that at one time or another saw several members, including Slick, go and return, and saw Marty Balin back with them for a while. In 1984, Kantner left the group, and sued them to stop them using the Jefferson Starship name. A settlement was reached in which none of Kantner, Slick, Kaukonen, or Casady could use the words "Jefferson" or "Airplane" in their band-names without the permission of all the others, and the remaining members of Jefferson Starship renamed their band just Starship -- and had three number one singles in the late eighties with Slick on lead, becoming far more commercially successful than their precursor bands had ever been: [Excerpt: Starship, "We Built This City on Rock & Roll"] Slick left Starship in 1989, and there was a brief Jefferson Airplane reunion tour, with all the classic members but Dryden, but then Slick decided that she was getting too old to perform rock and roll music, and decided to retire from music and become a painter, something she's stuck to for more than thirty years. Kantner and Balin formed a new Jefferson Starship, called Jefferson Starship: The Next Generation, but Kantner died in January 2016, coincidentally on the same day as Signe Anderson, who had occasionally guested with her old bandmates in the new version of the band. Balin, who had quit the reunited Jefferson Starship due to health reasons, died two years later. Dryden had died in 2005. Currently, there are three bands touring that descend directly from Jefferson Airplane. Hot Tuna still continue to perform, there's a version of Starship that tours featuring one original member, Mickey Thomas, and the reunited Jefferson Starship still tour, led by David Frieberg. Grace Slick has given the latter group her blessing, and even co-wrote one song on their most recent album, released in 2020, though she still doesn't perform any more. Jefferson Airplane's period in the commercial spotlight was brief -- they had charting singles for only a matter of months, and while they had top twenty albums for a few years after their peak, they really only mattered to the wider world during that brief period of the Summer of Love. But precisely because their period of success was so short, their music is indelibly associated with that time. To this day there's nothing as evocative of summer 1967 as "White Rabbit", even for those of us who weren't born then. And while Grace Slick had her problems, as I've made very clear in this episode, she inspired a whole generation of women who went on to be singers themselves, as one of the first prominent women to sing lead with an electric rock band. And when she got tired of doing that, she stopped, and got on with her other artistic pursuits, without feeling the need to go back and revisit the past for ever diminishing returns. One might only wish that some of her male peers had followed her example.

Matt Rifino is a music mixer and audio engineer based out of New Jersey, USA! In our conversation, Matt shares his journey; mixing from an early age, working at Avatar Studios, and mixing live music shows on NBC's "The Today Show." He shares insights on how to mix for live TV, how to make sure your mixes translate on consumer devices, and how TV mixing helps him mix better for artists in his personal mixing work. We also talk about overcoming burnout, quitting alcohol, becoming friends with the people you work with, becoming a life-long student, and so much more! Check it out!You can learn more about Matt at https://www.mattrifinomusicmixer.com/You can follow Matt on Social MediaIG - https://www.instagram.com/magicmatt_mixing/***As I mentioned in this episode, Carl Bahner is giving away his Spotify algorithm course to listeners of the show. Go to https://www.carlbahner.com/coaching to learn more***You can listen to the song we discussed in the "Sauce" segment in its entirety here - "Nightbird (Companion)" by Connor Bracken and the Mother Leeds Band - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irHNpO2n334&ab_channel=ConnorBrackenandtheMotherLeedsBand-Topic***Join the Secret Sonics Discord community here(!) - discord.gg/UP97b72W6tSubscribe to the podcast and get my free guidebook "Music Production Essentials" here - https://mpe-ebook.benwallick.com/free-downloadReferencesMatt's WCA episode - https://www.workingclassaudio.com/wca-322-with-matthew-rifino/The Today Show - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Today_(American_TV_program)Willie Green - https://www.benwallick.com/podcast-episodes/2022/1/9/secret-sonics-127-willie-green-being-true-to-artistic-intentValhalla Verb - https://valhalladsp.com/Soothe - https://oeksound.com/plugins/soothe2/Al Schmitt - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_SchmittThanks for listening to this episode of Secret Sonics! I hope you enjoyed this episode :) Look out for new episodes weekly. Consider rating and reviewing our show on Apple Podcasts and sharing this or any of your favorite episodes with a friend or two.Thank you to Zvi Rodan, Mendy Portnoy, and Yakir Hyman for contributing to the new podcast theme music!Thanks to Gavi Kutliroff for helping edit this episode!You can find out more about Secret Sonics and subscribe on your favorite podcast app by visiting www.secretsonics.coFollow along via social media here:Facebook: www.facebook.com/SecretSonicsPodInstagram: www.instagram.com/secretsonics/ Have a great week, stay safe, and dig in!-Ben

In this episode of ATTAP some of Al Schmitt's closest friends come together to remember one of the greatest engineers, but more importantly one of the greatest men any of us will ever know.

This week on the podcast, Ashleigh interviews Al Schmitt and Lisa Mentasana, the Directors of the Beaverton Resource Center (BRC). Al and Lisa share about what the center does, important needs in the community of Beaverton, and how members of B4 can be “for the city” by partnering with the BRC.  Resources to Dig Deeper: […]

This week's episode is dedicated to the King of Soul, Sam Cooke. Join Dan, Mike and Ashley as they discuss Sam's influence and contribution to not only soul music  but popular music as well. Enjoy stories from Jerry Blavat and Al Schmitt who worked with him in the industry, Tommy Roe and Chris Montez who toured with him and Ellis Hall and Deacon John Moore who were inspired by him.

Joe & Mike talk with legend George Massenburg! Topics include: Remembering Al Schmitt, Critical listening, Sample rates, Bit depth, Surround/Immersive, Approach to starting a mix, EQ'ing an instrument for other things in you mix, Knowing all the tech but following the heart of a song! + More! "From The West Barn" is a weekly podcast hosted by Joe West & Mike Shimshack shot at The West Barn in Nashville, TN. It's available anywhere podcasts are available.  West/Shimshack are both music industry veterans that have seen the peaks and valleys of the business over the past 30 years. Their careers have been punctuated with Grammy wins, hit songs, platinum records, tens of millions of units sold and more than their share of failure.  Tune into "From The West Barn" for their take on the lifestyle and engaging conversations with some of the industries most interesting people! Nothing is off the table ~ FTWB   Tribute To Al Schmitt George Reffered To During Podcast. Andrew Talks to Awesome People - Homage to Al Schmitt: https://youtu.be/RqnxQCGO1MU   FROM THE WEST BARN --} Website: http://fromthewestbarn.com iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/from-the-west-barn-with-joe-west-mike-shimshack/id1505829573 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1POtkbPLqZGL3U85nrRaue?si=sJHpJbzYT7a9hmc9-AjsyQ   MIKE SHIMSHACK ---}  Instagram: @shackjonz    JOE WEST ---}  Website: https://joe-west.com  School: https://www.apprenticeacademy.net  Instagram: @west_joe  Facebook: https://facebook.com/westjoe    SPONSORS ---}  HERCULES STANDS:  http://herculesstands.com/us/  SLINGSTUDIO:  https://www.myslingstudio.com/ APPRENTICE ACADEMY:  http://www.apprenticeacademy.net  RADIAL ENGINEERING—-} https://www.radialeng.com/ FROM THE WEST BARN copyright 2021

The family and friends of Al Schmitt have set up a memorial for the decorated record producer and engineer. Eric Alper, Music Commentator 00:31 #AlSchmitt #Artist #Music

On this episode of Showcase; Al Schmitt's Memorial 00:45 Eric Alper, Music Commentator 01:18 Four Good Days 07:15 About Endlessness 10:27 David Hockney at Piccadilly Circus Alephia 2053 14:24 BRIT Awards Recognises Arlo Parks 18:19 Netflix's Monster 20:06 Etel Adnan: Impossible Homecoming 21:53 #AlSchmitt #DavidHockney #Netflix

Tom visits with the late Al Schmitt one of the most prolific recording engineers in music history. The two discuss Al's beginnings of his career, recording Duke Ellington, moving to Los Angeles, sessions with Hank Mancini, the lost art of mic placement and the greatest power of music.

Joe & Mike talk with legend and 8 x Grammy Winner Elliot Scheiner! Topics include: Remembering his friend Al Schmitt, coming up under Phil Ramone, Keeping it simple, No eq… Move the Mic, How keeping it simple helps make good decisions when it needs to get complex, surround sound mixing, realizing you're name is not on the album it's the artist! Staying humble and serving the record, learning every day even after 50 years in the biz! + More! "From The West Barn" is a weekly podcast hosted by Joe West & Mike Shimshack shot at The West Barn in Nashville, TN. It's available anywhere podcasts are available.  West/Shimshack are both music industry veterans that have seen the peaks and valleys of the business over the past 30 years. Their careers have been punctuated with Grammy wins, hit songs, platinum records, tens of millions of units sold and more than their share of failure.  Tune into "From The West Barn" for their take on the lifestyle and engaging conversations with some of the industries most interesting people! Nothing is off the table ~ FTWB FROM THE WEST BARN --} Website: http://fromthewestbarn.com iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/from-the-west-barn-with-joe-west-mike-shimshack/id1505829573 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1POtkbPLqZGL3U85nrRaue?si=sJHpJbzYT7a9hmc9-AjsyQ    MIKE SHIMSHACK ---}  Instagram: @shackjonz    JOE WEST ---}  Website: https://joe-west.com  School: https://www.apprenticeacademy.net  Instagram: @west_joe  Facebook: https://facebook.com/westjoe    SPONSORS ---}  HERCULES STANDS:  http://herculesstands.com/us/  SLINGSTUDIO:  https://www.myslingstudio.com/  APPRENTICE ACADEMY:  http://www.apprenticeacademy.net  RADIAL ENGINEERING—-} https://www.radialeng.com/ FROM THE WEST BARN copyright 2021

We conclude our twelve-part series featuring the cities in which Dylan recorded his studio albums over the decades by ending where Dylan's professional career began: in New York City. Dylan made his greatest recordings in New York, whether his work from 1961-1965, half of BLOOD ON THE TRACKS in 1974, DESIRE in 1975, "LOVE & THEFT" and MODERN TIMES in the new century, or any number of other marvelous recordings across five decades. In tonight's double episode, you will hear songs from most of the albums that Dylan recorded in New York, whether partially or entirely. You will also hear some other songs either about or set in New York City. In "20 Pounds of Headlines" we round up sad news from the world of Bob Dylan, which is a triple obituary for three figures from Dylan's life who died this past week. In "Who Did It Better?" we ask you who did "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues" better: Bob Dylan as recorded in New York or Nina Simone, also recorded in New York?

Producido Grabado por Al Schmitt, la mayor parte de su carrera inigualable junto al gran Tommy LiPuma. Es el ingeniero de sonido por excelencia. Ha grabado a las mayores figuras de nuestro tiempo, desde Frank Sinatra, Miles Davis, Rosemary Clooney o Bob Dylan a Steely Dan, Bill Evans, George Benson, Al Jarreau, Quincy Jones, Michael Franks, y un inagotable etcétera. Y como productor destacan sus trabajos para los primeros discos de Jefferson Airplane, Neil Young o Jackson Browne. Con esta selección - que incluye a Toto, Nora Jones, Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, Brian Wilson, Luis Miguel, Sinatra o Elvis Presley -completamos el programa que emitimos los días 17 y 19 de septiembre de 2018, éste último con la presencia del propio maestro. Al Schmitt falleció anteayer martes 27 de abril. Tenía 91 años. DISCO 1 HENRY MANCINI Baby Elephant Walk (2) DISCO 2 TOTO Africa (10) DISCO 3 NORAH JONES & RAY CHARLES Here We Go Again (12) DISCO 4 RAY CHARLES & VAN MORRISON Crazy Love (12) DISCO 5 BRIAN WILSON They Can’t That Away From Me (8) DISCO 6 SAM COOKE Bring It on Home To Me (15) DISCO 7 ELVIS PRESLEY Blue Suede Shoes (Cara 2 Corte 5) DISCO 8 MARK ALMOND On Broadway (Cara 1 Corte 3) DISCO 9 LUIS MIGUEL Te propongo esta noche (9) DISCO 10 LARSEN & FEITEN BAND Who’ll Be The Fool Tonight (1) DISCO 11 FRANK SINATRA & BONO I’ve Got You Under My Skin  (12) DISCO 12 THE CLAUS OGERMAN ORCHESTRA Caprice (4) Escuchar audio

Al Schmitt, l'ingénieur du son américain qui a travaillé avec Steely Dan, George Benson, Quincy Jones et Toto, est décédé à 91 ans. Nos collègues de StuBru annonce le décès de Paul Couter, guitariste et cofondateur de T.C. Matic, il avait 72 ans. Le 21 mai, les Counting Crows partageront avec nous un nouvel album ‘’Butter Miracle, Suite One’’. La scène du Live Aid, sur laquelle s’était produit Queen, est en lice pour le concours de la marque LEGO. Que prépare Coldplay ? Un concert de 50.000 personnes a eu lieu le 24 avril en Nouvelle-Zélande. --- Classic 21 vous informe des dernières actualités du rock, en Belgique et partout ailleurs. Le Journal du Rock, chaque jour à 7h30 et 18h30.

An interview with the legendary music engineer and producer Al Schmitt. The sad news hit early Tuesday morning, music engineer and producer Al Schmitt had passed away at at 91. I got a chance to sit down with the music legend to chat about his legacy and upcoming book just a few years ago. I was recording interviews for Stereophile's Audiostream Podcast at the time, and Al was equal parts gracious and entertaining during the nearly three hours we spent together talking about his expansive, full life. His work in the music industry spans so many years, and he had so many fun and crazy stories to tell from his professional experience with the likes of Sam Cook, Todo, Neil Young, Bob Dylan, Frank Sinatra, Paul McCartney and more. 23 grammies worth, to be exact. I've revisited the entire interview on this week's Occasional Podcast to help give a small glimpse at the man who spent almost his entire life dedicated to making music sound better. S5E8 Sponsors: FOCALdotCOM – French Hi-Fi Global Leader BRYSTONdotCOM - Taking Power To the Next Level SCHIITdotCOM – Audio Components Designed & Built in California, Starting At $49

Sai Hanif has been working in the music industry for over sixteen years. In addition to live event production, he founded and continues to run a successful musical instrument brand. Sai has taken his business acumen and applied it to the artists he works with throughout his career. He specializes in scaling artists by implementing processes to create efficient workflows with respect to the creative process. Specialties: Tour Direction, Production Management, Design, Budgeting, Travel, Logistics, Business Strategy, and Artist Development.Founder and CEOMasters of Maple Drums Established in 2002 Masters of maple is one of the leading boutique drum manufacturers in the world. The brand produces high quality instruments with a limited distribution model, and is one of the few manufacturers to make their ply drum shells in house.Tour Director, Production Manager Gabriel " Fluffy" Iglesias May 2019 – Present Gabriel “Fluffy” Iglesias is an acclaimed stand up comedian with multiple Netflix specials, and storied career in entertainment.Production Manager, Technical Director X ambassadors Contract Oct 2019 – Present Production management for the “Orion” world tour album campaign. X ambassadors are a Grammy award winning alternative band from Ithaca, New York. I oversaw design and fabrication of the new stage production, which incorporated video elements utilizing the new disguise D3 media server. Production Consultant, Drum Technician [Joshua Homme]Eagles of Death Metal Dates Employed Apr 2015 – Present Eagles of Death Metal are a rock band from Palm Desert, California. I served as drum technician for Mr. Homme when he would play drums live with the band.  Tour Manager, Production Manager, Creative Director Jakob Dylan Jul 2014 – Present Jakob Dylan is a Grammy award winning and lead singer of The Wallflowers. I have been responsible for all special projects in many capacities. Mr. Dylan is involved in many charities at the forefront of health and world issues.Founder and CEO Ghost Tech Touring Full-time Mar 2012 – Present Ghost Tech Touring is a full service production company. We specialize in all aspects of touring operations such as but not limited to: bus rental, insurance, crew management, budget control, audio visual services, backline, logistics, expendable management. Typically clients save between 4-19% on gross revenue touring expenses.Production Manager Walk The Moon May 2016 – Present Production management for the “What if Nothing” album campaign. Walk the Moon are a rock band from Cincinnati, Ohio.Tour Manager, Production Manager, Management The Wallflowers Jan 2011 – Present Tour Manager | Production Manager [2013- Present]Stage Manager | Backline Crew Chief | Drum Technician | Keyboard Technician [2011-2013] The Wallflowers are a two-time Grammy award winning rock band from Los Angeles, California. Tour Director, Technical Director, Band Liaison, Production Accountant Echo in the Canyon Dates Employed 2018 – 2019 Echo In The Canyon is a 2018 film paying homage to the music of the sixties and the cultural revolution surrounding Laurel Canyon. It was released in theaters May 24, 2019.https://Mdrums.com/https://myghosttech.com/https://www.instagram.com/ladrumguy/https://www.instagram.com/mastersofmapleAl Schmitt videoSupport the show (https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=9JCBNUCRNRVKY&source=url)

My guest today is Grammy-nominated engineer, Steve Genewick. Steve is making a return appearance on WCA. With 30 years of experience and 20 of that spent working alongside Al Schmitt, Steve has worked all over the world with artists such as Paul McCartney, Diana Krall, and LL Cool Jay as well as games such as Apex Legend. Lately, Steve is deep into remixing classic records for release in ATMOS. In this episode, we discuss: Preparing Capital for COVID Mixing Atmos from Home Setting up for Atmos Working Independently  Working with Al Schmitt High-Level Gigs Diverse Sessions Learning from Peers Learning from Everybody Being Prepared High-Pressure Sessions Sacrifices Cancer Saying No to Gigs Knowing What’s Important  Shrinking Budgets Mix Revisions Mixing for Video Games Home Studio Future Matt's Rant: Revisions Links and Show Notes Steve's Site: http://stevegenewick.com/ Steve on Instagram: @steve_genewick WCA #070 with Al Schmitt & Steve Genewick WCA #112 with Frank Wolf WCA on Instagram: @working_class_audio Go Ad-Free! https://glow.fm/workingclassaudio/ Connect with Matt on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattboudreau/ Current sponsors & promos: https://bit.ly/2WmKbFw Working Class Audio Journal: https://amzn.to/2GN67TP Credits: Guest: Steve Genewick Host: Matt Boudreau  WCA Theme Music: Cliff Truesdell  Announcer: Chuck Smith Editing: Anne-Marie Pleau & Matt Boudreau Additional Music: The License Lab

El 30 de septiembre de 1977 la sala Roxy de la ciudad de Los Ángeles se disponía a acoger una serie de tres conciertos que se ofrecerían durante 3 noches consecutivas y que correrían a cargo de la banda de una nueva estrella del jazz, George Benson, un guitarrista que el año anterior había sorprendido con un larga duración realizado con esa misma banda, un disco llamado Breezin’ y que en muy poco tiempo se había convertido en uno de los discos más vendidos de la historía del jazz. Breezin’ catapultó a Benson y consiguió además que le fueran reconocidas sus habilidades como vocalista gracias a un tema de Leon Russell que se llamó This Masquerade y que contenía también un delicioso y original solo de piano del argentino Jorge Dalto. En febrero de 1977 aparecía otro trabajo de Benson y un nuevo éxito, In Flight. Ambos LPs estaban producidos por Tommy Lipuma, mezclados por Al Schmitt y arreglados por el alemán, Claus Ogerman. La sala Roxy había abierto sus puertas unos pocos años antes, en el año 1973, y había acogido a numerosos artistas prometedores. Neil Young grabó su Roxy: Tonight’s is the Night en 1973. The Crusaders grabaron Scratch on the Roxy en 1974. Ese mismo año Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention realizaban su Roxy and Elsewhere. Bob Marley and the Wailers hicieron lo propio con Live at the Roxy grabado en ese local en febrero de 1977, el mismo año que el disco que os presentamos hoy. En esos momentos en EEUU estaban sucediendo cosas importantes. La Guerra de Vietnam había acabado poco más de un año antes. Jimmy Carter acababa de llegar a la presidencia del país. La Nasa acababa de lanzar el Voyager 2 y conseguía también que el transbordador espacial Enterprise despegara desde un Boing 747 y planeara con éxito. Acababa de morir Elvis de un ataque al corazón y se había estrenado La Guerra de las Galaxias con un éxito sin precedentes. Ese 30 de septiembre de 1977 George Benson iba por Sunset Boulevard en una limosina que le conducía al Roxy Theatre. El tráfico era, como casi siempre, infernal. En en Roxy le esperaba su banda al completo, compuesta por Jorge Dalto en el piano y teclados, Ronnie Foster en teclados, Harvey Mason en la batería, Stanley Banks en el bajo, Ralph McDonald en la percusión, Phil Upchurch en la guitarra rítmica y George Benson en guitarra y vocales. Una conjunción de músicos de muy elevado nivel y una de las más grandes bandas del jazz de todos los tiempos. También estaba ahí el productor, Tommy Lipuma, algo inquieto por saber cómo se iba a llamar el trabajo. Lo normal en esos años era que su título fuera George Benson Live at Roxy pero creyeron que Weekend in LA daba la sensación de que un acontecimiento único estaba a punto de suceder. En la audiencia, compuesta mayormente por gente del mundo del espectáculo se encontraban algunos pesos pesados de la industria musical como Aretha Franklin, Minnie Ripperton, Natalie Cole, Tom Scott, Leon Russell y también actores cono Keith Carradine o David Soul, que en esos momentos era Hutch en la mítica serie Starsky y Hutch. El resultado fue una noche mágica que consiguió emocionar a todos los presentes y que estuvo impregnada de una sensación de esperanza y cambio. Llegaban los 80s. Hoy vamos a hablar de uno de los directos más brillantes de la historia del jazz por mucho que ese comentario moleste a los puristas, nada más y nada menos que el Weekend in L.A. de George Benson. Weekend in L.A. contiene clásicos de la talla de On Broadway, versionado poco después por la banda del gran Tito Puente también con Dalto en su formación; Down Here On The Ground, una revisión del tema de Lalo Schiffrin que supera con mucho el original; Lady Blue, dedicado a Billie Holiday y compuesta por Leon Russell o We All Remember Wes, escrita por Stevie Wonder para recordar a Benson que él no era el único que echaba a faltar a Wes Montgomery. O la inspirada Ode to Kudu que demuestra la enorme técnica y dominio de la guitarra de Benson y que como Weekend in L.A., fueron compuestas por Benson para la ocasión o It's All in the Game, una preciosa canción de Charles Dawes y Cal Sigman que incluye un delicado sólo de piano de nuestro admirado Jorge Dalto. En definitiva, una auténtica Masterpiece que nos ha apetecido mucho traer a Música para Gatos.

Originally recorded on May 11, 2020, this two hour interview with Al Schmitt covers Count Basie, Baby Elephant Walk, Bob Dylan, Neil Young and pretty much anybody else you can think of. Al has had one of the most varied, enduring and interesting careers not just in record making, but in life. And on top of all that he's a really nice guy and a great story teller!

PODCAST INTEGRANTE DE ESFERA JAZZ: https://www.esferajazz.com MASTERPIECES: Al Jarreau - Look to the Rainbow: Live in Europe (1977) Hoy os acercamos al tejado una nueva edición de Masterpieces que va a estar dedicada a "Look to the Rainbow: Live in Europe" un excelente disco del genio Al Jarreau que contiene algunas inolvidables interpretaciones del compositor y vocalista, como decía Cifú, un auténtico malabarista de la voz. Producido por Tommy LiPuma y Al Schmitt, el larga duración incluye a algunos de los músicos que Jarreau había utilizado en sus dos primeras grabaciones como Tom Canning o Joe Correro e incorpora además al extraordinario bajista Abe Laboriel y a Lynn Blessing al vibráfono. El resultado son 12 temas , 8 del propio Jarreau y 4 clásicos entre los cuales destacan "Rainbow in your eyes" de Leon Rusell y una increíble versión de la pieza maestra de Paul Desmond, "Take five”. Look to the Rainbow es una grabación muy singular a la que vamos a dedicar íntegramente nuestro episodio de hoy. TRACKS 1. Letter Perfect (Jarreau) 2. Rainbow in Your Eyes (Leon Russell) 3. One Good Turn (Jarreau) 4. Could You Believe (Jarreau) 5. Burst in With the Dawn (Jarreau) 6. Better Than Anything (David Wheat/William Lougborough) 7. So Long Girl (Jarreau) 8. Look to the Rainbow (Lane/Harburg) 9. You Don't See Me (Jarreau) 10. Take Five (Paul Desmond) 11. Loving You (Jarreau) 12. We Got By (Jarreau) CREDITS Al Jarreau (Vocals, vocal percussion, miscellaneous effects) Tom Canning (Keyboards) Joe Correro (Drums) Abraham Laboriel (Bass) Lynn Blessing (Vibes)

durée : 00:55:21 - Diana Krall - par : Alex Dutilh - Diana Krall joue des différents formats dans “This Dream Of You” qui sort demain chez Verve. L’album a été mixé par l’orfèvre Al Schmitt. - réalisé par : Fabien Fleurat

durée : 00:55:21 - Diana Krall - par : Alex Dutilh - Diana Krall joue des différents formats dans “This Dream Of You” qui sort demain chez Verve. L’album a été mixé par l’orfèvre Al Schmitt. - réalisé par : Fabien Fleurat

FotHF host Russ Long and Signal To Noise co-host Chris Leonard teamed up with front of house engineer Tim Holder (currently mixing Carrie Underwood) and long-time recording engineer Paul Andrews (also currently business development manager for DPA Microphones) to focus on the importance of paying attention to and understanding every component in a sound system signal chain. The live event was presented on ProSoundWeb’s Facebook and YouTube channels, offering listeners around the world an opportunity to listen in and participate in the conversation. It is also available as an audio-only podcast. Tim Holder is a live FOH mixer, studio owner and 1970s vintage audio enthusiast who's worked for 20-plus years with Clair Global and is based in Nashville. Currently working with Carrie Underwood, other clients include Steven Tyler, Kenny Chesney, Enrique Iglesias, John Fogerty and Simon & Garfunkel.Tim's passion for audio has led him on a global journey providing a lifetime of learning experiences and relationships with great friends to share them with. His knowledge of vintage audio gear and how to get the revered sound of the '70s is a specialty. A touring bass player in the 1980s and 90s, he also has extensive systems engineer experience -- just the right combination of art and tech.Paul Andrews, owner/engineer of Bridge Recording Studios in Nashville, is also a global sales support/business development manager for DPA Microphones. He regularly works industry leading engineers/producers such as Al Schmitt, Bruce Swedien, Brent Maher, and Chuck Ainlay, to name a few, and he's recorded artists such as Kris Kristofferson, Boyz II Men, Victor Wooten, Dennis Chambers, Bill Evans, Pete Huttlinger, The CSU Symphony Orchestra and Big Band, Seth MacFarlane, Peter Erskine, and Great White.Growing up, he attended Denver University on scholarship in classical guitar studying under Ricardo Iznaola, and then joined the staff at A&M Records where he worked with Sheryl Crow, Aerosmith and Danzig among others. Today, you’ll find him recording many different styles of music, ranging from classical to jazz to punk. He also travels internationally conducting workshops and live seminars for DPA Microphones, educating industry professionals on microphone technologies and best practices.FOTHF host Russ Long is a top touring and multi-platinum recording and mix engineer who’s worked in professional audio for more than 30 years. Following a decade as Steven Curtis Chapman’s FOH engineer, he has spent over 12 years mixing FOH for Amy Grant, and has also mixed numerous high-profile events such as the KLOVE Music awards, the Challenge America Musical Gala at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC, and Barbara Bush’s 90th birthday concert featuring Reba McEntire, Michael W. Smith and Amy Grant. In addition, he’s been part of the audio team for numerous broadcast events such as the Grammy Awards, the CMA Awards, ABC’s “CMA Music Festival: Country’s Night to Rock” TV Special, and more. Russ is currently part of Yamaha’s console R&D team.Signal To Noise co-host Chris Leonard is also the director of audio at IMS Technology Services, a production company headquartered in Garnet Valley, PA, where he’s served for the last decade. Prior to that, he worked with Maryland Sound as a touring monitor engineer and system tech for bands like Tears for Fears, Josh Groban, Don Henley, and Disturbed as well as national events like Times Square New Year's Eve and Presidential Inaugurations.

Episode 9 Al SchmittPart 2   Song Chronicles is proud to present the second of a two-part interview with Al Schmitt. This episode, done via Zoom on August 7, took place three days after the first interview after Al emailed to say that he had some additional stories and memories he wanted to share. It’s a testament to his generosity and work ethic that Al would take the time to follow-up because he wanted to make this interview even more special even after a great first interview – which is a fascinating conversation on its own.   Al Schmitt has spent his 70-some year career making things better. The universally revered engineer and producer has received awards with the most notable all-time Grammy winners – and the top among engineers - as well as receiving the honored prestigious Grammy Trustee Award.   Al Schmitt with Tommy LiPuma and Paul McCartney   Al’s unrivaled resume crosses generations and genre lines. The 90-year-old master of the soundboard has worked with a seemingly endless list of musical superstars: from Miles Davis to Madonna, Quincy Jones to Nina Simone, Dolly Parton to Brian Wilson, Elvis Presley to Bob Dylan, Liza Minnelli to Luis Miguel, Kenny Rogers to Kenny G., Linda Ronstadt to Rod Stewart.   Al with Ray Charles In this episode, Al shares some of his favorite moments from his illustrious career – like the time in the early ‘60s when he hung out in a hotel suite with Sam Cooke and Cassius Clay (just weeks before took the name Muhammad Ali). Cooke was helping out Clay, who just had gotten a record deal, and Al recalls how funny and irreverent to two men were - “I never laughed so hard in my life.”   Al had a long-running working partnership with Henry Mancini, which started with the Peter Gunn record and resulted in Al’s first Grammy for the Hatari! soundtrack. The acclaimed composer, Al reveals, had a great sense of humor as well as a great way to endear himself with session musicians – here’s a hint: it involves how doing one song past 11 pm made the musicians very happy.   Al at work at Capitol Studios   When Al was a kid, he used to play hooky from school to go see Frank Sinatra sing at the Paramount Theatre. And Sinatra was one artist that he had long to work with but never had – until producer Phil Ramone called him to engineer Sinatra’s Duets album. It was a job, Al says, he would have done for nothing. He talks about how the studio was set up for Sinatra and how the singer wanted to do this “this way” in the studio as well as what a thrill it was just to be part of Sinatra’s dinner party for three nights.   His Sinatra stories also involves the fabled U47 microphone, a subject close to Al’s heart because he is a self-described “microphone freak.” During this episode, Al discusses how much he enjoys mic-ing a room and trying them out in different placements, moving the band around the room. He fondly remembers his time at RCA where he would experiment in the studio every day and discover the ambience and best recording spots in the room. Al also describes his process of working with an artist to make for the most rewarding and productive recording session. Diana Krall with Al Schmitt   During my conversation with Al, he speaks too about how he developed such a strong work ethic as well as his various interests outside of the studio. Additionally, he shares how he has continued working during the COVID pandemic, having recently wrapped up engineering jobs on upcoming releases by Diana Krall and Melody Gardot.        

Episode 8 Al SchmittPart 1 Song Chronicles is proud to present the first of a two-part interview with Al Schmitt. These episodes offer a unique behind-the-scenes look - from a master of his craft –  on what happens on the other side of the glass when musicians go into a recording studio.         Al Schmitt is the definition of a living legend. During his unparalleled career, the 90-year-old engineer/producer has worked with an incredible list of musical giants: Frank Sinatra, Duke Ellington, Sam Cooke, Barbra Streisand, Henry Mancini, Ray Charles, Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, Willie Nelson, Neil Young, Steely Dan, Celine Dion, Queen Latifah, and more are names that only scratch the surface of a  career of the highest excellence: his knowledge and work ethic makes the greatest of greats want him at the helm. The arc spans far and wide with Frank Sinatra to Bob Dylan singing Sinatra, as well as Nat King Cole & Natalie Cole’s “Unforgettable”.   Al Schmitt with Niko Bolas     Now in his seventh decade at the board, Al has hardly slowed down. He has just finished mixing a new album from Diana Krall, with whom he already has earned three Grammys. In fact, Al has won more Grammys – 20 – than any other engineer and ranks among the top 15 of all-time Grammy winners.   During Neil Young sessions at Capitol (Neil Young and Niko Bolas pictured)      I met Al when he came to speak to the members of the Blackbird Academy’s audio engineering program that I enrolled myself in last year in Nashville. He came in with his good friend, and fellow producer/engineer, Niko Bolas, who I've been fortunate to know since I was 18, when I was recording at Record One in Sherman Oaks (a studio once owned by Allen Sides as part of Ocean Way), where Niko was working alongside producer/engineer, Val Garay.    I spoke with Al recently, August 4, 2020, during the quarantine. We spoke via video on Zoom, talking about his illustrious career, innovative recording techniques, and the musicians who he’s worked with.   Al Schmitt and Steve Genewick Al developed his love for the studio very early in his life. As a child, the New York City native hung out at the recording studio owned by his uncle, Harry Smith. Not the folklorist Harry Smith but the Harry Smith (née Schmitt) who ran the first independent recording studio on the east coast. He was starry-eyed with his uncle’s work and life. Les Paul was his “Uncle Les,” who took young Al to hockey games, boxing matches, and bar.   Smith instilled in Al some valuable lessons about studio work, such as: “You’ve got to treat your equipment like a Swiss watch and it’ll take care of you”. Al says that’s why you’ll never see him putting coffee and stuff like that on his console.   His uncle also lined up an apprenticeship for him, then 19 and just out of the Navy, at Apex Recording Studios, where he received tutelage from another of his mentors, the fabled engineer/producer Tom Dowd, who Al describes as “one of the great engineers of all time.”   It was at Apex too that Al ran, quite by accident, his first recording session for none other than Duke Ellington – and a very kind Duke, who told the novice engineer: “Don’t worry son, we’re gonna get through this. It’s gonna be fine.”   Al has become known for his clean, unembellished sound, which he developed early on when he only had a few microphones to work with. This taught him the importance of mic placement to get the sound right for a take, particularly because there wasn’t the technology yet to go back and fix a take.   “I've always been an experimenter with microphones and how to set up things,” he reveals. “I set up a big band one day and the next day I'd set them up exactly the opposite and I'd move them around the room until I got the best place.”   Al Schmitt & Niko Bolas with John McBride, visiting the students in Mark Rubel's class at The Blackbird Academy  (we all wore ties in their honor)      After close to a decade in New York (where he also worked at Atlantic Records and Fulton Recordings) in 1958, Al moved to Los Angeles. He was an engineer first at the highly popular Radio Recorders studio before moving over to RCA in 1963.   A few years later, Al convinced RCA to promote him to a producer, but there was one downside of a dream job: because of union rules, he could no longer work the board. “I could reach over and do something like on the echo or whatever, and (then they would) call me up on the carpet for touching the board.”   It was also time-consuming. “Eddie (Fisher) would be 2-5 (pm) and then Jefferson Airplane would be 8 ‘til 3, 4 in the morning. And by the time I got home, I'd get a little sleep. And, I'd have to come back to work because I had 11 artists that I was taking care of. So I had to do budgets. I had to hire arrangers for artists.” He quit this RCA job, but the Jefferson Airplane hired him back as their producer, persuading him to finish the album because they loved his work so much.   Al went on to produce several more albums for the band and for others; however, by the early 70s, he realized how much he missed engineering. So while he has continued to be a producer (on albums for Neil Young, Jackson Browne, Al Jarreau, George Benson, to name a few), the bulk of Al’s massive, and impressive, body of work has been doing what he loves best – being an engineer.   Not only has Al achieved great success in his prolific career – he has worked on over 150 gold and platinum albums – but he has achieved in an amazing range of genres: jazz, rock, pop, country, soundtracks, holiday music, Latin, rap, and blues.     Capitol Recording Studios, Al's second home   

Melody Gardot, certains d'entre vous le savent à l'écoute de notre antenne, a choisi Paris pour son confinement, admirant depuis sa terrasse la plus belle ville du monde,  désertée des automobiles dans une attitude d'inspiration forte, contemplative et active. Elle a donc décidé de lancer par voie digitale un casting international pour réunir des musiciens, sur la base unique de leur talent et sous la houlette de ses directeurs musicaux de haut niveau tels que Larry Klein, Vince Mendoza ou encore l'ingénieur du son Al Schmitt, habitué à travailler avec Michael Bublé, Paul Anka ou Georges Benson…et aujourd'hui, avec des moyens confinement et post confinement sort le magnifique premier single de son futur album intitulé « From Paris With Love »...

My guest today is Doug Sarrett a Nashville-based Independent Audio Engineer. He came to Nashville to attend Belmont University and has worked steadily in Nashville Recording Studios for over 30 years. Doug is also the owner of Uno Mas Studio in Brentwood, TN. A brief list of some of the artists Doug has worked with: U2, Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen, Aretha Franklin, One Republic, Vince Gill, Micheal McDonald, Amy Grant, Switchfoot, Glen Campbell, Micheal W. Smith, CeCe Winans, Shirley Jones (Mom Partidge), Lynda Carter (Wonder Woman), The Oak Ridge Boys, and tons of others! I met Doug recently at a Nashville engineers lunch event (thanks again Mark Rubel!) and when I checked out Doug’s website and work I was really blown away. So here we are :-) Thanks to our sponsors! OWC: Other World Computing: https://www.OWC.com WhisperRoom: https://whisperroom.com Get 10% off the 4x4 or 4x6 booths now when you mention Recording Studio Rockstars. JZ Microphones: https://usashop.jzmic.com Spectra1964: https://www.spectra1964.com Presonus Studio One: https://www.presonus.com RSR Academy: http://RSRockstars.com/Academy Want to learn more about mixing? Get Free mix training with Lij at: http://MixMasterBundle.com Hear more on Youtube If you love the podcast, then please Leave a review on iTunes here CLICK HERE FOR SHOW NOTES AT: http://RSRockstars.com/241

This episode features a conversation with an award winning recording engineer legend. The only engineer with a star on the Hollywood walk of fame. He recorded and produced several of Al Jarreau's early major releases, and he is the author of - Al Schmitt on the Record: The Magic Behind the Music www.alschmitt.com  

Al Schmitt is a legendary sound engineer who has worked with everybody from Frank Sinatra to Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney to Steely Dan and scores more. Furthermore he produced Jefferson Airplane's "Volunteers" and Jackson Browne's "Late For The Sky." Al even has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, right outside Capitol Records, where he prefers to work to this day. Listen to hear Al's story. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

My guest today is Steve Genewick 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.  For the last 15 years, Steve has had the great honour of collaborating with 23 time Grammy award-winning engineer/producer Al Schmitt, working with artists such as  Diana Krall, Chris Botti, Gladys Knight, Neil Young, George Benson, Quincy Jones, Burt Bacharach, and Paul McCartney.  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.  Steve also creates a great video channel for Capitol Studios called Top Of The Tower and the 1 Mic 1 Take series which we have included on Youtube for you. Thanks to our sponsors! WhisperRoom: https://whisperroom.com Get 10% off the 4x4 or 4x6 booths now when you mention Recording Studio Rockstars: http://whisperroom.com Spectra1964: https://www.spectra1964.com Eventide: https://www.eventideaudio.com OWC - Other World Computing: https://www.OWC.com RoswellProAudio: https://roswellproaudio.com RSR Academy: http://RSRockstars.com/Academy Want to learn more about mixing? Get Free mix training with Lij at: http://MixMasterBundle.com Hear more on Youtube If you love the podcast, then please Leave a review on iTunes here CLICK HERE FOR SHOW NOTES AT: http://RSRockstars.com/231

Composer, producer, multi-instrumentalist (and Canuck!) ANDREW KESLER shares what it's like to move from Toronto to L.A. and his experiences breaking into the L.A. music scene as a keyboardist as well as working with Al Schmitt, the international vocal group ACCENT, and how to get your YouTube game on!

Paul Andrews with DPA microphones joins us in studio, where we pretty much cover just about anything, and everything when it comes to recording in the studio, which microphones to use, and what the difference is between large diaphragm and small diaphragm microphones, and some of the new technology that DPA is bringing to the consumer. We also discuss with Sean Giovanni how to maintain your gear in the studio, to where its always in the best shape for your next recording session. Paul is the Global Sales Support/Business Development Manager for DPA Microphones. Paul has worked with recording industry leaders including Al Schmitt, Bruce Swedien, Brent Maher, Chuck Ainlay and Brad Divines to name a few. Andrews has recorded artists such as Kris Kristofferson, Boyz II Men, Victor Wooten, Dennis Chambers, Bill Evans, Pete Huttlinger, the CSU Symphony Orchestra, and Big Band, Hila Plitmann, Seth Mcfarland, Peter Erskine, and Great White. Paul also was on staff at A&M Records where he worked with Sheryl Crow, Aerosmith, and Danzig among others.    The Business Side of Music ™ © 2019 Beyond the Music Host: Bob Bender Produced by Bob Bender  Advisor: Tom Sabella Show businesssideofmusic.com  Stream or Download (free) businesssideofmusic.com  To submit to be interviewed: musicpodcast@mail.com Sponsorship information businesssideofmusic.com/sponsor-affiliate/ Join our mailing list for show announcements, career advice, industry discounts, free gifts and more.  Like Free Special Thanks to Tom Sabella and Traci Snow for producing and hosting over 100 episodes of the original “Business Side of Music” podcast, and trusting us to carry on their legacy.  

This week's guest is Steve Genewick, who's worked at Capitol Studios in Hollywood for 25 years. During that time he’s had the opportunity to work with a wide variety of legendary artists including Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, Neil Young, Queen, George Harrison, Michael Jackson and many more. Steve has also been able to work closely with some of the greatest engineers ever, including Al Schmitt and Geoff Emerick, among many others. He has also worked on the music for the Academy Awards for the last 20 years, including some huge setups that probably couldn’t be done anywhere else. After working on a number of high-profile 5.1 surround mixes in the past, Steve is now focusing much of his attention on Dolby Atmos immersive audio mixing with some spectacular results. During the interview we spoke about the wide variety of clients at Capitol Studios, what goes on behind-the-scenes while recording the music for the Academy Awards, lessons learned from legendary engineers, making the transition to immersive audio mixing, and much more. On the intro I’ll also take a look at the musician's labor relations and a possible producer’s union, and the latest acquisition by the Focusrite Group.

As a child living in New York City,  Al Schmitt would catch the subway on weekends to spend the day at his uncle’s recording studio, observing different engineering techniques. At 19, Schmitt began working with Tom Dowd at Apex Studios in New York City. He worked as an independant engineer at Atlantic Records and Prestige Records, and after moving to California, he started working at Radio Recorders. RCA Records hired Schmitt as a staff producer for their label and a staff engineer at their Hollywood studio. This let Schmitt develop his wide-ranging engineering skills by working with the various pop, jazz, classical, and country … With an unparalleled 24 (twenty-four) Grammy Awards for engineering, Schmitt epitomizes great recording through decades of technological change. The legendary and world-renowned recording engineer received a Grammy in 2002 for Diana Krall’s “The Look of Love.” Schmitt, who has worked with Krall on her past five albums. Up one aisle you’ll find Frank Sinatra, Henry Mancini, Sam Cooke, Ray Charles, and Miles Davis; up another you’ll bump into Jefferson Airplane, Jackson Browne, Neil Young, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Kenny Rogers and Steely Dan. Round a corner and you’ll encounter Barbra Streisand, Natalie Cole, Madonna, and Quincy Jones mingling with Michael Jackson, Diana Krall, Celine Dion, Paul McCartney, and Michael Buble. Schmitt captured his first Grammy for Best Engineered recording in 1962 for Henry Mancini’s “Hatari”. Nine subsequent Grammy’s in the same category stretched through the decades: 1976: George Benson’s “Breezin'”, 1977: Steely Dan’s “Aja”, 1978: Steely Dan’s “FM”, 1982: Toto’s “Toto IV”, 1991: Natalie Cole’s “Unforgettable,” 1996: Quincy Jones’ “Q’s Jook Joint,” Diana Krall’s “When I Look In Your Eyes,” and two Latin Grammys with Luis Miguel.Al Schmitt’s celebrated engineering and mixing skills are showcased on over 150 gold and platinum albums. In ’97 Al became an inductee into the TEC Awards Hall of Fame. In 2015 Schmitt became the first recording engineer to be presented with a star on the Hollywood walk of fame in front of Capitol records. 

207 - Al Schmitt 23-time Grammy award winning recording engineer Al Schmitt gives his perspectives on artists he has worked with who have recorded songs from the American Songbook including Paul McCartney, Bob Dylan, Robert Davi and of course Frank Sinatra. He talks about how he got into recording and what is most important to keep in mind if you are an engineer. Schmitt has worked on the albums of many artists including Barbra Streisand, Natalie Cole, Jackson Browne, Jefferson Airplane, Neil Young, Ray Charles, Henry Mancini, Diana Krall, George Benson and the last two studio albums of Frank Sinatra. The Paul Leslie Hour is honored to welcome Al Schmitt, one of the most renowned recording engineers in popular recorded music. Support The Paul Leslie Hour by donating to their Tip Jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/the-paul-leslie-hour

Pensado's Place - Video info@pensadosplace.tv (Pensado's Place)noPensado's Place - VideoGrammy winning mix engineer Dave Pensado and veteran manager/executive producer Herb Trawick are the host and co-host of Pensado’s Place. A weekly talk show covering the audio and music spectrum, its craftsman and the business of. Pensado’s Place has been called the “Charlie Rose of audio”, a description that sits fine with both Herb and Dave. Pensado’s Place segments cover include interviews, technique application, interactive audience participation, speed rounds and more. Along with location shoots, sweepstakes, gear and career opportunities, thought leader analysis of the challenges and evolution in the audio and music space, Pensado’s place is the tv show for the casual enthusiast up to the long term professional. With mix credits including Michael Jackson, Kelly Clarkson, AfroJack, Beyonce, Elton John, Christina Aguilera and Jill Scott, Dave is acknowledged as one of the leading online educators for all things audio. Trawicks experience as a successful manager makes him the resident expert on intellectual property,

Pensado's Place - Audio info@pensadosplace.tv (Pensado's Place)noPensado's Place Audio PodcastGrammy winning mix engineer Dave Pensado and veteran manager/executive producer Herb Trawick are the host and co-host of Pensado’s Place. A weekly talk show covering the audio and music spectrum, its craftsman and the business of. Pensado’s Place has been called the “Charlie Rose of audio”, a description that sits fine with both Herb and Dave. Pensado’s Place segments cover include interviews, technique application, interactive audience participation, speed rounds and more. Along with location shoots, sweepstakes, gear and career opportunities, thought leader analysis of the challenges and evolution in the audio and music space, Pensado’s place is the tv show for the casual enthusiast up to the long term professional. With mix credits including Michael Jackson, Kelly Clarkson, AfroJack, Beyonce, Elton John, Christina Aguilera and Jill Scott, Dave is acknowledged as one of the leading online educators for all things audio. Trawicks experience as a successful manager makes him the resident expert on intellectual property, business

Producer and studio engineer Al Schmitt’s deep connection with music spans almost the entire breadth of modern music as we know it. From producing acts like Jefferson Airplane to engineering feats with Paul McCartney, Frank Sinatra and Diana Krall, Schmitt has been behind the board for some of the biggest entertainment talent to grace the airwaves. Al walks us down his historical path that earned him 150 gold/platinum albums and 22 Grammys, sharing his experiences and engineering know-how working with the likes of Duke Ellington, Sam Cook, Toto, Neil Young, Bob Dylan and more. Part 2 of 2.

Pensado's Place - Video info@pensadosplace.tv (Pensado's Place)noPensado's Place - VideoGrammy winning mix engineer Dave Pensado and veteran manager/executive producer Herb Trawick are the host and co-host of Pensado’s Place. A weekly talk show covering the audio and music spectrum, its craftsman and the business of. Pensado’s Place has been called the “Charlie Rose of audio”, a description that sits fine with both Herb and Dave. Pensado’s Place segments cover include interviews, technique application, interactive audience participation, speed rounds and more. Along with location shoots, sweepstakes, gear and career opportunities, thought leader analysis of the challenges and evolution in the audio and music space, Pensado’s place is the tv show for the casual enthusiast up to the long term professional. With mix credits including Michael Jackson, Kelly Clarkson, AfroJack, Beyonce, Elton John, Christina Aguilera and Jill Scott, Dave is acknowledged as one of the leading online educators for all things audio. Trawicks experience as a successful manager makes him the resident expert on intellectual property, business affairs

Pensado's Place - Audio info@pensadosplace.tv (Pensado's Place)noPensado's Place Audio PodcastGrammy winning mix engineer Dave Pensado and veteran manager/executive producer Herb Trawick are the host and co-host of Pensado’s Place. A weekly talk show covering the audio and music spectrum, its craftsman and the business of. Pensado’s Place has been called the “Charlie Rose of audio”, a description that sits fine with both Herb and Dave. Pensado’s Place segments cover include interviews, technique application, interactive audience participation, speed rounds and more. Along with location shoots, sweepstakes, gear and career opportunities, thought leader analysis of the challenges and evolution in the audio and music space, Pensado’s place is the tv show for the casual enthusiast up to the long term professional. With mix credits including Michael Jackson, Kelly Clarkson, AfroJack, Beyonce, Elton John, Christina Aguilera and Jill Scott, Dave is acknowledged as one of the leading online educators for all things audio. Trawicks experience as a successful manager makes him the resident expert on intellectual property, business affairs, career

Producer and studio engineer Al Schmitt’s deep connection with music spans almost the entire breadth of modern music as we know it. From producing acts like Jefferson Airplane to engineering feats with Paul McCartney, Frank Sinatra and Diana Krall, Schmitt has been behind the board for some of the biggest entertainment talent to grace the airwaves. Al walks us down his historical path that earned him 150 gold/platinum albums and 22 Grammys, sharing his experiences and engineering know-how working with the likes of Duke Ellington, Sam Cook, Toto, Neil Young, Bob Dylan and more. Part 1 of 2.

NEWS Apple Music now has 3 tiers for distributors Top 10 Synths of all time according to Music Radar GUEST Engineering legend Al Schmitt Find his new  book Al Schmitt On The Record here  

NEWS Apple Music now has 3 tiers for distributors Top 10 Synths of all time according to Music Radar GUEST Engineering legend Al Schmitt Find his new  book Al Schmitt On The Record here  

Saxophonist Efraim Trujillo and his organ trio The Preacher Men just released their second album Blue. In this episode we discuss the blues and its many forms, the importance of rhythm in Efraim's music and how the band got to record with legendary producer and engineer Al Schmitt. Detailed show notes and links are available at soundofthemoment.com. Please support the show at patreon.com/SoundoftheMoment

The best selling author discusses his indepth book about seminal recordings.

In this special AES Pro Audio Convention edition, we feature conversation highlights with three prominent engineer/producers: 18-time Grammy winning Al Schmitt has worked on over 150 gold and platinum records with everyone from Bob Dylan to Paul McCartney; Ed Cherney’s credits include the Rolling Stones and Eric Clapton, and Greg Wells produced and mixed the soundtrack to The Greatest Showman, the first No. 1 selling album of 2018. Join three masters of the craft in this very special episode. 

Al Schmitt reflects on his career as a recording engineer that covers more than 50 years of innovation in the pro audio world. Working with the likes of Sam Cooke and being inducted into the TEC Hall of Fame in 1997, Al has an illustrious career that continues to inspire others.

With Twenty Two Grammy awards, 160 Gold and Platinum albums and a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame, the term "legendary" doesn't begin to describe the career of Al Schmitt.  He has recorded, mixed and produced the most notable artists of the 20th and 21st Centuries - from Sinatra to Neil Young to Michael Buble and beyond. Join Al as he tells the tales of the hit-makers and their times.

Working Class Audio #153 with Katie Tavini!!! Katie Tavini began working as a producer and engineer before a piece of advice changed everything for her. “I was looking to improve my mixes,” she recalls. “Someone told me that if I wanted to do that I should learn to master. Whether it was good advice or not I took it. I loved what I discovered and never looked back.” With a fine balance of curiosity and experience, Tavini is now a mastering engineer with a rich and diverse client-list far bigger than any sound or scene. “I like things with a lot of influences,” she adds. “I like not being able to place a piece of music immediately and I love working with bands and artists who push their boundaries. I've found that a willingness to try and explore something new has often led to amazing results for my clients.” Katie is a mastering engineer who encourages, refines, expands and finishes. She loves to amplify the emotion and energy of an artist while bringing clarity and consistency to their art. People do not hear her best work, they feel it. “Most people don't think about how music moves them,” admits Tavini. “They are just moved. My job is to bring all the hard work of artists, producers and engineers together and create a platform for songs to shine. It's the perfect job for me.” About this Interview: WCA #153 features UK Mastering engineer Katie Tavini ( https://www.katietavini.co.uk/ ). Katie recently wrote a what I think is a great opinion piece for Audio Media International ( https://goo.gl/XaovbN) about supporting your fellow engineers, your peers etc.. Instead of casting judgement over the gear they use and instead judge them based on the work they do. After reading that article I had a look at Katie’s website sent an email and invited her on the show. We chatted a couple of days ago about mastering of course, clients, money, health and marketing. Enjoy! -Matt Show notes and links: Katie's website: https://www.katietavini.co.uk/home Katie's Audio Media International Article: https://goo.gl/XaovbN Audio-Technica 2017 Gift Guide: https://goo.gl/7LGYoS Al Schmitt on Using Microphones: https://www.groove3.com/tutorials/Al-Schmitt-on-Using-Microphones Sonarworks Reference 4 software https://www.sonarworks.com/ ISRC Codes US: http://www.usisrc.org/ ISRC Codes UK: http://www.ppluk.com/ Lean In: Sheryl Sandburg  Simple Invoices: https://simpleinvoices.io Easy Invoice: https://easyinvoiceapp.com/

Working Class Audio #148 with Bill Smith!!! Bill Smith is a recording engineer & producer wIth over thirty years experience in the music industry. He’s worked with YES, John Fogerty, Steve Lukather, Trevor Horn, Natalie Cole, George Benson, Queen Latifah and many more. He’s been  involved with numerous Gold, Platinum and both Grammy winning and Grammy nominated records and film soundtracks. Simultaneous to his own career he also spent eleven years as the personal recording assistant, co-engineer and Pro Tools operator to twenty-two time Grammy winning recording engineer, producer and industry legend Al Schmitt. Bill has an extensive and diverse background in rock, jazz, orchestral and big band recording. He has also with been involved with product and preset development for both the hardware and software versions of the Lexicon PCM96 and the TC Electronic M6000 Multichannel Processor. About this Interview: In our interview we talk about Bill's early days in New York as a recording engineer and his decision to move to California. We also talk about lessons learned from Al Schmitt, the changing recording world and how to adapt as well as common sense financial advice. Enjoy! Show notes and links: Bill's Website: www.billsmith.biz Backblaze: https://www.backblaze.com/cloud-backup.html#af9h3h Bernie Krause: https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/2017/10/11/bernie-krauses-equipment-decades-of-musical-memorabilia-lost-in-fires/

Paula Salvatore has been an anchor of excellence in the L.A. recording world for many years. As Senior Director and Manager of Capitol Studios for 24 years, and currently as the Vice President/Studios, Paula has been an integral part of recordings for top line artists such as James Taylor and Tony Bennett and has worked alongside Grammy legend Al Schmitt with artists including Paul McCartney, Diana Krall, Natalie Cole, Barbra Streisand, Sinatra and others.When Studio A was renovated and re-opened in 1990, Paula helped establish Capitol Studios as a leading facility for Film & TV Scoring projects, hosting renowned composers such as Dave Grusin, James Newton Howard, Michael Giacchino, and Tom Newman. Studio A & B’s adjoining rooms (separated by a retractable wall) are amongst the most unique and popular rooms for orchestra sessions, live shows, events and film shoots. Hosting the pre-records and, for several years, the live broadcast of the annual Academy Awards have helped set the standard for excellence.Paula established her management career working at Kendun Studios with Quincy Jones and George Benson, and numerous R & B legends. Moving to Sound City in the 80's, she worked with artists such as Tom Petty, Pat Benatar, Rick Springfield and Fleetwood Mac, as well as heavy metal and “hair” bands like Guns & Roses, Warrant and Poison.Musician, producer and now director, Dave Grohl of the FooFighters, featured Paula in his critically acclaimed 2013 documentary, Sound City. She also co-wrote and performed the end title theme, entitled “Sound City”. The studio business has been Paula’s life journey and she is held in high regard amongst her colleagues and industry peers. Many successful engineers have come up through the ranks under her guidance and Paula’s commitment and loyalty has earned her the respect of her renowned clientele.

Paula Salvatore has been an anchor of excellence in the L.A. recording world for many years. As Senior Director and Manager of Capitol Studios for 24 years, and currently as the Vice President/Studios, Paula has been an integral part of recordings for top line artists such as James Taylor and Tony Bennett and has worked alongside Grammy legend Al Schmitt with artists including Paul McCartney, Diana Krall, Natalie Cole, Barbra Streisand, Sinatra and others.When Studio A was renovated and re-opened in 1990, Paula helped establish Capitol Studios as a leading facility for Film & TV Scoring projects, hosting renowned composers such as Dave Grusin, James Newton Howard, Michael Giacchino, and Tom Newman. Studio A & B’s adjoining rooms (separated by a retractable wall) are amongst the most unique and popular rooms for orchestra sessions, live shows, events and film shoots. Hosting the pre-records and, for several years, the live broadcast of the annual Academy Awards have helped set the standard for excellence.Paula established her management career working at Kendun Studios with Quincy Jones and George Benson, and numerous R & B legends. Moving to Sound City in the 80's, she worked with artists such as Tom Petty, Pat Benatar, Rick Springfield and Fleetwood Mac, as well as heavy metal and “hair” bands like Guns & Roses, Warrant and Poison.Musician, producer and now director, Dave Grohl of the FooFighters, featured Paula in his critically acclaimed 2013 documentary, Sound City. She also co-wrote and performed the end title theme, entitled “Sound City”. The studio business has been Paula’s life journey and she is held in high regard amongst her colleagues and industry peers. Many successful engineers have come up through the ranks under her guidance and Paula’s commitment and loyalty has earned her the respect of her renowned clientele.

My guest today is Matt Boudreau, a producer, recording, mixing, and mastering engineer from San Francisco. Matt is also the host of a fantastic podcast, Working Class Audio where he interviews many top studio professionals. He has worked with a great number of artists in the studio including: Steve Earl, Matchbox 20, Shawn Colvin, The Shins, Death Cab for Cutie, Tori Amos, Florence + The Machine, Thomas Dolby, The Jayhawks, Ziggy Marley, Civil Wars, Sarah Bareilles, and George Thorogood to name a few.  Matt's podcast Working Class Audio includes great episodes with stellar guests like: Dave Fridmann, Niko Bolas, Al Schmitt, Brian McTear, Jim Scott, Larry Crane, F Reid Shippen, Eric Valentine, Kim Rosen, Warren Huart, Joe Barresi, Michael Beinhorn, Sylvia Massey, and Vance Powell. And those are just some of the past guests. Though we’ve only just met, I am psyched to have my “brother from another podcast” on the show today. Get full show notes at RecordingStudioRockstars.com Get over two hours of FREE Mix Training, Multitracks, and eBook at... MixMasterBundle.com  

As a child living in New York City,  Al Schmitt would catch the subway on weekends to spend the day at his uncle's recording studio, observing different engineering techniques. At 19, Schmitt began working with Tom Dowd at Apex Studios in New York City. He worked as an independant engineer at Atlantic Records and Prestige Records, and after moving to California, he started working at Radio Recorders. RCA Records hired Schmitt as a staff producer for their label and a staff engineer at their Hollywood studio. This let Schmitt develop his wide-ranging engineering skills by working with the various pop, jazz, classical, and country ... With an unparalleled 24 (twenty-four) Grammy Awards for engineering, Schmitt epitomizes great recording through decades of technological change. The legendary and world-renowned recording engineer received a Grammy in 2002 for Diana Krall's “The Look of Love.” Schmitt, who has worked with Krall on her past five albums. Up one aisle you’ll find Frank Sinatra, Henry Mancini, Sam Cooke, Ray Charles, and Miles Davis; up another you’ll bump into Jefferson Airplane, Jackson Browne, Neil Young, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Kenny Rogers and Steely Dan. Round a corner and you’ll encounter Barbra Streisand, Natalie Cole, Madonna, and Quincy Jones mingling with Michael Jackson, Diana Krall, Celine Dion, Paul McCartney, and Michael Buble. Schmitt captured his first Grammy for Best Engineered recording in 1962 for Henry Mancini's "Hatari". Nine subsequent Grammy's in the same category stretched through the decades: 1976: George Benson's "Breezin'", 1977: Steely Dan's "Aja", 1978: Steely Dan's "FM", 1982: Toto's "Toto IV", 1991: Natalie Cole's "Unforgettable," 1996: Quincy Jones' "Q's Jook Joint," Diana Krall's "When I Look In Your Eyes," and two Latin Grammys with Luis Miguel.Al Schmitt's celebrated engineering and mixing skills are showcased on over 150 gold and platinum albums. In '97 Al became an inductee into the TEC Awards Hall of Fame. In 2015 Schmitt became the first recording engineer to be presented with a star on the Hollywood walk of fame in front of Capitol records. 

Engineer and producer Al Schmitt is the embodiment of recorded music in America. He started out as a recording engineer in New York in the late 1940s and has consistently delivered some of the finest music since then. He worked with some of the greatest artists ever to record –Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk, Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles, Duke Ellington, Michael Jackson, Elvis Presley – and he’s still making relevant records. He’s won 23 Grammys - the first one in 1962 for a Henry Mancini album and the most recent in 2012 with Paul McCartney. Here he covers his career in personal, professional and technical terms. From recording big band music and race records in the 1950s to the roll of digital recording in the 21st century, the impact of drugs on the music business, the importance of good personal relationships, and what it feels like to capture magic on tape.

Working Class Audio Session #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 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 […] The post WCA #070 with Al Schmitt and Steve Genewick appeared first on Working Class Audio.

The veteran engineer talks about working with the best in the business.

William Garrett's ROOM TONE interview with legendary recording engineer and producer Al Schmitt. A twenty three time Grammy Award winner, Al has a mind blowing list of credits and has recorded the soundtrack of the last sixty years. At 85, he is still that humble guy from Brooklyn, currently working with the likes of Bob Dylan and Michael Bublé. In this ROOM TONE conversation Al shares some highlights from his amazing career including insights on his longevity and the need to give back. In this voice of experience you'll hear the soul of a kid that just loves making music.

Great musicians make great albums, but when you add a world class recording engineer and producer to the mix, you can take your project to another level. For nearly six decades, this is exactly what Al Schmitt has done for the world of music. Since the late 1950’s, Al Schmitt has engineered and produced thousands of album projects for some of the most well-known artists in the world, such as Henry Mancini, Sam Cooke, Jefferson Airplane, George Benson, Steely Dan, Toto, Michael Franks, Pablo Cruise, Natalie Cole, Ray Charles, Al Jarreau, Larry Carlton, Joe Sample, Tower of Power and so many more. Al’s approach to recording and producing music is as much about simplicity as it is about technicality. His ears and his instincts are the heart of his craft, as well as his ability to be the musician’s best friend in the studio. At 85 years young, Al Schmitt continues to be a first call engineer and his plate is full for the coming year. Inside MusiCast is pleased to welcome Grammy award-winning engineer and producer, Al Schmitt.

The multifaceted artist talks about tickle monsters, songs of Joy, third story theory and Wisconsinites in Spain.

The conversation is a fascinating glimpse into both the golden age of recording and modern music production approaches, which also highlights how important relationships and trust are to building a career in music (or any industry).  

News: - Submitting your songs to iTunes - The 5 most common mixing mistakes Interview: The legendary Al Schmitt:  find out more about Al on his Facebook page. Click here for 7 days of unlimited access to Lynda.com. Click here to see the video interview with Al and Bobby.

News: – Submitting your songs to iTunes – The 5 most common mixing mistakes Interview: The legendary Al Schmitt:  find out more about Al on his Facebook page. Click here for 7 days of unlimited access to Lynda.com. Click here to see the video interview with Al and Bobby. The post Episode #47 – The Legendary Al Schmitt appeared first on Bobby Owsinski's Inner Circle Podcast.

Deana Martin is an influential American singer, actor and performer and the very proud daughter of iconic entertainer, Dean Martin.    Deana achieved success early in her career in films, theater and television, then quickly added to her repertoire — recording artist, best-selling author, nationally syndicated radio host, licensed pilot, and business entrepreneur.    In 2004 Deana broke new ground as an author with her best-selling memoir “Memories Are Made of This, Dean Martin Through His Daughters Eye’s”   In 2005, after Deana completed her sold-out “Deana Sings Dino” international concert tour, she was eager to return to the studio and record a new album. In 2006, Deana released “Memories Are Made Of This,” her top–selling CD of Standards and Jazz. It remained on the Top 10 charts for over 40 weeks. Deana then launched her phenomenally successful “Memories Are Made Of This” international concert tour.    In the summer of 2009, Deana released her newest CD “Volare” & opened on the Billboard Heat Seeker chart at #7, Billboard’s Top Jazz Albums chart at #22, and on iTunes Top 10 chart. Deana loved working at Capitol Studios where she collaborated on this project with legendary multi-Grammy Award-winning engineer Al Schmitt, & her producer John Griffeth.   Following the release of her new album, Deana will embark on the international “Volare Concert Tour.”     Deana's desire to continue her father’s legacy & support of children’s charitable causes led to her being the driving force behind the annual Dean Martin Festival. All proceeds from this event fund the Dean Martin Music Scholarships.  

Deana Martin is an influential American singer, actor and performer and the very proud daughter of iconic entertainer, Dean Martin.    Deana achieved success early in her career in films, theater and television, then quickly added to her repertoire — recording artist, best-selling author, nationally syndicated radio host, licensed pilot, and business entrepreneur.    In 2004 Deana broke new ground as an author with her best-selling memoir “Memories Are Made of This, Dean Martin Through His Daughters Eye’s”   In 2005, after Deana completed her sold-out “Deana Sings Dino” international concert tour, she was eager to return to the studio and record a new album. In 2006, Deana released “Memories Are Made Of This,” her top–selling CD of Standards and Jazz. It remained on the Top 10 charts for over 40 weeks. Deana then launched her phenomenally successful “Memories Are Made Of This” international concert tour.    In the summer of 2009, Deana released her newest CD “Volare” & opened on the Billboard Heat Seeker chart at #7, Billboard’s Top Jazz Albums chart at #22, and on iTunes Top 10 chart. Deana loved working at Capitol Studios where she collaborated on this project with legendary multi-Grammy Award-winning engineer Al Schmitt, & her producer John Griffeth.   Following the release of her new album, Deana will embark on the international “Volare Concert Tour.”     Deana's desire to continue her father’s legacy & support of children’s charitable causes led to her being the driving force behind the annual Dean Martin Festival. All proceeds from this event fund the Dean Martin Music Scholarships.  

Deana Martin is an influential American singer, actor and performer and the very proud daughter of iconic entertainer, Dean Martin. She achieved success early in her career through films, theater and television, then quickly added to her repertoire recording artist, best-selling author, nationally syndicated radio host, licensed pilot, and business entrepreneur. In 2004, she embarked on a global book expedition with her best-selling memoir "Memories Are Made Of This, Dean Martin Through His Daughter's Eyes." In 2005, after she completed her sold-out "Deana Sings Dino" international concert tour, she was eager to return to the studio and record a new album. In 2006, she released "Memories Are Made Of This," her top-selling CD of Standards and Jazz. It remained on the Top 10 charts for over 40 weeks. She then launched her phenomenally successful "Memories Are Made Of This" worldwide concert tour. 2007 found Deana at Capitol Studios, in Hollywood, California, working on her next album. In the summer of 2009, she released her newest CD "Volare." While still in pre-release, "Volare" entered the Top 100 music and radio charts. She loved working at Capitol Studios where she collaborated on this project with legendary multi-Grammy Award-winning engineer Al Schmitt and her producer John Griffeth. Following the release of her new album, she will embark on the intercontinental "Volare Concert Tour." Deana's desire to continue her father's legacy and support of children's charitable causes led to her being the driving force behind the annual Dean Martin Festival. All proceeds from this event fund the Dean Martin Music Scholarships. Ms. Martin proudly announced that her book, "Memories Are Made Of This, Dean Martin Through His Daughter's Eyes" is being made into a movie, directed by actor Joe Mantegna with screenplay written by actor/writer/television host Bonnie Hunt. Deana and her husband John Griffeth divide their time between Beverly Hills, CA and Branson, MO.