Bobby Owsinski's Inner Circle Podcast

My guest this week is Grammy-award nominated engineer/producer Justin Cortelyou. Justin started his career working with Chuck Ainlay at Soundstage Studios in Nashville before moving to Los Angeles to work with mix-master Mike Shipley. He eventually teamed up with artist/producer Tommy Henriksen, and in 2008 they moved their operation back to Nashville and began working with legendary producer Bob Ezrin. Through the years Justin has worked with a wide variety of artists including Paul McCartney, Alice Cooper, Ke$ha, Taylor Swift, Phish, Vince Gill, Andrea Bocelli, U2, Randy Travis, KISS, Will I Am, Lady Gaga, and many others. During the interview we spoke about personal studio dynamics, working with legendary producer Bob Ezrin, his hybrid mixing technique, the importance of a sonic signature, and much more. I spoke with Justin via zoom from his studio in Nashville. On the intro I’ll take a look at what the layoffs at Soundcloud might mean, and some unusual effects pedal packages. var podscribeEmbedVars = { epId: 83818057, backgroundColor: 'white', font: undefined, fontColor: undefined, speakerFontColor: undefined, height: '600px', showEditButton: false, showSpeakers: true, showTimestamps: true };

My guest this week is Ryan Dusick, who was Maroon 5’s original drummer until he retired because of chronic nerve damage. After departing the band, Ryan struggled with anxiety and addiction for a decade before making a commitment to recovery. Founding the group Kara’s Flowers in 1994 with fellow Brentwood High School students Adam Levine, Jesse Carmichael, and Mickey Madden, Ryan and his bandmates worked tirelessly for a decade before the group changed its name to Maroon 5 and finally had its first hit album Songs About Jane. Multiple hit songs, two Grammy Awards, and 20 million albums sold later, Ryan found himself suffering and without direction when his career as a performer came to an end just as it was taking off. After years of struggling with physical and mental health challenges, Ryan finally overcame in 2016, when he began his journey of recovery, culminating in a new life path. Ryan now works as a mental health professional at the Missing Peace Center for Anxiety where he now helps others with their personal struggles, and has released a new book outlining his amazing life story. During the interview we spoke about the early days of Maroon 5, dealing with anxiety and a chronic injury, advice from U2, and much more. I spoke with RYAN via zoom from his personal studio in Los Angeles, CA. On the intro I’ll take a look at the parts of a song that are protectable, and the 9 constants of vocal recording. var podscribeEmbedVars = { epId: 83777338, backgroundColor: 'white', font: undefined, fontColor: undefined, speakerFontColor: undefined, height: '600px', showEditButton: false, showSpeakers: true, showTimestamps: true };

My guest this week is professional song doctor Molly Leikin, who’s coaching has helped 12 clients become Grammy winners and another 19 become Grammy nominees. Molly has been as a staff writer at Almo Music, Interworld Music and Chappell Music, and she’s written songs for and with everyone from Katy Perry to Placido Domingo to, Cher, Tina Turner, Anne Murray, Billy Preston and many others. An Emmy nominee, she’s written themes and songs for dozens of TV shows and movies, including Violet, which won an Oscar. She’s also the author of the books How to Write A Hit Song and How To Be A Hit Songwriter, and producer of the bestselling Master Class in Songwriting, which is a collection of the Master Classes she taught at UCLA. Her latest book is Insider Secrets To Hit Songwriting In The Digital Age. During the interview we spoke about being a staff writer for a publisher, the most common song problems, writing for the current marketplace, the process of creative songwriting, and much more. I spoke with Molly via zoom from her office in Santa Barbara, CA. On the intro I’ll take a look at 2 song identifier codes every artist should know, and the bassline so powerful it crashed computers. var podscribeEmbedVars = { epId: 83738631, backgroundColor: 'white', font: undefined, fontColor: undefined, speakerFontColor: undefined, height: '600px', showEditButton: false, showSpeakers: true, showTimestamps: true };

My guest this week is Kevin Kelly, who’s a producer, mixer and long-time audio educator with a host of major label, film score and jingle credits. These include projects by Blondie, Edgar Winter and Rick Wakeman, among many others that he worked on from his well-known studio called The Workshoppe. For 14 years, Kevin was the producer/engineer for the WLIR-FM live concert series that featured Hall & Oates, Billy Joel, The Police, Charlie Daniels Band, Peter Tosh, Ziggy Marley, Pure Prairie League and many more, and also served as co-producer and chief engineer for a series of short-form radio shows for Sixty Second LP. Kevin also taught studio recording technology for 22 years at Nassau Community College, and continues to teach one adjunct course per semester there. During the interview we spoke about the importance of networking, the new generation of plugins, how mutlitasking has changed attention spans, analog summing during mixing, and much more. I spoke with Kevin via zoom from his studio in Huntington, NY. On the intro I’ll take a look at how being a Grammy nominee might be detrimental to your career, and a new kind of greener vinyl is on the horizon. var podscribeEmbedVars = { epId: 83705633, backgroundColor: 'white', font: undefined, fontColor: undefined, speakerFontColor: undefined, height: '600px', showEditButton: false, showSpeakers: true, showTimestamps: true };

My guest this week is Jason Kramer, who’s been working in radio in Los Angeles since 1992 and has hosted an influential weekly radio show on KCRW for the past 24 years. Jason has also worked at Fox Sports TV as their full-time music supervisor for 6 years, which then led him to work as a show producer on Fox Sports Radio. He has also worked in various other aspects of music including management, publishing, creative consulting, music photography and continues to work presently as a commercial concept music supervisor for the prestigious music company, Elias Arts. During the interview we spoke about the work of a music supervisor, how music supervision has changed over the years, dealing with temp tracks, what a sports radio producer does, the future of radio, and much more. I spoke with Jason via zoom from his office in Los Angeles. On the intro I’ll take a look at some interesting Shazam numbers, and 10 microphones that haven’t changed in a really long time. var podscribeEmbedVars = { epId: 83675376, backgroundColor: 'white', font: undefined, fontColor: undefined, speakerFontColor: undefined, height: '600px', showEditButton: false, showSpeakers: true, showTimestamps: true };

Credit: Gaston McGary My guest this week is Talya Elitzer, who along with her partner Nick Sylvester leads godmode, a company that offers label, management, publishing and creative direction services. godmode has an unorthodox approach to artist management in that they specialize in managing artists that don’t quite fit pre-existing formats. During the pandemic godmode was able to successfully stabilize their artists’ careers and help them achieve growth on streaming services andTikTok. They were even able to secure Four Apple TV ad spots in the last 12 months. Before godmode Talya began her career at the giant WME looking after tours for Britney Spears, and M.I.A. She then left for a stint in A&R at Capitol Records, taking on projects for artists like Katy Perry, Beck, and Sky Ferreira. During the interview we spoke about what it’s like to start in the mail room at William Morris, working with unique artists, the importance of the artist being involved with marketing themselves, her view on Web3, and much more. I spoke with Talya via zoom from her office in the Los Angeles. On the intro I’ll take a look at why playlists might not be as important as you think, and the reason why proper metadata is essential for your songs. var podscribeEmbedVars = { epId: 83648412, backgroundColor: 'white', font: undefined, fontColor: undefined, speakerFontColor: undefined, height: '600px', showEditButton: false, showSpeakers: true, showTimestamps: true };

My guest this week is Katie Zaccardi, who pivoted from being a wellness coach to a music career coach. Since then she’s helped hundreds of musicians grow their careers, release music, launch Patreons, start coaching businesses, and double their incomes. She has a number of online courses and coaching programs, and is the host of her Out To Be podcast. During the interview we talked about building an audience if you don’t have one, where to find your ideal fan, how to monetize your audience, some tips about putting your music on TikTok, and much more. I spoke with Katie via zoom from her office in the Nashville. On the intro I’ll take a look at why playlists might not be as important as you think, and the reason why proper metadata is essential for your songs. var podscribeEmbedVars = { epId: 83600438, backgroundColor: 'white', font: undefined, fontColor: undefined, speakerFontColor: undefined, height: '600px', showEditButton: false, showSpeakers: true, showTimestamps: true };

My guest this week is Nicole Slater, who specializes in helping artists, musicians, and entrepreneurs develop their marketing strategies. Since 2005, Nicole has been focused on helping creative people share their message with the world and make more money. She’s helped artists and pro audio companies like Burl Audio, Barefoot Sound, and IK Multimedia, and studios like Sunset Sound, form roll out plans for new products and music releases, develop marketing materials, create email newsletters, optimize social media, launch marketing events, and develop online ad campaigns. During the interview we talked about her career in radio and streaming, why posting consistency is so important, when to hire a PR person, how to become a podcast guest, and much more. I spoke with Nichole via zoom from her office in the Hollywood Hills. On the intro I’ll take a look at the new Soundcloud user-centric royalties, and the ways that songwriting has recently changed. var podscribeEmbedVars = { epId: 83550989, backgroundColor: 'white', font: undefined, fontColor: undefined, speakerFontColor: undefined, height: '600px', showEditButton: false, showSpeakers: true, showTimestamps: true };

If you ever wanted a vintage microphone but couldn't afford the super high price, a Heiserman Audio mic has become a top alternative. In fact, many "golden ears" of the audio business have liked them so much that they've sold their vintage mics in favor of a Heiserman version. Eric Heiserman is the man behind the microphone, and that's who's on my latest podcast. During the interview we talked about how Eric discovered that the capsule is the most important part of a microphone, why he built his own CNC machine, why most classic mics sound different from one another, finding the ultimate tom mic, and much more. I spoke with Eric via zoom from his facility in North Carolina. On the intro I’ll take a look at the what may be the end of traditional music genres, and the new Bluetooth LE high-quality wireless audio standard. var podscribeEmbedVars = { epId: 83524458, backgroundColor: 'white', font: undefined, fontColor: undefined, speakerFontColor: undefined, height: '600px', showEditButton: false, showSpeakers: true, showTimestamps: true };

My guest this week is audio restoration and mastering engineer Michael Graves, who’s a four time Grammy award winner and 12 time nominee. Michael's main focus is saving historical audio that was recorded on deteriorating or obsolete grooved media, as well as more recent recordings where the sound is obscured for various reasons. Michael uses a combination of physical and electronic specialty techniques designed to rescue rare, one of a kind recordings or deteriorating media. This includes old 78 rpm records clouded by surfaces noise and years of neglect, right up to digital recordings that were done on some of the earliest pioneering formats. During the interview we talked about how his hobby became a career, why a high-end turntable is his secret weapon, the surprising styli that he uses to avoid record surface noise, why a stereo needle is preferred even for a mono record, and much more. I spoke with Michael via zoom from his studio in Hollywood. On the intro I’ll take a look at the latest Spotify scam using the "track linking" feature, and Netflix embraces Sennheiser’s AMBEO so you can hear spatial audio from a pair of stereo speakers. var podscribeEmbedVars = { epId: 83496937, backgroundColor: 'white', font: undefined, fontColor: undefined, speakerFontColor: undefined, height: '600px', showEditButton: false, showSpeakers: true, showTimestamps: true };