Working Class Audio

Joe Finocchio is a musician and recording engineer (The Soft White Sixties, American Killers, Double Duchess, davOmakesbeats, The Family Crest) based in the San Francisco Bay Area. He has spent the last 11 years making records in studios all over Northern California. Currently he resides at Santo Recording in Oakland and works out of his mix room in his Mission District apartment. Joe also works as a Production Manager for a Bay Area corporate AV provider called On Point Audio Visual. About this interview:Joe joins me to talk about his early struggles, the trust of mentors, skipping the intern process, working in corporate AV and not drinking with the band. Enjoy! -MattLinks and Show Notes:Atomic Habits by James Clear: https://amzn.to/2U3J8gVJoe's Site: www.gainandvolume.com Credits:Host: Matt Boudreau Guest: Joe FinocchioWCA Theme Music: Cliff Truesdell Announcer: Chuck SmithEditing: Anne-Marie Pleau & Matt BoudreauAdditional Music: The License Lab

Working Class Audio #224 with Frank Marchand!!!Frank Marchand is a recording engineer, mixer, producer, live sound engineer, broadcast mixer and Maryland native since 1976. He learned to play bass in his high school band in the late 70’s and was bitten by the audio bug when his band went into the studio for the first time to record some original material. He then attended a four year liberal arts college that had only one course in acoustics and four track studio that the director would not let any one use. After graduation he found work in a D.C. based mom and pop Hi-fi chain that specialized in selling blank recording media such as cassettes and blank video tape. Working up from the sales floor to the advertising end of the business he then landed a Front of House or House sound job at the now vanished Bayou in D.C. where he cut his teeth as a live sound engineer. After the stint at the Bayou, he then landed a job at Washington Professional Systems where he was the assistant to sound guru Greg Lukens and owner Robert Levin. It was while working at WPS that he came into contact with the Northern VA, D.C., and Baltimore studio community and started to freelance at many studios around the region recording bands on the weekends while being exposed to the latest in recording gear at WPS during the week. He decided to go freelance full time in 1990 and has recorded over 600 records and toured all over the world doing live audio work as well. He has owned or been a part of 4 different studio spaces through the years and still maintains a healthy touring schedule. Mr Marchand has worked on Grammy nominated projects, and Billboard Number #1 records during his career. He has worked with such artists as: punk luminary Bob Mould, Toured with Calexico and Texas Rockers The Toadies, recorded projects for New Orleans rockers Cowboy Mouth, Annapolis natives Jimmies Chicken Shack, Doom Metal founders The Obsessed, Blue Grassers Frank Solivan and Dirty Kitchen, Gospel visionaries The Reminders and Celtic creators of Celt grass, We Banjo 3. He is comfortable with all styles of music and has worked with many artists you have never heard of.About this interview:Frank joins me to talk about freelancing, live sound, recording in rehearsal spaces, adapting to acoustic environments, being a soccer coach, client repeat rates, and working on projects he likes. Enjoy! -MattLinks and Show Notes:Watford Digital: https://www.waterforddigital.com/Atomic Habits by James Clear: https://amzn.to/2U3J8gVCurrent sponsors & promos Credits:Host: Matt Boudreau Guest: Frank MarchandWCA Theme Music: Cliff Truesdell Announcer: Chuck SmithEditing: Anne-Marie Pleau & Matt BoudreauAdditional Music: The License Lab

Working Class Audio #223 with Doug McBride!!!Doug McBride is a man with many titles including studio owner, engineer, mastering engineer, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, dad and husband. Doug founded and has run Chicago based Gravity Studios for over 20 years. He has worked with Izzy Stradlin, Veruca Salt, Smashing Pumpkins, Fall Out Boy, and many more. Doug lived in a treehouse in the Panamanian jungle for 3 months in summer of 1985 and he owns a beagle named Banjo. About this interview:Doug joins me to talk about running Gravity Studios, assisting for Steve Albini, 911, word of mouth, dealing with landlords and unexpected guests. Enjoy! -MattLinks and Show Notes:Gravity Studios: http://www.gravitystudios.com/Current sponsors & promos Credits:Host: Matt Boudreau Guest: Doug McBrideWCA Theme Music: Cliff Truesdell Announcer: Chuck SmithEditing: Anne-Marie Pleau & Matt BoudreauAdditional Music: The License Lab

Working Class Audio #222 with Justin Lieberman!!!Justin Lieberman is a recording engineer and producer with over two decades of experience.  Justin has worked with hundreds of artists on over 150 commercially released albums including Santana, George Winston, Roy Hargorve, Jonathan Richman, David Gray, Alanis Morissette, Les Claypool, Jennifer Nettles, Jackie King, Willie Nelson, Kronos Quartet, Ralph Stanley, Bill Frisell and many more.  Justin has also worked on several films, countless radio and television commercials and has recently been focusing his work on score mixing for video games such as the recent blockbuster release Spider-Man.Justin began his professional career in San Francisco at Toast Recording and then moved on to Different Fur Recording where he worked as a staff assistant and staff engineer for 7 years.  In 2004 Justin began working at SF Soundworks where he met a producer PC Muñoz who introduced him to the Talking House Productions crew.  Just joined the Talking House Productions team in 2006 and continued with them until the closure of Talking House in 2010.  In April 2010 Justin joined forces with Willie Samuels and Cindy McSherry to launch Studio Trilogy.  Justin served as co-manager and chief engineer at Studio Trilogy until it’s closure in December 2016 when he joined the team at Sony Playstation as a music engineer.About this interview:Justin joins me to talk about his journey from his early experiences at Prairie Sun to his current gig at Sony Interactive, commuting, work/life balance,  Al Gore, mixing hundreds of tracks in surround and more. Enjoy! -MattLinks and Show Notes:Sony Interactive:https://www.sie.com/index.htmlCurrent sponsors & promos Credits:Host: Matt Boudreau Guest: Justin LiebermanWCA Theme Music: Cliff Truesdell Announcer: Chuck SmithEditing: Anne-Marie Pleau & Matt BoudreauAdditional Music: The License Lab

Working Class Audio #221 with Hans DeKline!!!Hans DeKline is a Grammy-winning, Los Angeles based mastering engineer. Since 2005, he has mastered thousands of songs & albums by artists such as U2, Pixies, Snoop Dogg, Touche Amore, mewithoutYou, Morcheeba, Veruca Salt, Lisa Loeb, Diplo, Jack Irons, James Fearnley, Candiria, Ritchie Ramone, Twista, Jesca Hoop, DJ AM, Papa M, Skating Polly, Gary Jules, Ninja Sex Party, Tim Finn, Ben Lee, JMSN, The Growlers, The Paranoyds, The Von Bondies, Partyshank, Jon Lajoie, Matthew Ryan, The Romantics, Steve Aoki, Pace Won, 825 Records & YOU!Hans grew up in Tucson AZ where he started playing and singing in bands when he was 15.  His early audio experiences started with using  borrowed 4 track cassette machines to make mix tapes of hip hop and punk tunes recorded from vinyl. Hans would compress/eq and change level for each tune so that those tapes would play down like commercially released compilations.  He didn't realize it then but he was already starting his journey into mastering. Han's played the role of recording artist by signing to Sony Work Group fresh out of college in 96 with his group Maypole. He toured for a few years opening for Wallflowers, Smoking Popes and Our Lady Peace.  By 98 it all ended... and Hans ultimately transitioned to the studio side of things. After mastering a friends record in early 2000 and receiving many referrals as a result, Hans started what was the beginning of a love affair with mastering.  By 2005 he was mastering full time.About this interview:Hans joins me from his home in Los Angeles to discuss his journey, communicating with clients, raising wolves, outside interests, and remembering to always ask what does it sound like?Links and Show Notes:Hans DeKline website: hansdeklinemastering.com/Athens Resonates: www.athensresonates.comCurrent sponsors & promos Credits:Host: Matt Boudreau Guest: Hans DeKlineWCA Theme Music: Cliff Truesdell Announcer: Chuck SmithEditing: Anne-Marie Pleau & Matt BoudreauAdditional Music: The License Lab

“Artist” is the single word which best describes producer, mixer, composer, and multi-instrumentalist Butch Vig.  Born in Viroqua, Wisconsin, his parents Doc and Betty exposed Butch to a variety of music and fine arts culture during his youth.While attending the University of Wisconsin Madison, where he received a degree in filmmaking, Vig focused on experimental music composition – an area that would serve him well into the future.  While at the UW, Butch jumped into the local music scene and joined the band Spooner as its drummer.  Unlike most drummers, content to bang out the rhythms, Vig pursued music composition with the band and stepped behind the studio glass to shape the recorded sound as a producer.After graduating from the UW, Butch co-founded Smart Studios and began producing and mixing albums.  His perseverance as an independent producer in Madison carried far beyond Wisconsin’s borders, as artists from around the country began to hear the clear, edgy, hard rock sound shaped by Butch’s productions. His work with Nirvana, Sonic Youth, Smashing Pumpkins  and Soul Asylum in the 90s has been hailed by music critics and authors who have placed his work at the top of the decades best recordings.Additionally, Vig has created many exciting remixes for such prominent artists as U2, Beck, Korn, Alanis Morrissette,  Depeche Mode and Nine Inch Nails. In 1995 Vig returned to performing and writing with a band he formed that goes by the name of Garbage.  The multi-platinum, Grammy Nominated band has achieved worldwide critical and commercial success as it ushered in yet another new direction for rock music. Recently, Vig has produced critically acclaimed albums for Against Me,  Green Day, and The Foo Fighters, winning a Grammy for their album “Wasting Light.”  He was recently ranked #9 on NME’s Top 50 Greatest Producers Ever.  In 2014, Butch produced The Foo Fighters HBO documentary “Sonic Highways.” In 2016 Garbage released their acclaimed sixth album “Strange Little Birds”. In 2018 Butch produced the soundtrack for Puppy Love, and he recently wrapped up production on the new Silversun Pickups album.-Jim BerkenstadtAbout this Interview:Butch joins me to talk about growing up in Viroqua, Wisconsin, the trajectory of Smart Studios, one band leading to another, being diverse, vibe crushers as well as Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins and Garbage.Show Notes and LinksButch on Twitter: @butchvigAEA Ribbon Mics: https://www.aearibbonmics.com/Audio Life on Gearslutz: https://www.gearslutz.com/board/audio-life/WCA on Youtube: https://goo.gl/g5nsWGJessica Thompson site: http://www.jessicathompsonaudio.com/CreditsHost: Matt BoudreauWCA Theme Music: Cliff TruesdellAnnouncer: Chuck SmithEditing: Anne-Marie Pleau & Matt BoudreauAdditional Music: The License Lab

Don Setaro is a producer and engineer based in the Central Valley of California with over 40 years in the world of music and audio. Don is also is involved in live sound, owns a record label and has an extensive background doing studio installation and wiring.About this Interview:Don Joins me at Highwire Coffee in Oakland, California for a chat about soldering thousands of cables, working on model trains for Neil Young, building studios, running a record label and his love for audio and making records.Show Notes and LinksDon’s Record Label: http://iacrecords.com/WCA Patreon Subscriptions: https://goo.gl/iSPLTSAudio-Technica: https://www.audio-technica.com/UA Promo: https://www.uaudio.com/uad-accelerator-promoAEA Ribbon Mics: https://www.aearibbonmics.com/Audio Life on Gearslutz: https://www.gearslutz.com/board/audio-life/WCA on Youtube: https://goo.gl/g5nsWGNational Audio Company (Cassettes): https://www.nationalaudiocompany.com/NAC Video Story: https://goo.gl/g8ssjeNAC video: https://youtu.be/4QL9g72FMAECassette Sales Figures: https://goo.gl/Ytx2rK

Nick Luca is a multi-instrumentalist musician, singer/songwriter/composer, music producer and audio engineer. He has toured throughout Europe, USA, Mexico, Canada and Australia with Iron and Wine, Calexico, John Doe (X) and his own band, Luca. As a session musician and audio engineer, Nick has credits on over 100 albums with artists such as Neko Case, DeVotchka, Robyn Hitchcock, Margaret Cho, M Ward, Darren Hanlon and many others. About this Interview:Nick joins me to talk about scenes, spirit animals, Calexico, Los Angeles, Kelsey Grammer, recording Hip Hop and diversification. Enjoy!-MattShow Notes and LinksNick’s Site: http://www.nickluca.com/WCA Patreon Subscriptions: https://goo.gl/iSPLTSOneMic Series: http://www.johncuniberti.com/onemic/Audio-Technica: https://www.audio-technica.com/UA Promo: https://www.uaudio.com/uad-accelerator-promoAEA Ribbon Mics: https://www.aearibbonmics.com/Audio Life on Gearslutz: https://www.gearslutz.com/board/audio-life/WCA on Youtube: https://goo.gl/g5nsWG

Working Class Audio #217 with Tony Maserati!!!Tony Maserati is a Grammy Award winning mixer, and record producer / engineer. He was involved in the development of the New York R&B and Hip-Hop scene in the 1990s, working with Mary J. Blige, Notorious B.I.G., Puff Daddy, and Queen Latifah. Since then, he has worked on Grammy nominated projects with Beyonce (who he won “Best R&B Album” in 2003 with “Dangerously In Love”), Jason Mraz, Robin Thicke, Usher, and Selena Gomez. Tony has been nominated for a total of 10 Grammys, with four in the “Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical” category.About this Interview:Tony joins me to talk about his 90’s New York history, early adoption of technology, setting goals, contracts, not working for free and hip hop. -EnjoyShow Notes and LinksTony’s site: http://tonymaserati.com/WCA Patreon Subscriptions: https://goo.gl/iSPLTSOneMic Series: http://www.johncuniberti.com/onemic/Current Sponsors and Promos: https://bit.ly/2WmKbFw

Working Class Audio #216 with Adam Gonsalves!!!Adam Gonsalves has mastered over a thousand releases from artists around the world. He is equally at home mastering for digital formats and cutting lacquers for vinyl. Prior to mastering Adam worked for 7 years as a tracking and mixing engineer at Anchorhold Recording. From 2010-2013 Adam also produced the Square Cad Mastering Podcast. In 2017 he was featured in the book Why Vinyl Matters. Adam received a master’s degree in Music Technology from New York University. Adam is  approved to provide Mastered for iTunes masters. Clients include: Willie Nelson, Peter Buck, Elliott Smith, Sleep, Blitzen Trapper, The Last Artful Dodgr, Sufjan Stevens, Pure Bathing Culture, Tender Loving Empire, Southern Lord, TKO, Living Music, Crane City Music, Typhoon, My Brightest Diamond, Dead Moon, Emma Ruth Rundle, Steve Aoki, Poison Idea, Rogue Wave, Ty Segall, Pelican, John Craigie, Earth, Horse Feathers, Blackwater Holylight, Calvin Johnson, Haley Heynderickx, Widowmaker, and many more. Additional credits available at Sound Credit.About this Interview:Adam joins me to talk about the Square Cad Mastering podcast, interrogating your own workflow, his journey into lacquer cutting and his work/life balance. -EnjoyShow Notes and LinksWCA Patreon Subscriptions: http://www.patreon.com/workingclassaudioTelegraph Mastering: http://telegraphmastering.com/Square Cad Mastering Podcast: http://squarecad.net/Audio-Technica: https://www.audio-technica.com/world_map/UA Promo: https://www.uaudio.com/uad-accelerator-promoAEA Ribbon Mics: https://www.aearibbonmics.com/Audio Life on Gearslutz: https://www.gearslutz.com/board/audio-life/WCA on Youtube: https://goo.gl/g5nsWG