Working Class Audio

Dave Collins is an Grammy Award winning mastering engineer located in Pasadena, California. Dave has worked with artists of many genres include Sting, Metallica, Soundgarden, D’Angelo, Bruce Springsteen, and Madonna as well as many major film soundtracks. Dave makes a point to work on projects of all sizes from aspiring artist demos to major label releases.After over 30 years of experience, Dave built a new state-of-the-art facility “from the sound up” in consultation with acoustician Thomas Jouanjean of Northward Acoustics in Brussels, Belgium. The studio is specifically designed to provide a creative, yet highly accurate, listening environment – capable of achieving the perfect balance for your sound. Of particular note is the custom signal path Dave has designed. From equalization, to analog to digital conversion, to dynamics, all equipment has been purpose-built specifically for mastering – these proprietary designs are the result of over three decades of listening experience with proven results.About this Interview:Mastering badass Dave Collins (Sting, Metallica, Soundgarden, D’Angelo, Bruce Springsteen, and Madonna) joins me to discuss his background, how he got into mastering, working with projects of all sizes, budgets and location. We also touch on in the box mastering, keeping your perspective about working in audio compared to working in other industries, the importance of listening and keeping your overhead in check. Enjoy!Show notes and links:Dave Collin’s Mastering: http://www.davecollinsmastering.com/DMG Equilibrium Plugin: https://www.dmgaudio.com/products_equilibrium.phpDoug Sax: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_SaxBetterment Robo Investing: https://goo.gl/mPWePb

Steve Albini needs no introduction really. Musician, engineer and studio owner known for his work with Nirvana, Page, and Plant, PJ, Harvey as well as thousands of other bands. Yes, thousands. Steve is well known for his long term practice of sticking to analog recording methods and his dedication to the bands he records with regards to respecting the band dynamic. He also has played in the bands Big Black, Rapeman as well as his current band Shellac. Steve is part of a program called the Letters to Santa Program of Chicago with his wife Heather Whinna and Jeff Tweddy of WIlco known for its work raising money for poverty-stricken individuals and families in the Chicago area.Show notes and links:Electrical Audio (Steve’s studio): http://www.electricalaudio.com/Letters to Santa Program: http://www.secondcity.com/second-city-24-hour-improvOnward Neighborhood House: https://onwardhouse.wordpress.com/Why I Haven’t Had a Conventional Christmas in 20 Years: https://bit.ly/2V9Nm5XCurrent sponsors & promos: https://bit.ly/3266bbu

NAMM 2018 was a fantastic experience this year. The crowds were massive, the activity was electric and there was sooo much to see. In this episode I give you a recap from not only my perspective but also from the viewpoint of my friends Chris Selim from Mixdown.Online and Lij Shaw from Recording Studio Rockstars. There’s also interviews with Universal Audio and Whitestone Audio. It was a great time and the amount of cool people and products was encouraging. Enjoy!Show notes and links:The People:Chris Selim From Mixdown.Online.Lij Shaw from Recording Studio Rockstars.Dave Rosen from Whitestone Audio.Tom Waterman from Universal Audio.Louie Gonzalez from The Shelter Studios: http://theshelterstudios.com/bios/The Gear:Whitestone Audio P331: http://www.whitestoneaudio.com/Audio Technica 5047: http://www.audio-technica.com/cms/wired_mics/f0d9ef584e0dda3e/index.htmlUniversal Audio Arrow: https://www.uaudio.com/audio-interfaces/arrow.htmlZaor : https://zaorstudiofurniture.com/

John Karr is well regarded as one of the top sound engineers in San Francisco, with a professional career spanning over 30 years, engineering shows and albums for over 20,000 bands, in every genres you can imagine.  From recording studio’s to local house gigs to national tours of theaters and large music festivals, across the United States, Japan and Europe.John has worn the hats of F.O.H. and monitor engineer, studio producer, session musician, composer, and live sound mentor @ at S.F. City College and Expressions School for Music in Emeryville Ca, He has over 60 album recording credits, including the theme songs for KALW Rose Agular’s Your Call Radio and KSAN Steven Weed’s Weed in the morning. Other notable accomplishment’s include 7 years tenure as head sound engineer/manager and sound system designer of The Independent – which has won international praise as “The Best Sounding Live Music Venue in San Francisco”.  About this Interview:John Karr joins me for a great chat covering his approach to working in multiple genres, accepting gigs of all shapes and sizes, bringing humor and humanity to the audio work environment and how he dealt with an accident that left him without the use of his legs for 6 months. John has been working his ass off since arriving in San Francisco 1988 and it’s a pleasure to have him as my guest. Enjoy!MattShow notes and links:Johns SIte: http://earrelevant-recording.com/WCA on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/14U2pJ15Ix5x838NXqt1zJ

Matt Donner holds a Bachelor’s degree in Quantitative Business Analysis (Penn State) and a Masters in Music Technology (NYU). While developing his Producer and Engineering chops in NYC, he went on to perform for various TV studios and John Cale (Velvet Underground) that included 3 feature film scores. After signing his band to an indy record deal, his cross-country tour brought him to SF where the drummer exploded – how typical.Matt quickly found himself as Regional Technical Director for Guitar Center and the Pro Tools Support Lead for the Cutting Edge Audio Group. There, he served as studio designer, installer and trainer for the likes of Joe Satriani, Metallica, Spearhead, Santana and the SF Jazz Fest as well as many private studios including Wally World (Walter A., N’Sync, Whitney Houston, Celine Dion).In January 2000, he and Greg Gordon began working together exclusively at Pyramind where they began running the hybrid Production/ Training businesses. Matt has served the company as Chief Engineer, Senior Producer/ Composer, Chief Technical Officer, Vice- President and now as CAO and COO. He helped grow the Pyramind Training program from a single 24 hour class to the highly-touted 900 hour 12-month Complete Producer. He has trained thousands of students, mixed/ mastered dozens of records and has published several magazine articles. Matt has also written two texts on Pro Tools (Thomson Press) as well as the Pyramind Training three-book series published (Alfred Publishing). He’s best known now for his YouTube series “The Breakdown” on the channel “Pyratube”.Matt currently lives in San Francisco and Davis, CA with his wife, two children and three dogs. He has trained in Mixed Martial Arts and Bak Mei Kung Fu for years and on good days, surfs the Pacific Ocean on his Al Merrick 6’ 2” fish.The Pacific usually wins.About this Interview:Matt talks with me about Pyramind and the three prong approach to preparing students for the real world of audio. We also discuss survival, failure, gear lust and work life balance amongst a few other key topics. I’ve known Matt Donner for 20 years and have great respect for him so it’s an honor to have him on.MattShow notes and links:Pyramind https://www.pyramind.com/Zaor: http://www.zaor.de/Zaor Speaker Stands I got: http://www.zaor.de/classic/monitor-stand/Zaor Desk I got: http://www.zaor.de/classic/onda-mack/Zaor Rack I got:  http://www.zaor.de/classic/rackspace/Cutting Edge Audio Group: https://ceag.com/Time to make the donuts commercial: https://youtu.be/1AA1XDqK8tYMatt Walker “Why We Sleep”: https://goo.gl/zZQyEg

Joe Costable started his career in Houston, TX, at Studio 7303; the largest studio in the area, and at that time the hub of Hip-Hop. Starting as an intern, Joe eventually moved up the ranks as an engineer working with many prominent artists and producers, such as Mike Jones, Scarface, Mannie Fresh, Gerald Levert, and many others.A few years later he moved back to his native New York for a short stint at the Island Def Jam Music Group, where he learned the other side of the industry in the A&R department while building his clientele as a freelance engineer. Joe landed his first mixing gig with a few Good Charlotte songs, some of which landed on the Cardiology record.In the years since, Joe has worked with many more artists in genres from hip-hop to shoe gaze. His work has been everywhere from top 10 at radio, selling millions of copies worldwide, national ad campaigns, to being featured on the most underground of music blogs. While the majority of his work is with Alternative, Rock, and Pop records, Joe loves getting an opportunity to expand his abilities and paint a new picture. Joe is a member of the Audio Engineering Society and a voting member of The Recording Academy as well as an average home brewer and an avid hiker. About this Interview:Matt speaks with Joe about his early days in Houston making Hip Hop records, hustling in New York, mixing in the quite and remote town of Patterson, NY, making a living and photography as well as many other topics. -Enjoy!Show notes and links:Zaor: http://www.zaor.de/Nest: https://nest.com/Joe’s Site: https://www.joecostable.com/Raw Recording: http://www.rawrecording.com/index.htmlDigital Silver Imaging: http://digitalsilverimaging.com/Mike Kalajian Interview: https://www.workingclassaudio.com/wca-072-mike-kalajian/

Matt Allison started Atlas in 1996 with a vision to fill a void in Chicago’s Punk Rock scene, offering bands a refuge to bring their music to life. 21 years later, Atlas has become a Chicago staple. Matt has worked with an extensive list of artists including Alkaline Trio, The Lawrence Arms, and The Menzingers, to highlight a few. Matt continues to record at Atlas but focuses most of his time on mixing and producing artists.  Enjoy!About this Interview:Matt speaks with me about running a studio in Chicago, landlords, leases, recording on black face ADATS, mixing at home, working with punk rock bands and much more! Eric Arway must be thanked for suggesting Matt as a guest!Show notes and links:Atlas Recording https://atlas-chicago.com/Audio-Technica ATH-M40X on Amazon.  https://goo.gl/PZRV4T

Legendary producer/engineer Eddie Kramer has worked with Jimi Hendrix, The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, Traffic and a myriad of other major recording stars.More on Eddie here: http://www.eddie-kramer.com/About this Interview:One day I received an email with the subject line Guest suggestion/Eddie Kramer from Clifton David Broadbridge. The email read “I work with Eddie in Toronto. I’m his studio partner and assistant,, was wondering if you would like to interview him for your podcast? He would be totally into it!” I almost fell out of the chair! Long story short, I replied back, spoke with Clifton, then spoke with Eddie, and next thing I know I’m wrapping up an interview with someone who is responsible for some of the most incredible records in music history. I was a little stunned afterward. Sincere, funny, and full of energy is how I would describe Eddie Kramer. We talk about his photography, Jimi Hendrix and the new record coming out, Led Zeppelin, business, diversification, leaving South Africa for England, the famous Troggs tape, music today vs. the past, rebuilding the El Mocambo club with a studio inside, and much more. Enjoy! Happy Holidays! MattShow notes and links:Eddie Kramer’s Site: http://www.eddie-kramer.com/Clifton David Broadbridge: http://cliftondavidbroadbridge.com/The infamous Troggs Tape: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrXfK9OsmvsThe El Mocambo http://www.elmocambo.com/Walters-Storyk Design Group: https://wsdg.com/

Dana Jae’s career as an audio engineer spans 34 years since the first day she began to record and mix songs on her Tascam PortaStudio in the early 80’s while attending college at UC Berkeley. She formed several of her own bands performing and recording until 1988 when she discovered that the “behind-the-scenes” tech realm was much more to her liking. Dana then began a career as a live sound engineer and has toured extensively throughout the U.S. and Europe as front-of-house sound engineer for a multitude of bands on various record labels and have been a staff engineer at the venerable Bottom of the Hill nightclub since their inception in 1991.Dana has owned and maintained a live sound production company since 1989 under the moniker dcj Productions, that has provided sound to the Bay Area community (mostly in the non-profit sector) in both large-scale, outdoor sound events as well as nightclubs and music halls. In 1991, she started recording bands on an 8-track Tascam TSR-8 analog tape recorder and moved into the digital realm in 1993 to 16-tracks of Alesis ADAT in her home studio. In 1995, Dana advanced to using Pro Tools and has been recording exclusively digital ever since, combining audio skills in sound for film as a location recordist as well as in post-production sound design and mixing. Dana says she still prefers the sonic rapture of “strictly analog” in live sound mixing, however.Dana co-owned and was the President of APG Records & APG Studios, a record label and recording studio from 1999 – 2004 which had a distribution deal through EMI.In 2001, Dana was hired to the part-time faculty at City College of San Francisco in the Broadcast Electronic Media Arts department where she has taught Digital Media Skills, Basic Audio Production, Digital Audio Production, Sound Recording Studio, Sound For Visual Media, Advanced Sound Recording, Sound Reinforcement, Audio for the Web, Video for the Web, Field Video Production, classes in sound design, audio for animation and games, music video, and computer applications at Laney College in Oakland, CA, Art Institute of California-San Francisco, and Globe Recording Institute in San Francisco.About this Interview:I’ve known Dana Jae since the late 90’s. We crossed paths working at local San Francisco pro audio dealers Audio Images and Cutting Edge Audio  and also worked briefly together at a small record company. Since then we have stayed in touch over the years and recently ran into each other at an audio event where we planned this interview. We discuss how Dana got into audio and her journey through live sound, studio sound, film sound, pro audio retail and her current gig at City College of San Francisco. Enjoy!Show notes and links:Simon Phillips GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/jwequ-life-rebuilding-fundLocal 16 Union in San Francisco: http://www.iatse.net/CCSF – City College of San Francisco: https://www.ccsf.edu/NOLO Press: https://www.nolo.com/

Working Class Audio #156 with Justin Perkins!!!Justin Perkins has been recording music since his mid-teens. It all started  in his father’s basement then progressed to recording studios around the state of Wisconsin including the renowned Smart Studios in Madison, Wisconsin before relocating to Milwaukee, Wisconsin where he now has his own mastering studio called Mystery Room Mastering. Justin's  clients include Tommy Stinson, The Replacements, The Figgs, The Gaslight Anthem, Daryl Stuermer, Screeching Weasel, The Mr. T Experience, The Smoking Popes, Limbeck, Miles Nielsen, and Tenement. Justin also recently mixed a new documentary about the legendary 90’s band Jawbreaker called “Don’t Break Down”. Outside of the studioJustin has  played bass in some of his own bands as well as with the newly reformed Bash & Pop, Tommy Stinson, Paul Collins Beat, Cory Chisel and a few others.About this Interview:Every time I post  about a new WCA show on Twitter there was always one guy who liked it, shared it or commented on it and that was Justin. Naturally I wanted to know who Justin Perkins was and why he was always liking the show so one day I visited his website Mystery Room Mastering and it was then I fully understood just how bad ass this guy was plus I was just blown away at the thorough nature of his website. Justin had reached out before to invite me to a Bash and Pop show  he was playing in San Francisco (I was unable to go) so I wasn't completely unaware of of his background but I had to talk to him! So after reaching out, scheduling and conducting my interview I had a whole new appreciation for Justin. We chat about his journey and his website and the usual WCA topics (clients, business, work/life balance, etc...).  -Enjoy!Matt