Working Class Audio

John Siket is a producer, engineer, and mixer and is best known for his work with Sonic Youth, Phish, Yo La Tengo, Dave Matthews Band, Blonde Redhead, Fountains of Wayne, Moe, Peter Murphy, Freedy Johnston, and Ex Cops. Having spent 30 years in the recording world, John has amassed a world of experience. John has also has been fortunate to work alongside producer/engineers Steve Lily White and Butch Vig. John takes the time to talk with Matt about these experiences as well as his love for recording, starting out as the low man on the totem pole and his decision to take on a teaching position at SAE in New York.

Tim Palmer has produced and mixed albums for a huge selection of classic and alternative artists, from Robert Plant, David Bowie, and Tears For Fears to Ozzy Osbourne, Goo Goo Dolls, and U2. In 1989 Tim mixed ‘TEN’ for Pearl Jam, which is now in the top 50 best album sellers in US history. In 2001 Palmer was nominated for a Grammy for his mixing work on U2’s All That You Can’t Leave Behind. Now living in Austin, Texas, he has built his own mix room and continued producing and mixing for Jason Mraz, Blue October, David Cook, and many others. Tim has been a moderator for 2 years at SXSW, and a guest speaker for the Recording Academy.Tim Palmer started his career at Utopia Studios in London during the early ’80s where he mixed the number one single ‘Died in your arms tonight’ for Cutting Crew. In the latter half of the ’80s, Palmer became a producer, and his keen ears and technical knowledge contributed to groups such as the Mighty Lemon Drops, the Mission, Texas, and Tears for Fears. Tim produced ‘Now and Zen for rock icon Robert Plant, a US top10 album, and David Bowie’s debut LP with Tin Machine. To close the 80’s Palmer mixed ‘TEN’ for Pearl Jam which went on to sell over 14 million albums.This show is a milestone being the 25th session. It’s an honor to have Tim on the show since I’m a fan of his work. We also talk with our good friend Craig Schumacher about his recent decision to pull the plug on the Pot Luck Audio Conference in Tucson, AZ.Enjoy!-MattPhoto was taken at Arlyn Studios by Andrew Chan.Tim’s SitePot Luck Audio SIteSweetwaters Gearfest

Gary Philips is a talented multi-instrumentalist, producer, songwriter and mix engineer. During his college years at University of Pennsylvania, Gary realized his life would follow a musical path. This path soon led to a life as a touring musician. Touring led Gary to New York, where he quickly found himself in studios playing guitar and bass for artists both up-and-coming and legendary, including Carole King, Cyndi Lauper, and Arrested Development. Many of these tracks have found placements on albums such as the Orange County soundtrack, the Super Size Me soundtrack and the Lizzie McGuire Movie soundtrack and on national commercials for clients such as Verizon and Budweiser.New York session work soon plunged Gary into production and writing. He co- produced, with the PopRox production team (Sam Hollander, Dave Schommer), Michael Tolcher’s debut album for Octone/J Records, which featured ?uestlove and Warren Haynes, cuts from which were heard on Scrubs (NBC), Life As We Know It (ABC) and the feature film Wedding Crashers.Since then Gary’s produced more than 15 Billboard Top 10 albums including the Kidz Bop series (which has yielded just as many #1 albums on the Children’s chart) and a cut on the Now That’s What I Call Music series with indie-rockers Born Cages. His original songs and compositions have been featured on TV in diverse settings – from Late Night with David Letterman to Pretty Little Liars, from The Hills to So You Think You Can Dance?, from Pawn Stars to NFL Football and many more.Gary talks with Matt about Kidz Bop, what it takes to keep clients coming back to you, his early days in New york and his recent studio setup at his new home in California after having moved from New York and working in studios. Enjoy!Gary’s bio. 

Ryan Hewitt began his musical career by taking up drums and piano in the third grade and set up his first primitive bedroom recording studio at age 10. His interest in recording prompted his father, remote recording engineer David Hewitt, to take him on the road at age 12. Over the course of 15 years on the Remote Recording Services trucks, Ryan learned to get sessions going quickly, pay attention to details and capture the moment on tape at all costs.After receiving a degree in Electrical Engineering from Tufts University, Ryan moved to New York City to take a job at Sony Music Studios. Once there, he quickly moved up the ranks to assist and learn from some of the best engineers and producers in the business such as Michael Brauer, Phil Ramone, Bob Power and Elliot Scheiner. Moving to Los Angeles in the autumn of 2000, Ryan landed at Cello Studios, again moving to the head of the class and working with top engineers such as Jim Scott, Richard Dodd, and Ed Thacker.Today, Ryan is emulating his mentors, recording, mixing, and producing projects by diverse artists such as The Avett Brothers, The Band Perry, Sheryl Crow, Brandi Carlile, Jamie Cullum, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, blink-182, Flogging Molly, The Alkaline Trio, Three Days Grace, We Are Scientists, Tom Petty, and John Frusciante. Producers such as Rick Rubin, Matt Serletic, Gregg Wells, Jeff Trott, and Max Martin have called on Ryan for his work ethic and sense of humor as much as for his recording and mixing skills.Ryan sits down for a chat with Matt (Via SKype) and talks about growing up with a recording engineer dad, what he’s learned from the producers he’s worked with as well software piracy. By popular demand, Ryan also answers questions from the WCA Facebook page. Matt also has a special guest Michael Winger who is the Executive Director of the Recording Academy SF Chapter to talk about H.R. 1457: Allocation for Music Producers Act.Ryan Hewitt’s siteMore on H.R. 1457: Allocation for Music Producers ActLetter of DirectionThe Recording Academy

Michael Rosen is a Grammy-winning producer/engineer who has worked with Santana, Rancid, Papa Roach, Tesla, AFI, The Donnas, Journey, Death Angel, Tony Macalpine, and Testament……..to name a few! In addition to recording and producing he also teaches at Chabot College and San Francisco State and is an alumnus of the famed Automatt studios where he got started on his professional recording journey. Michael sits down with Matt at is new personal studio East Bay Recorders to talk about the business, the journey, and the joy of recording.Michael Rosen’s site.

Doug Kallmeyer is a 25 year plus veteran of live sound, a bass player and composer as well as a studio rat. Doug is a fan suggestion and carries with him a large amount of experience and miles travelled who is based in Virginia. Traveling the world mostly doing FOH (Front of House) sound, Doug has worked with Phantogram, Blonde Redhead, Shellac, Sunny Day Real Estate, Rancid, Damnwells, School of Seven Bells, Ok Go, Deathfix, 302Acid, Flaming Lips, Beauty Pill and Ex Hex. His list of venues that he has worked at with those artist’s is also notable and  includes Madison Square Garden, Radio City Music Hall, Lollapalooza, Coachella, Sasquatch, Outside Lands, Fuji rock, Summer Sonic, Bonnaroo, Pukkelpop, Route du Rock, All Tommorow’s Parties, Primavera Sound, Big Chill, Austin City Limits, and Iceland Airwaves. We talk life on the road, credit card debt, eating well, as well as having a stable home life.Check out Doug here. http://www.dougkallmeyer.com/

Don Gunn is a Seattle-based recording/mixing engineer, producer, and musician who flies under the radar yet seems to work with cool people! Soundgarden, Death Cab for Cutie, Peter Frampton, Trey Gunn (No relation), and Matt Cameron! Don was a WCA fan suggestion from our Facebook page and joins Matt for a Skype chat from his home studio in Seattle called The Office. Don talks gear, money, business cards, his studio, the decision not to have kids and recording at Peter Frampton’s “home studio”. Great guy and great interview!http://dongunn.com/Link regarding helping out in Nepal. http://www.pri.org/stories/2015-04-25/how-help-nepal-7-vetted-charities-doing-relief-work-following-earthquake

Working Class Audio Session #019 with Matt Kelley!!! Matt Kelley has been at the recording game for just over 27 years. Based in the  Bay Area in California Matt has worked with Tupac, Del tha Funkee Homosapien, DJ Qbert, Digital Underground, George Clinton,  Hieroglyphics as well as Jello Biafra and the Guantanamo School of Medicine.  Matt started […]The post WCA #019 with Matt Kelley appeared first on Working Class Audio.

David v.R. Bowles formed Swineshead Productions, LLC as a classical recording production company in 1995. His recordings have been GRAMMY-nominated (Classical – Best Orchestral Performance) and won the “Classical Orchestral Album” prize from Just Plain Folks Awards. Other Bowles-produced and engineered releases have been named “Record of the Month – Editor’s Choice” from Gramophone Magazine, MusicWeb International, and Opera News; “Record of the Year” from the New York Times (three times), the New Yorker, American Record Guide, Miami Clásica and Classical Candour. Several of these releases are available as high-resolution paid downloads from HDTracks.In collaboration with New York University’s Music Technology program at Steinhardt School of Music, Mr. Bowles is pursuing research in height channel recording and reproduction. At the 135th AES convention, he chaired a panel on Height Channel recording, encoding, and distribution (followed by a 9.1 channel playback offsite).As an educator, Mr. Bowles is a guest lecturer at New York University’s Stephen F. Temmer Tonmeister Seminar (Steinhardt School of Music) and at Peabody Recording Arts and Sciences (John Hopkins University). He was a Visiting Professor of Recording Arts at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music.Mr. Bowles is a member of the AES (Audio Engineering Society): he was on the Board of Governors, served on three convention committees, and is co-chair of the San Francisco section of the AES as well. He is a member of NARAS (National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences) Producers & Engineers Wing and SPARS (Society of Professional Audio Recording Services).David takes Matt through the complexities of recording and producing in the world of classical music.Links http://swineshead.com/

Ross Hogarth is a multiple Grammy-nominated and Grammy-winning producer/engineer/mixer who has worked with artists such as Keb’ Mo’, Motley Crue, Van Halen, Gov’t Mule, Roger Waters, The Black Crowes, Shawn Colvin, John Mellencamp, and R.E.M. His studio work runs the gamut from the heavy metal insanity of Motley Crue and Coal Chamber to the Grammy-winning Keb’ Mo’ released Slow Down to recent releases by Van Halen, Grammy-winning Ziggy Marley, and the Sick Puppies.Growing up in NY during the influential punk scene of the 70′s, Ross began as a guitarist/singer/ songwriter, playing in the wild downtown New York clubs. With good fortune paving his way to California, he had the rare opportunity to hook up with both the San Francisco Bay area’s exploding New Wave music scene and Southern Cal’s seminal rock scene. Natural evolution took him from doing live production and sound on the road with Jackson Browne, David Lindley, Fleetwood Mac, and Little Feat into a world-class producer, mixer, and recording engineer.In his Skype conversation with Matt, Ross talks about family life, working with Van Halen, the importance of communication, and adapting to the ever-changing world of the music business. Enjoy!-MattPhoto by Marian Matthis for The Blackbird Academy Links http://www.hoaxproductions.com/http://www.teaboyaudio.com/