Unstoppable Recording Machine Podcast

We’re thrilled to have Benny on the podcast for a lengthy discussion on what it takes to be a partner in a studio, why client comfort is so crucial yet often overlooked, why unsigned bands are often more profitable than big name clients and many more insights from his lengthy career. “When you get older and you start looking back over your career, you realize there were opportunities that you didn’t even know were there at the time. It’s all about having the right disposition to go for it and make it happen.” - Benny Grotto Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As you can imagine, he’s accumulated a priceless wealth of knowledge from his decades in the trenches and he shares a ton of it in this episode including: what it was like to work with legends like David Bowie and Sting, transitioning from fully analog to a hybrid setup, some sage advice for anyone who’s just starting out in the audio business, and much more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Donning multiple hats over the years ranging from working for Barack Obama, to labels Century Media Records, Artery Recordings, and Outerloop Records, as well as his work as a director, Shan Dan has seen what this industry has to offer. We discuss what bands should invest in early on in their careers, how he made the jump from the corporate world to the music industry, and unpredictable nature of the business. This is required listening for anyone wanting to pursue a career in a creative field. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fredrik Nordström has worked with heavy hitters like At the Gates, Bring Me The Horizon, Dimmu Borgir, In Flames, Arch Enemy, Opeth, Soilwork, and the list of who’s who top tier extreme metal bands just goes on and on and on. Of course we cover the making of some of those legendary records and his world known “Fredman technique” for miking guitars, but we also delve into topics such as how to give credits, who deserves those credits, the challenges of mixing metal with an orchestra, Fredrik’s multi-amp slaving technique, and much much more. “What I’ve noticed when I do stuff is I never tell anybody that I’m trying new stuff here. I just do it. Because if you cannot try new stuff, then you cannot develop.” - Fredrik Nordström ON THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT: 1:59 - What Fredrik thinks of the production landscape now versus a decade or two ago 6:46 - How the At the Gates album had a tight sound and how long it takes for Fredrik to work on albums 14:26 - How it’s not necessarily the tech you have that allows you to make a great record 23:26 - If Fredrik imagined that he was working on albums that would define the next decades of metal and how much time you need to dedicate to your craft 28:29 - Artists needing a leader who is outside of their group to show them the right way to do things 32:30 - How people are shifting away from digitizing everything and how not every little thing needs to be perfect for music to be great 37:54 - How long it took for Fredrik to do Death Kult Armageddon by Dimmu Borgir and what it is like working with orchestras  48:22 - How orchestral instruments can sound weird next to a metal band 50:56 - Whether or not Fredrik automated like crazy on the Death Kult Armageddon mix  52:04 - How good arrangements help when working on an album 58:05 - How there were two camps when it came to Nick Barker and the drum sounds on Death Kult Armageddon 1:03:59 - How Fredrik handled vocal effects for Dimmu Borgir 1:08:31 - If Fredrik knew how big Death Kult Armageddon would be 1:12:03 - How Fredrik started getting work with American bands and expanding out to work with companies 1:17:10 - Why starting a studio could be a bad investment 1:18:37 - Fredrik’s process for training the people who work with him and giving credit where credit is due 1:24:46 - Working with the Architects on Lost Forever // Lost Together and getting good guitar tones on various albums 1:28:42 - What Fredrik’s breakdown is for the cab slaving, multi-amp technique 1:33:40 - The popularity of the Fredman technique for mining guitars and how it’s impacted Fredrik 1:35:19 - What it was like working with Bring Me The Horizon 1:37:44 - Whether or not age matters in an audio environment and why you should keep trying new things in the studio Click here to learn more about Studio Fredman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nick Rad is a mixing engineer, producer and musician who has worked with Skillet, Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness and Jason Mraz among many others, in addition to playing in Hangnail and Acceptance. His career began in the 90s, which means he brings plenty of insight to the podcast where we talk about how he decided to work in production, how not to network, and a host of other lessons he’s learned from over two decades in the music industry. It might take me 10 hours to do one song, but it’s going to be epic when it’s done. That’s my thing.” - Nick Rad 2:35 - What it’s like working with artists from very different genres and how Nick ended up working in those genres 6:12 - How most producers don’t have a huge record and it’s a myth that you need one to make production work 9:35 - What drew Nick to the polished sound in his work and knowing who he is as a producer 12:36 - If Nick ever regretted sending a band to someone else 16:33 - How long Nick played music before diving into production and how his touring experience helped him 19:31 - How working with Aaron Sprinkle influenced his decision to work in production 21:33 - If Nick still had hope for playing in a band to work out after Acceptance broke up 24:54 - Making the transition from the band to producing 28:00 - Nick’s work on The Color Morale’s “Prey For Me” acoustic release 29:37 - What advice Nick would give on networking in socially fruitful situations and how it can lead to future clients 37:13 - How his work leads him to working with Hilary Duff 40:18 - If there’s more pressure when working with a big pop budget versus working on a rock album with a smaller budget 42:06 - What Nick’s fine-tooth comb process consists of 45:52 - What some of the common issues Nick comes across when working with vocals 51:49 - How to avoid losing recordings should an accident happen 58:05 - How Nick’s work with Stone Sour came about 1:03:49 - Nick being in a place where he can say no to projects he doesn’t want to work on 1:05:51 - Getting work through word of mouth instead of advertising and how not to network Click here to find out more about Nick Rad  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Grammy nominated producer, Jack Shirley (Deafheaven, Loma Prieta) joins the podcast to discuss the critical importance of creating repeat clients, why producers need to be involved in their community, and how NOT to promote yourself and your work. “When I’m tracking a band, I would say 80 plus percent of the processing on the recording is happening on capture. So like EQ and compression, often times distortion, like whatever it might be, that’s all happening as part of the capture. Which I think always sounds better.” - Jack Shirley ON THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT: 4:07 - What got Jack Shirley into recording 7:15 - Production styles for various genres hadn’t landed yet when Jack first started recording 10:30 - Jack Shirley’s dealings with black metal 13:19 - The high quality production with Deafheaven still being able to sound raw and if that poses any challenges 14:28 - What point computers come in during the process of making an album 18:38 - What happens when a band wants to sound a certain way, but doesn’t record in a way that’s conducive to it 23:28 - Great production being built on a thousand little decisions 30:11 - How you win with the better you get as a band and finding the equipment that suits you 35:59 - Having bands come in that want your sound, but don’t want to do things your way 39:34 - How Jack would earn a band’s trust 47:10 - Wanting to leave some of the human aspects in a take and weighing your options to figure out what’s most important 51:53 - How fast Jack moves with the recording process 55:00 - Working with people who you’re on the same page with and having repeat clients 57:48 - Living in your studio and dealing with the people who stay with you 1:09:38 - Being part of the music scene in order to get work by word-of-mouth and taking advantage of opportunities where you can 1:15:23 - Having a deeper connection with the bands because of also having experienced being on tour 1:16:57 - Why producers shouldn’t market themselves the way companies do Thanks for listening! Please leave us a review on iTunes! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Eyal Levi hosts a live roundtable discussion at Winter Namm 2019 with acclaimed producers Joey Sturgis, Billy Decker, and Machine about how they approach bands that haven’t broken big yet, and how they keep their clients coming back album after album after album. Thanks for listening! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Multi-platinum producer Matt Squire dives into the changes in the music industry, especially around streaming laws. He shares insights from his work with Panic! At The Disco, emphasizing the balance of creativity and strategy in producing. Matt highlights the ongoing evolution of artist-fan relationships in the digital age and advocates for transparency to unlock new revenue streams. He discusses the challenges of adapting to technology, the importance of building trust with artists, and reflects on his unique idea generation process in the studio.

Dan Briggs, bassist of Between the Buried and Me, and producer Jamie King join the podcast this week to discuss what it’s like working with each other, how you handle clients, and they go in-depth on Between the Buried and Me’s process in the studio. These two make a great team and this is one conversation that you don’t want to miss out on. “All of our tastes in music and production styles and values have changed and it’s different. The problem with me in production is I enjoy the slick produced stuff, I enjoy the raw.” - Jamie King “My only memories of Colors are really just positive because the album was birthed out of, you know, this negative period doing Oz Fest, this horrible summer. It just fueled us like creatively.” - Dan Briggs ON THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT: 4:48 - How Dan and Jamie know each other and how Dan got into the band 6:13 - What it was like for Jamie to work with Dan 14:15 - Needing a producer who conceptually gets it 15:17 - Having animal sounds on the records 17:26 - What directions the band typically avoids 18:40 - How quickly the band works in the studio and what their process is like 25:37 - How the band uses Guitar Pro and similar software 32:43 - How Jamie plays mediator with bands 37:52 - What it takes to get repeat customers at the studio 42:44 - Making of Alaska and bringing new personalities together 59:00 - What came after Alaska and the band’s growth 1:01:22 - What it was like getting into Colors 1:06:18 - The myth of producers having a “sound” 1:08:22 - What the biggest challenges were with Colors 1:11:25 - How Alaska pushed the band 1:12:12 - What it was like touring with bigger bands 1:16:45 - How BTBAM’s success helped Jamie in the studio 1:20:21 - What came after Colors 1:21:16 - The snags that BTBAM hit along the way 1:24:38 - The line between a producer’s involvement and what a band can do themselves 1:32:08 - How Dan creates bass lines that compliment the guitar parts 1:34:53 - How Jamie approaches mixing a bassist and getting guitar tones 1:41:21 - Being open minded with clients 1:44:07 - Art being a constant journey 1:45:00 - How the Orbs lineup came about 1:47:17 - How to keep your sound and not have things get stale Thanks for listening! Leave us a comment or review! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kevin Antreassian, producer and guitarist for The Dillinger Escape Plan, joins the podcast to discuss what it’s like running a studio, creating a YouTube channel, and teaching the next generation of the music industry. Kevin has produced hundreds of records and knows the struggles of owning your own studio. If you want to know what it takes to make it in the industry, you won’t want to miss out on this episode. “You have to figure out your formula and you have to get the right people involved. An you have to put out quality content, you can’t just put out trash.” - Kevin Antreassian ON THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT: 0:02:46 - Is Dillinger Escape Plan done? 0:03:39 - Trying to start up a business with a touring member of a band 0:06:39 - Having his studio/rehearsal space shut down 0:11:41 - How long it took to get the business stabilized and having to take business from anyone 0:13:42 - Having engineers threatened in the studio 0:16:20 - Other studio stories about some of the people who would come in and make ridiculous requests 0:20:42 - Going DIY when it comes to fixing things around the studio 0:26:41 - Making sure things are done right when it comes to construction in the studio 0:31:11 - Starting a YouTube channel and how it isn’t as easy as one might think 0:36:34 - Trying to figure out the balance of how long videos should be 0:43:31 - Responding to comments on your videos 0:46:45 - Teaching at a university 0:52:46 - If Kevin’s background makes his students more stoked to learn 0:53:53 - Explaining that he’s fallible and his method isn’t the only method 0:59:02 - Kevin’s favorite thing about having interns 0:59:12 - Never being too old to learn Thanks for listening! Leave us a comment or review! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices