Chris Athens is a mastering engineer with over 30 years in the industry. Formerly working at Sony Music Studios and Sterling Sound, he has founded his own studio, Chris Athens Masters in Austin Texas. Chris has mastered for some of the biggest names in hip-hop such as DJ Khaled, Drake, and Mac Miller as well as some rock artists including Coheed & Cambria, Architects, and Of Mice and Men. IN THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT: Taking chances, even when you don’t feel prepared Learning from mis...
Oct 04, 2023•1 hr 30 min•Season 1Ep. 166
Martin Cooke has worked with bands such as Death Cab for Cutie (Grammy Nomination in 2015), Of Monsters And Men, At The Drive-In, Chvrches, HAIM, Kimbra, Sea Wolf, Chaos Chaos, Destroy Boys, Hayes & Y, and Cathedrals. Martin hails from the great state of Texas and has been playing music since the age of 10. He spent two years at the University of Houston, studying music performance and music education, before attending Berklee College of Music. While at Berklee, he discovered the world of ma...
Sep 27, 2023•1 hr•Season 1Ep. 165
An American record producer and Grammy Award winning recording engineer, Doug has worked with some of the best Pop, Indie, and Rock musicians. His roster includes the critically acclaimed Girls, and their offspring-solo artist Christopher Owens, Tokyo Police Club and French Kicks. Recently, he has been in the studio with Aussie favorites Birds Of Tokyo, Roadkill Ghost Choir, Twin Peaks, Elle King, and LA's Dear Boy. Recording and mixing credits include Australia's The Vines, Paul Dempsey, Powder...
Sep 20, 2023•1 hr 2 min•Season 1Ep. 164
Over the last 10 years, Matt Bishop has earned himself an impressive credit list ranging from Taylor Swift and The Killers to U2 and Two Door Cinema Club. Whether it's engineering, producing, or mixing, Matt Bishop has proved himself time again as a trusted industry professional. With experience working in many different genres of music, he utilizes this unique perspective in all the projects he takes on. IN THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT: Working with indie bands vs major label artists Embrac...
Sep 13, 2023•54 min•Season 1Ep. 163
TW Walsh is a songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer, and engineer who's worked with Sufjan Stevens, Jimmy Eat World, Julien Baker, J. Tillman (Father John Misty), Nathaniel Rateliff and The Night Sweats, Benjamin Gibbard (Death Cab for Cutie), The Shins, Chris Staples, Damien Jurado, David Bazan, Starflyer 59 and many others. Over the years, he's been in several bands, including Pedro the Lion, Lo Tom, Headphones, and The Soft Drugs. Currently based in Boston, he continues to master record...
Sep 06, 2023•1 hr 7 min•Season 1Ep. 162
Born and raised in Los Angeles, CA Estrada comes from a diverse musical background. The son of a world renowned Mariachi musician and a former professional Folklorico dancer - He was raised in the studio as well as on stage. As front man of Alternative / Electronic rock band Silver Snakes he released 4 full length albums and toured the United States and Europe with the likes of Korn, Glassjaw, Coheed and Cambria, Bring Me The Horizon, Chevelle and more. Known for his experimental production styl...
Aug 30, 2023•1 hr 12 min•Season 1Ep. 161
Joe Reinhart is an engineer, producer, mixer, and multi-instrumentalist from Philadelphia, PA. Joe is also a Co-owner of Headroom Studio. He has been recording bands since he was 15, starting off with a Tascam Portastudio in his parents’ basement. Many bands and years later, in 2007, he recorded his band, Algernon Cadwallader’s debut LP, “Some Kind of Cadwallader” in a variety of locations, including his West Philly bedroom studio that he shared with his band members. It was around that time tha...
Aug 23, 2023•59 min•Ep. 160
Jon Kaplan is a Grammy award-winning Mixer, Producer and Composer who has enjoyed every minute of the past 25+ years working in the studio. Following a dream-defining stretch in the 1990s as a member of Atlantic Records’ band The Hatters, his career behind the glass began in NYC as an engineer on hit records for *N Sync, Jennifer Lopez, LL Cool J, Mariah Carey, and others. As a producer and mixer, he has lent an ear to records across the musical spectrum for artists including Paul McCartney, Elt...
Aug 16, 2023•1 hr 6 min•Season 1Ep. 159
Dana Nielsen is a Grammy-nominated mixer, engineer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist known for his work with Rihanna, Adele, The Smashing Pumpkins, Neil Young, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Weezer, The Avett Brothers, Bob Dylan, and Kanye West. Nielsen also frequently works with music for picture, producing, recording, and mixing a growing number of film scores and soundtracks, such as Kristen Wiig‘s Barb & Star Go To Vista Del Mar (Lionsgate), Will Ferrell’s Anchorman 2 (Paramount) and Casa De ...
Aug 09, 2023•1 hr 22 min•Season 1Ep. 158
Born in Wolverhampton, UK and growing up in the Midlands area Alex Newport currently lives in Los Angeles. The owner of Future Shock recording studio, Newport got his start as the founding member of UK noise-rock band Fudge Tunnel. Moving behind the boards, Newport became a highly sought-after producer after producing hugely influential records for At the Drive-In ( In/Casino/Out , 1998 and Vaya , 1999) and The Mars Volta ( Tremulant , 2002). In 2011 he commenced an ongoing relationship with the...
Aug 02, 2023•1 hr 3 min•Season 1Ep. 157
Dean Hadjichristou has been making records for over 20 years and has worked on some world-class projects including Parkway Drive / Obey the Brave / Protest the Hero / Auras / Intervals / Four Year Strong etc. and has worked on material for clients across the globe. IN THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT: Building your career: To do it on your own or take the “traditional” path The toxic hazing culture of studio internships Recording heavy vocals Compressing vocals When to drive your preamps Using d...
Jul 26, 2023•1 hr 14 min•Season 1Ep. 156
Jesse Gander has been involved in sound and music production for over 20 years. In this time, He’s recorded about 600 releases by over 500 bands and artists from around the world. Jesse has worked with bands from Argentina, Colombia, Cuba, Italy, Japan, Scotland, Ireland, Mexico, Bulgaria, Thailand, Japan, Finland, England, Belgium, U.S.A., and of course Canada. These projects have been varied in genre, with a focus on original, independent music. Jesse started recording bands in basements on we...
Jul 19, 2023•1 hr 12 min•Season 1Ep. 155
Anton Delost is a fast-rising producer, writer, and mixer who has recently relocated to Los Angeles, CA from his hometown of Toronto, ON. He has become hugely in demand through his work with acts such as State Champs, The Story So Far, Silverstein, and Cleopatrick. In the rock space, recent work with Highly Suspect, Saint Asonia and BRKN LOVE has seen his work crack Canadian Rock Radio Top 10 and US Active Rock Radio Top 40 on multiple occasions. He has also worked in alt-pop territories with ac...
Jul 12, 2023•1 hr 22 min•Season 1Ep. 154
Asher Laub began classical violin training at the tender age of 2 and had already performed with the Buffalo Philharmonic by age 13. Asher’s expertise in trans-genre improvisation has led him to a career as a soloist in demand, performing at venues such as Madison Square Garden, Hammerstein Hall, Lincoln Center, the Jacob Javitz Center, and across four continents. Asher has also been featured on PBS, and has made headlines on CNN, WABC, NBC and many other major news sources. Asher is known for b...
Jul 05, 2023•53 min•Season 1Ep. 153
Scott Hull is a 39-year veteran mastering engineer and the owner of Masterdisk studios in Peekskill, New York. Scott started his career in 1983 and has mastered and cut major hit records in every genre, as well as many Grammy-winning titles. He is widely regarded as an expert in vinyl mastering. Scott Hull started his mastering journey at Masterdisk in 1983. He started as an intern and then became Bob Ludwig's (then chief engineer) assistant and digital editor. In 1994, Scott was named chief eng...
Jun 28, 2023•1 hr 35 min•Season 1Ep. 152
Stephen Kerrison is a mastering engineer based out of his Liverpool studio, Tall Trees Audio Mastering, whose credits include work for Moshi Moshi Records, Maple Death Records, PRAH Recordings, Rocket Recordings, and Human Worth Records. His many years experience as a working musician, coupled with an almost obsessive, life-long love of music has earned him a skill set that enables him to work empathetically alongside musicians with full understanding and respect for their artistic process and v...
Jun 21, 2023•1 hr 5 min•Season 1Ep. 151
Starting out, Mike assisted on major records for artists such as AC/DC, Cher, and Aerosmith. He also got to work with some of the biggest producers and engineers in the business such as; Bob Rock, Mutt Lange, Chris Thomas, Mike Fraser, Randy Staub, Bob Clearmountian, Tom Lorde, Chris Lord-Alge, and Bruce Fairbairn. Halfway through the recording of Aerosmith’s “Get a Grip” record, Mike was promoted to head engineer for the album. For the next eight years, Mike then went on to be Bruce Fairbairn’s...
Jun 14, 2023•1 hr 7 min•Season 1Ep. 150
Over the past two decades, Jesse Cannon has worked in nearly every aspect of the music business and now has had immense success in the podcast business. Most notably, making records with groups like The Cure, Animal Collective, The Misfits, The Menzingers, Man Overboard, Basement, Transit, Thank You Scientist, Somos, Leftover Crack, Brand New, NOFX and over a thousand more. He is also known for writing two of the top-rated music books on Amazon, Get More Fans: The DIY Guide To The New Music Busi...
Jun 07, 2023•1 hr 1 min•Season 1Ep. 149
Roy Silverstein is the owner and chief engineer at Rarefied Recording in San Diego, CA. Originally from the Chicago area, Roy started his audio journey as a teenager, playing in basement bands and experimenting with 4 tracks. He quickly became obsessed with record-making and the technical aspects of audio. This led him to the University of Miami where he studied Electrical Engineering with an audio emphasis; a special program that combined a full B.S.E.E. with a focus on audio applications. Afte...
May 31, 2023•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 148
A broadly acclaimed engineer and producer, Ulrike Schwarz is a trailblazing audio innovator with more than two decades of experience across the film, television, radio, and recording industries. Born and raised in Germany, Schwarz discovered she had perfect pitch at an early age, and as a teenager, she became one of only three students to be accepted into the exclusive Tonmeister program at the Hochschule der Künste Berlin. After earning her degree, Schwarz worked with German public radio and sp...
May 24, 2023•1 hr 22 min•Season 1Ep. 147
Jakob Herrmann works within a lot of different music styles and has earned a wide reputation for his skills in drum recording and album producing as well as his great ear for song arrangements and pre-production. Jakob has worked as producer, engineer, and drum tech on a large number of albums, and has provided material for plugins and software companies such as Superior Drummer/EZdrummer (Toontrack), Softube, Centipeak, Addictive Drums (XLN), etc. Jakob Herrmann runs his day-to-day operations f...
May 17, 2023•1 hr 15 min•Season 1Ep. 146
Danny Reisch is a producer, engineer, writer, multi-instrumentalist, and studio owner. Originally from Texas, Danny built an incredibly successful recording studio called Good Danny's, where he established himself as a world-class producer, mixer, and engineer. Since then Danny has moved to LA to pursue more opportunities, including film score mixing. Recently, Danny just finished producing, engineering, and mixing the new Local Natives LP, as well as albums for Bayonne and Barns Courtney. Danny...
May 10, 2023•1 hr 11 min•Season 1Ep. 145
As a professional mixing/recording engineer of over 30 years of experience, music is his life and passion. With numerous Grammy, Billboard Latino and Dove awards and nominations, and record sales in excess of 50 million units, Bob has been the one choice of many artists, project after project. His projects include work with Duran Duran, Collective Soul, Extreme, Black: Guayaba, La Secta All-Star, Dokken, and Bacilos, and in the Latin Christian market, Marcos Vidal, Rene Gonzalez, Julissa, Samuel...
May 03, 2023•1 hr 15 min•Season 1Ep. 144
Susan Rogers holds a doctoral degree in behavioral neuroscience from McGill University (2010). Prior to her science career, Susan was a multi-platinum-earning record producer, engineer, and mixer. She is best known for her work with Prince during his peak creative period (1983–1987). Her discography also includes records with David Byrne, Barenaked Ladies, Geggy Tah, Nil Lara, Robben Ford, Tricky, Michael Penn, Jeff Black, and many others. In 2021 she became the first female recipient of the Mus...
Apr 26, 2023•1 hr 14 min•Season 1Ep. 143
Equally comfortable mixing in an arena or a recording studio, Shawn Dealey has spent the last 20 years developing his craft as an in-demand recording engineer, mixer, and producer. Recently he has been developing and pursuing new techniques for Dolby Atmos recording and mixing. Working with artists such as Counting Crows, Goo Goo Dolls, Animals As Leaders, Jared James Nichols, Propagandhi, Bootsy Collins, We Came as Romans, Bones Owens, and countless others, Shawn’s passionate approach to the ar...
Apr 19, 2023•1 hr 9 min•Season 1Ep. 142
Matt Greiner is the drummer and a founding member of 2x Grammy Nominated band, August Burns Red. He is a founding member, starting the band in 2003 and performing in 45 countries, 6 continents, and playing over 1800 shows. He has worked as an ambassador for Zildjian Cymbals, teaching and performing in Southeast Asia and South America as well as throughout North America. Matt enjoys spending time at home with his wife Annie, working on his farm in Manheim with his dad and 2 brothers, and likes be...
Apr 12, 2023•1 hr 13 min•Season 141Ep. 141
Björgvin Benediktsson is an Icelandic-American author, audio engineer, entrepreneur, and educator. He helps music, audio, and creative professionals level up their music and audio skills, transform those skills into income, grow their online business with digital products, and systemize their marketing so that they can make a bigger impact with their careers. He’s a coach and mentor to multiple businesses and serves as a venture advisor at the McGuire Center for Entrepreneurship at the Universit...
Apr 05, 2023•1 hr 19 min•Season 1Ep. 140
Sherry Klein is an Emmy-nominated re-recording mixer and a pioneer of women in audio in both music and television. Sherry became a recording engineer at Larrabee Studios in the late 1970s – one of a handful of female engineers in Los Angeles at the time and possibly one of the only female re-recording mixers in town when she moved into post in the early 1980s. Sherry’s television credits include New Amsterdam, Queen of the South, Burn Notice, Sons of Anarchy, Falling Water, The Shield, and Arres...
Mar 29, 2023•1 hr 14 min•Season 1Ep. 139
Elaine Rasnake is a mastering engineer and the founder of Daughterboard Audio, a queer-owned and operated studio located in Philadelphia, PA. As a teenager, Elaine discovered that music was a way to connect with the world, the people in her life, and the artists she admired. This lifelong relationship with music led her to found Daughterboard Audio in 2019. Through her work as a mastering engineer, Elaine collaborates with artists to enhance their work in the final stages of any audio art form. ...
Mar 22, 2023•1 hr 9 min•Season 1Ep. 138
Ian Stewart is a mastering engineer and audio educator from the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts where he's operated Flotown Mastering since 2011. Ian received his B.S. in Music Engineering Technology from the University of Miami in 2007 and has been a passionate advocate for audio quality, and for fostering a better understanding of the topics surrounding it, ever since. IN THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT: Streaming loudness targets: Do they even matter? Should you master to -14 LUFS? How t...
Mar 15, 2023•1 hr 38 min•Season 1Ep. 137
