Michael Ivins
by Keith Hanlon
Many fans of the Flaming Lips might know Michael Ivins as that quiet, cigarette- smoking bass player. Indeed, he is often overshadowed by his media-savvy bandmates. However, many may not realize...
interviews
We talk at length with record-makers about how they make records.
Ian Catt: Saint Etienne, Trembling Blue Stars
by Jeff Touzeau
Ian Catt has developed a unique style that is behind some of the most interesting sounds coming out of the U.K. today. Having produced and engineered such bands as Saint Etienne, Trembling Blue...
Tom Erbe: Behind the Gear with SoundHack
by Douglas Repetto
If you were making music with a Macintosh in the 1990s, chances are SoundHack was an important part of your sound-mangling toolbox. It's an exceptionally rich and powerful tool, and it was one of...
Out Of The Studio: the Thick Oil comp and Metro Mobile Truck
by Graham Hick
Recently I visited an oil factory on Chicago's South Side, the site for a cool project that started with the idea of recording 18 bands in 18 days. To accomplish this, Billy Spunke of Thick Records...
Timothy Powell: Metro Mobile
by Graham Hick
Timothy Powell of Metro Mobile Recording has been a music and gear fanatic his whole life. Walking into his main recording truck, M-48, is proof enough of that. I was amazed not only at the...
John Goodmanson: From Sleater-Kinney to Wu-Tang
by John Bosch
John Goodmanson inhabits a unique place in the world of recording. Frequently traversing the country from his Seattle base to mix projects by major label artists like Wu-Tang Clan and Blondie, his...
Jason Falkner: Home studio wizard & songwriter
by Larry Crane, Andy Hong
He's been a member of The Three O'Clock, Jellyfish and The Grays. His voice and instrumentation appear on albums by Beck, Susanna Hoffs, Eric Matthews, Aimee Mann, and Air. He co-wrote, produced,...
Malcolm Burn: Recording Emmylou, Dylan & The Nevilles
by Larry DeVivo
It was a beautiful sunlit morning the day I headed down to interview producer/engineer Malcolm Burn. While driving, I couldn't help but ponder what the day had in store for me. Malcolm had invited...
Boots Riley: The Coup and Hip-Hop mixing
by Leigh Marble
The Coup is a hip-hop group from Oakland. They have an outwardly Marxist bent, which has earned them diehard fans as well as vituperous criticism from mainstream pundits. But that won't be our...
Geoff Daking: Behind the Gear
by Eric Broyhill
A character, genius and great host are just a few of the words to use in describing Geoff Daking. A resilient man having survived an entire US tour with The Who opening for his band, The Blues...
Plink: Recording via the Internet
by Nick Altebrando
Plink is the brainchild of Scott Evans and Brad Derrick. Scott's a computer programmer by day with a long list of song writing and production credits. Brad is a sound designer for video games, a...
J.D. Foster: Richard Buckner, Marc Ribot, Green on Red
by John Askew
Ask JD Foster. From his days playing bass with the likes of Dwight Yoakam, The Silos and Lucinda Williams, to producing and engineering the records of Richard Buckner, Marc Ribot, Eszter Balint,...