Recording Studio Rockstars

Latest Episodes:

RSR289 - Adam "Atom" Greenspan - Producing & Mixing IDLES, Arcade Fire, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, and The Veils Mar 19, 2021

Show notes

My guest today is Adam Greenspan A Grammy-nominated engineer, mixer, and producer who had a pretty good start to his career engineering Faith No More's "Album of the Year" at age 20. He later spent time at two world-class studios, Westlake Audio and The Village Recorder, working with artists such as Marilyn Manson, Rage Against the Machine, and Bono before going freelance in 2000.

As a consultant for setting up home studios, he met Nick Launay and began collaborating on albums by Arcade Fire, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and Refused, while at the same time taking on more and more producing and mixing gigs of his own for the likes of The Veils, INVSN, and French Style Furs (featuring members of Cold War Kids.)

More recently Adam has seen great success receiving a Mercury prize nomination for IDLES "Joy As An Act Of Resistance." also nominated for Best Album at the UK Music Producers Guild Awards and won the Ivor Novello award for writing. In 2019 Adam was Grammy-nominated for Thomas Dybdahl "All These Things" and he just had his first #1 in the UK with IDLES "Ultra Mono" and a top 10 with Cliff Richards.

I have really enjoyed listening to Adam's discography which we have put together in a special playlist for you in the show notes. Thanks so much to Adris Evelis at JZ Microphones for making our introduction.

Thanks to our sponsors!

Soundporter Mastering: Get your free mastering demo at https://www.soundporter.com

JZ Microphones: Use coupon ROCKSTARS to get 50% off The BB29 mic at JZmic.com

Spectra1964: https://www.spectra1964.com

OWC: Other World Computing: https://www.OWC.com

iZotope: iZotope.com/Rockstars code ROCK10 10% off

ADAM Audio: https://www.adam-audio.com

RSR Academy: http://RSRockstars.com/Academy

Want to learn more about mixing? Get Free mix training with Lij at: http://MixMasterBundle.com

Hear discography on Spotify

If you love the podcast, then please Leave a review on iTunes here

CLICK HERE FOR SHOW NOTES AT: http://RSRockstars.com/289

RSR288 - Rafa Sardina - 5 x Grammy Winning Mixer For Alejandro Sanz, Dr Dre, Snoop Dogg, and D'Angelo Mar 12, 2021

Show notes

My guest today is Rafa Sardina a recording and mixing engineer with 5 Grammy wins, 12 Latin Grammy awards, and a total of 60 Grammy nominations during his career including winning the South African SAMA award in 2018. A Basque native of Spain Rafa started out with four years in med school before deciding to pursue his passion for music which led him to Full Sail University.

After graduating as valedictorian he found himself at Oceanway in Los Angeles working with a wide variety of artists including the Black Crows, Celine Dion, Greenday, Madonna, The Rolling Stones, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Frank Sinatra to name a few. Today he works from his own After Hours Studios where he regularly mixes artists from around the world.

Though Rafa is best known for working on pop, rock and R&B projects, he has recorded and mixed just about any genre of music you can imagine: orchestral recordings, big band, R&B, dance, gospel, soul, rap, choral, film/TV soundtracks and huge movie scores like "Any given Sunday", "102 Dalmatians", "Michael Jordan- To the Max", Johnny Depp's "The Rum Diary" and many more.

He is also a founding member and vice-chairman of the Latin Recording Academy's CPI the equivalent to the Producers and Engineers Wing of the Recording Academy. And Rafa enjoys teaching what he knows through platforms like Mix With The Masters, Pensado's Place and of course Recording Studio Rockstars.

Thanks to Andris Evelis at JZ microphones for making the introduction.

Thanks to our sponsors!

Soundporter Mastering: Get your free mastering demo at https://www.soundporter.com

JZ Microphones: Use coupon ROCKSTARS to get 50% off The BB29 mic at JZmic.com

Spectra1964: https://www.spectra1964.com

OWC: Other World Computing: https://www.OWC.com

iZotope: iZotope.com/Rockstars code ROCK10 10% off

ADAM Audio: https://www.adam-audio.com

RSR Academy: http://RSRockstars.com/Academy

Want to learn more about mixing? Get Free mix training with Lij at: http://MixMasterBundle.com

Hear discography on Spotify

If you love the podcast, then please Leave a review on iTunes here

CLICK HERE FOR SHOW NOTES AT: http://RSRockstars.com/288

RSR287 - S Husky Hoskulds - How To Be Original Recording & Mixing in The Studio Mar 05, 2021

Show notes

My guest today is S. Husky Hoskulds a Grammy winning engineer, and mixer who moved to LA in 1991 to study audio engineering at the University of California, Los Angeles.

He began his career working with Mitchell Froom and Tchad Blake as a staff engineer at The Sound Factory in the early 1990s but would quickly move on to independent projects with Michael Penn, The Wallflowers, Sheryl Crow, Tom Waits and steady collaboration with Mike Patton on his various projects.

In 2002 he won a Grammy for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical alongside Jay Newland for the multiple awarded debut album Come Away with Me by Norah Jones co-produced by Craig Street. Husky's many credits also include Joe Henry, Solomon Burke, Elvis Costello, Allen Toussaint, Mavis Staples, Ann Peebles, Bettye Lavette, My Brightest Diamond, Billy Preston, Aloan, Chocolate Genius, Fantomas, Sheryl Crow and many more...

Thanks to Andris at JZ microphones for making our introduction.

Thanks to our sponsors!

Soundporter Mastering: Get your free mastering demo at https://www.soundporter.com

JZ Microphones: Use coupon ROCKSTARS to get 50% off The BB29 mic at JZmic.com

Spectra1964: https://www.spectra1964.com

OWC: Other World Computing: https://www.OWC.com

iZotope: iZotope.com/Rockstars code ROCK10 10% off

ADAM Audio: https://www.adam-audio.com

RSR Academy: http://RSRockstars.com/Academy

Want to learn more about mixing? Get Free mix training with Lij at: http://MixMasterBundle.com

Hear discography on Spotify

If you love the podcast, then please Leave a review on iTunes here

CLICK HERE FOR SHOW NOTES AT: http://RSRockstars.com/287

RSR286 - Tyler Bryant & the Shakedown With Roger Alan Nichols - the Making of the New Album Pressure Feb 26, 2021

Show notes

My guests today are Roger Alan Nichols and Tyler Bryant. Roger has been a guest on the show before to talk about producing great rock records with his band Dreaming In English and artists like Paramore, Seal, Larking Poe, and Steven Tyler and you can hear his story on episode RSR45.

But today we are here to talk about the records he makes with the other Tyler of Nashville based rock band Tyler Bryant & The Shakedown. Tyler is a gifted singer and guitarist who has released four successful studio albums with his band. He has toured with such groups as Jeff Beck, ZZ Top, Aerosmith, AC/DC, Guns N' Roses and Lynyrd Skynyrd, as well as playing several rock focused music festivals. The group's current lineup consists of Tyler Bryant (lead guitar & vocals), Graham Whitford (rhythm guitar), Ryan Fitzgerald (bass), and Caleb Crosby (drums).

Recently Roger recorded Tyler and the band for their new record Pressure and powerful driving rock album that sounds like Audioslave, The Foo Fighters, and Tom Petty all wrapped up in one with killer guitar tones, Swampy slide playing, and soulful songs.

Somehow they managed to pull off this record at a time when most of the world was hiding away or venting on social media. So it's great to hear some creative fire come out of the speakers.

Thanks to our sponsors!

Soundporter Mastering: Get your free mastering demo at https://www.soundporter.com

JZ Microphones: Use coupon ROCKSTARS to get 50% off The BB29 mic at JZmic.com

Spectra1964: https://www.spectra1964.com

OWC: Other World Computing: https://www.OWC.com

iZotope: iZotope.com/Rockstars code ROCK10 10% off

ADAM Audio: https://www.adam-audio.com

RSR Academy: http://RSRockstars.com/Academy

Want to learn more about mixing? Get Free mix training with Lij at: http://MixMasterBundle.com

Hear discography on Spotify

If you love the podcast, then please Leave a review on iTunes here

CLICK HERE FOR SHOW NOTES AT: http://RSRockstars.com/286

RSR285 - Brent McCollough - Producing The Viral Bee Gees Parody Video "Stayin' Inside" Feb 19, 2021

Show notes

My guest today is Brent McCollough a Nashville-based producer, keyboardist, and artist.

He started playing the piano by ear at the age of five later accepting a full scholarship at the University of Alabama to pursue a degree in Music Production and Performance followed by a full-time graduate teaching fellowship for his master's degree in Jazz Studies at the University of North Texas.

He records and mixes his own music as well as artists all over the country, and plays keyboards and sings for many bands like The Black Jacket Symphony, and Trace Atkins.

More recently he became well known for his coronavirus parody video, "Stayin' Inside," which went viral and was shared by the Bee Gees, John Travolta, and countless news networks all over the world.

Brent's studio work and content creation spans many various genres, and he is also regularly hired to mix and master live performances. He currently runs Brent McCollough Studios and prides himself in making his clients' musical dreams become reality.

Brent also joined Kurt Hugo Schneider, Tony Succarr, and me for an OWC workshop "How To Be Creative With Video Content From Your Home Studio". That link will be included in the show notes.

Thanks to our sponsors!

Soundporter Mastering: Get your free mastering demo at https://www.soundporter.com

JZ Microphones: Use coupon ROCKSTARS to get 50% off The BB29 mic at JZmic.com

Spectra1964: https://www.spectra1964.com

OWC: Other World Computing: https://www.OWC.com

iZotope: iZotope.com/Rockstars code ROCK10 10% off

ADAM Audio: https://www.adam-audio.com

RSR Academy: http://RSRockstars.com/Academy

Want to learn more about mixing? Get Free mix training with Lij at: http://MixMasterBundle.com

Hear discography on Spotify

If you love the podcast, then please Leave a review on iTunes here

CLICK HERE FOR SHOW NOTES AT: http://RSRockstars.com/285

RSR284 - Tony Black - Grammy Winning Engineer for Alicia Keys, Jay-Z, Wu Tang Clan, Luther Vandross, and More... Feb 12, 2021

Show notes

My guest today is Tony Black a Grammy-winning music producer, mixer/engineer & songwriter/musician. He has contributed to recordings totalling more than 50 million units sold or downloaded. He won a GRAMMY AWARD for his contribution to the album "THE DIARY OF ALICIA KEYS" for BEST R&B ALBUM. He also mixed and recorded "RIDE OR DIE" on the Grammy-winning album JAY-Z "HARD KNOCK LIFE VOL.2".

Tony spent many years in NYC at legendary studios such as The Power Station, The Hit Factory, Quad, and Electric Lady. He became part of the 90's hip-hop scene that would go on to make music history. Working with artists such as Notorious BIG, Jay Z, Q tip, Lil Kim, P. Diddy(Puffy), Cam'ron, Wu Tang Clan, Michael Jackson and too many others to list, he clocked in more than 4000 sessions in the 90's alone.

These sessions led to a 6-year working relationship with Alicia Keys. He recorded and mixed all of The Diary of Alicia Keys. He continues mixing, recording, and producing new music today for label artists, indie artists, and for his own project Slow Down The Quick based in NYC and working anywhere in the world with his mobile project studio.

Thanks to Josh Harris for making our introduction! (Carl Nappa).

Thanks to our sponsors!

Soundporter Mastering: Get your free mastering demo at https://www.soundporter.com

JZ Microphones: Use coupon ROCKSTARS to get 50% off The BB29 mic at JZmic.com

Spectra1964: https://www.spectra1964.com

OWC: Other World Computing: https://www.OWC.com

iZotope: iZotope.com/Rockstars code ROCK10 10% off

ADAM Audio: https://www.adam-audio.com

RSR Academy: http://RSRockstars.com/Academy

Want to learn more about mixing? Get Free mix training with Lij at: http://MixMasterBundle.com

Hear discography on Spotify

If you love the podcast, then please Leave a review on iTunes here

CLICK HERE FOR SHOW NOTES AT: http://RSRockstars.com/284

RSR283 - Tony Succar - Latin Grammy Producer Of The Year Feb 05, 2021

Show notes

My guest today is Tony Succar a two-time Latin Grammy award-winning and #1 Billboard charting artist, producer, and composer/arranger Born in Lima, Peru and raised in Miami, Florida. Tony's produces music in the world of salsa, jazz, pop, and afro-latino-inspired music. He has a Bachelor of Arts and a Masters degree in Jazz Performance from Florida International University.

In 2018, Tony was nominated for the prestigious Latin Grammy Awards for Best Tropical Song, "Me Enamoro Mas De Ti." He received four nominations in 2019 for Album of the Year, Best Tropical Song, Best Salsa Album, and Producer of the Year for his most recent album, Mas de Mi. Tony took home two Latin Grammys for Producer of the Year and Best Salsa Album, making history as the youngest winner to have ever won both categories.

Mas de Mi was released by Tony through his independent label, Unity Entertainment. His inspiration for the album was to write and produce non-traditional songs that will appeal to younger generations. He has also worked with an impressive array of talented artists, including Tito Nieves, India, Jon Secada, Marc Anthony, Sheila E., Arturo Sandoval, Judith Hill, and Obie Bermudez, among others.

Tony's debut album, UNITY: The Latin Tribute to Michael Jackson, had tremendous success, reaching Billboard's #1 Tropical Album Music Chart, iTunes' #1 World Latin Chart, and Amazon's #1 Latin Pop Music chart, among others. It also evolved into a nationally-televised primetime PBS special that kicked off the PBS Fall Arts Festival.

He has performed at the Caribbean Sea Jazz Festival (Aruba), the Ravinia Festival (Chicago), Auditorio Telmex (Mexico), Vivo Beach (Puerto Rico), Tempo Latino (France), and the 2019 Latin Grammy Awards (MGM Grand Las Vegas), among others.

Thanks to our sponsors!

Soundporter Mastering: Get your free mastering demo at https://www.soundporter.com

JZ Microphones: Use coupon ROCKSTARS to get 50% off The BB29 mic at JZmic.com

Spectra1964: https://www.spectra1964.com

OWC: Other World Computing: https://www.OWC.com

iZotope: iZotope.com/Rockstars code ROCK10 10% off

ADAM Audio: https://www.adam-audio.com

RSR Academy: http://RSRockstars.com/Academy

Want to learn more about mixing? Get Free mix training with Lij at: http://MixMasterBundle.com

Hear discography on Spotify

If you love the podcast, then please Leave a review on iTunes here

CLICK HERE FOR SHOW NOTES AT: http://RSRockstars.com/283

RSR282 - Kurt Ballou - Recording Heavy Guitars at God City Studios in Salem MA Jan 29, 2021

Show notes

My guest today is Kurt Ballou is a Grammy-winning producer, engineer, mixer and studio owner in Salem MA with extensive production credits on some of aggressive music's most successful albums. In addition to his studio work, Kurt is the guitarist in ground breaking hardcore/metal crossover act CONVERGE.

Kurt's studio, God City Recording, was constructed in 2003 and contains the finest analog and digital recording equipment available. God City has hosted bands such as Grammy winner High on Fire, American Nightmare, NAILS, Darkest Hour, Code Orange, Four Year Strong, Converge, Russian Circles, Torche, Cave In and many more.

Kurt also designs guitar pedals and guitars under the name God City Instruments where you can get the heaviest guitar distortions and fuzzes pre-built and ready to use or build your own with ready-made PCB boards and kits.

Thanks to Brian Murphree for the introduction.

Thanks to our sponsors!

Soundporter Mastering: Get your free mastering demo at https://www.soundporter.com

JZ Microphones: Use coupon ROCKSTARS to get 50% off The BB29 mic at JZmic.com

Spectra1964: https://www.spectra1964.com

OWC: Other World Computing: https://www.OWC.com

iZotope: iZotope.com/Rockstars code ROCK10 10% off

ADAM Audio: https://www.adam-audio.com

RSR Academy: http://RSRockstars.com/Academy

Want to learn more about mixing? Get Free mix training with Lij at: http://MixMasterBundle.com

Hear discography on Spotify

If you love the podcast, then please Leave a review on iTunes here

CLICK HERE FOR SHOW NOTES AT: http://RSRockstars.com/282

RSR281 - Billy Decker - New Book Template Mixing & Mastering Jan 22, 2021

Show notes

My guest today is Billy Decker a Nashville producer, engineer, and mixer with multiple #1 hits for clients like Chris Young, Kenny Chesney, Darius Rucker, Jason Aldean, Jaime Lynne Spears, and Sam Hunt and even George Jones.

Billy is known for his high-speed method of mixing using templates and systems for getting to the creative side of mixing immediately without getting bogged down in the tech side of mixing. He was a guest on the podcast previously on episode RSR210 and recently he has written a new book called Template Mixing and Mastering.

So today we will dig deeper into Billy's template mixing and get an introduction to what you will find in his new book. I highly recommend that you pick up the book since he does a wonderful job of breaking down every detail beautifully with images and charts to help you set up your own template for mixing in your studio.

Thanks to our sponsors!

Soundporter Mastering: Get your free mastering demo at https://www.soundporter.com

JZ Microphones: Use coupon ROCKSTARS to get 50% off The BB29 mic at JZmic.com

Spectra1964: https://www.spectra1964.com

OWC: Other World Computing: https://www.OWC.com

iZotope: iZotope.com/Rockstars code ROCK10 10% off

ADAM Audio: https://www.adam-audio.com

RSR Academy: http://RSRockstars.com/Academy

Want to learn more about mixing? Get Free mix training with Lij at: http://MixMasterBundle.com

Hear discography on Spotify

If you love the podcast, then please Leave a review on iTunes here

CLICK HERE FOR SHOW NOTES AT: http://RSRockstars.com/281

RSR280 - Justin Francis - More Mixing Tips For The Home Studio Jan 15, 2021

Show notes

My guest today is Justin Francis is a multiple Grammy Award nominee as an engineer, #1 Billboard chart mixer, and budding producer based right here in East Nashville. His work can be heard on records ranging from Ronnie Milsap to Alice Cooper including Top 40 hits for Little Big Town and Kelsea Ballerini; soundtracks with Kacey Musgraves and P!nk, and releases from diverse artists as Rodney Crowell, Tyler Childers, Margo Price, Buddy Guy, Deep Purple, Anti-Flag, Rozwell Kid and Diarrhea Planet reaching millions of streams every month.

Justin has been a guest on the podcast previously one episode RSR220 when we got to talk about his background in the recording. So this episode we will continue to dig into mixing and production and ways that we can ramp up the quality of our work in our own pro or home studios.

Thanks to our sponsors!

Soundporter Mastering: Get your free mastering demo at https://www.soundporter.com

JZ Microphones: Use coupon ROCKSTARS to get 50% off The BB29 mic at JZmic.com

Spectra1964: https://www.spectra1964.com

OWC: Other World Computing: https://www.OWC.com

iZotope: iZotope.com/Rockstars code ROCK10 10% off

ADAM Audio: https://www.adam-audio.com

RSR Academy: http://RSRockstars.com/Academy

Want to learn more about mixing? Get Free mix training with Lij at: http://MixMasterBundle.com

Hear discography on Spotify

If you love the podcast, then please Leave a review on iTunes here

CLICK HERE FOR SHOW NOTES AT: http://RSRockstars.com/280