RSR069 – Matt Mahaffey – The Band sElf & Composing Music For Cartoons

My guest today is Matt Mahaffey, probably the most talented multi instrumental song writer, composer, and producer I know. Matt formed his own successful rock band, sElf and then cofounded Spongebath records an imprint of Zoo records. From 1995 on sElf and Spongebath became a shining beacon of hope for indi bands in middle TN wanting to shake the stereotype of country music.

After a decade in Nashville Matt moved to LA to be closer to his next label Dreamworks where he developed his production career continuing to write and record for his own band. He has a long list of artists in the studio including: Pink, Beck, Liz Phair, Tenacious D, Lupe Fiasco, Phantom Planet, Beyoncé, Butch Walker, Hellogoodbye, Forever the Sickest Kids, Miranda Cosgrove, The White Tie Affair, Keith Urban, The Sounds, L.E.O. and Smash Mouth. And recently Matt just played on Beck’s Grammy winning Album of the Year 2015, Morning Phase.

Matt has also created music for many filmmakers including Ivan Reitman, Michael Mann, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Andrew Adamson, and Hans Zimmer. And he also wrote music for Shrek, Shrek 2, and Shrek 4. And contributed music for the cartoons Ni Hao Kai-Lan and Sanjay and Craig. And other TV credits include: CSI Miami, DanceLife, Entourage, MTV, E! Entertainment, Weeds, and 60 Minutes.

He has even spoken at TEDx Nashville, and notably created the famous jingle for Expedia.com, and appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live as the Muppet character “Animal” in a drum off with Blink 182 drummer, Travis Baker.

• Matt’s studio Fresh Imperial Studio in Franklin TN.
• Rehearsing in his parents basement and recording his first multi tracks with a dual cassette deck.
• Shooting signs in WV and a pop up coffeeshop concert with Beck Hansen.
• Jeff Turzo and the Overstayer Master and Servant. Using 808 in a rock band.
• Composing for cartoons and film & producing bands in the studio.
• Lots of other cool stuff! Including a the plugin Lethal for creating EDM.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9U4xhf9fuYg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVBwb8dmOGA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xn49IDcTpFE

Leave a comment at the bottom of the post and let us know what you think, and thanks for being a Rockstar!

The post RSR069 – Matt Mahaffey – The Band sElf & Composing Music For Cartoons appeared first on Recording Studio Rockstars.

RSR068 – Pat Sansone – Recording with The Autumn Defense & Wilco

My guest today is my good friend Pat Sansone, a prolific, and talented multi instrumentalist, songwriter, and Grammy nominated producer.  Pat’s early bands included playing guitar with Beagle Voyage and Stretch Armstrong, a rock band influenced by Black Sabbath and the Butthole Surfers, and then his own power pop band Birdy. In 1999, Pat formed The Autumn Defense, in New Orleans, with his friend John Stirratt of Wilco.

They went on to record four full-length albums: The Green Hour in 2000, Which I helped record at Alex The Great in Nashville, and then Engine in Chicago, and then Circles in 2003, which I recorded right here at The Toy Box Studio when it was in my house, with cables running all over the place. In fact it was Pat who aptly named my studio The Toy Box Studio after recording here while surrounded by my collection of toy instruments. The Autumn Defense then went on to make their self-titled album The Autumn Defense in 2006, and Once Around in 2010.

While living in both Nashville and New York, Pat working as a producer and studio musician. He contributed to albums by Joseph Arthur, Andrew Bird, Josh Rouse, Mavis Staples, Swan Dive, Jenifer Jackson, Ryan Adams, The Clientele, and others.

In 2004 Pat joined Wilco following the departure of multi-instrumentalist Leroy Bach. And now Pat plays guitar, keyboard, maracas, and several other instruments, as well as singing backup vocals with Wilco. He was also involved in the writing and recording of Wilco’s albums: Sky Blue Sky, Wilco, and co producing The Whole Love in 2011.

Pat has also created a book of photography called 100 Polaroids, a collection of polaroid photographs taken with an SX70 camera, from his travels with Wilco and The Autumn Defense. And he has worked with many great musicians and artists along the way including: Dawes, Jamie Lidell, Phil Selway of Radiohead, The Future Monarchs with Josh Shapera, Elizabeth Cook, Garrison Starr, Richard Julian, and Will Kimbrough.

• Pat’s musical beginnings in Meridian MS.
• Peavey headquarters.
• Recording Heartbreaker with Ryan Adams.
• Recording at the Wilco loft, at Easley Studio, and with Josh Shapera at the Mixin Administration.
• How to record fantastic drums on your record.
• Recording Wilco acoustic guitars with an iPhone.
• Why Freddie Mercuries sound great in the mix.
• Working with Richard Dodd
• Recording Hammond B3, Leslie, piano, and Wurly.
• Why Jeff Tweedy prefers recording his vocals with an Shure SM7.

This is the great video showing you how a Shure SM57 sounds on electric guitar in 7 different mic positions!

Here is Brand New Song from Americanitis by Will Kimbrough and co produced by Lij Shaw using the iPod mic for vocal and acoustic guitar.

Jeff Tweedy Sukierae with more demo guitars recorded on iPhone that became part of the record.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kvc6EFUx9Xo&index=1&list=PLxpRNq5SCAvJvS6-nqJjbCmaibbUgKdHJ

Here is Jack Ashford from the Funk Brothers of Motown showing us how Tamborine is really done right!

Tack Piano

Autumn Defense performing at East Side Manor, a beautiful studio in East Nashville.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h72IUSsXq1w

Leave a comment at the bottom of the post and let us know what you think, and thanks for being a Rockstar!

The post RSR068 – Pat Sansone – Recording with The Autumn Defense & Wilco appeared first on Recording Studio Rockstars.

RSR067 – Carl Nappa – Producing and Mixing Hip Hop with Nelly & The Hit Factory

My guest today is Carl Nappa with over 30 Gold, Platinum and Multi-Platinum records as an engineer, mixer or producer. He has worked with a long list of high profile artists in Rock, Hip Hop, R&B & Pop. In his 20+ year career Carl is credited as engineer or producer for more than 50 million records sold.

He has been a staff engineer at The Hit Factory in NYC, owned and operated “Hell’s Kitchen Recording and Social Club” In NYC for 4 years, is a voting member of NARAS and now also teaches in St Louis at the Ex’Treme Institute by Nelly.

• Stealing donuts to make a big impression on the studio as an intern (we don’t recommend this!)
• Recording with Extreme
• Mixing on various consoles

• Working with Prince at The Hit Factory.
• How to mix from careful notes.
• How to know when your mix is done.

• Recording Sean Pelton on drums.
• How to soundcheck drums like a pro!
• Setting up Nelly’s Home studio.

• How to make a hit record.
• Designing and building Nelly’s Extreme Institute
• Working with Francis Manzella FM Designs from NYC.

• How to get great Low End in a mix.
• Sample level bass management.
• How to get better fast at recording and mixing when you are just starting out.

Leave a comment at the bottom of the post and let us know what you think, and thanks for being a Rockstar!

Carl’s mixes:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TegGJsIzB0o

Carl Nappa

Executive Director & Campus Director EI

Vatterott College ex’treme Institute by Nelly

800 North 3^rd Street St. Louis MO. 63102

314.657.4410

314.241.1089 fax

314.637.4908 cell

carl.nappa@eibynelly.com

Web | Facebook | Twitter

The post RSR067 – Carl Nappa – Producing and Mixing Hip Hop with Nelly & The Hit Factory appeared first on Recording Studio Rockstars.

RSR066 – Danny Wyatt – EDM and Mix Master Wyatt Academy

My guest today is Danny Wyatt, a multi-platinum, Grammy and Emmy nominated audio engineer with credits from Ultra Records to Old Dirty Bastard to Norah Jones, and one of the most influential mixing and mastering instructors and course designers. In the last decade he taught over 1,000 producers and audio engineers how to mix and master modern styles of music from deep house, minimal techno, and trance to hip hop, trap, dubstep, and drum’n’bass. Many of his students have had their tracks hit the iTunes and Beatport charts.

After teaching at SAE and DubSpot, a school for budding DJ producers, he went on to launch his own school, the Mix Master Wyatt Academy, where you can learn everything about composition, production, mixing, and mastering from the basics all the way to advanced. 

If you are ready to get serious with your EDM production then check out: Mixmaster Wyatt Academy

https://youtu.be/-03CnPOtCps

Use Coupon Code: RSR10 for 10% off any course!

Cool stuff we talked about on the show:

• Recording with Gladys Night, Steve Windwood, Curtis Mayfield, Lenny Kravitz, Whitney Houston, Bruce Springstein, Eric Clapton, The Isley Bros, Branford Marsalis, Aretha Franklin, BB King, Rod Stewart, Phil Collins, Stevie Wonder, and Elton John.
• Mos Def, Talib Kweli, and Sound Bombing records.
• The origins of BackPacker Hip Hop

• Why organic sounds will make a comeback in production.
• The evolution of Hop Hop production and mixing.
• Why Hip Hop sounds different today.

• “Once while mastering I accidentally made someones jazz album mono. And it got released like that!” Danny Wyatt
• How what we aspire to in production is a bit like being in middle school.
• Why getting rid of the bad is the best way to get to the good in mixing.

• Big Room is the new one and its replacing Progressive House. But then theres minimal and theres Techno. And theres Tech House, and theres Deep House. Theres Tropical House…
• Why Dubstep sounds like Transformers having sex!
• How to get big bass in EDM

• How to get loud mixes in EDM
• How to get the pumping breathing sound for EDM.
• Beset practices for multiband saturation.

Leave a comment at the bottom of the post and let us know what you think, and thanks for being a Rockstar!

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