Which came first the music or the film? Freddy talked about creating cinematic music with analog synths and sample libraries, the philosophy of creating from an initial idea, the inspiration of David Lynch, and how to manage a 4000 track template!

My guest today is Freddy Avis aka Arswain a composer, producer, and solo artist in the  indie/electronic band Arswain in Los Angeles, CA.

Freddy got his start in composition under acclaimed Emmy-nominated composer James S. Levine (Glee, American Horror Story, Bloodline, Nip Tuck, The Last Ship) at Hans Zimmer’s Remote Control Productions in Santa Monica, CA. Since then Freddy holds music credits on shows including Major Crimes, Why Women Kill, Instinct, Star, & Chambers, as well as placements on Tiger King, Shark Tank, Dateline, & The Dr. Oz Show. 

He’s contributed synth & percussion work on 8-time Oscar-nominated composer James Newton Howard’s score for Walt Disney feature Jungle Cruise, as well as additional music for Steve Jablonsky’s score for Why Women Kill.

Freddy holds a pair of Bachelor's degrees in Music and Political Science from Stanford University, where he also pitched for the baseball team. In 2012 he was drafted by the Washington Nationals in the 25th round of the Major League Baseball Draft.

Arswain has some amazing music and video productions that create sounds scapes and surreal worlds in a very cinematic way and today we will talk about how he creates in his studio and composing for film in LA.

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Website Links:

Instagram: @arswain__
arswainofficial.com
freddyavismusic.com

Additional podcast editing and production by:
Brayden Stremming
Vlad Vasilcenko
Jon Richardson

How critical is your listening? Jett talked about learning mastering from the legendary Doug Sax, the four main elements of a perfect mastering chain, how to calibrate your speakers with an iPhone, and how to get started mastering in iZotope Ozone.

My guest today is Jett Galindo, a Los Angeles-based mastering engineer and vinyl cutter now working at The Bakery. Jett has worked on albums spanning a wide array of genres and artists including Barbra Streisand, Haley Reinhart, Weezer, and the La La Land OST, to name a few. 

Jett kickstarted her post-Berklee engineering career in the world-renowned Avatar Studios in New York (now known as Power Station) as the recording engineer for producer Jerry Barnes. As Barnes’ engineer, Jett engineered for veteran artists such as legendary singer-songwriter Roberta Flack, Nile Rodgers, Bashiri among others. 

In 2013, Jett joined The Mastering Lab family as the sole right-hand woman to pioneer mastering engineer and GRAMMY Technical Achievement awardee Doug Sax, working on various notable vinyl releases including Pink Floyd’s 15th & final album “Endless River”, Bette Midler, Neil Young, Randy Travis, and Seth MacFarlane. Some of the other great mentors Jett has been able to work with include George Massenburg; producer Prince Charles Alexander; recording engineer Susan Rogers (Prince’s Purple Rain); and mastering engineer and AES President-elect, Jonathan Wyner. 

Most recently through The Bakery, Jett has helped pave the way for the growing audiophile releases in the video game soundtrack genre, having mastered award-winning chart-topping releases such as the “Pokemon Red & Blue Piano Collections”, Rozen’s Legend of Zelda tribute “Children of Termina”, and the remastered 1980s Nicon Falcom’s “Ys I & II:  Ancient Ys Vanished” original soundtracks.

Jett is actively involved with Soundgirls, an organization for women working in the audio engineering field, and she is a contributing writer for iZotope’s widely popular LEARN portal. Jett is also an accomplished lyric soprano who specializes in choral ensemble music. Currently singing with Los Angeles-based professional choir Tonality, Jett has performed in various countries spanning across Europe, Asia and the Americas.

Thanks very much to Bryan Cook! For making our introduction!

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Website Links:

https://thebakery.la
https://thebakery.la/jett-galindo
https://www.izotope.com/en/learn/author/jett-galindo.html
Facebook
Instagram
Twitter
Linkedin

Additional podcast editing and production by:
Brayden Stremming
Vlad Vasilcenko
Jon Richardson

Are fart machines ok in the studio? Anthony talked about recording directly to analog tape and selling reel-to-reel tapes, how to set up a great headphone mix for the band, working with the API 1608 console, and Charlie Hunter's split bass guitar.

My guest today is Anthony Gravino an independent music maker near Chicago, IL. He has worked with a wide variety of artists across multiple genres as a producer, recording engineer, mixing engineer, mastering engineer and musician. Anthony has been on the show before for Episode RSR156 when we talked about how he makes records in the studio capturing great sounds for Indie rock, jazz, and other genres and more mixing tips on episode RSR250.

He has recently moved to a beautiful tall new loft studio called High Cross Sound south of Chicago in a space that looks like you might stumble on it strolling through the Hobbit Shire. Anthony loves to work with talented artists and musicians and record using classic vintage studio making records with smooth and beautiful tones. So we will talk about what’s new with the studio and how his recording and mixing have evolved in the past couple of years.

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Website Links:

RSR250 – ANTHONY GRAVINO – HOW TO MIX IN PRO TOOLS & CONSOLE HYBRID
www.anthonygravino.com

Additional podcast editing and production by:
Brayden Stremming
Vlad Vasilcenko
Jon Richardson

Why object to a good bed? Vance talked about learning to mix in Dolby Atmos on Pro Tools, installing a new ATC speaker array, Chris Stapleton and his mobile Capi VP28 studio, and the future of Apple Music and immersive audio for creators and fans.

My guest today is Vance Powell, a multi Grammy award-winning producer, engineer and mixer, and owner of Sputnik Sound in Nashville with Mitch Dane. Vance’s credits credits includes Chris Stapleton, The White Stripes, Arctic Monkeys, and Wolfmother to name just a few.
Vance is a repeat guest on the podcast and you can hear his origin story on episode RSR002, and great mixing tips on Episodes RSR171 and RSR293.

Vance recently did a studio makeover at Sputnik Sound installing a Dolby Atmos surround sound system for mixing into the future of immersive audio. So we will talk all about Atmos and of course, we have a bunch of great questions from you Rockstars in our Facebook group which you can join at https://www.facebook.com/groups/recordingstudiorockstars

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Website Links:

RSR293 – VANCE POWELL – ANSWERS ALL YOUR HOME STUDIO RECORDING AND MIXING QUESTIONS
RSR171 – VANCE POWELL – HOW TO PRODUCE, RECORD, AND MIX A RECORD THAT ROCKS
RSR002 – VANCE POWELL – GRAMMY WINNING PRODUCTION, MIXING, AND ENGINEERING AT SPUTNIK SOUND
http://www.allmusic.com/artist/vance-powell-mn0000307596/credits
http://www.pro.blackbirdstudio.com/engineers/vance/
http://www.sputniksound.com/

Additional podcast editing and production by:
Brayden Stremming
Vlad Vasilcenko
Jon Richardson

Got pig grunts and bear growls? Jay talked about creating monster sounds for video games as a sound designer, how he went from quality control to music composer for one of the biggest MMORPG video games in the world, and why you want Reaper.

My guest today is Jay Lauterwasser a video game sound designer and music composer for Darkpaw games in San Diego, CA. 

“I grew up in St Louis, Missouri, moved to San Diego in 2004 and started my career in the video game industry in Quality Assurance. In 2016 I got my opportunity to become a Sound Designer and in 2019 I added Music Composer to my job description. I’ve been a musician for the better part of my life. I started playing bass in highschool, joined a band after graduating and got to see the eastern half of the country from the back seat of the tour van. Even though the touring slowed down, I never stopped playing music. I still play bass in the local San Diego band Roger! and sit in for the occasional recording session. 

I’ve been a part of countless recording sessions as a musician but never officially as an engineer. Fortunately, I’ve worked with a bunch of great engineers that were always willing to answer questions or explain something along the way. It was those experiences and further exploration and research that taught me enough about sound engineering to be able to do sound design for video games. Music composition was the natural next step, taking what I learned about audio engineering and sound in general and adding the musician side of it. After taking a couple of online music composition and theory classes, I was able to compose and produce my first video game soundtrack in 2019 for the game “EverQuest: Claws of Veeshan”.

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Website Links:

Sean McGovern Moon Shine Album

Additional podcast editing and production by:
Brayden Stremming
Vlad Vasilcenko
Jon Richardson

Life is a song! Daniel talked about chick'n pick'n guitar at the famous Robert's Western Wear and his goal to sell out the Ryman Auditorium, why you need the Japanese concept of Ikigai for your goals, and how music melds with the cosmos.

My guest today is Daniel Donato a 25 year old guitarist and songwriter who started out at a young age of 16 playing regularly at Nashville’s iconic honky tonk Robert’s Western World while gigging with the Don Kelley Band. His debut album, A Young Man’s Country, was recorded at Nashville’s Sound Emporium in two days and produced by guitar-ace Robben Ford, the record weaves outlaw country, Grateful Dead-style Amer-icana, and first-rate songwriting into a singular form Donato calls “21st-century cosmic country.”

The message of these songs contains Donato’s “Cosmic Country” ethos, which is about finding the courage to blaze your own path. As such, it is an ethos the artist extends beyond music into the channels of social media, where he’s built up a huge following of devoted “DD Heads,” as his fans call themselves. His pod-cast, “Daniel Donato’s Lost Highway,” brings together like-minded creatives to get at the heart of what makes artists tick, for which he’s interviewed Brothers Osborne, Brent Cobb, Orville Peck, and Garry Talent of Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band.

Thanks to Anders Jovaag at Adam Audio for making our introduction.

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Website Links:

https://danieldonato.bandcamp.com/
https://www.patreon.com/danieldonato/posts
Facebook
Instagram
YouTube

Additional podcast editing and production by:
Brayden Stremming
Vlad Vasilcenko
Jon Richardson

Be like the cockroach and don't give up! Steve talked about running a pro studio and rehearsal space, scheduling bands, mixing Ronnie James Dio, generating studio business, getting guitar tones just right, rock guitar amps, and how to record drums.

My guest today is Steve Ornest a rock multi instrumentalist, engineer, and producer in Redondo Beach CA. Steve learned his studio skills at Total Access Recording under the guidance of Wyn Davis (RSR192) starting at the young age of 15. Steve started out playing guitar for rock sessions by bands like Don Dokken, Minoru Nihara (Loudness), and many others, but fast forward to the present and Steve is now running the studio with Wyn.

Steve’s mission has been to reinvigorate the local South Bay music scene by making it affordable for young local artists to come in and work on their song, EP or album and walk away with the same commercially competitive results Total Access has become known for over the past forty years. Aside from working with incredible local talent like Joker’s Hand, Mor Flowrs and Hand Drawn Maps, Steve continues to work on records for legacy artists such as Foreigner and Dio. Steve is currently working on a record with country artist Annie Bosko, which features a duet with country legend Vince Gill. Steve has also worked alongside producers Ken Scott (Beatles, Elton John, Supertramp), Eric Sarafin (Ben Harper, Amy Grant), and many others. 

Steve recently opened a 1000sq ft rehearsal suite steps away from the studio, called Total Access Rehearsal. The idea was born from a frustration at the lack of rehearsal studios in Los Angeles, particularly in the South Bay. The suite boasts an acoustically treated showcase room, top-of-the-line gear, a private lounge/bathroom, A/C, free water and coffee, private parking, and convenient roll-up entry.

Total Access Recording has an extensive client list including L.A. punk band Black Flag and many SST Records artists, Husker-Du, The Descendants, then flourishing in the 80’s hair metal era recording Dokken, Great White, and White Lion, followed in the 90’s with post-punk artists; Sublime, No Doubt, Pennywise, Slightly Stoopid and others. 

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Website Links:

www.tarehearsal.com
www.tarecording.com
Instagram:
@steveornest
@tarecording
@tarehearsal
Facebook:
Facebook.com/total.access.recording
Facebook.com/tarehearsal

Additional podcast editing and production by:
Brayden Stremming
Vlad Vasilcenko
Jon Richardson

Waffles ain't just for breakfast anymore... Matt talked about designing his new studio in Memphis, creating the undulating waffle ceiling, mixing on the bigs, choosing perfect colors and flooring, recording John Prine, and his Spectra1964 amps.

My guest today is Matthew Ross-Spang a twice Grammy winning Memphis record producer and engineer, who started out at the  Legendary Sun Studio as a teenager working his way up from intern to the Chief Engineer. He has since moved on to restore back to its original glory the also legendary Sam Phillips Recording studio across town originally built in 1960 to accommodate the ever growing catalog of music under Sam’s production and label. 

The City of Memphis even nominated him one of its “30 under 30” Memphians and in 2016 awarded him a key to the city while proclaiming April 25,2016 as “Matt Ross-Spang Day” in Germantown,TN.

Matt has worked with many great artists and producers including: Jason Isbell, Margo Price, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Chris Isaak, The Rival Sons, Dave Cobb, and John Prine to name just a few.

Matt has been an early guest on the podcast previously on episode RSR040 when I visited Memphis for the podcast so you can catch his background story there.  

Thanks again to Mark Rubel at Blackbird Academy for making our introduction.

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Website Links:

RSR040 – MATT ROSS-SPANG – WORKING AT THE FAMOUS SUN STUDIO, LEARNING FROM THE GREAT SAM PHILLIP
Instagram
Twitter

Additional podcast editing and production by:
Brayden Stremming
Vlad Vasilcenko
Jon Richardson

Got VHS? Chad talked about filtering audio through synths, tape, and old samplers for inspiration, making acetates to resample sounds, three head cassettes, choosing the best sample rate, modular synths, and why you don't want a perfect studio.

My guest today is Chad Copelin an American producer, audio engineer, musician, and songwriter from Norman, Oklahoma. He’s best known for his production work with Broncho, Sports, Wilderado, LANY, Ben Rector, Andrew Belle, Sufjan Stevens, Third Eye Blind and engineering for pop artists Christina Perri, Kelly Clarkson, Sasha Sloan and Avril Lavigne.

Chad engineered Christina Perri’s Top 40 song “A Thousand Years” which went 10x platinum. He also was nominated for a grammy for producing and engineering All Sons And Daughter’s record “Poets & Saints.” He works out of his Norman, OK based studio, Blackwatch, as well as spending time in Nashville, LA, and Sonic Ranch outside of El Paso, TX.

I play synth and have amassed quite a collection of vintage synths, have an obsession with short scale guitars, and play bass on a lot of records as well. I'm always trying to find a new creative process to breathe life into a recording. Which we will talk about

Thanks to Ryan Hewitt for making our introduction.

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Website Links:

Instagram

Additional podcast editing and production by:
Brayden Stremming
Vlad Vasilcenko
Jon Richardson

Can you mix like an athlete? Russell talked about designing the RuCoPro 32F controller for Harrison Mixbus, the future of making music over the internet, how to make your mix template sound like analog, and why harmonic distortion is your friend!

My guest today is Russell Cottier a producer, and engineer, who has worked with clients such as The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and Sony, and artists like Sly and Robbie, Don Carlos and Gold, The Roscoes and many more.

He creates videos to teach recording and production as well on Youtube and through mixing courses. And he is even responsible for creating cool mixing hardware which we will hopefully talk about today on the podcast.

Russel has been a guest on the podcast previously so you can catch his other episode on RSR107 to learn more about his background.

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Website Links:

RSR107 – RUSSELL COTTIER – LOUDNESS AND THE LOST ART OF MIXING WITH MIXBUS
russellcottier.com
recordingstudiomasterclass.co.uk
rucoproaudio.com
Facebook
Twitter: @russellcottier
Github
Instagram: Russell Cottier
TikTok: Russ Makes Records

Additional podcast editing and production by:
Brayden Stremming
Vlad Vasilcenko
Jon Richardson