Unstoppable Recording Machine Podcast

Mike Mowery is back, and we’re going deep on the subject of building and maintaining business relationships.

“Being busy, in and of itself, is not necessarily being productive.” - Mike Mowery

ON THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT:

10:00 Mike’s take on nurturing relationships - good intentions and burning bridges

13:28 Why you shouldn’t “fight over a slice of pizza”

25:00 Being proactive instead of instantly reacting to stressful situations

30:00 Mike’s URM Summit presentation

45:00 Following up and putting Summit knowledge and strategies into practice, not getting discouraged when relationships don’t immediately work out

1:00:00 Why ‘busy’ does not always equal ‘productive’, priority on quality over quantity

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Guitarist, songwriter, and producer, Jasen Rauch (Red, Breaking Benjamin, Love & Death) joins us to give his perspectives on work ethic, navigating personalities, and dealing with higher profile clients and song briefs.

The music industry requires constant and quick adaptation, and Jasen embodies that. If, for some reason, you feel like your career is requiring too much attention or you think you’re working too hard, and you’re starting to doubt yourself, this is one you need to hear.

“Learn who you’re working for.” - Jasen Rauch

ON THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT:

9:00 Why, even with Full Sail and recording schools, work ethic and attention to detail is often under-emphasized in terms of getting your career off the ground

27:00 Figuring out the personalities of A&R guys, bands, etc and finding common ground solutions for all parties

35:00 Jasen’s experience joining Breaking Benjamin

39:00 Working with higher profile clients and “song briefs”

49:00 Jasen’s take on work/life balance, being careful with taking on projects

1:00:00 Using pure tactics vs having the right strategy for each project

1:16:45 Jasen’s advice for advancing your career

1:22:00 Working with Brian “Head” Welch on his band, Love and Death; working on the last two Breaking Benjamin records

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Jesse Cannon returns to the show to discuss his new podcast “Inside the Album,” emotion in lyrics, and details about the URM Summit.

We always have amazing discussions with Jesse when he joins us on the show, and this time is no different. If you have a tendency to get hung up on the technical side of recording there are some truth bombs in here that you really need to hear.

“It was very interesting that a band that’s regarded as so musically adept and technically proficient, but also emotional as fuck, their delivery would also get sloppy in those moments. It doesn’t matter who you are, the moment that that emotion comes out your skills will go down the drain.” - Eyal Levi

ON THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT:

4:00 How lyrics depend on the emotional delivery

5:38 Working with Ross Robinson and Korn

9:30 Jesse’s view on divergent streams - people who overthink vs not enough concentration and how producers can manage personalities

15:00 Jesse’s URM Summit discussion - dealing with inherent limitations in creative ways to get the job done

20:00 Good faith/bad faith arguments when it comes to mix notes and taste decisions

32:00 Jesse’s work on Atlantic Records “Inside The Album” podcast, Jesse’s time management strategies

40:00 Document your failures and focus on them rather than putting them aside, on the hour reminders

52:00 The process of quickly becoming friends with strangers from the music industry perspective

58:00 Shotgun mics and incorporating new ideas into your process

1:05:00 The URM Summit and the importance of networking

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We’ve got a double dose of greatness on this episode, as we’re joined by Lamb of God’s Chris Adler and Machine The Producer.

“I need to see the end game before I start the game.” - Machine

ON THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT:

10:00 Nature vs nurture in musical upbringing

16:00 Chris’s family musical upbringing

22:00 Teaching Machine about ‘real’ metal

30:00 The process of learning what a producer actually does from a musician’s standpoint

50:00 How Machine was able to pick out the moments that would resonate with a larger audience

1:00:00 How the producer’s role is like a shrink, and why bands need to be careful with finding the right match when finding producers.

1:14:00 Starting from the idea of a “brutal” version of “Operation: Mindcrime” and using keyboards/psychoacoustics

1:20:00 The learning curve for separating hands/feet, creating a ‘new’ drum sound

1:25:00 Creating the best album sound possible and worrying less about how it will be reconstructed live

1:30:00 Why mixing never stops, you just surrender

1:35:00 Creating tempo maps during pre-production, programming custom click samples

1:45:00 Room mics - using your ears to listen to a room as a microphone would listen to it

1:50:00 The typewriter kick sample, having a signature sound like Meshuggah

1:55:00 Chris Adler and Jason Lekberg’s new management company for Dyscarnate

2:00:00 Chris Adler’s entrepreneurship in and outside of the band

2:10:00 Playing drums out of necessity for the band rather than as a passion

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We’re joined this week by Kevin McCombs (Midnight Oil Recording, Crypteria), as we continue our profiles of URM Academy members.

Kevin charged full speed into his audio production career, and we’re excited to have him on board to see firsthand what he’s doing. We discuss the importance of involvement in your local music scene for gaining clients, how Nail The Mix and the URM Summit have changed his life, and why bands wanting to do pre-production or tracking is a good thing.

“I try to go to at least one show a week in my area, and the return on investment for buying someone a beer is also unbelievable.” - Kevin McCombs

ON THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT:

2:00 Kevin’s experience building a studio from scratch in an industrial space, transitioning from working at an aerospace company

6:00 Strategies for reaching out to bands

12:00 Facing uncertainty and not being fully booked (get used to it)

17:14 Working with bands that want to do pre-production themselves

25:00 The importance of attention to detail and having a process as part of building trust

30:00 Kevin’s URM Summit experience

37:00 Using Nail The Mix to test your own instincts before seeing what the mixer actually did

41:14 Understanding the needs of your specific market

43:27 Advice for turning audio into a full time job

And much, much more

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We’re back with Mixcritmonday to make sure you guys are getting the guidance you need to slay your mixes of Opeth’s “Heir Apparent.”

“Retain all the shimmering magic and get rid of the white noise and it’ll make your pets much happier.” - John Douglass

ON THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT:

16:14 Making sure you don’t crush dynamics in a song in which they’re essential

18:24 Watching out for phase between vocal tracks

20:02 A/Bing the low end of double bass sections of the song

31:07 Watching out for how extra instrumentation sounds when it comes in

39:48 Painful snare

47:12 Avoiding crispy sounding high end in guitar tracks

And much, much more

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Jens Bogren (Opeth, Dimmu Borgir, Katatonia) joins us ahead of his appearance on Nail The Mix to share a plethora of info about his process and how it’s developed over the years.

In addition to Watershed by Opeth, which is what he’ll be mixing this month on Nail The Mix, Jens has worked on numerous other legendary albums. This time on the show he talks about building a team, contending with extremely dense and complex mixes, and the balance between gear and the mind of the mixer.

“The most important thing when mixing: it’s not the tools, it’s not the speakers either, or the room, it’s the level of experience the brain has to hear things, and to hear what needs to be done.” - Jens Bogren

ON THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT:

11:00 Effectively delegating to team members

19:00 The challenges of dense mixes like Dimmu Borgir

27:00 Starting a mix from the chorus, mixing Devin Townsend’s “Deconstruction”

32:00 Working with Leprous over 4 records, repeat clients and building trust

37:00 Advising mix clients on tracking drums and vocals

44:00 Why It’s not about the gear, the speakers, or the room; it’s about the experience of the engineer/mixer

50:00 The guitar tone on Watershed

55:00 Jens’s approach to drum samples, favorite snare and drum heads

And much, much more

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Producer and URM subscriber, Anthony Potenza, joins the show to talk with us about leveling up your audio career.

Anthony has always been someone that’s stood out as having an amazing work ethic and the way he approaches his work is going to take him far. So, we wanted to sit down with him to talk about quitting his day job to do audio full time, building connections and drawing clients, the surprising answer for what gear you should actually get for your studio first, and a whole lot more.

“When I don’t have clients, I’ll make sure I’m working on bettering my skills, so I can really wow the clients when they come.” - Anthony Potenza

ON THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT:

2:49 Anthony’s transition to recording full time

7:15 Why resting on your laurels when you start getting a client base is a mistake

10:07 Why you should probably go to another producer to record your own band

12:35 How Anthony got his first clients

14:59 The value of building connections that you actually care about, instead of just looking for “in”s

19:55 The things you need to focus on before worrying about your gear list

27:09 Building acoustic panels

29:34 Anthony’s current approach to getting clients

And much, much more

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On the show this time we’ve got Brody Uttley of Rivers of Nihil to talk music discovery, elements common to successful bands, and not being in the dark about your band’s viability.

Rivers of Nihil has been absolutely killing it, and the various elements that have led to that success have not gone unnoticed by Brody. There’s a lot of great information in here - not just for musicians, but all audio professionals, and anyone looking to build a successful career - to keep in mind.

“Just having good dudes in your band that aren’t fucking weirdos will take your band way further than you’d think.” - Brody Uttley

ON THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT:

9:00 Being aware of your own band’s health and lifespan

17:00 The importance of honest, open relationships in bands/label/manager relationships

20:00 Why every band needs one or two people who can function like ‘normal’ people in social situations and are business savvy

36:00 The process of discovering new music, implications for bands, Spotify playlists

50:00 The vinyl resurgence and importance of owning physical objects

57:00 The psychology of not responding to texts, online vs real-life interaction

1:00:00 The self-recording musician and the future of studio professionals

And much, much more

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Having some amount of marketing knowledge is essential in the music industry of today, and Jason Lekberg (Lekberg Enterprises, IKILLYA) joins us this week to impart some of his vast knowledge on the subject.

Jason has worked with a number of amazing artists, such as Steel Panther, Lamb of God, and Judas Priest. You’re unlikely to find someone more knowledgeable about digital marketing in the industry. We discuss how to maintain artistic integrity while also marketing effectively, marketing and networking downfalls to avoid, and we get into specific things to keep in mind for bands trying to effectively market themselves. We also discuss the services that Lekberg Enterprises offers and the ethic that Jason has based the company around.

“You have to build something that is immediately unique and identifiable, and that, at every touchpoint, people understand that it’s your brand, and understand that it’s you.” - Jason Lekberg

ON THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT:

2:00 Jason’s background, playing in bands in 90’s, starting management career in late-2000’s in Brooklyn

6:00 The collapse of MySpace-based marketing in early 2008

14:30 What it takes to be a successful functioning band

25:00 The difficulty of finding band members who share the same level of commitment

32:00 How to avoid giving people an easy way to say “no” to you/your band/your project

36:00 The downfall of bands that lack a clearly defined brand

42:00 Management and promotion based on an ethical relationship with the artist

54:00 The process of understanding an artist and their vision

1:08:00 Sticking to a schedule for social media assets and other marketing elements

1:13:00 Jason’s recommended resources

And much, much more

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