2. SO YOU ARE A MULTI-INSTRUMENTALIST, ACE PRODUCER AND UNFAULTABLE MUSIC ENTHUSIAST? IS THERE ANYTHING YOU CANNOT 'DO' OR ARE NOT 'INVOLVED WITH' IN THE MUSIC INDUSTRY? Thanks for the rather generous job description! I�m not involved with the mainstream industry. I�m talking about the big corporate money spinning companies really. The closest I ever got to that was on the fringes anyway. Whilst at college I was in a band called Fizzy and we did a quite cool 3 track demo and sent it to about 20 record companies. All rejected our demo, although Creation Records did write a nice long letter (which is rare) saying how fresh the material was and good luck in the future, because they weren�t able to sign new bands (most probably due to the problems they were having at the time). My other real experience of the music industry was when I worked at Repeat Performance in London after college as an assistant. I got fed up after 7 months and was offered a couple of dodgy jobs as a tape op for Eastcote Studios and Odessa Studios. Eastcote was an exciting place. Their clients were people like Blur, Ash, Suede, Kula Shaker. It was a good place to record B-sides apparently. I turned them down though because I wanted to be creative for myself not limit myself to serving tea for other more fortunate people! The hardest thing to do as an independent creative person is to exploit your own creativity. I�m confident of being able to create a buzz amongst my extended peer group and maybe locally, but I really haven�t given it 100% when it comes to marketing the music I create. I understand how it all works, but I haven�t applied myself yet. Basically, once you have worked hard on writing good material and getting a quality recording, which I�ve done a few times now, the real hard work starts. Lots of networking, socialising and meeting the right sort of people and seeing where those relationships might lead is my guess.
3. ARE YOU IN THE MUSIC INDUSTRY FOR FUN OR MONEY? I would say a bit of both really. I�m self-employed so I have to make enough money to help support myself, my wife and our 3 cats domestically. And I wouldn�t do it if it wasn�t fun. Saying that it�s sometimes quite frustrating and that takes the fun out of it. If I was working in a regular job then I would still make music, but I would also make sure that it paid for itself and wasn�t a drain on our standard of living. Using modern music equipment can be expensive, even if you are operating on a shoestring so it doesn�t make sense if the expense of making music ruins the actual making. One of the things I tell most young bands is to assess whether they should be aiming to make music that sells or make music and sell it. There is a difference and it�s all about the place where you compromise on your art and having a professional approach. I reckon that in the future an artist�s credibility will be profoundly affected by the amount of money they are making. Most record companies ask their artists to compromise artistically and put money above their music. It then becomes increasingly difficult to make music with integrity and thus the music loses it�s power. Lots of people that I talk to that have been involved in the mainstream can�t anticipate what will happen to the market so they are changing their careers. If you can understand what is going to happen next with the music industry and act on your understanding the chances are that you will be a winner financially. For myself I believe that I can be happy so long as I always get a small return for my efforts.
4. YOU PRODUCED AND SESSIONED FOR DAN PIERCE ON HIS DEBUT ALBUM 'SAY SOMETHING DUMB.' HOW DID YOU ENJOY THAT COMPARE TO PRODUCING THE 'WIRED' COMPILATION ALBUM WITH 11 TEENAGE BANDS?... Dan is really talented. He is not confident of his ability to write and perform songs so that was rather frustrating at times. A lot of people that have seen him perform say that he should be considered a peer of acts like David Gray, Tom McRae, Ed Harcourt, Damien Rice so I�m really excited about what could happen if the music reaches a wider audience. At the time Dan really wanted to make a different kind of album. He tried to run before he could walk. He�s only been writing and singing his own stuff for a couple years and has big ideas. He needed to be pulled back and walked through the process. As it was he went to Australia for 6 weeks and left me with draft guitar and vocal. When he got back he was able to listen to my production as per the finished article and re-record the singing so it�s my album as much as it is Dan�s really. Dan appreciates this and he�s still not sure whether he likes it or not!! He�s not sure whether the songs are good and doesn�t think his singing is up to much!! Still it�s a good first album and he�s taking more control with Ghosting now so that�s good. The WIRED compilation is part of a Gloucester City Council project where I am commissioned to provide a program of of opportunities. It�s like a cross between a Battle of the Bands without the competition and where there are no losers only winners. Each band gets a professional photoshoot, pre-production workshops, rehearsals, studio time, music business seminars and a slot on a showcase gig in November at the Gloucester Guildhall. All they have to do is send a demo right at the start when we advertise in the local press. Due to the nature of the funding the project is restricted by age and location so typically a dozen bands will get involved. Production is quite intense. The bands each have a day at FFG Studios in Tewkesbury � see www.ffg.org.uk � and in the least we get one polished track for the compilation. Depending on how organised and rehearsed the band is it�s sometimes possible to get 3 or 4 tracks recorded and mixed. Last year I did all 11 bands myself and I was knackered at the end of it all. This year I�ve subbed 5 bands out to a local producer and record company owner Lee Holder of Wasp Factory Recordings in Cheltenham. Lee runs Access All Ages nights so a lot of the bands know him already and he�s good with young bands. For me the best thing about WIRED is not really the music, it�s watching the bands improve as they take advantage of all the project has to offer and talking to the bands trying to give them a realistic perspective and objective view on their efforts. The hardest thing is when the band�s ability is very low. What tends to happen is that we use the technology to get tracks up to scratch. It normally starts by looping the drum tracks so that everything is tight. Generally the weak points in all bands is the singing and drumming. The guitarists are normally really good. And my personal philosophy on good band production is that the starting point is to have a good singer and a good drummer!!!
5. HOW DID YOU FIRST DEVELOP AN INTEREST IN THE ART OF RECORD PRODUCING? I learnt classical piano from the age of 7 and I was in a music group at my church playing a keyboard at 13, then I picked up a guitar at 16 and formed a band at school, then at college I was in several bands. The church I went to when I was younger had a mixing desk, some mics and an fx unit and coupled with a tape recorder I used to set up my parents� living room with drums, keyboards, bass and guitars and we�d create an unholy racket and I would try to record it. Later I bought a 4 track recorder and that was so much fun. I�ve still got some of the recordings. Then when I was at college I got a student loan and bought a few more bits and pieces. Then at the same time as leaving my first job at the studio in London I got a graduate loan of �5,000 and bought enough equipment to produce quality 8 track recordings. At the beginning the process of setting up equipment and seeing what came out the other side was very rewarding although had no real production merits. It was later during college when I started to dissect my beliefs about life and art that I started to be objective about what makes a good track and what makes a bad track. Up till then I was trying to prove myself to anyone that would listen. I�m more assured about what I do now and have little sympathy for musicians who haven�t dealt with their ego. I think that the only way you can make good music is to be aware of your ego and watch out for it�s influence. I always regret doing too much to a track so try my best to exercise self-control and have a less is more approach. So if I have a good song, then I can�t go wrong.
6. I HEAR YOU HAVE A MOBILE RECORDING STUDIO. HOW DO YOU OPERATE THAT, AND WHAT CAN PEOPLE DO IF THEY ARE INTERESTED IN WORKING WITH YOU? Nice of you to mention it. I have a bunch of simple but effective recording equipment that lives in my cellar studio. Most of it can be relocated to a hall, living room � anywhere that a band or artist plays really � then I take the recordings back to the studio for mixing. For solo artists it�s easier to work from the studio as there�s enough room to work comfortably. Simple as that really. I have a few venue options local to Gloucester for recording drums and very noisy things. In all things, including pricing, I try to be as flexible as possible. People can feel free to email me for more info. [email protected]
7. WHO IS YOUR FAVOURITE BAND RIGHT NOW, AND WHY? Bloody Hell! this is always the most difficult question to answer because I have a crap memory and don�t really have favourite bands. More favourite albums (see next question) So I�m going to mention some stuff that I�m listening to recently. Longview�s album mercury is sweet. Clarkesville is interesting. The other day I found a link to tracks from Muse�s new album, Absolution and that sounds wicked I shall be buying it when it�s released. A local band Belljar have a new album out soon and I really like the sound of that. Jimmy Eat World�s album Clarity was on in the car the other day as was Psychid and Feeder � comfort in sound � which is good, but perhaps not as good as all the critics say. The music that I wish I had made above all others at the moment is Damien Rice � O. Subtle, powerful stuff.
8. WHO IS YOUR FAVOURITE BAND OF ALL TIME, AND WHY? I don�t have a favourite band of all time, but these are my favourite albums of all time because I can always go back, dig a bit deeper and find something that I never realised was there the last time I listened (and I must have listened to these hundreds of times).
Crowded House � Together Alone � Youth produced this and it is so weird in places and Neil Finn�s songwriting is scary and profound.
Counting Crows � August and Everything After. This just sounds so authentic, honest and sends shivers down my spine.
Tears For Fears � Seeds Of Love. Don�t know what it is about this, I get a lot of grief from people who ask as it is so not cool. I belive it has been featured in many worst albums of all time features as well! Still I love all the fusion of stadium rock, 80s synth reprisals, jazz rhythms and Roland Orzabal�s and Curt Smith�s voices are quite unique in the music world. Funnily enough I don�t like anything else they did before this album.
There are others that enjoy listening to but none that come close in terms of what I can get out of them even after listening so much. That�s what I try to do when I produce � make an album endure. The only other album that I can think of that does this but I don�t go back to so much is U2- Achtung Baby. Sorry for not really answering your question!
9. IS MUSIC YOUR LIFE? Not really. My life is my wife, my cats, my friends then music, then Fulham FC in that order. I think that it�s important to me to be able to put people before pursuits, interests and material goods.
10. WHAT GOOD ADVICE COULD YOU GIVE TO PEOPLE WANTING TO HAVE A GO AT PRODUCING FOR THEMSELVES, BE IT IN THEIR SPARE TIMES OR AS A CAREER?
For beginners � learn the guitar, write some songs, buy a cheap 4 track, microphone and headphones and have a go at making some recordings.
For those that have already dabbled � many options:
a. save up, research music technology courses in the US that have good work placements, move to the US do the course and hopefully get a good job in the industry
b. save up, research what equipment to buy �2000 should do nicely (tip- get stuff that is quick and easy to use), look for some good local bands or songwriters and have a go at putting some tracks together for them.
c. if you are U18 move to London to get a job as a studio assistant you may not get paid very much at all, but you�re not in it for the money at this stage, knowledge and contacts is the goal. Stay there until you feel ready to be independent and see option b. or until you start getting opportunities from your contacts.
If you want a career the most important thing is to develop immunity to rejection, have solid communication skills and to be easy going likeable, trustworthy and reliable. In an industry full of yes people, gossip mongerers, cheats, crooks, cynical backstabbing scared for their position weak money orientated people you will go far if you are a thick skinned, but honest nice person.
If you want a brilliant hobby, then you need to get some equipment, learn how to use it and then look for people with musical talent.
You can tread the middle path holding down a regular job and making a bit of money to cover your losses by producing and recording people in your spare time. I suspect this is where I will end up in a few years time if Dan Pierce doesn�t become a star!!! This isn�t as bad as it sounds � I haven�t surrendered! the point is that in this situation I don�t have to compromise for money. I will always have the artistic freedom to do what I want, when I want and where I want. Freedom is better than being tied to a contract that puts the interests of something else before your own creativity.