I was classically trained on the piano at very young age. Bach, Chopin, and Tchaikovsky were a few of my first friends. Then at age eleven I discovered the beautiful sounds of the 70's punk rock movement. In three months flat I bought a drum kit and started my first band. In high school my musical journey continued. I began embracing myself in anything music I could get my hands on. From the classic sounds of Floyd, to the soulful sounds of Mr. Brown, to old Jazz, even rap and hip hop. In that time I also found a knack for the guitar and bass. Since then I have played with a few groups, toured, been signed to Atlantic Records, and have had the honor of working with Grammy award winning producers Joe Chiccarelli and Brian Malouf.
I started producing records in college as a way of escaping a typical nine to five job. Everyone else in my band was working at coffee shops and offices, which they all hated. After a while of this I realized that I loved the production aspect of music than the actual playing and performing. So I left my group at the time, Great Glass Elevator, and started producing records full time. I am one of the few people that can actually say they loved their job.
Someone asked me the other day what I think it takes to make a great record. It always started with the artist. You can only polish a turd so much, and in the end it still smells pretty bad. It’s so important that the artist has a strong vision and a statement, every great artist has one. The Beatles said, “All you need is love.” Nirvana said, “I don’t care.” The one question I always ask my artists is, “what do you have to say to the world?” This will determine every decision that is made after. Next, a great producer is needed to fully realize the artist’s vision. For some artists the vision is very clear and other very dim. A great producer will always be able to find it. Lastly, a good mix and master job is needed. You can spend two years tracking the perfect album and if the mix isn’t right the whole thing is worthless. This is why a lot of producers will do their own mixing.
I don’t have an easy job. I sure don’t have a typical nine to five job. But, I am one of the few people who can honestly say love every second of my job.
Stay tuned. Next week I’ll be talking about a few helpful tricks I’ve learned over the years.
-Barrett
Posts
4 comments:
Polish the turd! LOL. I love it. Please dont hate me for taking that excerpt and all I could think of was this...
As a producer myself, I am having a hard time telling 1 of my artist that their style may not be what I am looking for. But somehow through the mix-up of paperwork & connections I am stuck on this project for a while.
Now you may already know many of the conflicts that stem out of this. One of the problems is I am not motivated to produce my best material, invest great time or money into the project. And when I dig deep for material within this particular artist I come to the conclusion that: this artist has great drive & sincere determination & I know they spent the last 7 years as a songwriter but I just don't hear the caliber of songwriting that I want to.
Have you ever experienced this? Is there an easier way of telling the artist that the project will be canned? Do you have any tips on telling an artist that maybe they should just stick to the business side of the industry rather than the performance side? Or should I negotiate an opt out contract of some sort?
I also like the phrase "putting make-up on a pig."
To answer your question, YES! I've had the problem before. There are a few ways I deal with this:
1. Find something you like about it. It could be anything. The little nuances of the singers voice, the sound of the kick drum, that one awesome bridge...that way it can help you be more motivated.
2. I have found that a lot of times there are one or two members of the group that are really the underlying problem. I don't always recommend this, but I've talked artists into reforming with new members, particularly ones with good writing skills. This is in an extreme case.
3. I've pulled in writers, or "song doctors," to help out with the writing. If I have the time I might just rework the songs myself.
I have no idea how bad it is, but I typically like to give the groups the benefit of the doubt. Even The Beatles sucked at one point. Sometimes groups just need a little push.
Also, be creative as the producer. I love giving my clients homework. Burn albums for them to listen to. Actually show them what good songwriting sounds like. Have them pair up into writing teams. Perhaps member A and B don't write very well, but members A and C turn out to be great writers without B in the room. Also, change of surroundings can be the key to unlocking the artists creativity. I sent one band out to the dessert for a weekend to do their writing.
I hope this has been of some help. The producer's job is one of the hardest. We have to be the coaches, players, band therapist, mad scientist, business man and more. We just have to always remember why we do what we do.
Barret, that was right on point. Everything you said was perfect. I will definitely recommend you & Artisans!
I hope somewhere in the near future I can stop by the studio & see other services that might help my production career.
Would love to have you down. Just shoot me an E-mail at Barrett@artisanslabel.com to set up.
Post a Comment