Face Your Ears

Send us Fan Mail Breaking the Norm: Embracing “Ugly” Sounds, Feedback, and New Mediums Rich Bozic and Justin Hochella discuss recent projects, including Same Not Same’s new remix, upcoming performances of the Man Made Random song “Repellent” at Radford University, and their joint project The Lovely Dark, plus Bozic’s new track “Wake Up.” They recap how Clevetoberfest was canceled by a nor’easter,...

Send us Fan Mail The Lovely Dark: From Studio Project to Live Show at Radford University Rich and co-host Justin Hochella welcome John Hildreth to discuss The Lovely Dark and an upcoming live concert. John explains that The Lovely Dark began in early 2025 through 'The Song Machine', a collective of songwriters using a series of songwriting prompts. This evolved into a gothic/industrial/s...

Send us Fan Mail The Face Your Ears podcast celebrates its 50th episode with co-hosts Justin Hochella and Rich Bozic with guest Jay Pevonis, who together with Justin forms Same Not Same, a remotely produced electronic/industrial project. Rich shares updates about his upcoming song “Liberty Bells” under Bozic and an October gig with The Lovely Dark, while Justin mentions a new Same Not Same release...

Send us Fan Mail Rich Bozic and Justin Hochella introduce the concept of EQ using Logic Pro’s EQ as the example. They explain EQ as boosting or cutting frequencies across the 20 Hz–20 kHz hearing range, define high-pass/low-pass filters, bell curves and shelves, Q as bandwidth, and amplitude as boost/cut amount, and describe “sweeping” to find harsh frequencies. They outline broad frequency bands...

Send us Fan Mail In episode 48 of the Face Your Ears podcast, Rich and Justin celebrate passing 5,000 downloads, share personal music updates. “Feel the Squeeze,” introduces audio compression: its role in controlling dynamic range, its history and coloration, and Logic Pro’s seven compressor circuit types (Platinum Digital, Studio VCA, Studio FET, Classic VCA, Vintage VCA, Vintage FET, Vintage Opt...

Send us Fan Mail Rich and Justin continue to talk about AI developments in music. This includes ACE Studio’s AI voice-cloning tool (with listening tests distinguishing AI from real vocals), concerns about future live performance and consumer indifference, and ACE Studio’s prompt-based film-scoring feature. They debate producers using tools like Suno for demos versus replacing craft, criticize labe...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Justin Hochella and Rich Bozic discuss Rich's new Single “Flowing Horizon” and discuss its inspiration, meaning, and DIY production. Rich describes the track as an old-school rock homage with modern elements, inspired from an acoustic guitar chord progression and centered on appreciating and accepting love from others. He details producing in his home studio...

Send us Fan Mail AI Music on Streaming Platforms: Bandcamp’s Ban, Spotify’s Embrace, and the AIODE Session-Musician Tool Hosts Rich Bozic and Justin Hochella  begin by briefly discussing busy studio work and Justin's new Logic Pro Launch Pad course at logicprolaunchpad.com, then sharing recent podcast listener cities worldwide. The episode turns to AI in music, contrasting Bandcamp’s stated p...

Send us Fan Mail Justin Launches Logic Pro Launch Pad: From Setup to Song The focus of this episode is Justin’s new beginner course, “Logic Pro Launchpad: From Setup to Song,” created over about a year and a half and finished with help from Rich as an accountability partner. Justin explains the course is for absolute beginners and covers setting up Logic Pro, recording and editing audio and MIDI,...

Send us Fan Mail Kickstarting 2026: New Year, New Tools In the first episode of 2026, Rich and Justin discuss their achievements in 2025, including reaching over 2,150 downloads in 50 countries. They introduce the concept of an 'accountabilibuddy' to help each other stay on track with their respective projects: Rich's single and Justin's Logic Pro course. They also highlight th...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of the Face Your Ears podcast, hosts Justin Hochella and Rich Bozic reflect on their highlights and challenges in 2025, discuss new tools and plugins they've discovered, and share their plans for 2026. They touch on various topics including AI in music, tips for improving workflow, and their favorite podcast episodes of the year. The episode also includes insi...

Send us Fan Mail Organizing a Live Music Event: Insights from CLEVETOBERFEST In this episode of the Face Your Ears podcast, hosts Rich Bozic and Justin Hochella share their experience organizing and executing a live music event, CLEVETOBERFEST. They discuss essential aspects such as planning, obtaining permits, securing locations, organizing equipment, setting up audio routing schematics, and mana...

Send us Fan Mail Exploring Free Music Production Tools: DAWs, Instruments, Effects, and Loops In this episode of the Face Your Ears podcast, hosts Justin Ho and Rich Bozic discuss the abundance of free digital recording resources available for music production. They recount their recent musical projects, including performances and upcoming releases. The main topic explores various free digital aud...

Send us Fan Mail Song Scaffolding: Methods and Tools for Aspiring Musicians In this episode of the Face Your Ears podcast, hosts Rich Bozic and Justin Hochella  delve into the concept of song scaffolding, exploring structured approaches for songwriting. Topics include comparing strophic and through-composed songs, employing the SIMPLE method for song creation, analyzing existing songs for inspirat...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of the Face Your Ears podcast, hosts Rich Bozic and Justin Hochella discuss the essentials of releasing music to the world. The duo delve into the foundational steps for music distribution, highlighting platforms like DistroKid, TuneCore, and CD Baby, and the importance of having your audio files, artwork, and genre details in order. They also cover copyright essen...

Send us Fan Mail Avoiding Production Pitfalls in DIY Music In this episode of the Face Your Ears podcast, hosts Rich Bozic and Justin Hochella discuss various challenges and common pitfalls in music production. They provide insights on maintaining effective communication, avoiding overthinking, and resisting the temptation to tweak endlessly. The conversation highlights the necessity of clear prot...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of the Face Your Ears podcast, hosts Rich and Justin welcome Marc Matthews, a prolific producer and the host of the Inside the Mix podcast. They delve into Marc’s journey in the music industry, discussing his extensive experience in mixing, mastering, and teaching. Marc shares valuable tips on preparing tracks for mastering, the benefits and challenges of AI in mus...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of the Face Your Ears podcast, the hosts Rich and Justin explore how to build a music production rig on a budget of $1000. They discuss two scenarios: one where a musician has a computer but no equipment, and another where the musician has no equipment or computer. Each host presents their proposed gear lists, sharing tips and websites for acquiring quality, budget...

Send us Fan Mail Exploring Musical Stories with John Hildreth In this episode of the Face Your Ears podcast, hosts Rich and Justin are joined by the multi-talented musician John Hildreth. They discuss John's extensive background as a musician, songwriter, producer, and educator, as well as his unique instruments and recording setup in his home studio, 'The Blue Room.' John shares hi...

Send us Fan Mail Studio Maintenance Tips In this episode of the Face Your Ears podcast, hosts Rich Bozic and Justin Hochella celebrate a milestone of over 2,000 downloads and share exciting news about their short video clips available on social media platforms like Instagram and YouTube. The main topic delves into studio maintenance, discussing essential practices for both the physical and virtual...

Send us Fan Mail The Impact of AI Vocals on Music and Creativity In this episode of the 'Face Your Ears' podcast, hosts Justin Hochella and Rich Bozic discuss the rapid advancements in AI technology, specifically focusing on AI's ability to generate and manipulate vocal performances. They debate the implications of AI-driven tools like Deep Seek and ACE Studio, which can now replica...

Send us Fan Mail New Year, New Tools: Music Production Innovations for 2025 In the first episode of 2025, hosts Rich and Justin kick off the new year by discussing exciting new tools in the music production world. They introduce three innovative tools: Hook Theory, Dubler 2 by Vochlea, and Muse. Hook Theory helps musicians with chord progressions and music theory, Dubler 2 allows users to convert...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of 'Face Your Ears’, Justin Hochella and Rich Bozic reflect on the past year and discuss their plans for the year ahead. They recount memorable moments from previous episodes, including setting up a complex studio and launching their music production business, RJB Music Production. The conversation also delves into their future goals, which include Rich's...

Send us Fan Mail Upgrading Your Home Studio: Interfaces, MIDI Controllers, and Essential Software In this episode of the Face Your Ears podcast, hosts Justin Hochella and Rich Bozic provide updates on past guest Josh D'Elia and discuss tips for expanding a basic home studio setup. They cover key topics such as upgrading audio interfaces, incorporating MIDI controllers, and leveraging software...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of the Face Your Ears podcast, hosts Justin Hochella and Rich Bozic dive into the world of virtual instruments. They discuss the creation and use of virtual instruments in modern music production, focusing on guitars, basses, pianos, and drums. They explore the nuances and techniques used to mimic real instruments' sounds and provide practical examples using v...