Working Class Audio

My guest today is Grammy-winning producer/engineer and mixer, Trina Shoemaker. Trina has worked with Sheryl Crow, Tanya Tucker, the Indigo Girls, Pearl Jam, Patty Griffen, and many, many more. Trina comes to us by way of former WCA guest and friend Andrew Scheps who helped make the introduction. We have a great discussion that I think you’ll enjoy.  In this episode, we discuss: Growing Up In Jolie...

My guest today is Grammy Nominated engineer Stephen Dent. Stephen has worked on records for Notorious B.I.G, Sean Combs, Mary J. Blige, Faith Evans, and Lil Kim. He also spent a number of years running Daddy’s House, the studio owned by Sean “Diddy” Combs located in Brooklyn. I met Stephen while participating in rooms on Club House. I reached out and he accepted my invitation to come on the show....

My guest today is producer, mixer, and scoring engineer Jason LaRocca. Jason has worked on films such as “Bad Boys for Life,” “Paddington,” “Aquaman,” “The Accountant,” “Joy”, “Godzilla: King of Monsters,” Blumhouse horror hit “Ma,” and the 2018 Oscar-winning documentary “Icarus.” Jason also mixed the music for the smash-hit video game “Fortnite" as well as “Cyberpunk” and “Assassin’s Creed Valhal...

My guest today is Grammy-nominated engineer, Steve Genewick. Steve is making a return appearance on WCA. With 30 years of experience and 20 of that spent working alongside Al Schmitt, Steve has worked all over the world with artists such as Paul McCartney, Diana Krall, and LL Cool Jay as well as games such as Apex Legend. Lately, Steve is deep into remixing classic records for release in ATMOS. In...

My guest today is producer/engineer/mixer David Gnozzi. Originally from Tuscany and now living in Los Angeles, David hosts the very popular MixBusTV channel on YouTube and works in a variety of genres. In this episode, we discuss: MixBusTV Tuscany Moving to LA Dave Pensado Being Bullied Metal and Rage Marvel Comics At Home In The US Trial and Error Being a Virgo Bodybuilding Self Discipline Misinf...

My guest today is Matthew Rifino who is a music mixer for NBC's The Today Show as well as a freelance engineer. Matthew has worked with so many top names in music it would be futile to list them all here. That said, he is a 5 Time Emmy Award Winner for his mixing work in television. In this episode, we discuss: New Jersey Upbringing Don Mcclean Recording Lessons Pushing Boundaries Influence of Gra...

My guest today is producer, engineer, mixer Dave Way. Dave has a huge discography and a load of experience to share. He talks to us from his studio in Southern California, The Way Station. In this episode, we discuss: Apple Farm Assassin The Nun With A Guitar Pretending To Be a Beatle Hearing Life Through Cassette Early Mono Recording Music vs. Baseball Berklee College of Music New York Studios Da...

My guest today is New York-based mix engineer Sam Sherbin. Sam studied under the late great Bruce Swedien and Manny Marroquin. Sam is also behind the podcast called In The Zone. In this episode, we discuss: Studying with a Bruce Swedien Listening to Thriller with Bernie Grundman and Bruce  Sonic Personality Dropping Out 99 cent pizzas Mixing During Covid Pivoting into Podcasting Management The Mon...

My guest today is Grammy Award-winning mix engineer Michael Brauer. Michael has worked with Coldplay, John Mayer, The Rolling Stones, My Morning Jacket, and Bob Dylan, to name a few.  In this episode, we discuss: Speaking French with Mom Playing in Bands Drummer/Soundman Total Clarity Working in Shipping Being Ready to Help Regional Sounds Daytime Jingles Luther Vandross Dancing Going to England S...

My guest today is Seattle-based producer-engineer Andy D. Park. Andy has worked with Death Cab for Cutie, John Van Deusen. K Flay, The Deftones, Alice in Chains, Pearl jam, and Soundgarden. He talks to us from his freshly built studio at his home in Seattle. In this episode, we discuss: Idealism Recording Schools Making Mistakes Tucson to Seattle Persistence Learning Lessons The Beauty of Seattle...

My guest today is Grammy award-winning mixer engineer and producer Ryan Gilligan. Ryan got his start at Quad Studios in New York, where he started as an intern, then assistant before taking on a year-long engineering gig for Busta Rhymes. Following that, he returned to Quad and began a mentorship with Michael Brauer that would last for seven years. He worked alongside artists, such as Coldplay, Jo...

My guest today is Jenny Ortiz, also known as mixedbyJNY. Jenny has worked with K.A.A.N., JLA, Contraband, and Thurs. She talks to us from her home and home studio in Southern California, where we have a great conversation.  In this episode, we discuss: Behind The Scenes Videos College Audio Wrapping Cables Shantih Hasst of Studio 770 Interning Aligning Tape Machines Being a Dispatcher Spreading He...

My guest today is engineer, musician Paul Fig. Paul has worked with Alice In Chains, Slipknot, Bush, the Def Tones, Rush, Stone Sour, The Mars Volta, and Johnny Cash. Paul's also worked alongside Joe Barresi, Matt Hyde, Don Smith, Matt Wallace, David Bianco, George Drakoulias, and Greg Fidelman. He's a former member of the band Amen. And when he's not working on other people's records, he's workin...

My guest today is engineer Shuta Shinoda. Based in London, originally from Tokyo. We talk all about Shuta's journey from Japan to the UK and everything in between.  In this episode, we discuss: Learning Audio Visa Challenges Working in Japan Working in England Cleaning windows English classes Sacrificing Peak time Train Battles Moving to London Connecting with Local Bands Surviving During Covid Fu...

My guest today is Grammy award-winning recording engineer John Baffa. He's worked with a wide array of people, including Mike Patton, Henry Rollins, the Melvins, as well as the Los Angeles percussion quartet. He joins us from his home in Southern California, and we talk about many things, including his work at Cal Arts as an instructor. John Baffa, coming up here on the working class audio podcast...

My guest today is Jesse Cannon. Jesse is a man who covers a lot of territory. He produces, engineers, mixes, and masters. He hosts podcasts, he's an author, and he's the host of a YouTube channel. He does a lot of stuff, and he comes to us as a recommendation from our good friend, former WCA guest, Steve Evetts, and I'm excited to have him on. We had a great conversation the other day. And I'm loo...

My guest today is Boston-based mastering and restoration engineer. Maria Rice, Maria works at Peerless mastering and has received three nominations for the Grammy award for Best Historical Album. Her remastering work also includes the 2018 reissue of Blondie's Heart of Glass. Maria and I connected over LinkedIn, and I reached out to her, and she graciously accepted my invitation to come on the sho...

My guest today is producer engineer mixer Steve Evetts, who has worked with the Dillinger Escape Plan, Sepultura, The Cure, Poison the Well, Alesana, The Wonder Years, and many, many others. Steve comes to us as a recommendation from our good friend, Joe Barresi. In this episode, we discuss: Parents Attic Bass Guitar Foster X15 Tracks East in New Jersey First Studio Job Power Of Commitment Billing...

My guest today is a friend of 20 years who plays a role in the formation of Working Class Audio. I'm talking about mastering engineer Michael Romanowski. Michael and I go way back. We were building partners at our studio in San Francisco. Michael had a mastering facility in the front. I had a recording studio in the back, and together we were co-tenants in the space that he helped bring me into. M...

My guest today is the return of Robert L. Smith. Robert was originally on episode six of the Working Class Audio podcast. He's a producer-engineer mixer. He's based in New York City. That hasn't changed. And he has worked with some pretty big names out there. Lady Gaga, Michael Jackson, Aerosmith, David Byrne, and U2. We bring Robert back to check in about where things stand for him, where things...

My guest today is Kevin Churko. Who's originally from Canada, currently resides in the United States, and he is a producer-engineer, mixer, and songwriter. He's worked with Ozzy Osbourne, Rob Zombie, Papa Roach, Modern Science, Five Finger Death Punch, Shania Twain, and Hellyeah amongst many, many others. One aspect of his career that's fascinating that we're going to talk about is that Kevin work...

My guest today is Nashville based mastering engineer Daniel Bacigalupi. Daniel is a member of the team over at Infrasonic Mastering. That includes Pete Lyman, Dave Gardner, and Piper Payne, all who have been guests here on WCA. We're going to get into Daniel's journey to Nashville and into mastering here shortly. Daniel Bacigalupi coming up here on the working class audio podcast. In this episode,...

My guest today is Anne-Marie Pleau, who is an engineer and theatrical sound designer. And you might recognize her name because she just so happens to be the editor of the Working Class Audio Podcast. That's right. So every time I do an interview, I ship it right on over to Anne-Marie. She does her round of magic. She sends it back to me, and I assemble the show, and wallah, You have a podcast. So...

My guest today is Joyce Lieberman. Joyce has been working at WHYY in Philadelphia for the last 44 years, starting in 1976. She worked for 11 years as a Technician, 11 years as a Technical Director of Fresh Air, and 22 years as a Radio Engineering Supervisor. Joyce and I met at a dinner in Los Angeles four or five years ago. I discovered that she worked for WHYY and Terry Gross, and I began lobbyin...

My guest today is Steve Baughman, also known as Steve B. Steve has worked with Dr. Dre, No Doubt, Michael Jackson, and Eminem as well as several others. And his credits include recording, mixing, mastering, and production on a wide array of projects that stretch from big-band jazz to rock, to hip hop, Steve Baughman, coming up here on the Working Class Audio Podcast In this episode, we discuss: E...