Working Class Audio

Early on March 21st, a fire struck the warehouse that has been home to Jonah Strauss’ Shipwreck Studios since 2008. The fire began in the unit directly above the studio. In less than an hour, it claimed two lives and displaced dozens of people, as well as several independent printing presses and artists. Jonah’s recording studio and home suffered severe water damage, amounting to tens of thousands...

Jeff Powell lives in Memphis, Tennessee, and has been making records since his first studio gig at Kiva Studios in 1987. He became an employee at Ardent Studios in 1989 and worked his way up from assistant to staff engineer, and eventually to staff producer. He went independent in 1997 and has worked in studios all over the US, The UK, and Canada, but still calls Ardent home. He still stays very b...

Sylvia Massy has been Producing, Engineering, and Mixing popular music for decades. She’s renowned for her work with Tool, System of a Down, Johnny Cash, and Prince. She’s received over 25 gold and platinum records including awards for her work with the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Sevendust, and Tom Petty. She’s also an accomplished fine artist, a published columnist, an in-demand educator, and a...

Billy Anderson  is a record producer, engineer, and musician. He has worked with hundreds of bands over the past 20 years, including Cormorant, Eyehategod, Mr. Bungle, Red House Painters, Fantômas, and Sleep. He is also a member of the bands Blessing the Hogs, Porn (The Men Of), Solodolor, and Good God. Billy takes time to talk to Matt Boudreau about his progression from his days playing coll...

Michael Starita is a lifelong musician with over 17 years experience as an engineer, producer and remixer. His career started at the famous Hyde Street Studios in the late 90s learning from many of the Bay Area greats. Moving to EDNET, Starita had the pleasure of being the ISDN engineer for clients such as Rick Rubin, Sting, Warner Bros, Universal Motown and many others. This propelled his ca...

For the past 20 years, Gabriel Shepard has been an engineer working at various Bay Area studios including the historic Hyde Street Studios where he earned a platinum and gold record with the band Cake. Other artists he’s worked with include Sun Kil Moon, Black Francis, Zigaboo Modeliste, and Joanna Newsome. Gabriel stops by my house for an in-person chat about car accidents, session vibe, and...

Scott Evans is a member of Kowloon Walled City, a recording engineer (Puig Destroyer, The Loyalists, Neurosis), and a contributor to Tape Op magazine. Scott sits down to talk to me in his personal studio Antisleep Audio located in Oakland, CA. We talk family, summing, drool over his Neotek console, as well as the usual business of recording and doing our jobs as engineers. Enjoy! Links Kowloon Wal...

Andrew Scheps has worked with The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Adele, Metallica, Grace Potter, Jay-Z, U2, Justin Timberlake, and Green Day…just to name a few. Just home from a European trip that included a week in France conducting a seminar at  Mix with the Masters, Andrew shares his views on recording studio etiquette, his in-the-box workflow when mixing, his adventures as a record...

Like so many professionals in music, Steve Silverstein got his start creating music — his electronic group  Christmas Decorations  has released an album on  kranky  and been played on the  BBC . He’s written articles and reviews for  Tape Op , and assistant edited a collection of Aaron Copland’s writings. He’s excited to have finally moved his studio from his apartmen...

Vance Powell, who has worked with Jack White, Red Fang, and Buddy Guy to name just a few is featured on Session #007. Vance is outspoken and takes a no-bullshit approach to not only his work but this interview. We talk technique including specifics of his analog workflow, business, including managers plus a bit of criticism of the old guard of the music industry. I love talking...

Robert L. Smith is an Oscar winning, Grammy and Emmy nominated Producer/Engineer/Mixer based in New York City. After 25+ years of working with the biggest names in music, his résumé reads like a who’s who of modern pop music. Lady Gaga, Michael Jackson, Aerosmith, David Byrne and U2 are just a tiny list of those on his discography. Robert is passionate and focused about what he does and opens up t...

My guest is producer/ engineer /mastering engineer John Cuniberti, based in the Bay Area. John has worked with Joe Satriani, Sammy Hagar, The Dead Kennedys, and Chicken Foot. John is known for bringing the concept and name ReAmping into the mainstream of recording with his ReAmp box, which he created and sold on his own for many years, but eventually sold the name and circuit patent to Radial Engi...

David Wheeler is a recording engineer based in Las Cruces, New Mexico . Las Cruces is located north of El Paso, Texas and Ciudad Juarez, Mexico . David talks about the pros and cons of being one of very few recording people in Las Cruces who do it on a pro level and also talks about how the changes to the environment and business world affect the world of recording in the southern part of New Mexi...

Happy to present WCA session #003 with New York recording engineer Hillary Johnson. Check Hillary's site out at www.hillaryjohnson.com Hillary has worked with The Prids, Bell Hollow, Michael Gira (Swans, Angels Of Light), The Secret History, Jeff Buckley, The Misfits, Jennifer Kimball, Rufus Wainwright, The Ramones, Bishop Allen, Project Jenny, Project Jan, Nile Rodgers, Vernon Reid, Stereojax, D...

Laura Dean works in San Francisco at various studios including Tiny Telephone and Women’s Audio Mission. Laura talks recording schools, internships, knowing your role, tech work, music for dance, audio books, voice overs etc….

I am very happy to announce the Working Class Audio Podcast Session #001. WCA #001 is an introduction to Working Class Audio with host Matt Boudreau . Get the low down on what to expect in upcoming sessions. Includes intro/outro music by our friend Cliff Truesdell  and voice intro by our friend Chuck J Smith . I have started to schedule interviews with engineers working in the freelance trenches i...