Working Class Audio

For episode 618, Matt talks with Chris Dacoron, a Bay Area mixing engineer working mainly in R&B, pop, and hip hop. Chris runs his mix business, Skye Heart Sound, out of his home studio in Martinez, California, and has been at it for over 20 years. The two met at a Bay Area Audio Nerds gathering. Chris started out as a singer in an R&B boy band that moved to Los Angeles in 2004, became an accidental studio assistant along the way, and switched to engineering full time when the group broke up in 2006. They talk about learning by level-matching his mixes against finished records, the Auto-Tune idea he shot down years before T-Pain, the artist vision form that cut his revisions to one or two, going hybrid after one hardware EQ changed his mind, saving rough iPhone vocals, why networking in person still matters, and how to DM artists without sounding like a car salesman.In This Episode, We Discuss:Growing Up in the Bay Area Singing Along to Boyz II MenForming an R&B Boy Band and Moving to Los Angeles in 2004Winning a Talent Competition and Becoming a Studio Assistant Nobody Was Looking ForThe Group Breaks Up in 2006 and the Clean Cut to EngineeringComing Home to the Bay Area and Building a Freelance Career Through Word of MouthSetting Rates in the Middle Based on What Outside Engineers ChargedLearning From Claudio Cueni, Tony Shepperd, and Ken LewisLevel-Matching Mixes Against Finished Records to Learn What a Final Sound IsAlways a Student: R&B Sounds Change Every Five YearsThe Auto-Tune Idea Chris Shot Down Before T-Pain Made It a HitThe Artist Vision Form: Understanding the Artist Before Moving a FaderHandling Revisions as a Collaboration Instead of a CritiqueGoing Hybrid After One Hardware EQ Changed EverythingMaking iPhone Vocals Sound Like a Real Studio: Silver Bullet, Saturation, and ExpansionMatt’s Tip: Cleaning Up Rough Vocals With Adobe PodcastMoney: Balancing Gear Spending With Marketing YourselfTry Everything: Networking Events, SoundBetter, Websites, and DMsGet Out of Your Herman Miller Chair and Meet People in PersonHow to DM Artists: Do the Work, Make It Personal, Don’t Sell Right AwayWhy AI-Written Pitches Are Easy to SpotMatt’s RANT!: Stop Asking for PermissionLinks and Show Notes:Skye Heart Sound (Chris Dacoron)Skye Heart Sound on InstagramAdobe PodcastCredits:Guest: Chris DacoronHost/Engineer/Producer: Matt BoudreauWCA Theme Music: Cliff TruesdellThe Voice: Chuck Smith

For episode 617, Matt welcomes back Anthony Gravino, musician and recording, mixing, and mastering engineer, nearly a decade after his first appearance on WCA 137. In 2020, Anthony sold The Drake, his Chicago studio of 14 years, bought a converted 1940s horse barn just outside Urbana, Illinois, and turned it into High Cross Sound, a 2,100 square foot studio and home. They talk about why he left Chicago, what drew him to the barn, tracking 14 straight days with Kurt Elling and Charlie Hunter three months after moving in, the Champaign-Urbana music scene, and the business side of owning, living in, and working out of the same building.In This Episode, We Discuss:14 Years in Chicago: The Drake Studio on Drake AvenueWhy Anthony Left: Gentrification, Property Taxes, the Pandemic, and Seeing the Right Property at the Right TimeThe Old Horse Barn: 25-Foot Peak Ceilings, Curved Wooden Walls, and Listening to Drums Before SigningBuilding High Cross Sound: Control Room, Isolation Booth, and Wiring a Former Home Into a StudioKurt Elling and Charlie Hunter: 14 Straight Days, Three Months After Moving InThe Psychology of Vertical Space and Natural Light on MusiciansChampaign-Urbana: REO Speedwagon, the Rose Bowl Tavern, and a Music Scene Bigger Than Its Studio SupplyMoving During the Pandemic: Every Session Canceled in March, Perfect Time to Be Out of CommissionSelling the Chicago Building After Buying in 2006, Financing at 2.5% InterestDropping the API Console, Going to a Small Mixer and Outboard PreampsKeeping the Rate, Then Raising It When He Saw What Others Were ChargingIsolated Ground, a Private Transformer Shared With Three Houses, and a Quieter Noise FloorLiving and Working in the Same Building: Tax Advantages When 80% Is Studio SpaceMusic Videos, University Work, and the Snowball Rolling Down the HillThe Pool: More Romanticized by Clients Than Actually UsedMatt’s RANT!: Your MindsetLinks and Show Notes:Anthony Gravino on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anthonygravino/Anthony Gravino on Bandcamp: https://anthonygravino.bandcamp.comWCA Episode 137 with Anthony Gravino: https://www.workingclassaudio.com/wca-137-with-anthony-gravino/Credits:Guest: Anthony GravinoHost/Engineer/Producer: Matt BoudreauWCA Theme Music: Cliff TruesdellThe Voice: Chuck Smith

Sylvia Massy returns to Working Class Audio for the first time since Episode 14 back in 2015. She joins Matt from her studio in Ashland, Oregon to talk about her new book, The Great Book of Vintage Microphones, co-authored with Chris Johnson. To write it, Sylvia and Chris acquired the entire estate collection of Milwaukee radio legend Bob Paquette: 3,500 microphones kept together rather than cherry-picked apart. The book covers 100 years of microphone history, from David Edward Hughes's 1877 burnt-stick carbon transducer to the ribbons and condensers most engineers grew up with.In This Episode, We Discuss:The Studio in Ashland: Converted Radiator Shop, Five-Bay Garage, Concrete ConstructionChris Joshnson: Co-Author, Life Partner, and the Man Who Negotiated a Microphone MuseumBob Paquette's Collection: 3,500 Mics, Milwaukee Radio History, and Keeping It TogetherThe First Microphone: David Edward Hughes, 1877, a Burnt Carbon StickCrystal Mics, Carbon Telephone Elements, and Technology That Lasted Into the 1990sCondenser Development: From a Wooden Box Power Supply Down to the Pencil Condensers We Use TodayThe First Directional MicrophoneA Condenser That Went to the South Pole With Admiral ByrdThe Glow Discharge Mic: Plasma Between Two Electrodes, Banned After 1928Art Deco Mics That Looked Like Spaceships and Sounded Worse Because of Their CasesWestern Electric Birdcage, Tadpole Mics, Bakelite, and the 1947 Astatic 600SThe ChicLet: Color OptionsPearl Mics From Sweden and the 6102 RFPSylvia's Favorite Mic for Female VocalMicrophone Seeds: Ribbons, Dynamics, and CondensersMatt’s RANT!: Client Mix Approval ServerLinks and Show Notes:Sylvia MassyPreorder The Great Book of Vintage MicrophonesWCA Episode 14 with Sylvia Massy (2015)Credits:Guest: Sylvia MassyHost/Engineer/Producer: Matt BoudreauWCA Theme Music: Cliff TruesdellThe Voice: Chuck Smith

For episode 615, Matt concludes his two-part conversation with Michael Frondelli, picking up in Los Angeles where Keith Forsey and Richie Zito brought him west. Michael landed at Giorgio Moroder’s Oasis Studios, where he worked on the Breakfast Club soundtrack, Beverly Hills Cop, and the world premiere digital playback of Moroder’s restored Metropolis. He went on to eleven years as Vice President of Capitol Records Studios, where his first artist was Frank Sinatra and he quietly produced Big Bad Voodoo Daddy on a $100,000 investment that grossed $7 million. They also talk about AI and copyright, the importance of pre-production, apprenticeships in audio, network as the real currency of a career, and what Phil Ramone told him about what recording engineers actually do.In This Episode, We Discuss:Moving to Los Angeles via Keith Forsey and Richie ZitoGiorgio Moroder’s Oasis Studios: Breakfast Club, Beverly Hills Cop, and Three Films at OnceThe World Premiere Digital Playback of Moroder’s Restored MetropolisEast Coast vs West Coast Recording CultureKeeping an Apartment in Brooklyn and One in LAVP of Capitol Records Studios: How He Got the JobLearning to Run a $5 Million BusinessThe First Business Plan Ever Written for Capitol StudiosFrank Sinatra as the First Artist: Phil Ramone, Al Schmitt, and Building a Custom Vocal BoothUnion Negotiations, Health Benefits, and Taking Care of the StaffBeing Told He Was Too Old to Start a Label at 44Big Bad Voodoo Daddy: $100,000 In, $7 Million Gross, 500,000 Records by MayCrowded House, Gary Stamper, and Don’t Dream It’s OverAI, Copyright, and Why You Must Register Before You Use the PlatformApprenticeships, the Music Producers Guild, and Passing It OnNetwork as the Real Currency of a CareerStill Working: James Gadson, Autism Speaks, and Making RecordsMatt’s RANT!: Matt’s DadLinks and Show Notes:Michael FrondelliWCA #614 with Michael Frondelli, Part 1Vincent Boudreau — ObituaryCredits:Guest: Michael FrondelliHost/Engineer/Producer: Matt BoudreauWCA Theme Music: Cliff TruesdellThe Voice: Chuck Smith

For episode 614, Matt talks with Michael Frondelli, producer, engineer, and former Vice President of Capitol Records Studios, where he ran the facility for eleven years before going independent in 2001. Michael grew up in Astoria, Queens. Tony Bennett took vocal lessons with his Uncle Sal. The Walken family ran the bakery on Steinway Street. He came up playing guitar in soul bands and rock bands in the 60s, studied business in college, landed a maintenance tech job at Broadway Recording on 1697 Broadway, and from there made his way to Electric Lady in November 1975, where he spent nine years. This is Part 1 of a two-part conversation.In This Episode, We Discuss:Growing Up in Astoria, QueensMusic in the Family and Learning GuitarSoul Bands, Rock Bands, and the 60sCollege, the Draft Lottery, and Moving to ManhattanCarpentry, Soundproofing, and Finding a Way Into RecordingBroadway Recording at 1697 BroadwayLearning to Listen, Watch, and Visualize Signal PathLanding at Electric Lady in 1975Nine Years in the Room: Zeppelin, Chick Corea, Jaco Pastorius, Joni MitchellWorking With Eddie Kramer on Song Remains the SameRebel Yell: Finding Billy Idol a DrummerKeith Forsey, Charlie Sexton, and Don't You Forget About MeGetting Management and Learning the BusinessGoing From $5 an Hour to $2,500 a MixMatt's RANT!: Revisiting Backing Up and ArchivingLinks and Show Notes:Michael's siteCredits:Guest: Michael FrondelliHost/Engineer/Producer: Matt BoudreauWCA Theme Music: Cliff TruesdellThe Voice: Chuck Smith