2024 In Review: A Recap of My Guest Pods (Pt. 2 ) Stub

1:39 What's good everybody Scoobert Doobert's back on the microphone for love music more happy new year againThis is part two of the new year wrap wrap uprickety wrap up of2024 and I'm just going through all my guests taking a pause on each thinking about the lessons that I'm gonna take into thisNew year 2025 and maybe you know jog some of your memories on those conversations or share some of the ones

2:06 You might have missed you might want to go back and check out if you like some of the the findings the follow-ons

2:14 So the first one I would talk about is Aaron Comess of the Spin Doctors. So their hit song Two Princes isOne of the defining songs just sonically of the 90sit helps kind of define the non-Nirvana sound of the 90s the

2:32 Indy rock ish pop rock soft rock world that combines a lot of different genres, but it reallyIt really stood as this waypoint in musical historyAnd it was so cool talking to him because the reason for me why that song is so impactful is the drums and in particularThe snare sound he uses a piccolo snare, which is this tightHigher kind of snare drum that ended up becoming really in vogue in the 90s

3:01 But it wasn't in the 80s the 80s was all about these like big like think about an 80s snare drumGoosh like a arena rock, you knowAnd there the other thing that with the 80s was this tight gate of reverb this artificial reverb that cuts offIt's clipped off likeLike that kind of a soundSomebody that's super into that right now is Jack AntonoffSo a lot of the music right now is very influenced by the 80s style

3:29 Goosh kind of sound that gated drum soundSo interesting to think about, you know history repeats itselfWho's gonna be the next Aaron Comess?

3:37 And that's why I want to talk to himIs because like we all want to be right like everybody listening to this that makes music wants to be that the personThat makes that bold change and it was cool in that podcast learning aboutHow people didn't really want him to do it He went against the grain of the other people in the studio.

3:55 It's like no, I like this snare drum I like this snare fill. This is how I want the song to feel andHe ended up defining

4:04 A lot of music that came after it. He's a very humble guy, so he wasn't taking that creditbelieve me a really cool story and I think inillustrative of aCertain type of stick to your guns a certain type of vision and a certain type of risk that

4:21 When it's all combined can end up having these really long-term impacts and yeah, the song is awesomeThe song is greatBut so much of the tune it starts with the instrumental section so much of the hook is just the vibe of this bandAnd that's also like a really cool thing, tooLike talk about one of the coolest lives in music one of the coolest careers in music is being able to you know

4:43 Play music that sounds like your bandI know like yeah big big statement, right?But I feel like there's a lot of bands and again not to spread hate because I like like maroon 5 or something like thatBut maroon 5 started sounding less and less like a band and more and more like up, you knowBut pop vocalists that had some people that were familiar around him

5:04 I'm you know, they were involved. They're making good music. I like I like maroon 5 most of itYou know like I actually do and I really really liked the earlier stuffBut it's it's kind of coolto be a drummer that isNot in the background is like very actively defining the sound of a decadeSo it was a great conversation and definitely if you haven't checked that one out you very much should I would say

5:31 I'm gonna keep this moving because the last episode with like 30 minutes and I didn't mean for it, tooI was trying to do the entire recap of the whole year at one timeWe had a lot of guests and a lot of really awesome things so I could carry it awayNext up Matt Meyer from vintage king vintage king is one of the largest pro audio retailersAnd they do a great job of curation

5:50 So pro audio is weird because there's just so much stuff and the marketing is really all over the placeLike there's just a ton of gear and a lot of its named like e one two three four fiveIt's like, okay.

6:04 Yeah, I gotta keep that distinct from the Neve 1073 and the UA1176 oh, and I got to make sure that I'm not getting the LN version of the 1176I want the AE version, you know, it's kind of like it's kind of like Certain types of sports cars like a BMW or whatever you got to remember all these numbersAnd so having a Sherpa having a retailer a third-partymiddleman basically is

6:29 Kind of a central to not buy the wrong thing and pro audio is so expensiveSo having somebody that can be like, hey, actually you were researching this microphoneBut have you considered that microphone or hey, are you making the right decision?Like you're buying the FET style microphone, but are you using it on vocals or kick drums that?Would use a FET or are you looking for actually the non FET version, you know

6:54 Stuff that is gobbledygook to most people but that's where a knowledgeable expert like Matt Meyer would come inAnd just as a side note, he has an awesome voice. He is also a voiceover artistI love having a voice or over artists on the podcastI say as I trip over my own words because they don't do that right there.

7:12 They're actually trained at this I'm just some guy who makes music that wants to talk about it. Next up. We've got quitter. So quitter

7:21 quitter really gave me some inside scoop and I that was one of my favorite parts about it is some really

7:28 Unfiltered looks at what it's actually like to be in an LA recording studio and just kind of filling in and making it work andMessing up, you know, like like losing hard drives and praying that the artist doesn't come back for that hard driveAnd then lucking out when they come back asking for one of the files that you did back up

7:48 all of the trials and tribulations the things that I think are so essential for people that are trying to break in to

7:55 Hear and understand because you can be like, okay, I'm not gonna make that mistakeYou're gonna make a different mistake one. That's not on your radar. That's certainly gonna happenI will continue to do that as wellbut something as simple as file management and hearing the high stakes and putting yourself in those shoes where it's likeHey, it's 6 a.m. I haven't slept.

8:13 I'm a little hungover I've been in a high-paced high-stress environment this entire timeI gotta remember to back up because the studio wipes all of the hard drives, you knowThey don't do that in San Diego like

8:27 I've got the hometown studio. They don't wipe the hard drives at the end of the nightThey'd be lucky if they wipe the hard drives every four yearsBut in LA where they've got a high velocity of people coming through coming through coming through and they want to, you knowKeep everything tight so nothing's getting leaked.

8:44 Yeah, they're gonna wipe that stuff and you better know when you're going inwhen you're going out So that you've got your thumb drive or your drop box or whatever you're using

8:54 To just like keep it tight but a bunch of really cool stories like that from quitter because he'sHe's in again that really cool tier of established working with great artists, you knowLike Future, Glorilla, London on da Track like really really reallyPeople like Coachella, you know what I'm sayingBut quitter is still grinding and growing and figuring out his path

9:16 And I love talking to people like that because it's it's where it actually is right nowI've heard so many podcasts with people that are legends and awesomeBut it's different to hear what an artist or what a producer is going through in the current industryFull of all the different tools like track spacer and soothe or splice

9:39 You know all these things that I bet a bunch of home producers that are listening to this useSo hearing somebody that's doing it in big LA studiosWith the tools that you're using I feel like that makes it a little moreI don't know it makes it hit closer to home on the other side of things though

10:01 So while I do value that deeply I also value those that are in the winds of changeSo just like we were talking with Aaron Comess

10:12 Andy Shernoff of The Dictators was another great example of what it's like to be in a musical sceneLike there are certain things that are transcendent of timeAnd that's what I try to focus most of the podcast onAnd I hopefully that gets across and maybe that can be another New Year's resolution for myselfBut I'm trying to communicate what are the things from the legends that can be applied today

10:35 And what are the things from the up-and-comers that are immediately actionableAnd a great example of that is AndySo he has, you know, first punk band everHe's playing CBGBI've got a really cool sub-stack article on my sub-stack LoveMusicMore.substack.comThat outlines a lot of that journey and all the things around The DictatorsBecause that conversation inspired me so much

11:01 I was like I gotta do more research on punk musicBecause I like punk music but I didn't really know everything that went into itAll of the scandals, all of the genius managerial stuff with people like sex pistolsOr eventually the clashYou know, it's this interesting genre that started off as such an undergroundBut also there was this intentionality in building the scene

11:26 That enabled it to become a global superstardom kind of genreIt would have wallowed away in the shadowsWere it not for some very savvy managerial movesAnd also some geniuses that are making the music including AndyIt is this really cool combination of organic and inorganic scenesThat gets you somebody like Green Day, you knowLike they were playing New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest

11:53 So it's like punk has come a long way from CBGBBut it's cool to hear the originator because it puts you into that mindsetWhen I'm in Tokyo and I'm working with artists and I'm seeing the rock bandsAnd seeing the way they all hang out and seeing their watering holesSo to speak like CBGB, I go, huh, okay, something thereI'm able to connect it to the historical trends and timelines to say

12:18 Maybe if I participate in this we can make the whole world hear about itBecause it's good and it should be heardBut I think that the conversation like the one I had with Andy is really impactfulIn that type of thinking and putting on those kind of glassesWhen you go out into the world and you find these musical scenesAnd you go like, okay, this is like the early punk scene

12:39 How can we turn it into the success of the late punk scene?Next up, speaking of scenes, Sweden, manI got some friends in Sweden and they're just so talentedAnd working so hard and that's one of the reasons why I talked to Gustav BrunnGustav gave me such a cool insight into what it's like to grow up a musicianGrow up a musician, like be a kid in SwedenAnd the ways that the government helps support the arts

13:12 Food for thought, you know, not trying to be politicalBut something to consider as somebody that probably loves the arts who's listening to this podcastJust some government support in terms of like pooling your resourcesIt doesn't necessarily have to be government, just be the communityIt could be a charity, whatever, grantsBut that kind of stuff can really really turn into somebody like Gustav

13:31 Who's a working full-time musician, winning Swedish GrammysAnd he got there because he had opportunities to record and exploreAnd play in bands and all this kind of stuff within safe, well-funded areasNothing extravagant, but he was given the opportunities and he made the most out of themAnd I think that was pretty cool

13:56 From there we stayed on the recording engineer, recording producer world for a little whileTalking with Mike Post of MooseCat RecordingSo Mike runs his own recording studio in LA and we talked a lot about the preeminence of vibeAnd creating a space, especially when it's like client-facingYou know, like my studio, I have people come over sometimesBut it's mostly just like my spaceLike Tom, my top five friends

14:24 It's my spaceAnd it is geared towards meI use a lot of headphones, it's my vibeBut when you're inviting other people into your studio, particularly bands and like a lot of peopleHow do you create a space that they feel they're most creative?How do you add in natural light?How do you cultivate just good vibes so that you get the most out of everybody?

14:48 And inherently, especially for bands that are touring acts that don't record a lotRecording is so stressful because recording is your make-and-break opportunityIt is the promotional vehicle that you are going to tour for the next maybe two to five years for some of these bandsNot me, I don't want thatBut for a lot of people that's what they do and it makes sense, it works for them

15:15 If you're in that mindset, so say that you're writing the record that you're going to go play around the world for the next five yearsThat is so stressfulYou want to nail it because if you don't, like one people won't want to buy itTwo people won't want to come to your showsOr three, maybe the worst of all, you're not going to want to play these stupid songs because you don't like themAnd so all of that

15:35 And then like playing with a click track for some of these bands that don't play with a click track, a metronomeAnd trying to make the most of where are we spending our money?How are we pulling in other gear or other musicians?Are we recording to tape? Are we recording just digital into Pro Tools? How much of which?Are we demoing all these crazy conversations?

15:55 And that's where the recording engineer and recording producer can step in and be likeHey local nativesOr hey Alice CooperLet's try it this wayOr can I get you a little snack?These little psychological things that can pull people inGet them out of their heads and get them into their instrumentsSo a really fun conversation with Mike thereNext up, Justin Kohler, another recording engineer

16:21 And I really liked the contrast because we had LA Music StudioAnd then we had Loveland Music StudioSo Loveland's in Colorado, really cool place in between Boulder and Fort CollinsKind of that front range area near Denver and everythingLoveland's a really cool place because there's a lot of young people moving thereBecause it's cheap compared to DenverSo a lot of ways is a magnet

16:47 And I say this a lot on my sub-stack but cheap rent equals good musiciansSame thing with CBGB, that was part of the magic of that clubIt was in a cheaper place to live in New York City on ManhattanAnd because of that there were more artistsBecause artists can't pay their rent since foreverBecause it's expensive to live and you don't make a lot of money making artUntil you do

17:14 So Loveland is a really cool place to set up shopBecause yeah, a lot of younger people moving there, a lot of bandsAnd Colorado in particular just punches above its weight in terms of just musicMusic sceneFort Collins is not a very big townBut I swear there is live music every night of the week in multiple placesThey also have more beer than anybody elseI'm not jealous though, I like San Diego beer a lot more

17:41 No hate, no hate, but San Diego sweeps like come onBut anyway, Justin might hate me for saying thatBut I'll go visit him in Colorado, we can see about thatBut one of the cool things that I loved hearing from him was working with different artistsAnd working with different bands, different bands of different sizesAnd again, making that comfortable spaceAnd making it affordable and making it work for everybody

18:07 And being outside of LA, because not everything has to be in LAAnd I think that that's a nice message and a nice thing to pursue is likeWhat does the global scene look like?

18:17 What does the scene look like in different cities and states?I'm so, so cal-focusedSo talking to somebody who's making it happen and making a livingAnd expanding their space and doing it inside of a house, you know, in a basement But very legit, really, really dialed in spaceI love stories like that because it just feels so fricking AmericanI don't know, it's like entrepreneur just going for it and making records

18:42 And making incredible qualityBecause that's one of the beautiful things about the modern era of musicYou don't need a million dollar studio, you need focus and dedicationAnd knowing your gear and knowing your spaceAnd that's something that Justin has in spadesAfter that was the most stressful episode that I had this entire year with Bryson BarnesWho is the head of audio production at NBC News

19:09 And I am the head of audio production at Micasa Studios in San Diego, CaliforniaSo little difference in scale thereIt was really fun though talking to him about audio storytellingThe reason why I'm nervous is that, you know, I know how to do podcast audioBut not like him, you know, it's like, I'm a musicianI know how to do stuff from my singing voiceThis process, as you probably have heard month over month

19:38 Of learning how to do podcast audio is its own interesting challengeEspecially since these things are so long because I just can't stop talkingBut the reason why I can't stop talking is great stories from Bryson BarnesTalking about things like panning in audio, in vocal audioSo the history of podcast is the history of radioAnd the history of radio is the history of AM

19:59 Because FM doesn't come till much later and AM was monoAnd so I think that the vestige of AM continues into most audio formatsThat are just spoken word where we're thinking lower quality, lower resolution and monoAnd that does not need to be the case anymoreWe can have full fidelity now, we can stream in lossless audioSo with that, somebody like Bryson sees an opportunity

20:26 And you can tell in his work there's a reason why he's winning PeabodiesLike, come on15 number one Apple podcast to dateThere's probably even more by now because that was back in October, you knowBut yeah, Bryson, he hoped to kind of illuminate me to the ideas of slight panningWhen you have a lot of guests or pulling in audio bedsAnd I think that there's a real interesting rise in produced podcast content

20:59 That I really enjoy, particularly for news or special interest storiesThe kind of stuff that would normally have been on 60 minutesBut there's a real power and I'm an auditory learner so I'm biasedBut there's a real power in hearing somebody else's own voice when they're telling the storyIn the same way that listening to an audio book read by the author

21:19 Even if the author isn't as good of a voice over artist as somebody that does that professionallyThere is a pace and a delivery and a passion inherent in an author reading their own worksIt's the same thing if somebody's telling you an interview

21:37 Hearing from their own words in their own voice is just so much richer than just reading it on a pageAnd there's also something about it too of taking away the visualSo you're really focused on the voice and the way that the voice cracksAnd the way they laugh and the way they smile through their wordsAnd then it also opens you up to add music

22:02 In a way that just I don't think it would really work as well on visual TV newsBut it works really really well in these audio documentary formatsAnd it kind of splits the gap because it doesn't need to be as polished as like a video documentaryLike a movieIt still can have conversational interplay on a deeper levelAnd so that's what I like about it is it's produced enough to keep my attention

22:31 And keep things moving along but it's conversational enough that I'm entertainedI'm surprised and the guests are surprised tooI love thatThen I spoke with Mike Gillilan from Giltone MasteringAnd we talked about masteringSo mastering if you don't know is the process of finalizing a piece of audioYou have a mix where everything is put together and then you put it in the oven

22:56 And the mastering is setting that oven temperatureTurning the pie, you know, putting in if you're baking breadMaking sure that there's the right amount of hydration or humidity inside of the ovenAll those little things and a lot of times mastering feels like the dark artsIt's hard to understand what they're actually doing from even the artistOr even the engineer's perspective

23:19 And I thought that Mike did a really good job of laying it out thereMaking it clear that it's very very minute changesAnd you're paying him for his taste and for his gearAnd I definitely walked away from that conversationUnderstanding a lot more about what mastering actually doesAnd then Jeb Sherrill joined me on the podHe's the chair guyJeb actually did a series of three guest posts on my substack

23:45 Which I definitely recommendBecause it shows kind of the way that he thinks about musicAnd we basically nerded out about the guitarBecause Jeb's whole thing is seeing patterns and breaking down the guitar in a wayThat recontextualizes the way that it is taught currentlyAnd the way that it's taught right now might be fine for someIt was for me but I definitely had a lot of intermediate plateaus

24:08 As I was learning where you kind of go, what do I do next?How do I visualize this thing?Where I would feel locked into a box like a single shapeAnd just kind of going back and forthOr learning a scale and not knowing how to turn it into musicAnd I think that Jeb does a really good job of presenting one of the optionsTo figure it out and take your guitar playing to that next level

24:30 And I loved his guest posts too because he shared a lot about his view onThe way that music fits in and music theory all compliments each otherBut in a way that didn't feel too theoreticalIn a way that felt, I think, more approachable for a lot of peopleSo I loved hearing his perspective and mostly I just loved talking about guitarBecause I don't get to do that enough, I don't think

24:56 Speaking of which though, Lindy DayLindy, who is an awesome guitarist and educator herselfWriting books, teaching on Instagram and TikTokAnd just all around really awesome, funny, great, engaging personAmazing playerIt was really, really fun to talk to her about guitar journeysAnd that was a cool chance because I think I got to dig a little bit deeper into

25:21 How I feel about my playing and kind of where I'm trying to goSo that was a great conversation, a lot of good back and forthAbout just what it means to play this instrumentWhat it means to teach it to, how it gets acrossSo just a really cool duo, a tandem of episodes between JebWho is really focused on education and rethinkingAnd coming from different perspectives

25:45 And Lindy, who is really using the tools of the modern mediumAnd building her own career, her own artist projectJust like really, really great to hear from the guitar peopleThe people that are making it happen on the instrumentKeeping the instrument alive, I very much thank themAfter which I had Justin GammellaJustin, who's worked with FINNEAS Bella PoarchWhich Bahamas is ridiculous, awesome

26:15 And it was really great to talk about, yes, the artist's journey as a songwriterAnd how he started in a duo and was doing sync musicAnd then transitioned over to songwriting, found a good teamAll of those things that are so coreBut I also really loved his work on advocacyAnd making the case for songwriters on Capitol HillAnd governments that we need to get paid

26:40 You need to incentivize this as a government and as a societySo that the money doesn't just go to the technology companiesIt gets spread out, technology companies need some money tooThat's perfectly fine, but I do think that songwriters need to eatAnd it's surprising how much there is in terms of inequityIn this gig, you know, in every which wayIn every single dimension

27:06 And I just think if you're writing music that is being enjoyed by millions of peopleYou should be able to, you know, like afford a carLike some basic stuff, but that's not always the caseAnd you'd be surprised, some people that you think are making a lot of moneyAre really notAnd that kind of work is what allows this art to continueAnd not just become a plaything for people that are already wealthy

27:32 Because that's kind of a bummerIf the only people that are allowed to do art are the ones that already have made their moneyI think that the art is going to suffer or at least change in some interesting waysAnd we might already be seeing that a little bitBut thanks to JustinHopefully we'll be able to overcome that, get to the other endAnd make an industry that we all feel really good about

27:53 And that we're all hopeful, you knowI want that hope to come back in the industryBecause I don't really feel it right nowI really feel it personallyBut I just, when I have a lot of conversations with people in the industryThe hope isn't super, super highAnd I think that it will take people like JustinAnd, you know, all of us together in this music community to try to turn that around

28:15 And one of the ways to turn it around is by working super, super hardYou know, not letting it get us down, not letting it stop us going through itAnd Jay Jay French is the perfect example of thatTwisted sister, you knowThe platinum selling world-renowned rock bandBut the way they came up was so gritty, so raw, so difficultAnd it speaks volumes as to the character of somebody like J.J.

28:43 French And the ways to overcome problems and challenges as they confront youBecause music will never be easyNo matter what laws we pass or whateverIt's always going to be a hard gigIt just is inherentWhat do you do with it?How do you look at what you're given, what the market looks likeAnd turn that into something that is undeniableAnd just keep pressing at that

29:08 You know, finding your strength and just keep, keep pressingAnd that was what J.J.

29:13 French and Twisted sister didThey found their strength was live showsAnd they used the crucible of the live showTo turn themselves into, you know, the greatest live actBecause they were out there all the timeAlways testing, always advancing, always changingNever holding anything preciousBut they saw that as their strategic advantage And they just pushed it all the wayAnd I loved J.J.'s perspective

29:38 Again, he's a very humble guy, he's a very good guitaristBut he would talk about how, especially, like the 80sRight, that was like the high-flying act of guitars80s and 70s, because the sisters started really earlyAmazing, like they played over 9000 live showsLike, ridiculousBut going through that history and talking with himHe was like, yeah, I wasn't the best guitarist

30:00 We weren't the best band, but we were going to put on the best showAnd so we were going to winAnd I just loved that energyIt's like, it's like, inject that into meLike, give me, give me some of thatSo that you can, at the same time, confront the realityRight, see what you gotDon't, don't live in fantasy landBut also recognize that there are a lot of strengthsAnd like, how do you go for it?How do you make it work?

30:21 Because what's the alternative?How do you make it work?Like, hell nahAnd I loved that from JJAnd it was just a great, great episodeDefinitely check that one outCheck them all outI don't want to play favoritesUp next, Stephan HawkesThis is our last one of the yearThank you for hanging on for this entirePart 1 and Part 2 adventureSo Stefan, if you didn't watch this from like, you know

30:45 Two weeks ago, he gave a really great perspectiveOn the way that the industry looks right nowAnd I like that perspective tooOf like, why do you hire me?What value do I bring to you, artist?And I just loved how like, Brass Taxi was about itAnd it was trueHe spent all of this timeLearning his gear, developing his gearLearning his studioDeveloping his instinctsAnd also his chopsAnd all of that came together

31:19 To create the nuanced sound engineeringThat he's able to doAnd he also understands masteringUnlike I doYes, he's got one up on meBut yeahSo anyway, I definitely recommend checking outAll of these podsIt was a really, really fun yearSome of our just knockout guestsAnd I feel like no matter what you doNo matter where you're atYou do things that are creativeWhether or not you tell yourselfEverybody does

31:49 Hearing from these creativesLoving music deeplyAnd adopting some of these strategiesCan make everything in your lifeA little bit betterAnd it's just showing that love for the practiceThe love for the artIf you want to hear my artGo to scoobertdoobert.pizzaI invite you to rate this show 5 starsShare it with a couple friendsHelp us grow, get the word outI'll see you next time