The Other Side - Producer Jim Diamond

Producer Jim Diamond's name has become synonymous with Detroit "garage rock." His Motor City-based studio Ghetto Recorders has recorded some of Detroit's most popular bands among handfuls of heavy hitters from all over the U.S. and beyond. The White Stripes, The Von Bondies, Andre Williams, GLG's own The White Ravens, Electric Six.....and so, so, so many more Detroit acts. People from all over flock to the his studio to get the "Jim Diamond" sound that can only be described as a bit gritty, like the state of downtown and just very, well, "Detroit." People just know his style. Growing up in Trenton, Michigan, Diamond began playing in bands in 1978. Not just a few bands, this man is well versed. He has played bass, guitar and occasionally organ and sax in about a dozen bands including The Dirtbombs, Doop and the Inside Outlaws, and Bantam Rooster. His studio career began at Harvest Music and Sound Design in Lansing, MI in 1989 as an engineer. He opened Ghetto Recorders in 1996 and has become an iconic producer to any fan of Detroit music. (p.s. That's Jim being cheeky in the middle with the check)

1. How would you describe your role as a producer?
I would say that varies from band to band depending on what they want to do. Some people want a lot of input on everything, other people just want to bang it out and have you tell them when it sucks or not. My job is always changing.

2. How long have been producing?
I guess since I started engineering professionally in 1989. One of the guys I worked for way back, he always told me that bands want your input, that was a good lesson to learn. I am much more involved now than when I was beginning. Back then I was still trying to figure out the board!


3. Who/what albums are the some of the most noteworthy artists you've produced in the past?
The White Stripes, Electric Six, Dirtbombs, The Romantics...in Argentina, Andrea Alvarez. In Australia, Rocket Science. Andre Williams, Kim Fowley, The Von Bondies. I have a record coming out with power-pop legend Paul Collins later this month. Lots of underground people over the years and in different countries.

4. What bands are you currently working with?
Just worked on a record over the weekend with local singer/songwriter Jeni Lee Richey and the Great Tribulation. Recording in progress with Jason Stollsteimer ... he has a new group called The Hounds Below. Have records coming up this fall with Left Lane Cruiser and Hacienda, both on Alive Records out of L.A. Then looking like I'll head to Australia in November to do a couple bands down there in Brisbane.

5. Do you mainly work out of one studio or do you go where a band needs you?
I work out of my studio mainly, Ghetto Recorders, but when I travel, I'll go anywhere, as long as they have a tape machine to record to.

6.How do you know if you, as a producer, are a good match for a band?
Well, I have to like the music,that is first and foremost. They'll send me demos and I'll see which songs I like, stuff like that,we'll take it from there. Generally, people who don't like my work won't want me and I wouldn't like them anyways! I usually get a good fit.

7. What's the best piece of advice you'd give a band that thinks they are ready to record?
Practice and get your stuff down tight. Nothing worse than the band trying to learn the songs in the studio, it's an expensive rehearsal space! Get it down before you come in, then we can get creative.

8. What kind of inside experience does being a musician yourself help with producing?
That is huge, my experience as a musician helps every facet of producing. I know what will work musically, how to approach songs. I can't imagine producing records and not being a musician.

9. What's your favorite thing about producing?
It's like putting together a puzzle, hearing something take form, creating something from nothing, I love that.

10. What's your least favorite thing about producing?
Waiting around for bands to learn the song. People not being prepared.

11. In addition to the music you are working on, what albums have you been listening to lately? Does it ever effect your producing?
Very much... I have been listening to Jefferson Airplane, ....'60s San Francisco stuff. It changes all the time, I love music and am a fan first and foremost.

The Other Side highlights those talented and very important folks behind the scenes of the music that we listen to. The Other Side will feature producers, engineers, booking agents, band photographers, online radio DJs, etc. It's pretty awesome.
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The Other Side - Producer Neal Ostrovsky

As a live drummer for The Webb Brothers, The Bon Mots, Tiny Speakers, The Damnwells and more, producer Neal Ostrovsky currently holds court in Chicago at his own multi-faceted recording studio, B-Side Audio. Originally from Massachusetts, Ostrovsky made the move to L.A., and by 1995, he landed in the Windy City. In addition to playing live and numerous session recordings as a drummer, Ostrovsky finds his real home in the studio instead of the road. Recording with the Webb Brothers, Urge Overkill and Local H, Ostrovsky likes to talk about recording gear that is completely alien to me, but I'm sure many of you will be excited at his very mention of Otari MTR90. Meet Neal Ostrovsky, this is his mad scientist/producer look.

1. How would you describe your role as a producer?
My role is to help the artist manage the recording process and to help them capture definitive recordings of their songs. In many cases, my role is of a moderator, especially if there is an abundance of creative ideas within a band. My role is also to be an objective ear. In general, you are paying a producer to make, or help make, decisions. And if you like the producer’s work, it should be easier to trust their decisions.

2. How long have you been producing?
Since the early '90s, but I started to get a lot more serious when I opened my studio in 1997. I started with a tiny 10X17’ control room adjacent to the rehearsal space I shared with the Webb Brothers. We recorded Beyond the Biosphere there on a 2," 16-track Otari MTR90.


3. Who are some of the most noteworthy artists you've produced in the past?
Probably my work with The Webb Brothers, Local H, Urge Overkill, and more recently The Damnwells.

4. What bands are you currently working with?
I’m finishing up records with Jennifer Hall, The Damnwells, The Penthouse Sweets and The Bon Mots. Jennifer Hall ..... (is) one of the most talented artists I’ve ever worked with. She’s just getting started with her career and no one really knows who she is yet. She’s very young, but has a musical maturity that rivals artists much older than her. Her band is fantastic. We’re finishing up her first record, and it is shaping up to be one of my favorite records I’ve worked on. She already has a few songs for the next one so it’s looking like the plan is to keep going.

5. Do you mainly work out of one studio or do you go where a band needs you?
I do most of my work at my own studio (bsideaudio.com), but lately I’ve been doing some of my tracking sessions at Engine Studios in Bucktown. I have also been doing some location recordings over the last two years. It seems like most of the people I work with come to my studio mainly to work with me, so it’s matters less about where we are tracking.

6. How do you know if you, as a producer, are a good match for a band?
I don’t really see myself as a genre producer, and I’ve worked on many types of recording sessions. I feel I’m a good match for any artist that is open to the contributions and experience I can bring to a project.

7. What's the best piece of advice you'd give a band that thinks they are ready to record?
I would ask them for demos of their songs. I can’t really give advice until I know where they are starting from. It also really depends on what they are trying to accomplish.

8. What kind of inside experience does being a musician yourself help with producing?
Having been on both sides of the glass, I can really understand the artist’s point of view. This is obviously a big advantage when you are guiding musicians through the process. One of the reasons that I started my studio was because of the frustration I sometimes felt when tracking in other studios.

9. What's your favorite thing about producing?
Creating something that is better than what each individual can create on their own. Working with talented and inspiring artists.

10. What's your least favorite thing about producing?
Working with bands that don’t listen. Or working with people that are not open to the unexpected. Trying to fix problems that could have been avoided with better preparation.

11. In addition to the music you are working on, what albums have you been listening to lately?
I was listening to The Bends the other day. The Pretenders' first record and Nada Surf's Let Go. I guess those aren’t current releases...

The Other Side highlights those talented and very important folks behind the scenes of the music that we listen to. The Other Side will feature producers, engineers, booking agents, band photographers, online radio DJs, etc. It's pretty awesome.
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The Other Side - Producer Laurence Currie

From Halifax, Nova Scotia, to Orlando, back to the East Coast and currently holding ground in Toronto, producer/engineer Laurence Currie has produced some of the coolest (yes, coolest) albums that Canada has seen in the past two decades. Sloan, The Gandharvas, and Holy F@#k's debut album that caused a stir. After graduating in '93 with a business degree and a minor in music, Currie crossed the border to learn more at Full Sail Center for the Recording Arts in Orlando. It was then back to Halifax in '94 doing sales and radio promotion for an indie record label. At night and on weekends, Currie started doing demos for bands in different studios in town which included Thursh Hermit, Sloan, The Super Friendz, etc. If you know these bands, you know what a hotbed of pop music the Canadian East Coast was in the '90s. Currie eventually opened his own studio Idea Of East Recording in Halifax until 2005, when he then packed up and moved to Toronto (just as many of those East Coast bands had done earlier) where he currently produces. He is also a co-host (with producer Moe Berg) for the choice TV/web show Master Tracks.


1. How would you describe your role as a producer?
You are totally responsible for whatever you are hired to "produce" ( a song, LP, EP) and all that entails. On any given session you may have to be an arranger, accountant, manager, psychiatrist, musician, sociologist, engineer, promoter, agent, etc... You end up wearing a lot of hats. The main "jobs" tend to be: work on the song arrangements, hire the studios, hire engineers, hire session players, hire technical crews (if necessary), pick the songs, quality control, make sure the record is made on time and on budget, along with keeping both the artists and the record companies (if there is one) vision of the record intact.

2. How long have been producing?
About 15 years now.

3. Who are the some of the most noteworthy artists you've produced in the past?
I did Sloan's One Chord to Another and their U.S. release The Party Album, The Gandharvas' Sold for a Smile got them signed to MCA in the States, Wintersleep's "self Titled" album, and Holy F@#K's debut record among many, many others...

4. What are you currently working on in the studio?
As of today, I just finished up an EP with a local band (Toronto) called Little City who sort of do a wonderful mix of folk/ roots and a classical thing with a great female vocalist. I'm finishing up the mixes on a record with a band from Newfoundland called Mercy The Sexton. I can only describe them as sort of Devo meets T.Rex with a little Flaming Lips thrown in. I've also finished tracking a new band from New Brunswick (as of publication they don't have a name) who are going down the sort of Bloc Party meets The Dead Weather. So it's very interesting musically, but also dirty at the same time. And I have a band up from Nova Scotia called Gloryhound...very rock...very cool, Ramones meets Mott The Hoople. We just finished the beds on that this week.

5. Do you mainly work out of one studio or do you go where a band needs you?
I do have my own place that I love to track vocals and overdubs in. It's also my main mixing facility. But, I tend to travel a lot so I have to work in many different facilities. Honestly, I wouldn't have it any other way. There are so many great recording rooms out there with different gear and specialties. It's just fun and interesting to work in many places. Also, there are budgets to consider.

6. How do you know if you, as a producer are a good match for a band?
Funny enough, these days, I know in about five minutes of meeting them or talking to them by email. You can get a sense really quickly if you’re going to be able to help someone out or not. Or, if they'll be open to constructive criticism or not. Or, if you're even going to get along. In my career, fortunately, it rarely has happened that I didn't get along with a band, but it has happened.

7. What's the best piece of advice you'd give a band who thinks they are ready to record?
Don't record yet...wait. Seriously though, make absolutely sure you are ready before spending that kind of money. Record your stuff around one microphone (if you're that type of band) into your laptop and see if it sounds good, or sounds like crap. If it sounds like crap, you probably aren't ready to spend your money on hiring a producer yet. But, once it doesn't sound like crap, a producer may very well be able to help you out. But, more importantly, play shows. Learn to entertain. Learn to promote yourselves. These are going to be more important skills you will need before you even decide to hit a record button. For some odd reason, new bands seem to think that recording something is the first thing to do. In actuality, it's the last.

8. What kind of inside experience does being a musician yourself help with producing?
It gives you an intimate sense of the instrument and what it can do. It also gives you empathy when dealing with a player. Which, can sometimes be very important. Plus, it obviously makes showing people parts a lot easier.

9. What is your favorite thing about producing?
Working with very gifted and talented people. It's inspiring.

10. What is your least favorite thing about producing?
The business end of things. Right now, the industry is in such turmoil with no real end in sight. It makes it difficult on artists, producers, engineers and studios (all the creative end) to be able to get a group of really talented people together in the same place at the same time, which has traditionally been the way to make truly great music. It's part of the reason that technology is taking up the slack. You need to be able to make things cheaper. Cheaper isn't always better.

11. In addition the albums you are working on, what current albums have you been listening to lately?
Funny...besides buying CDs (yes I still buy CDs, they are the only affordable medium right now that gives me reference quality music), Broken Social Scene's new record and albums from The Dead Weather, Band Of Horses, and The National, I recently got the reissue of Exile On Main Street (the Rolling Stones). It's still a great record and the extra tracks are actually pretty good.

The Other Side highlights those talented and very important folks behind the scenes of the music that we listen to. The Other Side will feature producers, engineers, booking agents, band photographers, online radio DJs, etc. It's pretty awesome. Click Here to Read More..

The Other Side - Producer Vince Casamatta

Growing up in Ohio, producer Vince Casamatta remembers going to see the Cleveland Orchestra at Severance Hall and it always stuck with him how passionate the musicians appeared on stage. “I was always the kid who was pushing everyone too hard, being the perfectionist, taking all the fun out of it. I think I’m still that way!” says Casamatta. After moving to Chicago a decade ago, like many music producers, he admits he played guitar and drums in a variety of what he says were “bad rock bands.” After he put the sticks and picks down, he got into music engineering and producing, working with bands like OK Go, electro-rockers Hey Champ, The Prairie Cartel (Scott Lucas of Local H and members of Caviar) and many other Chicago-based bands. Casamatta is currently settled working at Engine Music Studios (where musicians Bonnie Prince Billy, Iron and Wine, Wilco, Margot & the Nuclear So and So's have all recorded). Not only is he a studio producer and engineer, he also does live sound, working with They Might Be Giants and countless others. Every producer is different and works in their own way. Meet Vince Casamatta, he likes big drums.

1. How would you describe your role as a producer?
Getting people to do what I want, while simultaneously getting them to think they came up with the idea. I’ve been lucky to have the privilege to tour with bands like They Might Be Giants and OK Go and mix them live recently. They are both masters of production in their live shows. They’ve definitively taught me there has to be a vision behind everything – a driver behind the wheel, and everyone chips in to fulfill that vision. That’s what making an album is like.

2. How long have been producing?
As long as I’ve been in bands or engineering – a long time.

3. Who are some of the most noteworthy artists you've produced in the past?
I’ve done some work with an up-and-coming folk-rocker by the name of Joe Pug. He came to me a while back when he needed to put together a full band rock arrangement for his debut album. Up to then it had mainly just been him and his guitar. The hard drive literally caught fire upon completion of the tracking. Our work was almost lost forever! But I’m happy to say it ended up being the first single off his new album (Messenger) – and it’s enjoying steady radio rotation while he enjoys an ever growing success. I’ve also worked extensively with Chicago electro-rockers Hey Champ. Long ago I was set to the task of combining electronic drums and synths with their hard-hitting real life drummer. It wasn’t always easy straddling the line between big rock drums and hard electronic samples. What we came up with was a very produced and thorough pop album (Star), which has just been released this July.

4. What bands are you currently working with?
Right now I’m finishing up a debut for another electro-rock band that really leans more towards electro-punk; if you will. They go by the name Battlestations. I’m also knee deep in production on a full length for more of an indie-pop band by the name of Farewell Captain. This band features a few members from previous indie favorites Light FM.

5. Do you mainly work out of one studio or do you go where a band needs you?
Lately, I’ve settled in at Engine Studios in Chicago. It’s an amazing facility. They’ve got everything I need to do my job with a healthy collection of cool and/or vintage musical instruments and a crazy collection of microphones. It makes my clients feel like they’re really into something special – and that’s an important feel to have. But in the past, I’ve run my own studio and I still like to hop around from time to time to mix it up. I’m actually a big fan of location recording, especially for drums. I like taking drums to big open spaces or large rock clubs and mic them up after running them through the PA or with a bunch of room mics. I like big drums.

6. How do you know if you, as a producer are a good match for a band?
This happens the first time we talk on the phone or as late in the process as the first day of production. That’s why pre-production becomes somewhat of a vetting process for me and that’s why I’m so frustrated when bands want to coast through it. It becomes quickly obvious if I’m a bad fit for a band when we spend all of our time justifying our artistic decisions to one another and we can’t move to trust our own skill sets. If it’s clear an artist isn’t willing to part with some aesthetic oversight than it’s clear I’m an unneeded expense. I like to find this out before I start pressing that REC button – but that’s not always the case.

7. What's the best piece of advice you'd give a band who thinks they are ready to record?
They’re probably not. I would tell them to rehearse. Record your rehearsals (so you can hear every part). Then make a list of what parts are lacking or tough and rehearse. Then rehearse some more! If you want to end up with an album you’re proud of and have a fun time making it, you need to have it down. I can make musicians in pitch and on time with my computer, but it’s demoralizing to the players. And if we spend too much time getting the core tracks done, there’s never any budget left to explore creative avenues and take our time mixing. It’s an unhappy place to be, and yet so easy to avoid.

8. What kind of inside experience does being a musician yourself help with producing?
Being able to get around on guitar and drums gives me a lot of context to the music I record for other people. But it really serves the purpose of bridging a gap. Producers/Engineers live in a very different world than musicians, but we have to try and get along. Playing just helps me bridge the gap - put myself in their shoes. Empathy is worth a lot more than fancy mics sometimes. It allows me to create a world around my musicians to bring out the best performances.

9. What's your favorite thing about producing?
Everyone’s got his or her own motivations for being in this bizarre line of work. For me, it’s just a worthy challenge everyday. One album can consist of hundreds of thousands of individual decisions, it’s an amazing feeling to manage that process for people and end up with a great outcome. The first bands I loved for their production were groups like the Pixies, the Clash, the Beatles, Blur. It always sounded so effortless – it didn’t need to be polished. And when I’m doing something that sounds effortless – that’s how I know I’m on the right track.

10. What's your least favorite thing about producing?
It’s no secret that the music business is in a bad way. What I hate is that the art form of production has been relegated to a line item on an expense sheet. In reality, there’s less desire to pursue the art of making albums if albums don’t make artists money. That’s why production has gotten so gimmicky. I’ve gotten very fast at the nuts and bolts of recording- editing and setups. I’m always looking to streamline a necessary step so we have the luxury to pursue other desires. Like recording drums in an empty rock club, or spending an hour seeing if five pitch corrected vocals sound good through a Leslie speaker, or banging on a metal staircase with hammers to see if it will make a cool drum kit if played back at half speed. These are all things I’ve tried to varied degrees of success.

11. In addition to the music you're working on, what current albums have you been listening to lately?
The Dig – Electric Toys, OK Go – Of the Blue Colour of the Sky, The Black Keys – Attack and Release. Also, the Royal Bangs, Cymbals Eat Guitars, Lasers and Fast and Sh!t, Russian Circles, MSTRKRFT, LCD Soundsystem’s new album (This is Happening). So much good music out there, I know I’m leaving out a bunch.

The Other Side highlights those talented and very important folks behind the scenes of the music that we listen to. The Other Side will feature producers, engineers, booking agents, band photographers, online radio DJs, etc. It's pretty awesome. Click Here to Read More..