Episode 109 - Jon Castelli
Show Notes
Live with Matt Rad - Episode 109
Jan 31, 2023
w/ Jon Castelli - Week 86
Show notes by: Bradley Will
Jon:
I've just concluded a year-long experiment between me and my manager.
Say no to anything that isn't at my full rate, so that I can get some free time. Be okay with making less money, to see how that free time feels.
When the accounting came through for last year’s work, I made just slightly more money and mixed half of the output.
Financially speaking it was a successful experiment, but I wasn't happy because I wasn't developing new talent that might have come through if I'd been more permissive with my gigs.
This year I'm going to say "yes" more often to see if I feel any better.
Matt:
I need the free-form exploration that comes from just making stuff in addition to the "finisher" "get stuff done" role. So I need a balance between the two modes.
Jon:
With my free time I think I'd like to get involved with people earlier in their projects.
I want to fill my year with developing things and helping people finish their project.
Matt:
It's so much more satisfying to be a part of the projects before they blow up. That's the most fun.
You ascend in your career by making the best things with the friends and people around you.
That's how the vast majority of people make big steps in their career.
Jon:
I don't like how compressors tend to narrow the image. I typically have to work hard to make sure it gets wider.
Sometimes if you hit the threshold just right it can bring up the tiny little "tickly" things that may have gotten pushed into the back.
I want to compress a little more to bring my "back wall" forward in my mixes, since I've often made them a little more blurry in the past.
Vocal Sheen On Records
Matt:
Is there a consistent thing that people are doing to make their high-end very phasey or shiny? I'm hearing it all over these days? It's a high-end widening thing. Serban does it a lot.
Jon:
My guess is that Serban is using the Waves Doubler in parallel.
I definitely do a subtle overall widening on 8k and up on my entire mixes. It's very subtle
I also do it a lot more on the bkgd vocals to get them away from the lead vocal.
If the esses and the airy-ness are spread it can trick your ears.
If it's only in the "air" range you'll notice it yes.
I often think it may be the CLA Vocals spreader.
I like to use the hi-passed Eventide H-3000.
If you don't have good monitoring you're not going to hear this effect.
My guess is that it's the Ozone Imager set a little too wide and a little too low in the freq spectrum.
Matt:
At some point in the 1950s when people were electrifying guitars, at some point somebody did the "wrong" thing and that created the sound of rock n roll. So don't be precious about things. Just follow what feels good and make art.
Headphones
Matt:
If you want to use Airpods Max you can attach the cable to your computer and not have any latency on them.
Jon thinks they sound phase-y when he uses the cable and that scares him.
Open-back headphones are ideal, except for the fact that they emit noise outside of themselves.
I've mostly ended up using the Audio Technica M-50s because they're common and can take a beating.
I'm thinking about relying on the Airpods Max from now on.
Jon:
Open headphones almost sound too good. They sound endless to me.
I wonder about Skrillex mixing in headphones. If he's mixing in Beats headphones with a bass boost it would cause him to multi-band compress the low-end so that the mixes come out with less bass, but sound huge when they end up on loudspeakers.
Q: Why are people selling their Unfairchilds?
Jon:
I would keep mine if I was recording more.
I want to minimize the amount of stuff that I need to recall for a mix. I'm lazy and don't want to recall.
It doesn't work as a part of my workflow anymore.
My DW Fearn VT-7 gives me more of what I want aesthetically.
At the end of the day it's about workflow, and it doesn't work in my workflow. It should be in the hands of someone who will use it more.
Q: Any tips or methods to improve the time that it takes labels and lawyers to pay? How do you make things go quicker?
Matt:
If someone you work with consistently goes out of their way to pay you consistently pay you quickly, then you should hire them more often.
Generally you will get 50% of payment up-front and 50% when all deliverables are in and the deal-making is done, but that can take a long time.
I just got the paid for a big project that was released five years ago.
Financial management is a very underrated part of what we do.
Money doesn't always come in steadily.
Jon:
You can't really make things go quicker. Sometimes the artist won't release the song for 2.5 years.
It's important to have the conversation about rate when you're working with someone new.
I don't ever want to be the reason the project gets held up, so i work hard to make sure our working arrangements are settled relatively promptly.
Matt:
Sometimes with certain people you have to not deliver stems or start working on a project until they've made the initial good-faith payment.
This isn't an ideal way to work all of the time, but with some people who haven't held up their end in the past it's the path you need to take.
Jon:
Sometimes I'm working 14 songs into mixing an 18 song record before a deal gets finalized.
I completed a project back in December and only yesterday did I get a contract from the label to sign so that I can get paid. Sometimes that's just how it works out.
I think the biggest motivator for a project should ultimately be about pursuing what fulfills you and following that as much as you are able.
Matt:
A hugely successful songwriter on another podcast who has tons of Number 1's still aren't happy and find themselves wishing that they had someone's music career, even with all of their achivements.
We've got to remember that we're pursuing art and this thing that we love. If you get into the competitive part of it you will inevitably be disappointed, because by that metric you're going to lose out very often. It doesn't mean you shouldn't chase those things, but it's not going to be as fulfilling.
Q: What are your most regretted professional mess-up's so far? How did you recover after missed opportunities?
Matt:
I've lost entire song sessions before.
Get a good backup system in place.
Jon:
I said no to mixing Dijon's debut album because I was super busy at the time and they didn't fit into my usual rate.
I loved the music so much, but it didn't fit into my rate.
I think he is one of the coolest artists.
It would have opened me up to a whole new avenue of clients that are adventurous in that same vein.
Matt:
I find the best way to recover and regain confidence is to just get back to making good stuff.
Make good art in the good times and in the bad times. Even if you have no direction.
Have a schedule and just go make thing.
Be impatient with action and patient with results.
Just put in the reps so that when an opportunity comes along you'll be ready for it.
