Episode 52
Show Notes:
Live with Matt Rad - Episode 52
May 4, 2021
w/ Jon Castelli - Week 47
Show notes by: Bradley Will
Matt:
A big part of being a music professional is being able to deliver on last minute requests.
Those are often the most important moments to come through in.
There is something about music that is different from just about any other art form.
There is something tense and unrefined and immediate about it
Its easy to overproduce or overcook things
Music has an energy that thrives off of tension. This can produce something much more spontaneous.
Jon:
There are so many more typos in music than you’ll see in a book.
When you’re editing too deeply in music it sterilizes it and makes it feel cold.
Those “mistakes” are the things that we love about music.
Matt:
You’ve got to let the creative environment take precedence over the perfect recording environment.
Q: How do you navigate friendships in the biz?
Jon:
Everyone that I’m really tight with has been someone I’ve met through music.
You’re going to meet a lot of people in your life and you’re going to be able to count on one hand who you can count on.
There’s a clear distinction between when someone hits you up for things outside of music. And that’s up for you to decide on how to engage.
As a mixer I now want to be friends with you and to work with you.
Chris Tabron coined the phrase “fast friends”: The people who you immediately feel a rapport with and want to have in your life from the jump.
Matt:
A career in music is irresponsible.
For people outside of the industry it doesn’t make sense because they’re not in it. For this reason we tend to befriend more people who understand what we do.
Transactional friendships can be a positive thing. They’re not necessarily negative, as they’re often portrayed.
There is also a certain degree of emotional sharing and openness in the job of music that you may not encounter in other, more corporate, jobs.
Jon:
There are two kinds of people when it comes to trust:
1. Those who are inherently trusting of others initially, and don’t make a correction until there is a transgression against them.
2. Those whose trust that has to be earned.
Jon identifies as the first kind of person and Matt identifies more as the second type.
Matt:
I’ve made a very concerted effort to make friends with people who are specifically outside of the music world.
These people are in spaces outside of the industry and have their own creative pursuits.
It is an antidote to making records that keeps him from being bored.
It allows him to get out of his comfort zone and his space.
We can’t relate to the nuts and bolts of each other’s industry, but we can relate creatively.
Jon:
I make the effort to say things like “I don’t want to talk about music.” I want to be able to discuss things outside of the business.
There’s got to be more to you than just making hit records.
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Jon:
I’m trying to back up from being a workaholic.
By default, weekends are off, unless it’s a project that I really, really, want to do or a relationship that I really want to maintain.
I really enjoy sharing with others. To curate events or night with others.
I’m socially anxious, but I love to host. Cooking can be my respite from the social component if I need it.
The act of cooking is not an act of selflessness.
It’s beneficial for others, but it also provides me a place/role to retreat to when I wish to excuse myself.
I want to be social, but I tend to isolate. So I will also be preparing a dinner, so that if all else fails and I begin to feel awkward or anxious we can fall back to enjoying the meal.
To others the meal feels selfless, but to me it’s a selfish act because it provides something to fall back on so that I’m comfortable in the space.
Matt:
These talks are beneficial to everyone, but we are also benefiting from them.
Q: How do you know if your stuff sounds good? What makes a record sound professional?
Jon:
It depends on what reaction you’re getting from other people.
Do people like it?
Where does it fit in comparison to other wide releases?
There is room to be bigger than, smaller than, more mono than other songs out there.
Q: What if everyone around you don’t know music and you have the best opinion, but you still don’t know?
Jon:
You don’t have the best opinion. The people who don’t know music have the best opinion. They’re going to give you their visceral honest opinion on how it sounds. So take their feedback with a grain of salt and translate that into a way to make a beneficial change.
Matt:
An anecdote: People have asked Mike Shipley “Why doesn’t Mutt Lange still make records that sound as “good” as they did in the 80s? Now he’s making clean, sterile, Pro Tools records. Why is that?
“Mutt Lange doesn’t care what you, me, or he thinks. He cares what the receptionist thinks. He’s trying to make records for millions and millions of people.”
Do you like the way it sounds and do other people like how it sounds? That’s what matters.
————
Jon:
Do everything you can to preserve transients.
Jon Studio Tour:
Jon gives a guided tour of his space. Watch the video interview starting at 0:49.
Matt:
There is a misconception that you need to cover all of the walls in a large space. Jon is not doing this in his space and it still sounds good.
Q: What are some practices one can apply for ear training?
Matt:
The best way to train your ear is to learn an instrument and play song.
Learn a song that you really love to play and then learn it in every key.
Jon:
I used to listen to records and read biographies of producers to try and understand what was done and why it was done in the making of those records.
Ear training for me was practicing sonics.
Q: What do you think about trying to recreate a song as closely as you can?
Matt:
That’s great practice. If I heard a beat that I really liked, I would devote 4 hours to sit down and recreate it as closely as I can.
Jon:
Early on, if I had free time, I would remix a song again and again to practice.
