Episode 78 - Jon Castelli

Jan 11

Show Notes

Live with Matt Rad - Episode 78
Jan 11, 2022
w/ Jon Castelli - Week 65

Networking, Seeking Opportunities, and Self Promotion

Jon:
I’m trying to be more proactive this year by actively seeking the type of gigs that I want to be involved in, instead of sitting back and taking the work that comes to me naturally from people who already know my work.

Matt:
No matter what level you’re at, if you want to do exactly what you want there needs to be a certain level of entrepreneurship and hustle to achieve that.

Even if you’re at the very top you need to seek these opportunities out.
I don’t know many top-end producers/engineers who are top-tier creators and top-tier networkers at the same time.

Jon:
I’ve recently realized, why don’t I also reach out to producers in order to foster a mutually beneficial relationship?

I need to learn to understand that I have things to offer that others want and that I shouldn’t shy away from events that feel like they’re overtly networking. I’ve typically felt uncomfortable around this.

I want to get over my feelings of surprise when people like what I do and feeling reluctant about putting my talents out there and knowing that I have something great to provide for people.

Matt:
It feels contradictory to promote yourself and ask for work that you feel passionate about. Often because this feels “bull-shitty” to do.

I pursued an artist by sharing his IG stuff every time he would post something new. This was my way of pursuing him and introducing myself.

I hit him up in the DM’s and hit up his management.
I pursued this project as if I was a fan.
Even if all you have to offer is love then that’s a powerful thing.

Nowadays I can’t respond to every DM, because there are too many. Instead I have to prioritize the people who are giving to the community and showing love in other ways.

The self-promotion game is uncomfortable for most of us.

Jon:
I think I conflate self-confidence as arrogance, so I’ve historically shied away from displaying confidence.

That’s a fine line to walk, but now I need to tread that line and see what results it brings me and how people respond to it.

Matt:
You should treat people the same whether they can do something for you or not.

As long as you’re coming from a place of love and appropriate confidence most people will interpret it in the right way. That said, there will always be a few people who interpret in the wrong spirit, but you cannot please everybody.

Jon:
There’s very few things I enjoy more than mixing records. I’m coming at this from a place of love and bringing all of my skill and energy to my work. So why shouldn’t I be bringing this to the projects that I love and desire the most?

I never do New Years resolutions. Instead I think of my birthday as the New Year in which I re-orient myself.

Q: How was your holiday? Did you guys go on Pro Tools much, or not at all?

Jon:
I didn’t work at all from Dec 20th until last week. So I took 2.5 weeks off.

This is how it usually works out for me as a mixer.
I usually take this time to reset each year and then re-enter the work hard once it starts up again.
My two week vacation to Paris earlier last year was the only two week trip I can recall ever having taken.

Matt:
Normally when the holiday come I get excited about out-competing everyone else.

When everyone else is out at Coachella or at The Grammys I take it as an opportunity to get some more work in and compete harder.

Jon:
My goal this year is to read my first Dostoevsky novel. I’m currently reading The Brothers Karamazov.

Someone I respect said “If you haven’t read this novel then you can’t be a complete human.” That felt bold to me, so I thought I’d give it a go.

I’ve spent the last two years reading non-fiction, so I figured it’d be a good way back into fiction.

Q: Have there been any projects that you felt you had to leave due to creative differences?

Jon:
Yes. A few projects at the end of 2021. They liked the rough and I thought that rough was the worst thing that they could’ve been putting out.

Once I got the sense that I was not a good fit for the project, then I gracefully bowed out and it felt good to do so.
Once you know you’re not right for the job, then it’s a good idea to bow out and not waste someone else’s money.

Matt:
This is a very hard thing to do, even when you’re successful, but if you can do it it can be a very beautiful gesture.

As soon as you can do things where you have enough money to turn down jobs, then that’s a beautiful thing to do.

If you don’t love something then you’re not going to do very good work.

Jon:
I like to listen to the song and ask for the session to determine if the sonics that are already committed are going to prevent me from doing what I believe needs to be done.

If you go into mixing a record thinking that they’re going to like or love what you bring to the table, that’s the only thing we can bank on.

If they don’t agree with that vision, then that’s fine.

Matt:
Before working with an artist or a manger I will ask to meet with them ahead of time and hear the entire record before I commit to it.

This is a lot of work up front, but it’s worth it. These projects can often require months of commitment, so you have to know that it’s the right fit before you commit to it.

If you have to say no you always want to leave on a good note.

Some producers like Pharrell are much more vision-driven and bring their own artistic goals that can drive a project if the artist doesn’t already know what it needs to be.

Q: Regarding the new The Weeknd album (Dawn FM). How can we achieve 1980’s arrangements with modern loudness?

Jon:
I was developing an artist years ago who was doing the exact same 1980s sounds as The Weeknd.

The Roland TR-909 is already pretty fat
The DX7 and Roland stuff from that era already sounds pretty good
I think that in the 80s, people were turning up the high end so much that it was giving the records this tinny, overly bright, sound. That was more of a post-production effect.
I love the DX7 ‘Rubber Bass’ preset.

I don’t think that there’s much to do to those sounds except for adding more low-end and warming up the sound.

Matt:
This was also the era where people seemed to be moving away from tube mics and towards FET style equipment.

Those records were missing some of the tube/tape midrange squishiness.

Jon:
Some people believe that the because cocaine was the drug of choice in the 80s it had an effect on the sonics. It dulled people’s senses and thus they overcompensated with excessive high-end.

Regarding The Weeknd’s record, this is as good as mixes get in this modern pop context. It sounds very good.

Serban’s style is very compact and has a lot of movement going on.
My only issue is that none of it sounds innovative. It’s more of a throwback and sounds pretty similar to those touch point records like Pet Shop Boys and Depeche Mode.

I’m still waiting for a record to come along and rock my world with it’s sonics.

I love the Dawn FM concept.

The 80s were bold and this record has several bold moments that sound great. But I think there could have been more.
The Swedish House Mafia drums on the record are the best I’ve heard in a while.

Matt:
There’s a real vision with this album.

These days this is less common because there are other interests that may steer the direction that records are taking.

One of the great Kanye quotes: “Trend is always late.”

Q: When in your career should you

Matt:
We did two episodes on the music business: Episode 25 and 26. You will find our answers there.

Q: Any advice for people with tinnitus?

Matt:
We’ve discussed this a lot on the LWMR Discord and two episodes ago with Teezio.

Q: Any good alternate monitors to PMC, which are out of my budget?

Matt:
The Live with Matt Rad Discord server is a great place to discuss this. A link to it can be found on this website and on the LWMR Instagram account.

Q: Do you use use a slap delay on vocals?

Jon:
Not often, but I just did it on a Macklemore song using the Valhalla Delay.

I tend to keep it mono, maybe with a little width or sending it to an H3000 for width.

Q: Discrete vs/ shared reverb sends on vocals? Do you use one for each vocal, or do you have a single verb you use for all vocals?

Matt:
Generally I like to not have too many verbs swimming around, so I keep it simpler.
- The more you can achieve with fewer ingredients or moves the better you are.

Jon:
I’m more of an “every mix is different” kind of person.

I’m a big fan of duplicating a track and messing with a reverb on that separate track.

I turn up the reverb wetness to 100% and then balance the level of the duplicated channel with a fader to get the appropriate amount of wetness.
This is a less-conventional approach
When you duplicate you have to do it with all plugins on, to reduce plugin delay compensation issues that create phasing with the duplicate channel.

I only have abt 4-5 effect sends on my template: 1/8th delay, 1/4 delay, 1/2 delay, H3000 spreader, Seventh Heaven Reverb.

Quite often they don’t get used:
5/10 times none of these sends are used.
7/10 times only the reverb gets used
2/10 times I’ll add delays with them.

I’ll often put a delay on the background vocals instead of using my template sends.

Q: I’m a producer, artist, and engineer and am overwhelmed. Help!

Matt:
It’s okay to feel overwhelmed at first.

Just start collaborating with people and doing everything and then you’ll eventually decide what skills to outsource to others and which ones you don’t want to be involved in doing.

Bradley Will