I’ve had the privilege of contributing to the works of prominent label artists throughout my career. However, I’m passionate about spotlighting exceptional independent bands I’ve either collaborated with or had the pleasure to engage with for recording, mixing, or both. Working alongside bands that exhibit the drive to incorporate a producer or engineer to enhance their sound is truly gratifying.
Allow me to showcase some of the remarkable bands I’ve had the pleasure of collaborating with: Holloys, Ironaut, PEEK!, The Lost Weekend, Fuzz Evil, Zach Jones, Billy Rubens and the Elevated Enzymes, LEWIS, 900 Pound Gorilla, The Lost Chorus, Cemetery, The Electric Ferrets. Each of these experiences has been enriching, contributing to the diverse tapestry of music I’ve been fortunate to be a part of.
My enthusiasm for discovering and collaborating with more bands is unwavering. If you’re an aspiring band seeking a producer/engineer to help bring your music to new heights, I’m always open to exploring potential collaborations. Don’t hesitate to reach out if you believe our collaboration could be a harmonious fit.
Back in 2010-2011, the underground music landscape was un-aware there was a potential for a new Despise You record. A decade had passed since the groundbreaking release of Westside Horizon. Phil Vera and I found ourselves electrified by the mere prospect, a surge of excitement sparking as we swiftly charted our course toward Dave Bianco’s studio- Dave’s Room..
The studio buzzed with an electric energy as we geared up for this monumental venture. Rob Alainz’s drums took center stage between his two sets of hi-hats one left, one right and a tumult of broken cymbals. Chris Dodge’s bass was dialed into a punchy, bacon-sizzle sound, and Phil Vera’s guitar, a Peavey Butcher in harmony with my Marshall JMP, was the sonic linchpin that tied it all together for tracking live.
Locked in and ready to unleash, we embarked on two intensive six-hour sessions—a whirlwind where time seemed to bend around our creative fervor. All along working around Bianco’s mixing schedule, we captured lightning in a bottle. Twenty-five songs (20 ended up on “On and On…”) erupted from our collective energy, each one a testament to the raw, unfiltered passion we poured into every note and beat.
What emerged was beyond expectation—pure, unadulterated angst and ferocious energy. The recording sessions forging 20 of these tracks into a sonic embodiment of the visceral emotion that is Despise You. Collaborating with Phil and the band was an adrenaline-fueled rush, an artistic synergy that left a mark on each of us.
This collaboration with Phil Vera turned out to be more than just a studio endeavor. Our creative camaraderie and our continued relationship around recording prompted him to throw my name into the production hat for the Seattle band, Filth is Eternal.
Filth is Eternal’s “Find Out” is an especially important record for me because it was created by young, focused, and talented musicians who are expressing their experience of the world through their music. Filth is Eternal has a brand of visceral heaviness that brings me back to my days of destruction as the guitarist of punk/metal band Amen. Screaming out their angst, Lis D’Angelo’s lyrics are nearly austere in their emotive passion and intensity. The (often underground) venues full of punks lucky enough to absorb this experience are striving to find meaning and a stake in this crazy world.
Lis and crew deliver full on burners of eclectic and dark landscapes and critics are on board.
On their third album, Seattle punk band Filth Is Eternal rips through 14 songs in a lean 29 minutes, leaving only scorched earth in their wake. They’re adept as ever at sledgehammering their way through rapid-fire hardcore workouts, but on Find Out, they’re doing it with more nuance and melody than ever before.
-Brad Sanders, Album of the Day, Bandcamp
Somehow, it’s even more thrilling than what’s come before.Compared to the brutalist rapid-fire of 2020’s Suffrage and 2021’s Love Is A Lie, Filth Is Eternal, the increased polish on Find Out only sharpens its serrated cutting-edge, and by the time the unhinged Last Exit careers into relatively epic closer Loveless, any doubts will have been carved to bits.
With 14 tracks blurring by in well under half an hour with zero fucking around, of course, you’re left wanting more. But that’s the point. Filth Is Eternal, and they’re still just getting started.
-Sam Law, Kerrang!
For as much as I love Filth is Eternal’s early years, it feels like Find Out marks a true maturation past those former limits while still employing that early D-beat sound to get its point across when necessary. It’s less an unbreakable tenet for the band and more an employable tool, like a set of brass knuckles they can put on at any point. Shit, they don’t even have to hit you with them either, the presence is likely enough to set the tone just as they do on stage when they perform. Find Out is great, and could be named as such as a premonition of sorts to listeners that we will find out what they’re capable of with this album.
Seattle band Filth is Eternal has signed with label MNRK HEAVY and launched a brand new single, Crawl Space, from the record Find Out.
I produced, engineered, and mixed the album last year. As a band, Filth is Eternal which includes Brian McClelland (Guitars), Rah Davis (Bass), Emily Salisbury (Drums) and Lis Di Angelo (Vocals) is important on many levels. They are actively involved in their community and do their best every day to shine a light on the causes that matter to them. On Find Out their new album due September 29th 2023, they lay down a fresh sounding and brutal foundation of pummeling drums, guitars, and bass for DiAngelo. Their voice and lyrics illuminate the grinding, dynamic angst that defines the origin of underground hardcore and grunge. Pulling from personal experience and knowledge of the scene and their world, Filth has honed a brand of heavy music that has no intention of shaking off the dark gloomy skies of the Pacific Northwest.
As Will Navidson of REVOLVER says:
Seattle quartet Filth Is Eternal have their roots in the crusty hardcore and grindcore scene, but on their latest single, “Crawl Space,” the Seattle band lean into their hometown’s most famous sound: grunge. The result is a rip-roaringly infectious punk-rock anthem and the group’s first release for their new label, MNRK Music Group, as well as the lead single off their upcoming LP, Find Out.
Produced, engineered and mixed by Paul Fig for MNRK Heavy “Crawl Space” Directed by: Marcy Stone – Francois
And it’s finally here! Today marks the release of Jerry Cantrell’s solo album, Brighten;his first solitary effort since Degradation Trip Volumes I & II in 2002. We started working on the new album in fall of 2019. Alice in Chains had just wrapped up their Rainier Fog tour and Jerry got in touch and said, “I’m starting a solo record; let’s work on demos”.
We started work immediately. This involved a lot of time in Jerry’s home studio riff mining and teasing ideas into full songs. After several quick bouts of pre-production work, we got into the studio on March 5 of 2020. Between the 5th and the 8th, we tracked the drums then from the 9th to the 20th main electric and acoustic guitars at my studio Dave’s Room. Then Covid-19 messed up all our plans (along with the rest of the world’s).
Jerry and I decided we could stay safe if the two of us worked in his home studio, so we set up there for tracking vocals and our co-producer, Tyler Bates, would often swing by listen and explore ideas. Jerry is one of my very favorite artists to work with and Brighten is the fourth album we have recorded together. Needless to say, at this point we have a really effective creative process. Granted, the process includes making sure the cats aren’t meowing during a vocal performance, taste testing homemade salsa (not in the studio), and rolling dice, but when you hear the album, you’ll appreciate that all of these elements are important!
So, Jerry and I, taking our time, spent close to four months recording lead vocals and harmonies, as well as guitar solos and “flavor” guitars that we missed in the studio. As the tone and feeling of the album started to take shape, Jerry knew he wanted to include a cover of Elton John’s Goodbye. Vince Jones arranged and performed the piano, keys, and strings and we recorded the song in November 2020. Jerry sent the rough mix to Sir Elton who replied that Jerry’s version was beautiful, giving his whole-hearted approval to include it on the album.
In addition to Vince Jones, we had several other incredibly talented artists contribute to this project including Duff McKagan, Gil Sharone, Abe Laboriel Jr., Michael Rozon, and Greg Puciato singing backups and harmonies. Once we were ready to mix, I suggested (Evil) Joe Barresi, who really brought the record to the next level.
I’m extremely proud of this album. It showcases a different side of Jerry’s songwriting skills and highlights his signature harmonies. The guitar tones we built, the way we captured the vocals, and really the overall SOUND of the record make it an outstanding album, and one of the best I have contributed to.
Sometimes I get asked to work on projects that aren’t my usual heavy or hard rock, or, psychedelic, garage or alternative; I always appreciate working with cool artists that are extremely talented creative songwriters – that’s what it’s all about.
A while back, Jim Scott asked me to help him to work with someone he was producing. Of course, I always jump at the chance to work with Jim when I have the time. It’s a great opportunity to learn from one of the best in the industry. The artist was Lauren Monroe. I was immediately impressed with her voice and also came to admire her direction, conviction, and her creative songwriting. Lauren’s sound is organic, classic sounding rock, with her powerful voice delivering insightful lyrics and the kind of beautiful melodies that I rarely get to witness.
Lauren Monroe released the “Big Love” EP in July of 2020 and a full LP “Under the Wolf Moon”in February 2021. If you have not heard her music, please give pour a glass of wine and pull up a comfy chair so that you can take a break from the grind and really listen.
available on all streaming platforms or visit: https://laurenmonroe.com/
A little while back an old friend of mine from high school, David Martin,asked if he could refer someone from Arkansas to me for help with his “studio and music stuff”. I’m always game to hear music and meet new people, so I agreed to talk. Well, it turned out that what this guy really wanted was help with music he had already recorded – he needed someone to listen, critique, and mix. I asked him to send me what he had so that I could listen and get back to him. Well, after clearing my ears of a few back-to-back projects, I finally had a chance to dive into his repertoire. I’ll admit, I had some “Arkansas” preconceptions that might have made me a little skeptical about what I would be hearing, but the more I listened to the rough mixes Billy Ruben and the Elevated Enzymes sent, the more intrigued and enthused I became. By the time I had listened through a few times, I was pretty fired up by the well-crafted, high-energy, garage-rock-psychedelic amalgam Billy and crew had come up with. These tracks remind me of early Richard Hell, Stooges, Scene Creamers, and The Cramps… and I had to ask, “tell me what I can do to help!” The reply was that the band was looking for a mix engineer –and given the groovy stuff I was hearing, I was ready to get in there and shake/sharpen/some stuff up (or I jumped right in, I signed right on). First I needed to chisel down the list of eleven songs to four and create an interesting cross section of what Billy Rubens and the Elevated Enzymes are. To me these were the first of the bunch to introduce the world to.
I’m going to share “EP 1” with you. It’s a boisterous journey through 4 songs with Billy Ruben and the Elevated Enzymes. These four tunes will take you through the landscape of their imagination and remind you of how much fun music can be.
Finally! After months of teasing us with just a couple of tracks at a time,
AFI has released Bodies, their newest effort since the Missing Man
EP.
This super talented quartet has created a high energy, diverse collection of songs. Together with Adam, Jade and Hunter I worked to get some awesome drums recorded for this album at my studio, Dave’s Room.
The band returned to the studio In May 2021 and tracked live for a special Daniel P. Carter BBC Radio 1 Session.
As Elana Chris says for Alternative Press:
“Make no mistake: Bodies brings with it serious divergences from the AFI we last heard in 2018. But divergence is precisely where they thrive. The record, though far-reaching, is hardly a haphazard attempt to reclaim the spirit of the ’80s. Rather, it’s a carefully curated exhibition of the band’s diverse inclinations. Now 11 albums into their tenure, they refuse to stagnate. Where their creative process leads, they follow with utmost enthusiasm and commitment, favoring self-loyalty over arbitrary confines of genre. The new era is beckoning—will you hear it?”
Here is a fun tune I had the chance to mix for Phil demmel and crew.
as Blabbermouth.net says:
March 8, 2021
Former MACHINE HEAD and current VIO-LENCE guitarist Phil Demmel has teamed up with singer Russell Allen (SYMPHONY X, ADRENALINE MOB, TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA), drummer Stix Zadinia (STEEL PANTHER) and bassist David Ellefson (MEGADETH) to record a “quarantine” cover version of the DOKKEN song “Tooth And Nail” as part of Phil‘s series “Collab-A-Jam”.
Phil uploaded the video to his YouTube channel, writing in an accompanying message: “Me and Stix has been wanting to jam on something for awhile and finally had the opportunity on one of my favorite tunes from this era.
“STEEL PANTHER took over the [MACHINE HEAD] practice gear in Germany after our sets at the Rock Am Park Festival in 2012 and were slaying a bunch of DOKKEN covers. This had to be one we did.
“I had realized that Dave hadn’t guested on a [‘Collab-A-Jam’] yet so he was a no-brainer. Dave and I have the same mind-set as things go and he’s one of my favorites in the business. Always quick with the tracks and loves to get things done.
“Russell was the final piece and came through big. Such a huge talent and gave the song all the sprinkles.
“Paul Fig has been such a rad connection through all of this and beefed up our mix while Wayne Marsala is always on point with the vid edits.
I tracked all the drums for AFI’s new album “Bodies” at Dave’s Room. I’m really looking forward to hearing the entire record when it comes out this June (2021).
Last month, AFI announced that they’d be releasing their 11th studio album later this year and dropped a pair of new tracks, “Twisted Tongues” and “Escape From Los Angeles.” Davey Havok then confirmed that the album would be called Bodies on a podcast earlier this month, and the band has finally set a release date for it of June 11 (via Rise Records).
In addition, AFI just released two more tracks, “Looking Tragic” and “Begging For Trouble,” as well as a new video for the former. Both tracks will also be included on a limited edition seven-inch ahead of the album release.
“Twisted Tongues” “Far Too Near” “Dulceria” “On Your Back” “Escape From Los Angeles” “Begging For Trouble” “Back From The Flesh” “Looking Tragic” “Death Of The Party” “No Eyes” “Tied To A Tree”
