I few weeks ago, I had the incredible opportunity to attend Music Expo 2019 in San Francisco, participating as both a panelist and a moderator!
Music Expo had an incredible lineup of over 30 speakers, including multiple Grammy-winning producers, engineers, songwriters, music artists, and leading technology brands. Highlights of the weekend included a live drum production session, an in-depth songwriting workshop, a track deconstruction, an insider’s guide to streaming, and a full track devoted to analog recording!
At Music Expo, I was involved in three things. First, I was on a Panel of Producers and Engineers, hosted by Working Class Audio, with Matt Boudreau of Working Class Audio and other fantastic producers. Here, we all shared various stories and experiences we have had throughout our years working in the industry. We discussed the role of the producer, and how that role can be different from genre to genre or project to project. We also talked about how the producer is responsible for executing the artistic vision of the project, but also for making sure the record is something that is actually really good and will be a success for the artist.
Next, I moderated a panel with the incredible Piper Payne, Pete Lyman, and Dave Gardner. This panel is called “Mastering and Analog Formats”, so they’ll be talking about mastering for vinyl, and mastering for any other medium and format as well! Piper, Pete, and Dave all had some great insights to share when it comes to mastering in analog. Mastering for digital and mastering for analog are obviously very different processes, so they discussed how to avoid having issues with your master when you go to cut your track. If you want to cut to vinyl, you should have a consultation with the engineer ahead of time to make sure that your mix will actually be cuttable!
Finally, I also did my own talk where I shared all about The Fray’s You Found Me. I talked about the recording process for this record, played the multitracks and discussed the different experiences I had working with the band, all the different studios we were in, and everything else that went into making that record!
Check out the video below to see more of the panels and the great pieces of advice and the experiences that were shared there!