Live Shots

Producers: My Path to the Studio

Austin Convention Center, Saturday 17

Producers don't have it that easy, regardless of what anyone might think. If an album lays an egg, the producer winds up with at least part of the blame. If a band isn't happy with the final product, the producer is always to blame. And of course there's the turd-polishing, i.e. the more you polish a turd, the less there is left to polish. Saturday's panel brought together Steve Berlin (Los Lobos), David Lowery (Cracker, Sparklehorse, Counting Crows), Paul Ebersold (Slobberbone, Sister Hazel, 3 Doors Down), and Austinite Dave McNair (Kacy Crowley, Guy Forsyth) for a discussion of the producer's role in the world of 21st-century high tech studios. McNair dated himself right off by recalling that the mixdown tape of his first band's efforts was handed to him on 8-track cartridge, while Lowery reminisced about the first 4-track reel-to-reel he bought; it came from some police officers at a suspiciously low price. The four studio mavens were in agreement that the main things they look for from a prospective band are good songs to work with and a certain amount of preproduction, be it hearing the band play or listening to demos. There was some discussion of the advantages of modern technology like Pro Tools (an absolute godsend to 'N Sync, Britney Spears, and their ilk) vs. the old days of analog tape and tube gear. Things didn't really warm up until someone asked if record company A&R men help with the final product, getting a hearty laugh out of all involved (soon after, a real live A&R man piped up with some questions of his own … brave soul). At the end of the day, after all the pixie dust has been sprinkled over the project and the tapes are in the can, McNair had perhaps the most salient point of all: The band had damned well better be happy with the album, in case the record doesn't sell, the label goes under, or any of the other fates that can befall an album. It was an insightful look at the behind-the-scenes creative process of making an album, from producers with four distinctly different styles. In the end, it was David Lowery who had perhaps the best observation: "I highly recommend drinking with the band."