Elvis Costello sits down with Gear Club for a career-spanning conversation, from the tiny London room where My Aim Is True was recorded to the unpublished Bob Dylan lyrics he helped finish decades later.
Record of the week: Red Eyes
John Agnello and Stewart Lerman kick off this Record of the Week with The War on Drugs' Red Eyes, off 2014's Lost in the Dream. They trace the two-year process behind the track (six or seven different studios), break down the harmonic choices that give it its unique feeling, and swap stories about how they each got hooked on Adam Granduciel's band in the first place.
#105: Elvis Costello: 49 Years of Records, Producers & Studio Secrets
Elvis Costello sits down with Gear Club for a career-spanning conversation, from the tiny London room where My Aim Is True was recorded to the unpublished Bob Dylan lyrics he helped finish decades later.
Record of the week: Surf's Up
This week, we take a look at the acclaimed Surf's Up by The Beach Boys. In 2004, the album was included in Rolling Stone's "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" and ranked 61 on Pitchfork Media's "The Top 100 Albums Of The 1970s".
#104: The History Of Eventide with Founder Richard Factor
In this episode we present the history of Eventide, makers of revolutionary audio products for over 50 years, as told by founder and owner Richard Factor. Eventide's history stretches back to 1971, but Richard was tinkering with audio electronics well before that, paving the way for some of the first Eventide products.
Record of the week: Peaches en Regalia
In this Record of the Week, John and Stewart dig into "Peaches en Regalia" by Frank Zappa, the opening track from his 1969 masterpiece Hot Rats. They break down the recording techniques Zappa used across the album and how those techniques shaped one of the most celebrated instrumentals in rock history. Along the way, John shares his own story of accidentally reinventing the same trick decades later, and why Hot Rats still sounds like nothing else ever made.
Record of the week: Fat Old Sun
This week: Fat Old Sun by Pink Floyd. John & Stewart hone in on production techniques used to create the piece, and dissect the wacky, experimental nature of this song in Atom Heart Mother in comparison to later Pink Floyd albums.
#103: Pearl Jam, Lollapalooza, and Life in the Studio with Tom Beaujour
This week on Record of the Week, we dig into one of the most overlooked and mysterious songs connected to The Band: “Out of This World,” tucked away on The Last Waltz Suite.
Record of the week: Out of the Blue
This week on Record of the Week, we dig into one of the most overlooked and mysterious songs connected to The Band: “Out of This World,” tucked away on The Last Waltz Suite.
#102: Rick Chertoff: The Producer Behind Cyndi Lauper, Joan Osborne & Decades of Hit Records
In this episode John and Stewart sit down for a chat with friend and mentor Rick Chertoff. Rick is a Producer and songwriter whose career started in A&R for Clive Davis's newly minted Arista records in 1974.
#101: Tad Kubler: In the studio and on the road with The Hold Steady
This time, we had the chance to visit Restoration Sound, the Brooklyn studio built and run by producer and engineer Lorenzo Wolff. Lorenzo showed us around the new control room, his collection of instruments, and of course, the “ego wall.”
#100: 100th Episode Extravaganza: Shocking Moments with Lennon, Prince, Bob Dylan and Studio Legends
For our centennial episode, we took a trip down memory lane and revisited all the interviews we've shared over the years. We gathered some of our team’s favorite moments—stories that inspired us, moved us, and reminded us why we love making this show.
#99: From Taylor Swift & Lauryn Hill to Helping Brooklyn Artists | Lorenzo Wolff at Restoration Sound
In this episode, I sit down with Grammy award-winning producer, engineer, musician, studio owner, and cool name having Lorenzo Wolf. We talk about his work on Grammy-winning albums, his ongoing work with Ms. Lauryn Hill, his unique approach to record-making, and the process of producing his own music.
Updating Punk Classics: Ed Stasium Talks mixing the Ramones, Talking Heads Using Eventide Plugins
Recently, we caught up with Ed Stasium about remixing classic albums from The Replacements and Talking Heads and his dive into the world of immersive audio. In this clip, Ed walks us through remixing the Ramones catalog in Atmos and how he used Eventide’s immersive plugins to both stay true to the original recordings and bring them to new life in the spatial audio arena.
Zopa: Diamond Vehicle
In this episode, John sits down with ZOPA to listen through the album and give us a behind the scenes look at the recording, songwriting, creative process, and gear that went into this fantastic record.
Ketchup with Ed Stasium
In this episode, John catches up with Ed about his recent work on records from the Hoodoo Gurus and The Dictators, remixing Tim by The Replacements and outtakes from Talking Heads: 77, and his latest immersive audio projects.
Ketchup with Kevin Killen
In this episode, I sit down with Grammy winning producer and engineer Kevin Killen. We first interviewed Kevin in episodes 46 and 47, where he talks about his career in recording studios from Dublin to NYC, and working with Peter Gabriel, Kate bush, U2, Elvis Costello, and a host of others. If you haven’t already, go check ‘em out. Since then, Kevin has moved to his personal studio, and is teaching as an adjunct professor at the NYU Clive Davis Institute and Steinhardt School. He’s also been busy working with the likes of Tony Levin and Cara Dillon, and recording drum sample packs for Toontrack at Peter Gabriel’s Real World Studios. Listen in as he catches us up on all of it.
#98: Working for Prince
In this special episode, we pay homage to an artist who’s a Member of the rock and roll hall of fame, has won Seven Grammys out of 38 nominations, sold over 150 million albums worldwide, with three of those in the Grammy hall of fame. In their almost 40-year career they’ve played almost 1500 concerts, released 38 albums, have a supposedly endless vault of unreleased material, and have nonetheless remained an enigma. We’re talking about the one, the only, Prince. Listen in as we talk to the engineers who worked most closely with Prince in the studio on seminal albums across different eras of his wide-ranging career. There are amazing stories, pivotal moments, and behind the scenes insights into the work and personality of an artist very few people got to know up close and personal.