Bob Weston & Jason Ward: Chicago Mastering Service

BY LARRY CRANE

Neil Brockbank: w/ Nick Lowe & Geraint Watkins

BY PETE WEISS, JOHN BACCIGALUPPI

Neil Brockbank is part of a dying breed of true pros. For the past few years he has been traveling with celebrated songsmith Nick Lowe on Lowe's solo tours, tirelessly wearing the hats of driver, guitar tech, soundman and tour manager. I had a chance to accompany Brockbank while he did live sound on a couple of Lowe's U.S. shows, and witnessed an artful engineering "performance" — equal parts choreography and improvisation. Neil knows Nick's songs back to front, and is able to deftly ride the vocals and instinctively add subtle flourishes of echo and reverb as needed. It always serves the song and enhances the audience's experience. The musical care offered every night was admirable to be sure. Though he has a great deal of live sound experience, the U.K.-born-and- bred Brockbank is certainly no stranger to the studio. He's done records with some of the greats from both sides of the Atlantic like Bryan Ferry, Tanita Tikaram, Alison Moyet, Tres Chicas, Geraint Watkins, Tift Merritt and Linda Thompson. And it's Brockbank's astonishing work with Lowe, starting with 1994's The Impossible Bird, up to 2011's The Old Magic, that have garnered high praise for his natural, timeless recorded sound. I met up with Neil and his cohort Bobby Treherne (a producer in his own right and longtime drummer with Nick Lowe, Van Morrison and others) in the Camden Town neighborhood of London, over beers at the Princess of Wales pub.

Dave Jerden (bonus): Really Wrong Productions

BY GONZO SANDOVAL, JONATHAN SAXON

Dave Jerden has engineered, produced and mixed some of the most cutting-edge, ground breaking records in studios all around the world. Just take a listen to his engineering and mixing of Brian Eno and David Byrne's My Life in the Bush of Ghosts, Talking Heads' Remain in Light and Herbie Hancock's Future Shock. As an engineer, he has worked with some of modern music's greatest producers such as Bill Laswell, Michael Beinhorn, Brian Eno and Steve Lillywhite. Jerden is a technical master, unconstrained by conventional thinking and confident yet humble. As a producer he has helped artists like Public Image Limited, Jane's Addiction, Alice in Chains, Social Distortion and The Offspring make stunning records. Currently, he co-owns Tranzformer Studios in Burbank, California, with his long time engineer Bryan Carlstrom (Tape Op #28). The studio is managed by Annette Cisneros (who has also engineered alongside Jerden and Carlstrom for many years) with assistant engineer duties going to John Nuss. Dave Jerden and I sat in the patio lounge at Tranzformer Studios for a pleasant conversation covering a multitude of topics.

Doug Haire: A Life of Sounds & Places

BY CURTIS SETTINO

Doug Haire has been a staff engineer (a rarity these days) at Jack Straw Studios in Seattle since 1990. He's recorded just about every kind of music and engineered countless live radio performances. When he's not in the studio he heads outside, listening for interesting sounds and locations to record. These recordings then became the basis for audio compositions, musique concrète mash-ups, if you will. On top of all that he's a super nice guy who was a pleasure to interview.