David W. Hewitt: On the Road (book)

Subtitled “Recording the Stars in a Golden Era of Live Music,” this book follows the mobile recording career of the esteemed engineer David W. Hewitt. With early days at The Record Plant in New York and later his own company, Remote Recording Services, David helped modernize the remote recording business in a time where live concert multitracking required a truck full of multiple tape decks, a console, and a lot of cabling. Truly working in the “golden age,” Hewitt recounts his career from the late ‘60s to now – the classic rock era through the advent of MTV – from The Eagles, Aerosmith, Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young, and Pink Floyd to U2 and Madonna. This book follows David all across North America (and even Europe!), working in a wide variety of genres on live tracking dates and many broadcast events (Oscars, NY Met, King Biscuit), with stories about all the characters and pitfalls that came with his job. It’s a slightly uneven read, with a bit of repetition at times due to the way the memoir has been structured, and people like us would certainly have preferred more “Tech Alert” additions to the book, but Hewitt’s warmth and professionalism shine through, and help us recall the true vibe of working in an era we will never see again.