Unstoppable Recording Machine Podcast

Beau Burchell takes the reins for a discussion with producer/mixer/engineer Jeremy SH Griffith about strategies for becoming a well rounded audio professional. Jeremy has purposefully developed his career so that he’s involved in a wide variety of types of music, from worship music to heavy bands such as Norma Jean. In this episode, he and Beau discuss how his career progressed to get there, what it brings to the table, and the parts of his job that it makes more difficult. “I want to enforce the way that I feel about the songs, in a constructive way, but I don’t want to do it in a demeaning or a negative way anymore. Period.” - Jeremy SH Griffith ON THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT: - How Jeremy navigated the early stages of his career - The AllMusic credit struggle - The value of working in a variety of genres - Getting bands to come back for more - How does location affect opportunities? - Jeremy and Beau’s hybrid mixing approaches - And much, much more Thanks for listening! Leave us a comment or review! L

On this edition, we’re doubling your podcast value with a round table discussion with Nolly Getgood and Ermin Hamidovic. Nolly and Ermin have both been amazing contributors for URM, and it felt like a great time to have both of them back. This time out we’re really digging into the mixing/mastering relationship, learning to maximize focus, mental health and maintaining your well being, and answers to a number of your mixing and mastering questions. It’s a great conversation, that goes way beyond just audio and into topics that really apply to everyone. “I think there comes a certain point where, if you want to be a truly good producer, be very aware of the clients you’re working with and be aiming for whatever it is that’s their goal rather than your personal ones.” - Nolly Getgood ON THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT: - The relationship between Nolly’s mixing and Ermin’s mastering - Techniques for focusing - Nolly’s views on meditation - Maintaining mental health - Studio One - Devin Townsend’s vocal tracks -

Joey Sturgis provides the answers to your most pressing questions. Want Joey to answer your questions? Send them to joey@urm.academy with the subject line “Dear Joey.” The more detailed the better! “What we do as producers and engineers is not just pressing buttons and stuff; it’s being able to put together content and material in an artistic way. - Joey Sturgis ON THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT: - Business resources and phantom mentors - Guitar and vocal secret sauce - Getting more exciting DIs - Apple mastering tools - Getting mixes that translate well - And much, much more Thanks for listening! Leave us a comment or review! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mick Gordon, the composer and mastermind behind the soundtracks for Doom, Prey, Wolfenstein and a slew of other video games joins us to delve into his creative process. Efficiency, vigorous work ethic, and the ability to craft music that connects on an emotional level are elements that exist very rarely in one artist. Mick has achieved the level of success he has because he encompasses all these traits, and it’s great to have him on board for a discussion about what it takes to get to the top and how to maintain your health and sanity while doing it. “My biggest advice would be to really tap into how music makes you feel, not just the technicalities behind making the music.” - Mick Gordon ON THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT: - Coming up with a plan, and being able to alter that plan when needed - Mick’s blocking approach to work scheduling - Bludgeoning your way through projects vs. efficiency - How Mick got into the video game music industry - The importance of getting out of your studio - Writing music that

Kristian "Kohle" Kohlmannslehner joins us for a long awaited discussion about how to keep things fresh in extreme genres. It’s difficult to stand out from the crowd in extreme metal productions. Conventions often take precedence over experimentation. Kohle is certainly a producer that manages to bring originality to every production he touches. His perspectives on how to keep work fresh and avoid burnout, finding a production’s unique voice, and getting bands to be invested in finding new ways to do things make for some intriguing conversation. “If you keep on working and working and working you get lost and repeat yourself.” - Kohle ON THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT: - Producing vs. engineering extreme metal - Gaining client trust - Experimenting to find interesting character, rather than just “better” tone - Avoiding burnout through smart scheduling and varying your tasks - Layering guitar tones - And much, much more Thanks for listening! Leave us a comment or review! Learn more about your ad choices. Vis

Grammy nominated engineer and Pro Audio Files contributor Matthew Weiss joins the podcast for some genre bending discussion. Successful producers and engineers understand that there is a massive benefit to being well versed in multiple genres. Even if you’re working primarily in one genre, at least being aware of production techniques and career strategies that are more prevalent in other genres will pay off. Matthew is knocking out killer mixes in hip hop and edm, and his perspectives on career, audio, getting clients, and education are things you should listen to regardless of what you’re working on. “Working on getting work is 50% of my job.” - Matthew Weiss ON THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT: - How to approach “high risk” projects - Working on getting work - Tackling music on all fronts - Genre differences and universal truths - Pro Audio Files - Matthew’s tips for mixing hip hop and edm - And much, much more Thanks for listening! Leave us a comment or review! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit mega

Beau Burchell (Saosin) is taking over for this episode to provide all the answers to your audio questions. Want Beau to answer your questions? Send them to eyal@urm.academy with the subject line “Dear Beau.” The more detailed the better! “Sometimes the key to a great guitar sound is actually a cool drum sound that supports it. Or sometimes the key to making a muddy guitar sound great is maybe letting the bass take a back seat.” - Beau Burchell ON THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT: - Constructing a building for your studio - Beau’s interface recommendations - Axe FX tone tips - Beau’s approach to vocal tracking - And much, much more Thanks for listening! Leave us a comment or review! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Juan “Punchy” Gonzalez has tons of amazing insight from his time as a live audio engineer, tour manager, and overall renaissance man, and we’re stoked to have him on board to share some of it. There are some guys in various parts of the audio industry that just exude expertise. Punchy is one of those guys. From keeping your band safe, to sounding great on stage, to maintaining a reputation as someone that individuals in the industry want to work with, and on and on. He’s got enough nuggets of wisdom to fill fifty podcast episodes. “Those who have their shit together prevail.” - Eyal Levi ON THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT: - Union venues - Taking a musical approach to live sound engineering - Punchy’s basics for dialing in a room - Tour managing, and staying on top of the specifics of your touring situation - Band time management - Touring in foreign markets - And much, much more Thanks for listening! Leave us a comment or review! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Periphery drum god and entrepreneur, Matt Halpern, joins us for this episode to talk about successfully navigating the precariously shifting music industry. Matt’s approach to entrepreneurship is inspiring. A lot of people are paralyzed out of attempting new things due to fear of failure, but Matt’s problem solving approach to things means failure is just another opportunity to learn. We talk about the importance of taking risks, where the industry is heading, how to make smart entrepreneurial decisions, and a whole lot more. “I like taking risk. I like the opportunity to fail, because there’s always something to learn from that.” - Matt Halpern ON THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT: - Where the industry is going - Embracing the possibility of failure - Matt’s advice for keeping up energy while playing and avoiding wrist pain - Time management and “sprinting” effectively - Productivity as leisure - What to keep in mind when starting your own company - And much, much more Thanks for listening! Leave us a comment

On this special edition of the podcast Eyal and Joel dig into URM Academy’s first standalone course, Speed Mixing. https://unstoppablerecordingmachine.clickfunnels.com/get-speed-mixing-of “The entire thing is designed for you to get better and get better fast.” - Joel Wanasek ON THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT: - What you get with the Speed Mixing course - Why being able to mix quickly matters more now than ever - The value of reading the damn manual - Systemizing client interactions to ensure you keep your pace and get paid - Knowing when to trust your impulses - Templates - And much, much more Thanks for listening! Leave us a comment or review! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Producer/engineer/songwriter Dino Medanhodzic talks about what it’s like to walk between genres and how to kill it regardless. We got numerous requests from our Swedish listeners and many others to get Dino on here, and it’s easy to see why. It’s rare to encounter a producer that effectively works in pop and metal, but our discussion with Dino demonstrates how, if you build a rock solid foundation to your production principles, you can be more effective at pretty much everything that’s thrown your way. “Arrangement for me is everything. If the arrangement is horrible… I can’t fix that.” - Dino Medanhodzic ON THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT: - The studio as a way to combat introversion and anxiety - Dino’s approach to taming the high end - Recording drums and creating samples - Transitioning to Reaper - And much, much more Thanks for listening! Leave us a comment or review! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mary Zimmer is taking charge for this episode to answer all your vocal related questions. Want Mary to answer your questions? Send them to Eyal@urm.academy with the subject line “Dear Mary.” The more detailed the better. “The sickest screams are the ones that have the most correct technique.” - Mary Zimmer ON THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT: - Recommendations for producers that want to be able to communicate better with singers - The possibility of extending vocal range downward - Tips for dealing with vocalist insecurities - Vocal health guidelines - How mood and audience participation can affect performance - And much, much more Thanks for listening! Leave us a comment or review! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Joel Wanasek has the answers you need to make sure you stay #nosmalltime. Want Joel to answer your questions? Send them to Joel@urm.academy with the subject line “Dear Joel.” The more detailed the better! “A song, to me - a great song - is like a story.” - Joel Wanasek ON THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT: - Speed mixing - How to effectively promote your services - Approaching songs as stories that you’re crafting to maintain listener interest - Transitioning from an hourly to a day rate - Finding a commercial space for your studio - And much, much more Thanks for listening! Leave us a comment or review! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode, we’re getting super nerdy about gear with Josh Florian, the founder of JCF Audio. Josh and JCF have been putting out god-tier hardware for years. So, if we’re going to go down the gear talk rabbit hole there are few people that would be better suited From converter components, to signal chain simplicity, to what to prioritize if you’re planning on starting your own company, if you’re looking for some deep technical talk this one’s for you. “Make sure you read the god damn manual, and you’re not requesting of this device something that it’s not capable of doing.” - Josh Florian ON THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT: - Where to start with designing and building gear - Keeping your signal chain concise - Making intelligent gear purchases based on your usage - How various components can make surprising differences in gear - Why partnering with individuals that are skilled at things you’re not is important - The trend of DIY - And much, much more Thanks for listening! Leave us a comment or review! L

We’ve got the mix poll winners from Saosin month: Robin Leijon, Luke Edwards, and Ivan Aguilar here to answer your questions about what it takes to end up with a winning mix. Listen in on this discussion if you’re looking for insight into what goes on in the minds of Nail the Mix subscribers that produce solid results. You’re going to hear some philosophies - like not overthinking and spending too much time on a mix - that carry over to all 3 winners. Each of them also have some things that they do a bit differently that are pretty intriguing. “I want to step up my game so I can be as fast as Decker, because that was insane.” - Robin Leijon ON THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT: - Robin’s take winning multiple times and what he learned from the months when he didn’t even place - What all 3 did or didn’t do differently on months that they won - The most important things they’ve learned from Nail the Mix - Experiences when they thought they had a killer mix but didn’t - The most difficult things they’ve overcome

John Boecklin (Devildriver, Bad Wolves) talks about what it takes to be the type of musician that producers love having in the studio and musicians should strive to be. The song is what matters. We all know this, right? It’s been said countless times, but it can be difficult for many of us to set aside egos and actually put the song first. John is a guy that, by all rights, should have a huge ego; as if being a total badass drummer wasn’t enough, he also molded himself into an equally badass riff machine. But it becomes obvious when listening to him talk about it that he’s actually almost totally devoid of ego about it, because he approaches his craft to serve the song. “I could find problems in every piece of material I’ve ever written or done. And I think that’s an honesty that some people don’t have, but they should.” - John Boecklin ON THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT: - What it takes to be the go to guy for recording - Being honest with yourself about needing to work on your technique - John’s approach t

High powered entertainment attorney Eric German joins the podcast to answer your questions about legal issues in audio and music. Eric has an amazing mindset, and, beyond getting a peek into the mind of a lawyer, so much of what he says during this talk applies to people on all ends of the industry and beyond. We touch on topics from walking you through some of the legal hurdles to look out for to keeping youtube cover songs legal to philosophies for maintaining passion about your work. “People think that all they have to do is meet someone that’s connected, and that will take care of everything for them. That’s one of the biggest myths/fictions in music.” - Eric German ON THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT: - How Eric has maintained passion for music while building his law career - How to find an entertainment lawyer - Handling copyright issues related to doing covers - Producer agreements - The legalities of running a studio from your home - Why stories about “getting screwed” by labels usually aren’t as clea

Bill Hudson (Trans-Siberian Orchestra) opens up about this episode about overcoming alcoholism (and living in Nebraska) to achieve a long running, successful career that he’s passionate about. Bill has gone from being a bedroom shredder in Brazil to making his way to the U.S. to grinding it out in bands and almost sabotaging himself with drinking to playing in one of the biggest institutions in metal. His story is amazing, and there’s lessons to be learned from every step he took along the way. “Generally, none of these great opportunities come out of nowhere. They’re usually a result of a couple years or more of knowing people and working with them on smaller things and developing relationships until the bigger thing happens” - Eyal Levi ON THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT: - Bill’s experience growing up as a shredder in training in Brazil - Why you shouldn’t just hop on popular trends - The potential for alcoholism to damage careers - The opportunities that presented themselves when Bill started taking care

“Gone With The Wind” by Architects is the song for June’s Nail the Mix, and Henrik Udd is here to discuss the recording of Our Gods Have Abandoned Us, along with a ton of other priceless info. Henrik is an absolute monster of a producer. The results he gets are undeniable, and this episode provides a glimpse of mindset he has that’s allowed him to build the experience to get those results. We’re stoked to have him on board this month, and you should definitely listen in and absorb what he’s got to say. “To put together a template that you just pop tracks into, and somethng sounds incredible - like 90% of the way there incredible - that’s not normal. It’s not that easy.” - Eyal Levi ON THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT: - Henrik’s early days at Studio Fredman and working with Fredrik Nordström - His process working with Architects - Dealing with clients that don’t seem to care - The importance of templates - Henrik’s signal chains for Our Gods Have Abandoned Us - And much, much more Thanks for listening! Leave

Jesco Lohan takes over the podcast in this episode to drop some knowledge bombs. Want Jesco to answer your questions? Send them to eyal@urm.academy with the subject line “Dear Jesco.” The more detailed the better! “Our main job as mixers is to set the balance, and the better you get at controlling volume, at manipulating volume, at using volume creatively, the better your mixes will be.” - Jesco Lohan ON THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT: - Dealing with bass when you share walls with neighbors - Jesco’s workflow and mix prep tips - How acoustic treatment should be installed - Setting up a small recording isolation booth vs. recording in your control room - And much, much more Thanks for listening! Leave us a comment or review! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices