The next monthly meeting of the AES Los Angeles Section will trace the progress of making a record all the way from the writing of a song, its pre-production, basic recording and ‘sweetening,’ through the mixing and mastering.
Rather than focusing on the role of the ‘Guy Wearing the Producer’s Hat,’ the panel discussion will pay special attention to the skill sets necessary for each link in the chain, and how technology has dramatically blurred these elements. And how a growing number of people are mastering the art of recording to produce their own material.
The meeting, which will be held at the Sportsmen’s Lodge in Studio City on 29 November, is open to AES members and non-members. The Section will also hold a Demo Derby of new material. Attendees are invited to bring an anonymous recording for evaluation by the panel of experts. The panel comprises:
Peter Doell is one of the world’s best-known mastering engineers. Previously, he has served as a first-call engineer at LA’s most prestigious studios, including Universal Mastering Studios, Capitol Recording Studios, Sony Pictures Entertainment and Sunset Sound. His session clients include Frank Sinatra, John Waite, Celine Dion, Peter Erskine, Miles Davis, Toto, Dwight Yoakam, Marilyn Manson, Ray Charles, Marcus Miller and Sheryl Crow. Additionally, he has worked on numerous feature film scores, including Mascots, Road To Perdition and Black Hawk Down, and mastered the music for prominent TV productions such as Empire, The Voice and American Idol. He is also host of the newly-minted IPTV series Inside the Star Chamber.
Jack Douglas began his musical career as a composer and arranger; then became a Grammy Award-winning engineer and record producer. Though one of the first graduates from New York’s famed Institute of Audio Research, his was a humble start (janitor) at New York’s Record Plant Studios. His career began in earnest as an engineer on The Who’s Who’s Next, followed by recordings with Miles Davis, The James Gang, Alice Cooper, Cheap Trick, and then producing the Grammy-winning Album of The Year, John Lennon’s Double Fantasy. He continues to produce music for such artists as Supertramp and Aerosmith.
Shelly Yakus is co-founder and chief engineer at AfterMaster Audio Labs. He has engineered and mixed recordings for some of the world’s best known artists, including John Lennon, Stevie Nicks, Alice Cooper, Van Morrison, Tom Petty, Dire Straits, Blue Oyster Cult, Bob Seger, Amy Grant, Don Henley, U2 and Madonna. Widely respected for his expertise in recording-studio design, acoustics and audio processing, Shelly co-designed and operated the industry-leading A&M Records Recording Studios in Los Angeles; he was previously VP of the Record Plant Recording Studios in New York, and VP of Engineering of QSound Labs. The music that Shelly has engineered, produced, or mixed reportedly has grossed over US$1bn in sales, and in 1999 he was nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
CJ Vanston is an accomplished composer, producer, arranger, songwriter, keyboardist and mixer/engineer. He has produced a wide range of artists, including Toto, Joe Cocker, Def Leppard and Spinal Tap; he has also arranged and played keyboards for such artists as Prince, Ringo Starr, ‘NSync and Chris Botti. As a film and TV composer, he has composed music for Christopher Guest’s projects, including the recently released Netflix movie Mascots, along with Waiting For Guffman, Best In Show, Almost Heroes, For Your Consideration and HBO’s Family Tree. He has also been musical director/keyboardist on world tours in 33 countries with Tears For Fears, Joe Cocker, Tina Turner and Spinal Tap.
Founder of The Bakery, and a professional studio violinist, Eric Boulanger skill set regularly takes him from the studio to the stage. A classically-trained violinist since the age of three, with more than two decades of experience, he has trained at such renowned institutions as The Juilliard School, Manhattan School of Music and Tanglewood. While performing behind the mastering console, he has mastered Grammy Award-winning and nominated works for such artists as Colbie Caillat, OneRepublic, Hozier, Eric Burdon, Imagine Dragons, Neil Young, The Plain White T’s, Chris Botti, Amos Lee, Serena Ryder, The Doors, Olivia Newton John, Rufus Wainwright and Sarah Jarosz. In 2015 he opened The Bakery located on the Sony Pictures lot in Culver City; his work on Rachel Platten’s ‘Fight Song’ earned Platinum certification.
