PHOTO : MICHELLE SHIERS
STUDIO A CONTROL ROOM AT MIX LA – NEW OCEAN WAY AUDIO PRO2A-S SURROUNDS ARE INSTALLED ON TRUSS
back to Dookie and listen to “ When I Come Around ” where it ’ s just kind of one guitar doubled , bass , and drums – the thing about it is , make it fill the space and give it some dimension ; you don ’ t have to throttle things to the rear or throttle into the front only , you can actually let them park their big bus in a bigger area and spread things out .
Like , you can keep your core kick and snare feel in the middle , and then spread it out around you a little bit with the overheads and rooms . So , there ’ s definitely some placement now on Idiot . There ’ s two stereo rooms and a couple of mono rooms , so even the drum placement can be spread a bit more so it ’ s not that twodimensional . But , as with anything I ’ ve found , in Atmos , once you unglue what people are used to , it starts to diminish the power and punch of the record , so you ’ ve got to be careful there . With American Idiot , I am working on it in the background as I learn what works best in Atmos for other records , so it ’ ll be a while before the band even hears it .
PS : How do you balance the varying feedback from artists , producers , labels , etc . when finalizing a mix ?
Lord-Alge : I find that perfect balance only happens when there ’ s a deadline – and it ’ s not anybody ’ s fault , it ’ s just that no one pays attention until it has to be done . I worked on a very big project recently , where I have the producer and the songwriter ’ s side of the story , and they ’ re the ones that are more active , right ? Because they ’ re the ones that we ’ re going back and forth with while I ’ m working on it . And then we have the band and their opinions – and this is a band where I ’ ve worked on every record with them . And then we have the label .
So , we have three sets of opinions ; I found that if I just wait it out until there ’ s a deadline looming , I know that in the last three days – where they have a hard deadline to make mastering – that everyone would respond in a timely manner . And I know it doesn ’ t sound correct , but that ’ s kind of the way it is ; if the record has to be delivered to a mastering lab , which is best to be delivered in parts by certain date , that last week is when it all gets done . It really does . If you start mixing it a month before – why ? With mixing , do it near the deadline ; the energy of that , that stress of delivery , I think is the way it gets done correctly . The days of a label being excited when you ’ re doing it are over ; they ’ re only excited when they need it , because they have other things to do .
And you know , I prefer to be in a place where artist , producer , and mixer – that trio – decide the outcome . And then when it ’ s all done , if an A & R person comes along and has some ideas , you look at those objectively – will they help ? Are they helpful comments ? Do they make sense , or not ? – or are they , no , you ’ re wrong ?
I think one of the best A & R people in the whole business is Pete Ganbarg from Atlantic Records . He ’ s been around forever , not necessarily warm and fuzzy , but guess what ? That ’ s the good part about it , is that he ’ s pretty much gonna hate it . He ’ s not gonna like it , he ’ s gonna have a comment , and you ’ re not going to like what he says . He ’ s gonna say , “ Oh , it sounds dark and boring ,” or this and that , but you know what ? That opinion may make you get your shit together and say , “ Oh , okay !”, and you may do a few broad strokes and it doesn ’ t change any interior parts , but it might fix it .
So , the simple answer to the question is that when you ’ re creating music , the producer , artist , and mixer – who know where
28 PROFESSIONAL SOUND