I am writing this surrounded by boxes of reel-to-reel tapes, LPs, 45s, cassettes, DATs and one MiniDisc. It’s organizing day, and I am packing up some items to return to their owners. I always enjoy the physical stuff - the smell, the feel, the look. I assume most mastering engineers are hyper-sensitive to sensory input (aren’t we??), and I definitely FEEL the aura of physical recording media when I’m working on it. I feel useful, informative stuff, like when a tape’s tension isn’t right, or when an LP might benefit from a tonearm adjustment for a better quality transfer. But I also feel the spirit of the recording, the people who gathered in a room and loaded up a tape and hit record. I don’t mean to get all spiritual with you. To be honest, this is coming stream of consciousness. But as we are all sequestered in our homes during the COVID-19 shutdown, it seems relevant to talk about our relationship to the STUFF we work on and how it informs our practice.

All of which is to say, I love the stuff. I love working with physical media and immersing myself in the full sensory experience. And I am grateful to be able to continue my work in my home studio, with my trusty ATR-102 and my loyal dog by my side.

A few recent mastering projects:

I have been working with producer/engineer Reto Peter and Flipsyde, and the songs they are creating together are so powerful! Full album coming soon…

Erroll Garner’s Gemini was selected to be Vinyl Me Please’s Classic Record of the Month for May. You can read more about the digitizing and remastering process in this article, which highlights the brilliant work done by Jamie Howarth and John Chester of Plangent Processes. I adore working with them and with producer Peter Lockhart on the Erroll Garner Reissue series out on Mack Avenue. Total dream team!

If you need to be transported to a sunnier place, please dig into this sunny reissue by Liz Damon’s Orient Express, out on Aloha Got Soul. I got to restored and remaster this one from original vinyl, and you know it had me out of my seat and dancing in the studio.

Equally transporting, Peter Davison’s 1980 debut album Music On The Way, which I lovingly restored from original tapes, and which was released by Light In The Attic. Peter and I also share a love of classic cars, it turns out!

I have to give a massive shoutout to the talented Matthew McNeal, who endured a hell of a year and transformed it into his deeply personal, emotionally moving album, Good Grief. Ted Young produced, engineered and mixed, and we all worked so well together I can’t wait to do it again!

Outside the studio (back when there was an outside the studio), I’m still rolling tapes for the Harry Oster collection at the Arhoolie Foundation (miss you guys!) and helping radio producers The Kitchen Sisters prepare their audio collection (over 10,000 items and counting!) for digitization and preservation. I had a blast teaching Mastering and Media Preparation at SAE this spring, even when we had to move our classes online. And, most recently, I’ve got something fun cooking with the Great 78 Project at the Internet Archive. More on that soon…

Finally, I am honored to have been elected as President of the San Francisco Chapter of the Recording Academy. My term begins in June, and I am genuinely looking forward to leading our chapter. MusiCares has been mobilizing to help musicians and music creators impacted by COVID-19, so if you are in need, contact them, and if you can donate to help replenish their funds, please do.

As always, be well and stay in touch!

Spring Quarantine