Page 85 - Blues Festival Guide Magazine 2018

John Shipley

A producer manages all the details of making a recording
– from advising on song arrangements, to booking the
studio, to budgeting project costs, to assembling engineering
staff and studio musicians, to supervising the recording and
mixing process – as well as providing the guidance and
support to bring out an artist’s best talent and sound.
A message for artists: don’t waste your time and
your money by NOT hiring a producer! Booking time in
a professional recording studio can be an expensive
proposition, and if you don’t know what you are doing, you
can easily spend a lot of money. Many musicians think all
they need to get their material recorded is their band, their
material and the in-house recording engineer. This can work Jim Pugh, hard at work hard at work for the Little Village Foundation at Kid Andersen’s
Greaseland Studios. Photo by Robby Yamilov
but remember one thing: the in-house engineer works for the
studio and is usually on an hourly salary – he wants you to Jim Pugh
spend as much time as possible recording your project.
A good producer can budget your time while you Growing up outside Chicago, my childhood friend,
concentrate on your project. He (or she) will also negotiate Peter Dammann, had a sister who was a freshman at the
the best deal for your budget, with the studio of your liking. University of Chicago. Somebody nicked her Chicago Blues
Your producer will know which microphone will make you Today records, and after school we’d play them over and
sound the best, which outboard processing will enhance the over again. It was 1966 and I was 12 years old. I scoured
sound of your tracks and how to get the mix to best display the album cover and noticed that Samuel Charters produced
your talents. all three volumes. I had no idea what a producer did then.
Music producers help an artist take their music through In a way, I have no more of an idea now, but here’s my two
the entire recording process, refining and defining their cents.
sound. They have the ability and the ears to get a great In recording, it seems there are five major areas of
sound onto tape and then guide the artist through the involvement: singer, songwriter, musician, engineer and
mastering and replication stages of getting music onto CD. producer. There are some, like Raphael Saadiq, who are
A producer knows what a hit sounds like and how to create so gifted that they can do all five at the same time. I love
that sound. to sing but I’m no Etta James, so I’m mainly concerned with
the other four areas. I have been a songwriter, musician,
John Shipley is a producer, pianist, conductor, arranger, engineer and producer all at the same time on a session. I
songwriter and recording artist. He is also the president don’t recommend it. It’s important to separate yourself from
of the Reno Musicians Union and has toured with artists the different functions. If I’ve written the song, I have to forget
such as the Funk Brothers. about that when I’m playing it; I want it to be just another
Learn more at www.shipleymusic.com piece of music that I’m playing. So too with producing. If I
wrote the song, I have to separate myself from being the
player and also in evaluating the song and its performance.
For me, recording has to be fun. Sure, it can be serious, but
it shouldn’t be tedious.
Doing too many of these components at once can be
tedious, so get someone to help you. An artist should focus
on what they do best, and ideally a producer can help
with those other components. Recording music involves
teamwork where everyone fulfills a needed function in order
to get the maximum performance with the desired sound
and ambience.
As an organ player, I’ve had a chance to play on
John Shipley, owner of Washoe Zephyr Music. recordings produced by guys I really admire. I’ve come
Photo by Makena Lee Photography

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