An evening at Oceanway with Jack Joseph Puig- what I learned
As part of my continuing series about my experiences in the world of music, I thought I would share a very profound moment in time I had with Jack Joseph Puig at Ocenway in L.A.
I want to reiterate that I’ve never deserved any of the great things I’ve experienced in music, and my hope in writing these things is to give some of you a peek behind the curtain in hopes that it might inspire, reassure, or even light a fire under your ass that you can do it- I’ve been so, so lucky and blessed and I hope you will at least find the reading fun if nothing else.
On a selfish note- it’s therapy for me,
The year was 2002, I was working at a management company after my Columbia artist days were over. We had a band that was recording with Jack Joseph at Oceanway in Los Angeles.
I flew with the band’s manager to meet with another band that we were courting for management, and while we were there we got to drop in on the band’s session.
I knew who JJP was, and of course, I knew about Oceanway, but after the experience with Chris Lord-Alge, I wasn’t as nervous as I would have been otherwise.
Ocean way has a really cool vibe- it’s very artsy I would say- it’s kind of like a really cool old school steak-house in terms of the lighting. There are of course plaques everywhere, and you can really literally and palpably feel the history that has taken place inside these walls.
We’re not sure if the band might actually be tracking, so we wait in the lobby while the receptionist goes back to check on the session- finally she comes back to the lobby to escort us back.
In maneuvering back to the main tracking room, I can tell this place is very different than Chris Lord-Alge’s studio- of course the purpose of CLA’s room is mixing, and here at Oceanway the room is for tracking as well- but, I mean the overall appearance and vibe is “looser” I would say.
As we enter the main room, I see a gentleman with long hair wearing all black, hunched over a guitar amp in the tracking room. I could sense that this person must be Jack Joseph because everyone was keenly interested in what he was doing, and the room literally just stood still while he worked.
As we made our way in, greeting the band, JJP turned to see who had just come in and interrupted their session. I know now that JJP is all about vibe, and here we are- THE FEDS- busting in on a moment in the legendary Oceanway, interrupting a master at work- I immediately felt uneasy- like I wanted to slink back out to the lobby.
I should say here, having been on the other end of this scenario- the manager and label folk just busting in on a session really is a drag, and different types of people deal with it differently. CLA might have just said we’ll see you guys in an hour when we come to a pause- ?My response as the artist was to disappear and let the FEDS talk with the producer (I am a social phobe and loathe confrontation)
JJP’’s response was of a third variety- the ol’ I’m- actually kind- of- pissed- that- you’re- here- right-now- but- I’m- going- to- turn- that- energy- into- a- very-, very- positive- social- response- because- we- need- each- other- as- allies- in -this- situation- thing.
You know the type of response I mean.
I try to see if I can pinpoint what some of the boxes are while the manager, band and JJP go through the usual social niceties.
In peering through the glass into the control room, I’m immediately drawn to the sheer volume of stuff packed in there. There are lots of lights and meters- it has a very mystical look about it-
We make our way into the control room. JJP proceeds to hold court, almost like we are at a campfire- with enthusiasm, be begins to explain in detail what they are going for, why the are doing certain things in terms of sounds and arrangement, etc…
He is very articulate and he is speaking my language- describing sounds in terms of emotion. I could listen to him talk about music all day. I can see why he is who he is- it was very inspiring- This is was in stark contrast to working with CLA, who while no less a genius, had few words about the content of the song, or the why’s behind the sounds- it just was what it was- and… it was a beautiful thing!
I’ll note here that I was not a huge fan of the band’s music, but after this rousing soliloquy I was now intensely curious to see what this crazy dark wizard could do with their music. JJP rolls tape-
What I am drawn to is the feeling of being in a temporary cocoon of suspended emotion. It’s hard to explain, but I would say that JJP’s mix drew me in as if I was going into some sort of hobbit lair. It’s as if he is telling a story with the auditory presentation. The beginning of a childhood story book, opening each page as the song progresses.
It’s not as sonically impactful as what I heard coming through CLA’s monitors, but it’s greatly compelling none the less.
It just simply feels right. We finish listening to the song.
I hear stirring behind me-
Many times guys in bands have the attention span of a gnat, and it wasn’t long before the band scattered out into the tracking room to tinker with their respective instruments. The band’s manager followed the singer to have what seemed like a private conversation in the hallway.
It was then that I got a chance to spend a couple of minutes in the control room with Jack Joseph Puig-
The thing that he said, that has stuck with me and greatly informed how I approach recording and mixing is this-
“The irony of my job is that these labels pay me to recreate the band’s f-ing demo”
I laughed- but he was owl-eyed with intensity-
“No- I’m serious- we go through all of this pageantry and effort in this big studio, and all everybody really wants is the feeling they got from the band’s demos”
He continued-
“That’s why they got signed in the first place right?- the emotion that came through in the demo-“
If you’ve had the chance to read my thread on working with Chris Lord-Alge, you can imagine how shocking these statements were to someone who had just been through what I had been through with CLA and my record-
Neither approach is wrong or right- it’s just, here is one of the most successful mixer/producer/engineers in the known universe in Jack Joseph Puig, telling me something that is basically the polar opposite of what I experienced just two years before- and still, I knew at once, that JJP was right!
It’s not that CLA isn’t about emotion in mixing- I don’t mean that at all- It’s just what I took from what JJP was saying was- “I don’t sweat all the technical stuff but I do sweat whether or not we captured the essence of the band as presented in their demos” Almost implied there- that as long as the sonics don’t suck, I’m focusing almost exclusively on the feeling and story. In my opinion, you have to be pretty confident with that approach to be that successful in the world of big radio- JJP was rightly confident.
How this has impacted me in the studio is that rather than focusing on sonics first, I focus on elements that are right- and I will move hell and high water to fit them into a mix-
If you listen to the mix JJP did of Sheryl Crow’s “Safe and Sound” I think you get a sense of what I mean here- it’s an auditory story book-
JJP is super focused on the singer and the story.
The band Big Wreck has a song called “That Song” on their album “In Loving Memory”- The bass guitar almost seems absent, yet when I want to get amped up for something, I crank “That Song Up” never get tired of hearing-
The song California by Semi-Sonic- it’s the same thing- it’s a little bit of a quirky mix, but it just sucks you in and wraps a warm blanket around you-
I love that- and I try to bring sonic goodness to whatever I’m involved in- but I need to FEEL something, and I need to be drawn into the story book-
Now some bands you might want to punch the listener in the face with sheer power, but I still think you want to draw them into the experience of listening.
Now- if I work with an artist, or even with my own songs, I start with those words “everybody just wants the feeling they got from the band’s demo”
That’s why I make people send me actual demos- I need to know what comes bubbling out of them when no one else is looking-
Thank you Jack Joseph Puig-
As part of my continuing series about my experiences in the world of music, I thought I would share a very profound moment in time I had with Jack Joseph Puig at Ocenway in L.A.
I want to reiterate that I’ve never deserved any of the great things I’ve experienced in music, and my hope in writing these things is to give some of you a peek behind the curtain in hopes that it might inspire, reassure, or even light a fire under your ass that you can do it- I’ve been so, so lucky and blessed and I hope you will at least find the reading fun if nothing else.
On a selfish note- it’s therapy for me,
The year was 2002, I was working at a management company after my Columbia artist days were over. We had a band that was recording with Jack Joseph at Oceanway in Los Angeles.
I flew with the band’s manager to meet with another band that we were courting for management, and while we were there we got to drop in on the band’s session.
I knew who JJP was, and of course, I knew about Oceanway, but after the experience with Chris Lord-Alge, I wasn’t as nervous as I would have been otherwise.
Ocean way has a really cool vibe- it’s very artsy I would say- it’s kind of like a really cool old school steak-house in terms of the lighting. There are of course plaques everywhere, and you can really literally and palpably feel the history that has taken place inside these walls.
We’re not sure if the band might actually be tracking, so we wait in the lobby while the receptionist goes back to check on the session- finally she comes back to the lobby to escort us back.
In maneuvering back to the main tracking room, I can tell this place is very different than Chris Lord-Alge’s studio- of course the purpose of CLA’s room is mixing, and here at Oceanway the room is for tracking as well- but, I mean the overall appearance and vibe is “looser” I would say.
As we enter the main room, I see a gentleman with long hair wearing all black, hunched over a guitar amp in the tracking room. I could sense that this person must be Jack Joseph because everyone was keenly interested in what he was doing, and the room literally just stood still while he worked.
As we made our way in, greeting the band, JJP turned to see who had just come in and interrupted their session. I know now that JJP is all about vibe, and here we are- THE FEDS- busting in on a moment in the legendary Oceanway, interrupting a master at work- I immediately felt uneasy- like I wanted to slink back out to the lobby.
I should say here, having been on the other end of this scenario- the manager and label folk just busting in on a session really is a drag, and different types of people deal with it differently. CLA might have just said we’ll see you guys in an hour when we come to a pause- ?My response as the artist was to disappear and let the FEDS talk with the producer (I am a social phobe and loathe confrontation)
JJP’’s response was of a third variety- the ol’ I’m- actually kind- of- pissed- that- you’re- here- right-now- but- I’m- going- to- turn- that- energy- into- a- very-, very- positive- social- response- because- we- need- each- other- as- allies- in -this- situation- thing.
You know the type of response I mean.
I try to see if I can pinpoint what some of the boxes are while the manager, band and JJP go through the usual social niceties.
In peering through the glass into the control room, I’m immediately drawn to the sheer volume of stuff packed in there. There are lots of lights and meters- it has a very mystical look about it-
We make our way into the control room. JJP proceeds to hold court, almost like we are at a campfire- with enthusiasm, be begins to explain in detail what they are going for, why the are doing certain things in terms of sounds and arrangement, etc…
He is very articulate and he is speaking my language- describing sounds in terms of emotion. I could listen to him talk about music all day. I can see why he is who he is- it was very inspiring- This is was in stark contrast to working with CLA, who while no less a genius, had few words about the content of the song, or the why’s behind the sounds- it just was what it was- and… it was a beautiful thing!
I’ll note here that I was not a huge fan of the band’s music, but after this rousing soliloquy I was now intensely curious to see what this crazy dark wizard could do with their music. JJP rolls tape-
What I am drawn to is the feeling of being in a temporary cocoon of suspended emotion. It’s hard to explain, but I would say that JJP’s mix drew me in as if I was going into some sort of hobbit lair. It’s as if he is telling a story with the auditory presentation. The beginning of a childhood story book, opening each page as the song progresses.
It’s not as sonically impactful as what I heard coming through CLA’s monitors, but it’s greatly compelling none the less.
It just simply feels right. We finish listening to the song.
I hear stirring behind me-
Many times guys in bands have the attention span of a gnat, and it wasn’t long before the band scattered out into the tracking room to tinker with their respective instruments. The band’s manager followed the singer to have what seemed like a private conversation in the hallway.
It was then that I got a chance to spend a couple of minutes in the control room with Jack Joseph Puig-
The thing that he said, that has stuck with me and greatly informed how I approach recording and mixing is this-
“The irony of my job is that these labels pay me to recreate the band’s f-ing demo”
I laughed- but he was owl-eyed with intensity-
“No- I’m serious- we go through all of this pageantry and effort in this big studio, and all everybody really wants is the feeling they got from the band’s demos”
He continued-
“That’s why they got signed in the first place right?- the emotion that came through in the demo-“
If you’ve had the chance to read my thread on working with Chris Lord-Alge, you can imagine how shocking these statements were to someone who had just been through what I had been through with CLA and my record-
Neither approach is wrong or right- it’s just, here is one of the most successful mixer/producer/engineers in the known universe in Jack Joseph Puig, telling me something that is basically the polar opposite of what I experienced just two years before- and still, I knew at once, that JJP was right!
It’s not that CLA isn’t about emotion in mixing- I don’t mean that at all- It’s just what I took from what JJP was saying was- “I don’t sweat all the technical stuff but I do sweat whether or not we captured the essence of the band as presented in their demos” Almost implied there- that as long as the sonics don’t suck, I’m focusing almost exclusively on the feeling and story. In my opinion, you have to be pretty confident with that approach to be that successful in the world of big radio- JJP was rightly confident.
How this has impacted me in the studio is that rather than focusing on sonics first, I focus on elements that are right- and I will move hell and high water to fit them into a mix-
If you listen to the mix JJP did of Sheryl Crow’s “Safe and Sound” I think you get a sense of what I mean here- it’s an auditory story book-
JJP is super focused on the singer and the story.
The band Big Wreck has a song called “That Song” on their album “In Loving Memory”- The bass guitar almost seems absent, yet when I want to get amped up for something, I crank “That Song Up” never get tired of hearing-
The song California by Semi-Sonic- it’s the same thing- it’s a little bit of a quirky mix, but it just sucks you in and wraps a warm blanket around you-
I love that- and I try to bring sonic goodness to whatever I’m involved in- but I need to FEEL something, and I need to be drawn into the story book-
Now some bands you might want to punch the listener in the face with sheer power, but I still think you want to draw them into the experience of listening.
Now- if I work with an artist, or even with my own songs, I start with those words “everybody just wants the feeling they got from the band’s demo”
That’s why I make people send me actual demos- I need to know what comes bubbling out of them when no one else is looking-
Thank you Jack Joseph Puig-
An evening at Oceanway with Jack Joseph Puig- what I learned
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