Bobby Owsinski's Inner Circle Podcast

I’ve had so many great guests over the 10 years and nearly 500 episodes of my inner circle podcast. I always enjoy revisiting them, as I hope you do as well. One of the best is from back in 2016 with hit mixer Josh Gudwin. Josh has mixed huge hits for Justin Bieber, Bad Bunny, and Dua Lipa, among many others, and has won 12 Grammy’s for his work. He’s also worked with Acoustica on the Magic Flow vocal plugin. During the interview we talked about starting out as a studio intern, the diplomatic aspects of dealing with superstars, recording on the road with Justin Bieber, his approach to mixing at the time of the interview, and much more. var podscribeEmbedVars = { epId: 92201343, backgroundColor: 'white', font: undefined, fontColor: undefined, speakerFontColor: undefined, height: '600px', showEditButton: false, showSpeakers: true, showTimestamps: true };

My guest today is award-winning sound supervisor, sound designer, and mixer Scott Gershin, who’s audio work has enhanced a variety of different visual mediums in film, broadcast, streaming and games. Some of Scott’s vast credits include major films like Pacific Rim, Hellboy 2, Chronicles of Riddick, Team America: World Police, Shrek, Star Trek, and American Beauty, and best-selling games like the Gears of War series, Epic Mickey, and the Resident Evil and Fable series. Scott has a talent for creating personalities with his voice, which has been tapped for such memorable movie characters such as Flubber, Disney’s Herbie, Reapers in Blade II, The Dragon in Shrek, Kirchek in Tarzan, Leather Back in Pacific Rim, and Dog Fish in Pinocchio, to name just a few. During the interview we spoke about how much time it takes to generate deliverables for a movie, how he records sound effects like rocket launches and helicopters, what qualifies as great post-production, the difference in the mix between movies and television, how much gaming is different from other visual mediums, and much more. I spoke with Scott from studio in Burbank. On the intro I’ll take a look at YouTube copyright strikes, and Ai noise-canceling headphones. var podscribeEmbedVars = { epId: 91447815, backgroundColor: 'white', font: undefined, fontColor: undefined, speakerFontColor: undefined, height: '600px', showEditButton: false, showSpeakers: true, showTimestamps: true };

My guest today is Bill Smith, who spent most of his career as a recording engineer and mixer before transitioning into audio archiving (you can hear him talk about recording and mix in Episode 160). Bill started at United Studios Archiving in 2020 until the company that owned the legendary studio decided to close it earlier this year. Since then Bill has started his own archiving business where he uses an unbelievably wide range of mostly obsolete machines over just about every format you can think of. During the interview we spoke about the preparation normally required before a tape can be transferred, his favorite type of clients, the thing about archiving that most people don’t realize, a surprising format that he gets calls to restore, and much more. I spoke with Bill from studio in Hollywood. On the intro I’ll take a look at modified streaming tracks, and how old is too old to be a hit artist. var podscribeEmbedVars = { epId: 91302197, backgroundColor: 'white', font: undefined, fontColor: undefined, speakerFontColor: undefined, height: '600px', showEditButton: false, showSpeakers: true, showTimestamps: true };

My guest today is Nichole Barsalona, who’s the director of Everyday Rebellion Entertainment artist management and the president of the non-profit Women In Music organization. Nichole grew up around music as her father Frank was a pioneering agent later inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. His clients included The Who, Led Zeppelin, Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band, Tom Petty and U2, among many others. Her mother June was a journalist who traveled from the U.K. at the age of 18 to cover The Beatles’ first U.S. tour and later worked as a music publicist. Nichole started her career at Steven Van Zandt's multi-media company, Renegade Nation, where a week-long temp gig turned into the most formative years of her career. She eventually served as Chief of Staff and Director of Communications at Renegade Nation, and Road Manager to Van Zandt on tours with Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band. During the interview we spoke about how she observed her father’s influence on the music business as she was growing up, how we’re at a turning point for music promotion, the importance of meet and greets, the most sought-after person on a management team today, her role in Women In Music, and much more. I spoke with Nicole from her office in Boston. On the intro I’ll take a look at the status of claims that the Copyright Claims Board reviewed last month, and big changes in the executive suite of Guitar Center. var podscribeEmbedVars = { epId: 90904524, backgroundColor: 'white', font: undefined, fontColor: undefined, speakerFontColor: undefined, height: '600px', showEditButton: false, showSpeakers: true, showTimestamps: true };

My guest today is country music singer and award winning professional songwriter Drew Ryder Smith, who’s also the owner of Gray Sound Recording in Nashville and Charlotte NC, working as a producer and senior mixing engineer. Drew is also the author of The Before You Record Course, which prepares new artists for their first recording session and walks them through what goes into making a record, imparting knowledge gleaned from 15 years in the business. During the interview we spoke about how songwriting has changed in Nashville, doing remote recording in India, prepping artists for going into the studio, the difference between NYC, LA and Nashville session players, opening for Merle Haggard at the Ryman Auditorium, and much more. I spoke with Drew from his hotel room in Charlotte. On the intro I’ll take a look at the competing bills for radio airplay royalties, and the Las Vegas Sphere’s ground-breaking sound system. var podscribeEmbedVars = { epId: 89361801, backgroundColor: 'white', font: undefined, fontColor: undefined, speakerFontColor: undefined, height: '600px', showEditButton: false, showSpeakers: true, showTimestamps: true };

Over the nearly 500 episodes of the Inner Circle I’ve had some incredible guests. One is the legendary engineer Elliott Scheiner, and this special replay is from way back on Episode 51 in April of 2015. You certainly have heard Elliot's work as he’s been instrumental in the sound of The Eagles, Steely Dan, Eric Clapton, Jackson Browne, Sting, Foo Fighters and too many others to mention. He’s received 27 Grammy award nominations winning 8, four Emmy nominations and winning two, and a host of other awards for excellence in the field of audio recording. During the interview we spoke about the various stages of his studio life, from his early days at A&R Studios in New York City, going from 4 track to 8 track, his mixing method, the difference between working with Steely Dan and The Eagles, and much more. Remember that this interview was done back in 2015 so some of his comments about digital audio workstations and plugins are no doubt different today. I spoke to Elliott via phone, so the quality is a little shaky, but not the content. var podscribeEmbedVars = { epId: 89276221, backgroundColor: 'white', font: undefined, fontColor: undefined, speakerFontColor: undefined, height: '600px', showEditButton: false, showSpeakers: true, showTimestamps: true };

I’ve had so many great guests on the Inner Circle Podcast, and it’s aways great to go back and revisit some of the best interviews. One is with Don Roeser, better known as Buck Dharma, lead guitarist and and one of the founders of the band Blue Oyster Cult, in an interview for podcast 227 back in 2018. Buck wrote and did the lead vocals on the band’s best known hits, including “Don’t Fear The Reaper,” “Godzilla,” and “Burnin’ for You.” During the interview we talked about the early days of the band when it was known as Soft White Underbelly, his best studio experiences, the evolution of his home studio, and much more. I originally spoke with Buck via Skype from his home in New York. var podscribeEmbedVars = { epId: 89209830, backgroundColor: 'white', font: undefined, fontColor: undefined, speakerFontColor: undefined, height: '600px', showEditButton: false, showSpeakers: true, showTimestamps: true };

Over the almost 500 episodes of the Inner Circle podcast I’ve had some excellent guests that are true legends in the music business. One is the late Al Schmitt, who unfortunately left us in 2021. Al won 20 Grammy awards over his long career, recorded and mixed over 150 gold and platinum albums, and even had his own star on Hollywood’s Walk Of Fame appropriately in front of his beloved studio home, Capitol Records Studios. In this replay from November 2018, we talked about his stint as a staff producer for RCA, working with Paul McCartney, his favorite instrument to record, some of his favorite gear and techniques, and much more. I originally spoke with all via phone from his home outside of Los Angeles. var podscribeEmbedVars = { epId: 88753248, backgroundColor: 'white', font: undefined, fontColor: undefined, speakerFontColor: undefined, height: '600px', showEditButton: false, showSpeakers: true, showTimestamps: true };

My guest today is Jesper Skibsby, the CEO and founder of radio monitory service WARM - the first global radio monitoring service focusing on serving the artists and indie segment of the music industry. WARM track and identify music played on radio, globally and in real-time. The vision behind WARM is to make detailed music data available to everyone, especially the long tail segment of artist, producers, managers and record labels. Jesper has established companies like Fandango Music Management, We Make Noise and Kassiopeia Kollektive, has been a board member of DUP (association for independent record labels in Denmark), and has represented MusicDNA as the head of Scandinavia. During the interview we spoke about why radio metrics are overlooked by indie artists yet so important, why radio is still the biggest driver of music consumption worldwide, how the internet has actually boosted radio music listening, and much more. I spoke with Jesper via Zoom from his office in Copenhagen. On the intro I’ll take a look at what the Songtradr acquisition of Bandcamp means, and why super-long albums don't fit with today's music consumers.

My guest today is composer / plug-in developer Sam Fischmann from the plugin company Musik Hack. Musik Hack is the brainchild of both Sam and Grammy-nominated producer and engineer Stan Greene. Their first product is the innovative mastering plugin Master Plan. Sam is a seasoned software developer whose portfolio spans audio/DSP, Web development, and embedded systems. He’s obsessed with building creative, functional, major-label-quality products that don’t look like airplane cockpits. During the interview we spoke about getting the most from the Master Plan plugin, the different audio needs for different music genres, trends in plugins, how Ai will be used in plugins in the future, and much more. I spoke with Sam via Zoom from his office in Los Angeles. On the intro I’ll take a look at the latest RIAA mid-year report, and inMusic begins to lay off Moog Music employees. var podscribeEmbedVars = { epId: 88607375, backgroundColor: 'white', font: undefined, fontColor: undefined, speakerFontColor: undefined, height: '600px', showEditButton: false, showSpeakers: true, showTimestamps: true };

My guests today are Evan Dhillon and James Paston, two of the founders of the Ai voice cloning service Kits Ai. The company has launched tools for artists to safely create, license, and share their own voice models, opening new opportunities for fan engagement and monetization. Kits Ai has amassed over 100,000 users since launching, with their voice cloning technology training more than 80,000 custom voices based on the conversion of over a million audio files. They’re also backed by investments from a number of organizations and artists that include Steve Aoki, Lionel Richie and Wyclef Jean. During the interview we spoke about some unexpected uses for vocal cloning, new revenue opportunities from using the platform, why the user interface is so important, and much more. I spoke with Evan and James via Zoom. On the intro I’ll take a look at how playlist culture is affecting songwriting, and the unseen costs of analog recording. var podscribeEmbedVars = { epId: 88464205, backgroundColor: 'white', font: undefined, fontColor: undefined, speakerFontColor: undefined, height: '600px', showEditButton: false, showSpeakers: true, showTimestamps: true };

My guest today is Los Angeles session guitarist Andrew Synowiec, ,who has recorded for or performed with artists ranging from music industry icons The Who and Alanis Morissette to contemporary trailblazers like Lil Nas X and Meghan Trainor. Other recent collaboration credits include Nick Jonas, Ariana Grande, Michael Bublé, Elton John, Seal, 98 Degrees, Josh Groban, Donna Summer, Bette Midler, and Carole King, among many others. Andrew has performed on projects that have garnered more than 30 Emmy nominations, 25 Grammys, and 20 Oscar nominations. He also boasts a guitar collection of over 100 guitars. Andrew’s latest album entitled FUN, is now available, and he’ll being touring the West Coast soon as well. During the interview we spoke about changing gear to get into session work, the trials of building his home studio, doing online sessions where the client doesn’t attend, how he built his career, and much more. I spoke with Andrew via Zoom from his studio in Hollywood. On the intro I’ll take a look at how the Grammy’s won’t include a popular Ai song, and I’ll answer some common audio questions. var podscribeEmbedVars = { epId: 87523012, backgroundColor: 'white', font: undefined, fontColor: undefined, speakerFontColor: undefined, height: '600px', showEditButton: false, showSpeakers: true, showTimestamps: true };

My guest today is vinyl pressing expert Dustin Blocker, who founded Hand Drawn Records in 2011 and Hand Drawn vinyl pressing in 2014. He’s also been named the first president of the Vinyl Record Manufacturing Association, which is comprised of more than 30 companies from every level of vinyl production, including record labels, mastering, lacquer cutting, electroplating, record pressing, printmakers, equipment manufacturers, brokers, raw material suppliers, and even logistic service providers. During the interview we spoke about the unseen steps in vinyl manufacturing, the latest in cutting-edge vinyl, developing quality standards for vinyl pressing, working towards sustainability, and much more. I spoke with Dustin via Zoom from his office in Texas. On the intro I’ll take a look at music videos losing their importance, and Gibson gets its archives back. var podscribeEmbedVars = { epId: 87420141, backgroundColor: 'white', font: undefined, fontColor: undefined, speakerFontColor: undefined, height: '600px', showEditButton: false, showSpeakers: true, showTimestamps: true };

My guest today is Bill McQuay, who’s an independent audio producer, NPR contributor, National Geographic Explorer and founder of Eco Location Sound. Before starting Eco Location Sound, Bill was Supervising Audio Engineer for the Library of Natural Sound at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and an audio producer for the Lab's Multi-media group. Prior to joining the Lab of Ornithology, Bill was an NPR sound engineer and technical director for NPR programs including: Morning Edition, Weekend Saturday and Sunday, Performance Today and NPR's Radio Expeditions. Radio Expeditions is where he began his long time collaboration with NPR science correspondent Christopher Joyce, a creative relationship that continues today. Bill led NPR's early surround-sound recording effort and was its first technical director. He was also the mastering engineer for NPR Classics CD’s. He has also worked on many other 360 degree interactive projects. Along the way Bill has won the National Academy of Sciences award for the years best science reporting, a Grammy for the NPR recording of the Benjamin Britten War Requiem, The Alfred I Dupont-Columbia University Journalism award, and Individual Artist Award from the Maryland State Arts Council. During the interview we spoke about telling stories with sound, going around the world to capture audio, helping scientists use sound to understand the world, his setup for recording spatial audio, how sound is determining if insects are disappearing or not, and much more. I spoke with Bill via Zoom from his office in Ithaca New York. On the intro I’ll take a look at BMI being acquired by a private equity fund, and a look at the glut of new musical instruments and audio gear on market today. var podscribeEmbedVars = { epId: 87324464, backgroundColor: 'white', font: undefined, fontColor: undefined, speakerFontColor: undefined, height: '600px', showEditButton: false, showSpeakers: true, showTimestamps: true };

My guest today is holistic artist coach Wendy Parr, who’s personal and professional experiences led her to become a coach that helps artists lose perfectionism, overcome resistances, follow their inner vision, and curate a life and career they love. With over 20 years coaching top music artists like Melanie Martinez, Sara Bareilles, Marc Bassy, and taking A Great Big World from their very 1st vocal session to a Grammy award, The Parr Method has also the driving force behind Wendy co-writing “Dreams on Fire” for the soundtrack of Slum Dog MIllionaire, which also won a GRAMMY. The Parr Method empowers recording artists to develop their authentic voice for their ar t, brand and life from the studio to the stage. During the interview we spoke about doing gigs around Hollywood as a teenager, making music in India with some top Indian artists, how she's helped some of today's top artists overcome their personal roadblocks, developing her holistic approach to coaching, and much more. I spoke with Wendy via Zoom from her office in Los Angeles. On the intro I’ll take a look at Ai copyright as we know it so far, and also if wireless speakers will find a home in our studios soon. var podscribeEmbedVars = { epId: 87259528, backgroundColor: 'white', font: undefined, fontColor: undefined, speakerFontColor: undefined, height: '600px', showEditButton: false, showSpeakers: true, showTimestamps: true };

My guest today is Sam Gribben, the CEO of the music learning platform Melodics. Melodics is a software platform that teaches you to play keyboards, pad controllers and electronic drums. Melodics uses gamification of practice to encourage you to keep working at getting better. Prior to founding Melodics, Sam was CEO of the DJ software company Serato, where he joined as employee #4 and eventually helped to scale the company into an industry leader. During the interview we spoke about how to keep the fun in learning music, why many DJs and producers want to learn how to play keyboards, how the term “musician” ruins music for many people, why music teachers have embraced Melodics, and much more. I spoke with Sam via Zoom from his office in Auckland, New Zealand. On the intro I’ll take a look at how gold and platinum records are determined, and Avid is acquired by the private equity company STG. var podscribeEmbedVars = { epId: 87169485, backgroundColor: 'white', font: undefined, fontColor: undefined, speakerFontColor: undefined, height: '600px', showEditButton: false, showSpeakers: true, showTimestamps: true };

My guest today is producer/engineer Ed Stasium, who was an essential element in the New York punk and alternative rock scene in the 70’s and 80’s, having worked on seminal albums by The Ramones, Talking Heads and Living Colour. He has also worked with a wide range of artists such as Mick Jagger, Pretenders, Soul Asylum, The Smithereens, Motorhead, Joan Jett and many more. Ed was one of my first guests way back in September of 2014 on Episode 23, and it’s always great to catch up with him to hear about what he’s doing. While in Part 1 of this latest interview we spoke about some of Ed’s history, in Part 2 we traded some studio stories, talked about his home studio, mixing in Atmos, and much more. I spoke with Ed via Zoom from his studio outside of San Diego. On the intro I’ll take a look at superfans that aren’t so super, and the return of Sunn amplifiers.

My guest today is producer/engineer Ed Stasium, who was an essential element in the New York punk and alternative rock scene in the 70’s and 80’s, having worked on seminal albums by The Ramones, Talking Heads and Living Colour. He has also worked with a wide range of artists such as Mick Jagger, Pretenders, Soul Asylum, The Smithereens, Motorhead, Joan Jett and many more. Ed likes to say that, “I’ve seen rock and roll grow up, “ and indeed it’s true, having recorded and mixed his first gold single in 1972 with Gladys Knight & The Pips “Midnight Train To Georgia.” After spending time on the staff of New York’s well-known Mediasound getting his feet wet in the music business, Ed became the first staff engineer at the famous Power Station where he played an intricate part in the design of the room and choice of equipment. In part 1 of our two-part interview we spoke about his early sessions as a musician with some recording legends, his first big studio break, working for Ampeg, and much more. Ed was one of my first guests way back on Episode 23 in September of 2014, so it was good time for a catch up. I spoke with him via Zoom from his studio outside of San Diego. On the intro I’ll take a look at some new data on current merch sales, and new findings on what makes a Stradivarius sound so special. Also, all podcast now include full transcriptions if you’d like to read along or find a particular place to listen to. var podscribeEmbedVars = { epId: 87052387, backgroundColor: 'white', font: undefined, fontColor: undefined, speakerFontColor: undefined, height: '600px', showEditButton: false, showSpeakers: true, showTimestamps: true };

My guest on this episode is artist manager Zack Zarrillo. Zack is co-founder of Alternate Side, a full-service music company that represents over 30 artists in the alternative/rock/pop/electronic/metal genres. He also co-founded Bad Timing Records, and he began writing his popular music blog "PropertyOfZack" when he was just 16 years old. The blog became a go-to source for music fans and industry insiders alike. Zack’s Alternate Side management has a combined catalog of over 5 Billion streams, 10 gold records, and 4 platinum records. He’s also is a fierce advocate for artists’ rights, which is the ethos of his company, and offers mentorship and assistance in music ownership, career development, finances and mental health. During the interview we spoke about how management has changed over the last few years, where he finds talent, how TikTok has benefited his artists, the reason why labels today aren't signing artists, the current trends in the business, and much more. I spoke with Zack via Zoom from his office in Philadelphia. On the intro I’ll take a look at how we’re all paying too much for concert tickets, and Spotify and YouTube Music are raising their subscription prices. var podscribeEmbedVars = { epId: 86981157, backgroundColor: 'white', font: undefined, fontColor: undefined, speakerFontColor: undefined, height: '600px', showEditButton: false, showSpeakers: true, showTimestamps: true };

My guest on this episode is engineer, producer and avid gear collector Pete Min. Pete is owner of Lucy’s Meat Market studio, and Colorfield Records, a label where he collaborates with some of LA's best musicians to create one-off LPs made entirely within his studio. Pete’s worked with major artists, including Feist, Diana Ross, Strokes, Third Eye Blind, Orville Peck, Shawn Mendes, Ringo Starr, and many more. He also has a studio filled with not only vintage audio gear, but a fantastic guitar, bass, amp, drum, and keyboard collection that almost any musician would die for. During the interview we talked about doing jingles, buying vintage gear, hot-rodding guitars in the 90’s, his favorite mics and plugins, and much more. I spoke with Pete via Zoom from his studio in Los Angeles. On the intro I’ll take a look at the new Threads social platform, and how music gear retail is in trouble again. var podscribeEmbedVars = { epId: 86899608, backgroundColor: 'white', font: undefined, fontColor: undefined, speakerFontColor: undefined, height: '600px', showEditButton: false, showSpeakers: true, showTimestamps: true };