Help Me Find My Rick Rubin

December 7, 2008 12:24 PM

Where do I go to find myself a solid, professional, credited music producer?

I'm a singer and songwriter, but I am not interested in doing the girl with a guitar alone thing any longer, and the songs I've been writing don't lend themselves to this format. Earlier this year, I was working with a really good, though young and inexperienced music producer. He helped me to focus my energies and pick some songs, and gave me a great direction to go in.

I got knocked off path by a job in my career that consumed all of my focus and energy from about April to right about now-ish, but that project's done, and I'm determined to re-focus on my music again. I've lost touch with the original producer I was working with, but I think this is actually good, because I believe that now I'm ready to work with (and am willing to pay for) a professional producer who will help keep me focused and kick my ass into gear.

I want to take these songs, polish up a bit more, hire musicians, perform a few shows to get some feedback, and then get in the studio and make my EP.

My problem is, I have no idea how to find this magical person to help me. I don't think Craig's List is the right avenue, as I don't think that the person with the experience I'm looking for has a need to advertise on CL. Obviously the producer I'd hire would have to be excited about my music and believe in me, so I'm aware that this will be a search that will take me some time.

Since I've been so busy over the course of this year, I haven't been playing out or making connections. I've asked around, but am really clueless as to where to begin looking.

Any me-fites have any suggestions for me?

posted by pazazygeek to Media & Arts (9 answers total)

You sell Craigslist short, especially since the person you're looking for would ostensibly have samples of their work that you could judge yourself and so all you would have to do is sit back and wait for candidates to come in that way. Otherwise, how about other musicians in your scene? I know you say you don't want to do a singer-songwriter solo thing, but those who do and have released tunes that have been professionally produced will have leads for you. Engineers are not restricted to specific styles. Also, since you want to split this up into ass-kicking and recording phases, initially you may be well-served to seek out other songwriters - preferably those who have written for other people - as consultants on the direction you're looking to go in.
posted by rhizome at 1:08 PM on December 7, 2008

who are artists you admire & who produced them?

as far as i'm concerned, you couldn't do wrong with, oh, say, steve albini. he's worked with tons of people (some of whom you've probably never heard of, but there should be a few on there you have) in just about every genre you can think of. i've never met him, but i've heard that he's pretty accessible.

most musicians i know find someone whose work they admire and see if they can work out a deal.

you probably also want to have some publicity plan working before you record. you could have the best album in the world, but if no one ever hears it ... . there are lots of places that will do pr & promo, but the only one that comes to mind immediately is team clermont. depends on which market you're aiming for. (just looked at your profile page. you're in la? isn't that where nick harcourt of morning becomes electric is? he's the guy this blogger calls 'a kingmaker of alternative music.')

good luck.
posted by msconduct at 1:35 PM on December 7, 2008

seconding Rhizome. You would be surprised for the quality. Just give yourself the benefit of the doubt and do not hire the first person who comes along or says they can meet you tomorrow. Ask to shadow in the studio for a couple of hours, to see if you can work with this person and talk to other musicians about prices and fees.
posted by parmanparman at 1:36 PM on December 7, 2008

William Wittman has worked with Cyndi Lauper, Dar Williams, and Joan Osborne, and I, personally, like his sound.
posted by kristi at 2:12 PM on December 7, 2008

you probably also want to have some publicity plan working before you record. you could have the best album in the world, but if no one ever hears it ... . there are lots of places that will do pr & promo, but the only one that comes to mind immediately is team clermont.

First you make the music, then you submit it to the PR company, then they agree to work with you, then you pay them a lot of money and hope for the best. There are lots of other small PR firms besides Team Clermont, but it's probably not a good use of your resources at this point.
posted by ludwig_van at 2:59 PM on December 7, 2008

Investigate the recording studios in your city, and then call up the ones that you like the sound of (word of mouth is useful, but also perhaps see what CDs/artists they have worked with before). Those studios will be able to recommend local producers and engineers - and very likely producers and engineers other than the famous name-brand ones the rest of us know.
posted by Marquis at 3:17 PM on December 7, 2008

I'm gonna second Albini, but have your arrangements ready. Do you have a band? Who plays all instruments? If not, your costs will go up a lot.
posted by Ironmouth at 4:30 PM on December 7, 2008

Albini's actually an awful choice, for the simple reasons that he disdains the idea of a "producer" (and generally avoids the tag himself) and basically doesn't buy into the idea of "polishing" songs in the sense that producers do and have done for decades. He's accessible and nice in his way, but it'd be a bad fit for what you're describing. Describe your music in terms of known artists a bit and I could feed you some names.
posted by Dee Xtrovert at 5:01 PM on December 7, 2008

Seconding Albini as not right for this type of assignment. His forte is make an excellent quality recording, not to aid the artist in focussing energies. He'll record pretty much anyone, but if you want someone on board as a booster and contributor as well, look elsewhere.
posted by Paid In Full at 12:57 PM on December 8, 2008