JULY/AUGUST 2011 ISSUE MMUSICMAG.COM JULY/AUGUST 2011 ISSUE MMUSICMAG.COM PRODUCER How did you develop your studio? make music that we liked—not necessarily When I was working with Patty Griffin, I an easy task. We didn’t get stuck in that had a little eight-track setup at home. We “let’s get that country radio hit” mindset. cut some demos here that ended up being We wanted to come from a live performance most of her album Flaming Red [1998]. vibe, where he’s playing for people who love We did go into a “studio” studio to overdub him and his music. a few things, but the heart and soul was done here. From then on I started using my What about Cage the Elephant? space for preproduction, but bands and Just like with Eric, we really feel like a team. artists would say, “Do we have to go to The first album [Cage the Elephant, 2008] another studio? This place is cool.” I haven’t was very live and done very quickly. This done a record in an outside studio for quite second one is the classic case of a band a while. We’re now into our third room having their whole lives to write the first Will von Bolton Will With Jonathan Tyler and we’re still adding. record, then having to write the next album Do you do vocals live? in one year while touring for 300 days. Some What’s your technique like? Depending on the project, I’d say it’s about songs were completed before we were Everybody’s in the same room, except the 50-50. With Eric Church, at least 70 percent recording, but some weren’t. So half was drummer who’s sometimes in another room were live takes—just capturing the moment. very live and worked out in preproduction, nearby. It’s not a typical separated studio Then there are records like the new Cage and the other half was constructed. There environment. It’s spacious, but everything’s the Elephant [Thank You Happy Birthday], was a lot of experimenting, trying different where we had some live takes, but other bridges, finding the one that works best, songs were built as we went. We could possibly even inserting another take into spend days nailing down the arrangements. the master take, editing things like that. In those cases the vocals would come later. If It was interesting. I’m doing vocal overdubs, I like to get it done right away instead of booking another day. What was it like doing the new Emmylou There’s something about the moment, even Harris record, Hard Bargain? in an overdub. There’s a certain excitement We spent a year picking and choosing songs going on. The singer might be coming from for her record. We had initial plans of bringing

Capitol Studios a particular mental place that he or she in other players, instruments and singers but Reid Long can’t get back into later. I’m not a believer we ended up doing the whole thing with With Lincoln Parish in, “Let’s track guitars this week, drums the just her, [engineer and multi-instrumentalist] of Cage the Elephant

Mark Levine next, vocals after that.” I like to record an Giles Reaves and myself. There were lots entire track in a day. Sometimes we even of live vocals—a few were overdubbed, but close enough to keep everybody unified. mix the same day we track. Emmylou is feel-based. She’s very particular JAY JOYCE I’m not a fan of huge studios that separate about her performances, and she’s not afraid players. I want everybody together, sweating, How has your working relationship with to keep some imperfections that would feel Whether it’s country, indie rock or something in between, the vibe is king talking, communicating. It’s all about Eric Church evolved? better than the “perfect” note. playing—artists and musicians don’t even It’s been a building experience, like old-school By Michael Gallant notice we’re recording, or at least I don’t recording days when bands and artists had What if an act wants that perfection? want them to notice. That’s one thing that time to develop and grow together. We Yeah, that happens. If I get that sense from FOR JAY JOYCE, PRODUCING ISN’T A MATTER OF HITTING Nonetheless, he fi rst made his name as a musician playing creates the vibe I’m always looking for. Ideally had to figure out how to do music in the someone, things can take a while. In that every right note, tracking with the fi nest mics or working with the alongside artists ranging from the Wallfl owers and Iggy Pop nobody’s wearing headphones—they can country realm, and at the same time how to situation I often go back to the first take hippest software plug-ins. Nope, it’s all about the vibe. “My job is to Macy Gray and LeAnn Rimes. He now brings those wide-ranging prevent spontaneity, prevent a moment. knowing when and where a beautiful moment is happening, and skill sets to each of his studio dates as a producer. “I play a lot capturing it,” he says. “Making records is a totally spiritual thing.” on records I produce,” he notes. “Guitar, keyboards—it’s just a You don’t use headphones? Joyce’s approach has proven successful for albums by a wide nice thing to be able to do. If a certain musical element is I’m not saying there aren’t situations where variety of acts that includes Cage the Elephant, Emmylou Harris, needed, I don’t necessarily have to bring in a session they’re thrown in. If the drummer is really loud Derek Trucks, Sleeper Agent and Patty Griffi n, as well as last year’s player to lay it down.” and isolated, then of course he’ll be using all-star compilation Sweet Home Alabama: The Country Music Joyce’s musicianship always informs his production process. headphones. But everybody else is in my Tribute to Lynyrd Skynyrd. Most recently, Joyce’s third collaboration “Playing guitar in bands, I got a real sense of what works in songs control room. We have a huge sound system with country star Eric Church, Chief, opened at the top of Billboard’s and what doesn’t,” he says. “Now, when I’m producing, I come more here with four subwoofers. It’s loud. When it Top 200 and Top Country Albums charts. from a player’s perspective than from an engineer’s perspective. If a comes to headphones, though, as musicians

Joyce found his calling early on. “Growing up, I was always the player I’m recording is feeling inspired, chances are the take is going we deal with lousy sound every night. We Photography John Peets one who wrote songs, tried to record them and get what I wanted to be great.” We spoke with Joyce at his Nashville home studio about adapt and play and learn what we can get out of people. So in a sense I was producing records before I knew the scarcity of analog tape, the creative dangers of headphones and away with. Sometimes I even prefer a bad what it was called,” he says with a chuckle. “It feels natural to me.” his endless quest for that all-important vibe. headphone mix. It can make people more comfortable to not hear things so perfectly—it can give them less apprehension. It subtly ‘Each song is its own entity. It’s going to take you affects the vibe, and the performances tend to be better. wherever it’s going.’ With Eric Church

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Jon Grimson Joyce in the studio ‘I want all the players together, sweating, talking, communicating.’

Giles Reaves With Emmylou Harris

and say, “Listen to this,” and A-B the fi rst it fresh. Some of the songs you can’t mess go right back and re-record over the same and the 20th take. It’s obvious that there’s with. It’s sacrilege. We ended up doing two reel. I’ll use the same tape for quite a while. a feel that’s lost when you hone in like versions of “Sweet Home Alabama” with that. We’re all human, and sometimes I Ashley Ray. One was straight up, and the Is there a particular genre you’re more go there myself. When you put something other was kind of a spaced-out acoustic comfortable with than others? under the microscope, you can get ballad—and the ballad, interestingly enough, I don’t really want to be connected to any lost. Coming back to something can be ended up working out much better. genre. I’ve been fortunate to work on many a perspective changer. different types of records. For me, it’s two Do you prefer analog or digital? types of music—good and bad. I enjoy going How’d the Skynyrd tribute go? We generally record to tape, and then after from Cage the Elephant to Emmylou Harris Doing Lynyrd Skynyrd music when you’re an hour or two of tracking we’ll dump it to Greencards to Sleeper Agent. My rock not Lynyrd Skynyrd is not what you’d think. into Pro Tools. I like to do overdubs in the sensibility is a good thing to have on an Eric The music is simple and repetitive, and you box. Especially with acoustic instruments, Church record. My songwriting sensibility realize that it was the heart and soul of the sometimes the noise fl oor with tape can is something useful to bring to a Cage the vocals that made the originals work. We be too much. Depending on the project, Elephant project. ended up getting some good stuff out of sometimes we’ll still do vocal overdubs on that record, and it was a chance for me to tape. But I like the sound of doing overdubs in Do you have any advice to offer to bring in some of my favorite artists to work Pro Tools—and the audio is still going through up-and-coming producers? with—Jamey Johnson, Randy Montana, Eric the transformers of my tape machines, even Any time you have a specifi c bull’s-eye that Church and Ashley Ray. if it’s getting recorded digitally. you’re trying to hit, you’re not going to hit it. Often you have to step back and say, How did you approach the recording? Is getting tape diffi cult? “Yesterday, this all worked in my head. Why I hired Skynyrd’s live guitar player [Mark Getting tape sucks. I buy used reels from a isn’t it working now?” The answer is, “The Matejka]—he had a real sense of how things guy I know who fi xed my tape machine. He song’s not letting me.” Each song is its own should go. The rest of the players knew the has old reels that have been used maybe entity. It’s just going to take you wherever songs, but weren’t rehearsed or ready to go once. They sound great. Also, after we put it’s going, so the best thing you can do is right away. That was the best way to make audio into Pro Tools when we’re tracking, we go along for the ride.

Here are some albums that showcase Joyce’s chops as a producer and multi-instrumentalist:

Patty Griffi n, Flaming Red (1998) Audio Adrenaline, Until My Heart Caves In (2005) Derek Trucks, Songlines (2006) The Alternate Routes, Good and Reckless and True (2006) Cage the Elephant, Cage the Elephant (2008) Jonathan Tyler and the Northern Lights, Pardon Me (2010) Emmylou Harris, Hard Bargain (2011) Eric Church, Chief (2011) ESSENTIAL JOYCE

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