Peel back the glamour of the professional recording world. Guests from the world of audio for music, film, games, restoration, and more share their insights on how they made their journey, how they survive, their advice on the real things including wins, losses, working with other people, money, and career advice.
Hosted by audio engineer Matt Boudreau.
The Working Class Audio Podcast - Navigating the World of Recording with a working class perspective.
Site
RSS
Apple
Données mises à jour le 23/09/2026
Classements récents
Dernières positions dans les classements Apple Podcasts et Spotify.
Liens partagés entre épisodes et podcasts
Liens présents dans les descriptions d'épisodes et autres podcasts les utilisant également.
WCA #614 with Michael Frondelli, Part 1 – Astoria, R&B Days, Salsa Nights, and Electric Lady
Épisode 614
mardi 22 septembre 2026 • Durée 54:13
For episode 614, Matt talks with Michael Frondelli, producer, engineer, and former Vice President of Capitol Records Studios, where he ran the facility for eleven years before going independent in 2001. Michael grew up in Astoria, Queens. Tony Bennett took vocal lessons with his Uncle Sal. The Walken family ran the bakery on Steinway Street. He came up playing guitar in soul bands and rock bands in the 60s, studied business in college, landed a maintenance tech job at Broadway Recording on 1697 Broadway, and from there made his way to Electric Lady in November 1975, where he spent nine years. This is Part 1 of a two-part conversation.
In This Episode, We Discuss:
Growing Up in Astoria, Queens
Music in the Family and Learning Guitar
Soul Bands, Rock Bands, and the 60s
College, the Draft Lottery, and Moving to Manhattan
Carpentry, Soundproofing, and Finding a Way Into Recording
Broadway Recording at 1697 Broadway
Learning to Listen, Watch, and Visualize Signal Path
Landing at Electric Lady in 1975
Nine Years in the Room: Zeppelin, Chick Corea, Jaco Pastorius, Joni Mitchell
Working With Eddie Kramer on Song Remains the Same
Rebel Yell: Finding Billy Idol a Drummer
Keith Forsey, Charlie Sexton, and Don't You Forget About Me
Getting Management and Learning the Business
Going From $5 an Hour to $2,500 a Mix
Matt's RANT!: Revisiting Backing Up and Archiving
Links and Show Notes:
Michael's site
Credits:
Guest: Michael Frondelli
Host/Engineer/Producer: Matt Boudreau
WCA Theme Music: Cliff Truesdell
The Voice: Chuck Smith
WCA #613 with Ben Mellott – Northern Virginia, Church Sound, Farm Festivals, and Profit First
Épisode 613
mardi 15 septembre 2026 • Durée 01:06:24
For episode 613, Matt talks with Ben Mellott — recording engineer, mixer, and owner of Nothing but Noise studio in Northern Virginia. Ben has been freelance since 2014, balances studio work with live production at churches, farms, and local venues, and runs every dollar through the Profit First system. They talk about building a career on curiosity, the alternative path through cassette manufacturing and church sound, and why the business side of audio doesn't sound like fun until it absolutely is.
In This Episode, We Discuss:
Northern Virginia, Born and Raised
A Dad at Toys R Us and a Mom in the Church Choir
Recording Bands on a Tascam Four-Track at Ten Dollars a Song
The Recording Workshop in Chillicothe, Ohio — Audio Boot Camp
Learning Signal Flow Before Hardware
Manufacturing Cassettes and CDs at Lion Recording
Moving Into Graphics — Quark Express, InDesign, and Terrible Early Websites
Roadie and Merch for a Month-Long US Tour With Frodus
Getting the Farm Festival Gig
Ten Years of Sunday Church Sound — and What He Learned About Temperament
The Drummer in the Crowd Who Got Him the Venue Gig
Real-Life Social Proof — Likable Enough (For a Live Sound Guy)
Curiosity as a Career Strategy
Nothing But Noise — The Studio and the Freelance Life Since 2014
Debt, an Inheritance That Didn't Change the Slope, and the Pandemic
Implementing the Profit First System
Of Every Thousand Dollars, Only $150 Is Spendable — and Why That's the Point
Self-Financing Gear and Paying Yourself Back on a Payment Plan
The Sweetwater Rep Who Said You've Got a Lot of Gear
The Business Side Doesn't Sound Like Fun Until It Is
WCA #612 with Brian Starley – Utah, Cartage, Building a Studio in LA, and Relationships Before Gear
Épisode 612
mardi 8 septembre 2026 • Durée 01:10:21
For episode 612, Matt talks with Brian Starley recording and mixing engineer based in North Hollywood, California, and owner of Bergatron Music Studio. Brian grew up in Salt Lake City with a dad who transferred vinyl to cassette for the car, chased a hockey career to Ontario, came home to Utah without a plan, and found recording through a coworker who'd interned at the Blasting Room. After learning Pro Tools at twenty bucks an hour and getting out of Utah in 2005, he landed at Musicians Institute in LA and then at Lon Cohen Studio Rentals a cartage company where he spent six years moving Tim Pierce's guitars and Mike Elizondo's Logic rig around the city. After going freelance in 2013, he built a YouTube live session channel, had his busiest mixing years during COVID, and then spent the better part of two years fighting LA permits, tariffs, and a construction crew to build his dream studio — refinancing the house to do it. They talk about what cartage taught him about gear and sessions, the mobile recording revelation that shaped his whole approach, building a studio in 2025 LA, the stress that put him in the hospital with diverticulitis, and why you should focus on relationships before gear.
In This Episode, We Discuss:
- Growing Up in Salt Lake City, Utah — The Zion Curtain
- A Dad Who Transferred Vinyl to Cassette and Filled the Car With Music
- Hockey, Rage Against the Machine, and a Dream of the NHL
- Moving to Shelburne, Ontario to Play Junior Hockey
- Coming Home to Utah and Finding Construction Work for His Dad
- A Coworker From the Blasting Room Who Changed Everything
- Learning Pro Tools at Twenty Bucks an Hour on a Digi 001
- Getting Into Trouble and Getting Out of Utah — Moving to LA in 2005
- Musicians Institute and Finding the Path Into Recording
- Landing at Lawn — a Cartage Company for LA's Top Session Musicians
WCA #611 with Scott McDowell – Berklee, California vs New York, Getting Fired, Becoming a Studio Partner, and Getting Hit by a Car
Épisode 611
mardi 1 septembre 2026 • Durée 01:08:56
Scott McDowell is a producer, engineer, and co-owner of Wally's Hydeout at Hyde Street Studios in San Francisco. In episode 611 they talk about getting fired from his first SF internship, becoming a studio partner at Wally’s Hydeout, surviving COVID, getting hit by a car in March 2026, recovering from a TBI, and why every freelancer in California needs to sign up for state disability insurance before something happens.
In This Episode, We Discuss:
Co-owning a Studio, Making Records, and Working in Game Audio
Growing Up in Novato — North Marin County
A Broadcast Engineer Dad
Working Niners Games on the Sideline
Heading to Berklee for Trumpet
A Hernia That Ended the Trumpet Career and Started the Recording One
City College SF, SF Soundworks, and Getting Fired
John Vanderslice, Tiny Telephone, and the Referral to Justin Phelps
Interning at Hyde Street Studios With Justin Phelps and Jaimeson Durr
Filling the Calendar for Six Months to Avoid Being Replaced — Then Getting Made a Partner
The CDR Run That He Thought Was a Firing
Eight Years of Game Audio
COVID Survival
Getting Hit by a Car in Northridge
The TBI, the Wheelchair, and Coming Back
California Disability Insurance Elective Coverage — Why Every Freelancer Should Sign Up
WCA #610 with Stephen Shirk – Bloomington, New York, Chicago, and Twenty Years of SHIRK Studios
Épisode 610
mardi 25 août 2026 • Durée 58:55
For episode 610, Matt talks with Stephen Shirk — engineer, producer, guitarist, and owner of SHIRK Studios in Chicago's West Town neighborhood. Stephen grew up in Bloomington, Illinois, studied business at Miami University, moved to New York in 1998 with a friend's couch as his launch pad, and worked his way through the Hit Factory and a jingle house where he built Pro Tools systems, got his SAG card, and learned from Jay Messina. In 2004 he moved to Chicago, rented studio spaces for a decade, and in 2013 bought the building he now runs as a semi-commercial studio with a Sphere console, instruments on every wall, and a deliberately un-sterile feel. They talk about the HearYa live sessions that built his early reputation, word-of-mouth marketing and what comes next, Steve Albini and Electrical Audio, owning vs. renting in Chicago's studio ecosystem, and getting back out to shows.
In This Episode, We Discuss:
- Growing Up in Bloomington, Illinois
- Church Choir, Guitar at Fourth Grade, and Early Bands
- A Business Degree at Miami University and Playing in Bands
- Moving to New York in 1998 With a Friend's Couch as a Launch Pad
- Learning Pro Tools Version 4 on the Fly
- Starting at the Hit Factory as a General Assistant
- The Culture Shock of New York Speed — and Learning to Shut Up
- Moving to a Jingle House: More Engineering, More Money, a Synclavier
- Building Pro Tools Systems and Getting a Pager From the Boss
- Learning From Jay Messina (Early Aerosmith, Jack Douglas)
- Getting His SAG Card and Discovering Mailbox Money
- Moving to Chicago in 2004 and Renting Studio Spaces
- Buying the Building in 2013 and the History Behind It
WCA #609 with Eric M Lichter – Martha's Vineyard, New York, Connecticut, and the Beauty Marks That Make a Record
Épisode 609
mardi 18 août 2026 • Durée 01:13:35
For episode 609, Matt talks with Eric M Lichter — multi-instrumentalist, producer, and owner of Dirt Floor Recording in Connecticut, where he’s been in business for twenty years. Eric came up singing in chorus, spent time on Martha’s Vineyard playing the Hot Tin Roof and landing in Carly Simon’s living room with Danny Kortchmar and Jerry Marotta in the liner notes, then moved to New York, recorded at Sear Sound on a Polygram AR’s dime, and eventually landed back in Connecticut to open a studio on a wing and a prayer in 2006. They talk about the Ed Wood approach to recording — get the vibe before the moment is gone — why he leaves the beauty marks in, pitching a studio to 90-year-old landlords, keeping a tight ship with bankers hours, vetting clients for energy, a proposal-based pricing model, and the Caribou Ranch mentality that has everyone leaving with fresh eggs from the chickens out back.
In This Episode, We Discuss:
Twenty Years of Dirt Floor Recording in Connecticut
Growing Up in a Sports-First Town and Finding His Voice in Chorus
The Soccer Coach Who Changed His Life
John Mayer, Keith Richards, and Goose — Connecticut’s Quiet Music Scene
The Hot Tin Roof on Martha’s Vineyard — and Carly Simon’s Living Room
Danny Kortchmar, Jerry Marotta, and Reading the Credits as a Kid
New York City, Polygram, and Recording at Sear Sound
Failing Guitar 101 in College and Trusting the Natural Thing
The Troubadour Years — Singer-Songwriter on the Road
Watching His Brother Make a Record With Jerry Marotta at Jarysville
Discovering Tape Op and Saying Out Loud “I’m Going to Be in That Magazine”
Starting Dirt Floor in Chester, Connecticut in 2006
The Ed Wood Approach: Getting the Vibe Before the Moment Is Gone
Beauty Marks — Why He Leaves the Imperfections In
Why Real Music Is Winning Against AI
Kids Discovering Van Halen and AC/DC on Their Own
Ethan Johns, Jack Antonoff, Aaron Dessner — Who Inspired Him
The Rented House That Became Dirt Floor’s Current Home
Pitching a Studio to 90-Year-Old Landlords — and Winning Them Over
Keeping Overhead Low — The Case for Renting vs. Owning
WCA #608 with Julian Kindred – Canada, America, England, and Thirty-Five Years of Making Records
Épisode 608
lundi 10 août 2026 • Durée 01:19:28
For episode 608, Matt talks with Julian Kindred — Canadian producer, engineer, and songwriter based in London, where he runs Nonsuch Park Studio in Epsom, Surrey. Julian grew up in St. John, New Brunswick — a working-class port city he describes as a place where people punched in all week and played blues in bars on the weekend — and found his way into recording through a part-time job at a music shop and access to synthesizers. Too broke for Berklee, he took a corporate function band gig that got him to Nashville, where he cold-called Music Row for a year and a half before landing a spot at Studio Nineteen. Ten years on Music Row followed, and then a move to London in 2003. They talk about what Nashville taught him about song craft and on-the-floor tracking, learning persistence in two different cultures, surviving a lull before the Ellie Goulding record turned things around, managing money as a freelancer, and why longevity attracts a different kind of client than talent alone ever did. Enjoy!
In This Episode, We Discuss:
- Growing Up in St. John, New Brunswick
- "Sultans of Swing" as a Portrait of His Hometown
- A Musical Family and a Father Who Taught Guitar
- Keyboards at Eleven and a Part-Time Job at a Music Shop
- Access to Synthesizers and the Recording Bug
- Too Broke for Berklee — and the Corporate Function Band That Got Him to Nashville
- Cold-Calling Music Row for a Year and a Half
- Studio Nineteen: A Five-Week Course, a Trident Desk, and Patsy Cline's Living Room
- Learning the Craft in Nashville's Legendary Rooms
- What Ten Years on Music Row Taught Him About Song Craft
- On-the-Floor Tracking: Finishing a Record in One Session
- Nashville vs. London: Tracking Rooms, Production Rooms, and Culture
WCA #607 with Dana Nielsen – Jazz School, System of a Down, SZA, and the Money Side of a Long Career
Épisode 607
mardi 4 août 2026 • Durée 01:31:02
For episode 607, Matt talks with Dana Nielsen — Grammy-nominated producer, mixer, engineer, multi-instrumentalist, and founder of Mix Protégé in Los Angeles. Dana came up as a jazz saxophonist at Loyola University in New Orleans, where a Brian Blade album and a set of studio keys changed his direction. After chasing Daniel Lanois all the way to a phone call with Teatro and eventually moving to LA with no plan, he found his footing at Guitar Center on Sunset, caught a break on a System of a Down session with Dave Schiffman, and built a career in Rick Rubin's camp alongside Andrew Scheps, Greg Fidelman, and Philip Broussard. Now with 450+ credits and 30B+ streams, they talk about the unspoken rules of the studio hierarchy, keeping cool when everything goes wrong, running six albums at once, and the financial discipline (—SEP IRAs, 529s, and a high-yield savings habit—) that keeps a freelance life sustainable.
In This Episode, We Discuss:
- Musician First: Jazz Saxophone at Loyola University
- The Brian Blade Fellowship Album That Changed Everything
- Keys to the Studio: His First Real Recording Access
- Growing Up Outside Chicago and Reading the Credits
- Chasing Daniel Lanois: The Phone Call to Teatro
- How That Call Became the First Chapter of a Friendship With Philip Broussard
- Moving to LA With No Job and Landing at Guitar Center on Sunset
- The Film Lot Engineer Who Told Him to Say What He Wanted
- Learning to Read the Room and Raise His Hand
- Breaking In: System of a Down With Dave Schiffman
- Meeting Andrew Scheps
- How Rick Rubin's Camp Became His World
- The Unspoken Rules: Hierarchy, Knowing Your Role, and Keeping Notes
WCA #606 with Neil Rogers – Eighteen Years of Half-ton Studios, Bootstrapping in Cambridge, and Writing for Sound on Sound
Épisode 606
mardi 28 juillet 2026 • Durée 01:07:46
For episode 606, Matt talks with Neil Rogers — recording engineer, owner of Half-ton Studios in Cambridge, and longtime reviewer for Sound on Sound. After a decade of gigging as a drummer with no payoff, Neil found a music tech degree at 26 that rebuilt his confidence, then answered a group email about a ramshackle unit next to a brewery and built a studio there on about £7,000 and favors. Eighteen years on, they talk about the accidental great-sounding drum room, rebuilding bigger during COVID, pricing, being honest with young people about studio careers, and the joy of recording bands live on the floor.
WCA #605 with Chris Mara – Building Welcome to 1979, Restoring Tape Machines, and Saying Yes to Everything
Épisode 605
lundi 20 juillet 2026 • Durée 01:03:40
Chris Mara owns Welcome to 1979, one of the larger recording studios in Nashville, along with his wife Yoli. He joins Matt for episode 605 to talk about moving to Nashville at 20, building Mara Machines and a vinyl mastering department alongside the studio, and running it for 18 years with no partners and almost no borrowed money.
In This Episode, We Discuss:
Growing Up in an 800-Person Wisconsin Town With No Internet and No Roadmap
Community College Recording and Moving to Nashville at 20
"I Am Working Class": No Safety Net, No Umbilical Cord
The Unpaid Internship and the Downtown Bellman Job That Funded It
Trading Every Favor to Pull Studio Shifts
Keys and Alarm Codes to Ten Studios
Seeing the Same Gear Used a Million Different Ways
Working Across Every Format: 2-Inch, RADAR, DAT, and Early Pro Tools
The Nashville Number System and Country-Session Efficiency
Bringing in Rock Bands and Running Them Like Pro Country Dates
Justifying Your Existence When the Guitarist Has Pro Tools at Home
Coming Up With Welcome to 1979 (and the Runner-Up: "Simulated Wood Grain")
Pitching a Studio to His Pregnant Wife for $1,100 a Month
"You Can Break Even As Long As You Want"
Yoli Quitting Her Job to Run the Business Side
How Mara Machines Was Born From a Side Hustle
Multiple Income Streams and Why They Carry the Weight
Watching Your Overhead Before It Sinks You
Is That Gear Going to Make You Money, or Just Sit There?
Renting Rooms Instead of Buying Them
Saying Yes to Everything and Learning on Someone Else's Dime
18 Years, No Partners, Almost No Borrowed Money, Still Married
Découvrez des podcasts liées à Working Class Audio. Explorez des podcasts avec des thèmes, sujets, et formats similaires. Ces similarités sont calculées grâce à des données tangibles, pas d'extrapolations !
![Podcast زهینه [زندگی بهینه]](https://images.mypodcastdata.com/show-images/logo_zhynh-zndgy-bhynh-dr-mosi-1zgv.jpg "زهینه [زندگی بهینه]"){kind=logo}
