Working Class Audio

For episode 617, Matt welcomes back Anthony Gravino, musician and recording, mixing, and mastering engineer, nearly a decade after his first appearance on WCA 137. In 2020, Anthony sold The Drake, his Chicago studio of 14 years, bought a converted 1940s horse barn just outside Urbana, Illinois, and turned it into High Cross Sound, a 2,100 square foot studio and home. They talk about why he left Chicago, what drew him to the barn, tracking 14 straight days with Kurt Elling and Charlie Hunter three months after moving in, the Champaign-Urbana music scene, and the business side of owning, living in, and working out of the same building.
In This Episode, We Discuss:
14 Years in Chicago: The Drake Studio on Drake Avenue
Why Anthony Left: Gentrification, Property Taxes, the Pandemic, and Seeing the Right Property at the Right Time
The Old Horse Barn: 25-Foot Peak Ceilings, Curved Wooden Walls, and Listening to Drums Before Signing
Building High Cross Sound: Control Room, Isolation Booth, and Wiring a Former Home Into a Studio
Kurt Elling and Charlie Hunter: 14 Straight Days, Three Months After Moving In
The Psychology of Vertical Space and Natural Light on Musicians
Champaign-Urbana: REO Speedwagon, the Rose Bowl Tavern, and a Music Scene Bigger Than Its Studio Supply
Moving During the Pandemic: Every Session Canceled in March, Perfect Time to Be Out of Commission
Selling the Chicago Building After Buying in 2006, Financing at 2.5% Interest
Dropping the API Console, Going to a Small Mixer and Outboard Preamps
Keeping the Rate, Then Raising It When He Saw What Others Were Charging
Isolated Ground, a Private Transformer Shared With Three Houses, and a Quieter Noise Floor
Living and Working in the Same Building: Tax Advantages When 80% Is Studio Space
Music Videos, University Work, and the Snowball Rolling Down the Hill
The Pool: More Romanticized by Clients Than Actually Used

Matt’s RANT!: Your Mindset
Links and Show Notes:
Anthony Gravino on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anthonygravino/
Anthony Gravino on Bandcamp: https://anthonygravino.bandcamp.com
WCA Episode 137 with Anthony Gravino: https://www.workingclassaudio.com/wca-137-with-anthony-gravino/

Credits:
Guest: Anthony Gravino
Host/Engineer/Producer: Matt Boudreau
WCA Theme Music: Cliff Truesdell
The Voice: Chuck Smith

Sylvia Massy returns to Working Class Audio for the first time since Episode 14 back in 2015. She joins Matt from her studio in Ashland, Oregon to talk about her new book, The Great Book of Vintage Microphones, co-authored with Chris Johnson. To write it, Sylvia and Chris acquired the entire estate collection of Milwaukee radio legend Bob Paquette: 3,500 microphones kept together rather than cherry-picked apart. The book covers 100 years of microphone history, from David Edward Hughes's 1877 burnt-stick carbon transducer to the ribbons and condensers most engineers grew up with.
In This Episode, We Discuss:
The Studio in Ashland: Converted Radiator Shop, Five-Bay Garage, Concrete Construction
Chris Joshnson: Co-Author, Life Partner, and the Man Who Negotiated a Microphone Museum
Bob Paquette's Collection: 3,500 Mics, Milwaukee Radio History, and Keeping It Together
The First Microphone: David Edward Hughes, 1877, a Burnt Carbon Stick
Crystal Mics, Carbon Telephone Elements, and Technology That Lasted Into the 1990s
Condenser Development: From a Wooden Box Power Supply Down to the Pencil Condensers We Use Today
The First Directional Microphone
A Condenser That Went to the South Pole With Admiral Byrd
The Glow Discharge Mic: Plasma Between Two Electrodes, Banned After 1928
Art Deco Mics That Looked Like Spaceships and Sounded Worse Because of Their Cases
Western Electric Birdcage, Tadpole Mics, Bakelite, and the 1947 Astatic 600S
The ChicLet: Color Options
Pearl Mics From Sweden and the 6102 RFP
Sylvia's Favorite Mic for Female Vocal
Microphone Seeds: Ribbons, Dynamics, and Condensers

Matt’s RANT!: Client Mix Approval Server
Links and Show Notes:
Sylvia Massy
Preorder The Great Book of Vintage Microphones
WCA Episode 14 with Sylvia Massy (2015)

Credits:
Guest: Sylvia Massy
Host/Engineer/Producer: Matt Boudreau
WCA Theme Music: Cliff Truesdell
The Voice: Chuck Smith

For episode 615, Matt concludes his two-part conversation with Michael Frondelli, picking up in Los Angeles where Keith Forsey and Richie Zito brought him west. Michael landed at Giorgio Moroder’s Oasis Studios, where he worked on the Breakfast Club soundtrack, Beverly Hills Cop, and the world premiere digital playback of Moroder’s restored Metropolis. He went on to eleven years as Vice President of Capitol Records Studios, where his first artist was Frank Sinatra and he quietly produced Big Bad Voodoo Daddy on a $100,000 investment that grossed $7 million. They also talk about AI and copyright, the importance of pre-production, apprenticeships in audio, network as the real currency of a career, and what Phil Ramone told him about what recording engineers actually do.
In This Episode, We Discuss:
Moving to Los Angeles via Keith Forsey and Richie Zito
Giorgio Moroder’s Oasis Studios: Breakfast Club, Beverly Hills Cop, and Three Films at Once
The World Premiere Digital Playback of Moroder’s Restored Metropolis
East Coast vs West Coast Recording Culture
Keeping an Apartment in Brooklyn and One in LA
VP of Capitol Records Studios: How He Got the Job
Learning to Run a $5 Million Business
The First Business Plan Ever Written for Capitol Studios
Frank Sinatra as the First Artist: Phil Ramone, Al Schmitt, and Building a Custom Vocal Booth
Union Negotiations, Health Benefits, and Taking Care of the Staff
Being Told He Was Too Old to Start a Label at 44
Big Bad Voodoo Daddy: $100,000 In, $7 Million Gross, 500,000 Records by May
Crowded House, Gary Stamper, and Don’t Dream It’s Over
AI, Copyright, and Why You Must Register Before You Use the Platform
Apprenticeships, the Music Producers Guild, and Passing It On
Network as the Real Currency of a Career
Still Working: James Gadson, Autism Speaks, and Making Records

Matt’s RANT!: Matt’s Dad
Links and Show Notes:
Michael Frondelli
WCA #614 with Michael Frondelli, Part 1
Vincent Boudreau — Obituary

Credits:
Guest: Michael Frondelli
Host/Engineer/Producer: Matt Boudreau
WCA Theme Music: Cliff Truesdell
The Voice: Chuck Smith

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

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

Matt's RANT!: Doing Things the Alternative Way
Links and Show Notes:
Nothing but Noise
Profit First — Mike Michalowicz (book)
Profit First — Audiobook on Libro.fm
WCA #133 with Alan Evans
WCA #328 with Alan Evans
WCA #576 with Alan Evans

Credits:
Guest: Ben Mellott
Host/Engineer/Producer: Matt Boudreau
WCA Theme Music: Cliff Truesdell
The Voice: Chuck Smith