Category Archives: Interview
Studio updates and my new t-shirts
Clockwise from left: Sonor signing at NAMM with Dino Campanella; Rhythm magazine’s Danny Carey feature; Neve faders, API board; my first t-shirt design.
It’s been a busy start to the year. Last weekend was the annual NAMM show in Anaheim, California. I met some great people and saw some interesting new gear from Sonor, Paiste, BAE, McDSP and Apogee. Thanks to everyone who stopped by my signing at the Sonor drums booth. It was cool to hear some interest in my new band Palms.
Speaking of Palms, we’re putting the finishing touches on the record now and will have an announcement about the record and release date soon. We’re all beyond excited about this record. Sorry for the silence. It’s because we’ve been hard at work.
I was interviewed by Rhythm Magazine for a cover story on Danny Carey. The issue is on newsstands now and also available digitally via their app. Inside, there’s a sidebar where I talk about what it’s like to work with Danny and I answer some common misconceptions about Tool. I’ve also been working with Danny in his studio on an interesting project. More on that later …
Also, a couple of records I worked on in 2012 received placement on end-of-the-year best-of lists. I’m honored to have been a part of these:
– Sleep Lady “So Long Lonely Ghost” (Co-Produced, Mixed) was given #13 on the Ech(((o)))es and Dust “Album of the Year 2012 – Writers Poll.”
– Mental Architects “Celebrations” (Produced, Mixed) recieved Postrock-Star “Math Rock Album Of The Year.”
Last, if you follow me on Instagram, then you’re aware of my distaste for pig parkers. To help spread the word, and have some fun with it too, I’m starting a line of custom t-shirts. Check out my first design over at my shop: stopthepigparkers.tumblr.com. More designs will be coming soon!
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT…
Some kind words from Sleep Lady
I wanted to share a recent interview that Ech(((o)))es and Dust did with Mike Hayden of the San Diego band Sleep Lady. I co-produced and mixed their new record “So Long Lonely Ghost.”
The post-production phase was pretty great because we got to work with Aaron (Harris). We’ve never brought in outside ears on a project before and I was a bit nervous but it was a really easy process and he was really great to work with. I found it really interesting what he would focus on in the creative process.
Thanks for the kind words guys.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT…
Larry Herweg Of Pelican Talks About Tracking Drums With Me.
In a recent interview on Brooklyn Vegan with Mike Hill of the band Tombs, Larry and Trevor from Pelican talk about the making of their new EP -” Ataraxia/Taraxia,” and what it was like to track drums with me here in Los Angeles.
Here are some highlights from the interview –
Mike Hill: Who handled the production duties on Ataraxia / Taraxia?
Trevor de Brauw: It’s sort of complicated. Since the band is no longer located in one city we have to fly by night, we have limited time at our disposal. What we ended up doing for these songs was split up the recording. Larry tracked his drums with Aaron Harris (Isis drummer) in L.A. for two of the songs and then sent us the drum tracks. We recorded the rest of the material in Chicago at Engine Studios with Sanford Parker (Nachtmystium, Gates of Slumber, Leviathan).
There are basically three engineers involved: Aaron Harris, Sanford Parker, Kemble Walters, who’s Larry’s bandmate in ÆGES.
How does recording with close friends affect the process of making a record?
LH: For me, I’ve always looked up to Aaron (Harris) as a drummer, and he’s gotten a lot busier being an engineer as of late. He’s working on records all the time now and I just feel like he’s a good person to have in the studio with me; he’s such a mellow guy and he’s easy to talk to. He calms my nerves. The studio can always be kind of a stressful situation, kind of uptight. He can offer good insight. I remember there was a couple of fills I was doing on the second song of the EP and he was like “Yeah why don’t you pull back a little, hold back on those fills.” He does offer really good insight. Made the songs better in the end. He made it more of a comfortable experience. I’m in a band with [Kemble]. He’s a drummer too; he was the same way. You know he’s kind of like, if I did something that was kind of weird, he’d say “Oh, why don’t you try this instead?” And I’d say, “I didn’t think of it that way.” Both guys were really good influences on me; made it pretty smooth. As far as Sanford goes, I wasn’t there [this] time, but recording with Sanford is always awesome. When I was in Lair of the Minotaur we did our records with Sanford.
To read the full interview go HERE
Blood, Sweat, and Vinyl Documentary
I just finished working on some live audio for the forthcoming documentary “Blood, Sweat, and Vinyl: DIY in the 21st Century.” Some of the live performances I worked on include Neurosis, Isis, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Pelican, Oxbow, Evangelista, Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra, Cave In, and Jesu. Check out the preview, and hopefully it will be showing in your town. Here’s a bit about the film:
“Blood, Sweat & Vinyl provides a keen glimpse into crucial corners of the modern music universe where corporate concerns are disregarded and the artists are given (and receive) the respect they deserve.”
– J. Bennett, Decibel Magazine
This captivating documentary is the product of five years of obsessive filming of live concert footage, exclusive interviews, and historic documentation focusing on three fiercely independent music labels and their bands.
Featuring Neurosis, Isis, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Pelican, Oxbow, Evangelista, Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra, Cave In, and many others whose music and art found ideal homes in the artist-run record labels of Hydra Head, Neurot, and Constellation.
These labels combine hard-to-define, heavy music with a visual aesthetic that has enraptured worldwide fans, without the need for radio or corporate media outlets. They uphold the legacy of treating music as an art form, not as a product.
This film is an answer to those who question where the spirit of punk rock is today.
Over 20 bands and visual artists.
3 record labels.
1 philosophy.
Q&A with ALARM press.
I had a nice chat with ALARM press this week about future ISIS releases, the Live series re-issue, and my new projects.
DRUM! magazine Interview.
Here’s an interview I did with DRUM! magazine about writing and recording In The Absence Of Truth, in which I took a new approach to my drumming. This particularly feature was exciting because it was the first time I’d seen one of my beats written out in drum tablature. It doesn’t hurt that Abe Cunningham’s on the cover either; he’s one of my favorite drummers.
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My 100-mile bike ride: Blogging bikes and music for Decibel magazine
When Jeff Caxide told me that Bernie Romanowski , our friend from the Connecticut band Cable, was writing a blog about music and cycling for Decibel, I had to get involved. Those are my two favorite topics and I have the best memories of Isis touring with Cable. Jeff put me back in touch with Bernie and we exchanged all the necessary bike nerd talk — what kind of bikes we each had, what gear we were using, where we’d been riding, who we were rooting for in the Tour De France, and on and on.
For Bernie’s blog, we came up with the idea each documenting a 100-mile bike ride on our respective coasts. In our posts we’d share details including why we chose the route, what we listened to, what food we consumed and how long it took us.
Here’s how it turned out:
Modern Drummer magazine interview, August 2009
I hooked up with Modern Drummer again in August 2009 to talk about my drumming techniques on Wavering Radiant. I did the photo shoot at my friend Joe Barresi’s studio in Los Angeles. He also produced WR. We had some fun micing the drum kit for the photo shoot. Notice that even the Roland SPD-S is mic’d up. Here’s the interview.
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Vater drumsticks studio report.
Vater drumsticks asked me to write a studio report for their website while I was tracking drums for Wavering Radiant. I write about what it was like to write WR, work with Joe Baressi, and to have a drum tech for the first time.
*If you’re having trouble reading the post below, you can go to Vater’s website and read it there.
Decibel Magazine: Cover story, 2009
A new cover story with Decibel Magazine. I really enjoyed this interview because we were interviewed individually, and I was able to talk about some of my influences, my passion for cycling, and how my drumming and cycling work together. I had hoped to take the interviewer (our good friend Jay Bennet) on a bike ride through the Malibu mountains to give them the full effect, but sadly it didn’t work out. Bikes for people as tall as Jay Bennet are hard to come by.
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Aaron Harris Audio 