EQ Magazine - April 2009 - (Page 12) PUNCH IN SESSIONEngineer Paul Ericksen NOTES A Discussion with BY MR. BONZAI I first met engineer/mixer Paul Ericksen when I was shooting a short video with producer Peter Wolf at his studio in Malibu. I interviewed and recorded Wolf at the piano, with his vintage Telefunken ELA-M 250 going directly into my Panasonic DVX-100 camera. Unfortunately, I overdrove the mic, but Ericksen was able to make everything sound perfect by routing the signal through his gear (which included the BIAS SoundSoap plugin). I was impressed. Ericksen has been at his gig now for more than 30 years. He has recorded Weather Report, Joe Zawinul, Carlos Santana, Chicago, and others, as well as Wolf, whom he has worked with for 25 years. Much of Ericksen’s time is now spent in Wolf’s impeccable home studio—which features a rare, vintage Neve console (one of only five manufactured)— tracking major artists and film and television projects. When did you decide to become an engineer? In 1978, when after graduating from high school, I decided to go to college and enroll in a two-year course in the recording arts. Evan Williams was my teacher, and the course used The Recording Studio Handbook by John Woram. Our classroom studio had a 16-track 2" MCI tape machine, a Neve 8016 console, and some good mics and outboard gear—such as an Eventide 910 Harmonizer, a Lexicon Prime Time, KEPEX noise gates, and LA-3A Limiters. It was all cool stuff to learn with. Later, at Soundcastle Recording Studios in Los Angeles, I learned a lot from Bill Bottrell, who was the studio’s chief engineer in the early ’80s. What was the name of the first song you recorded? “Man of The North.” My best friend, who also took the recording class, had a good band called Byron. They got a great demo for free out of the deal. What was your first professional paying gig? At Soundcastle. I worked there from 1980 to 1986, and they paid me a salary as an assistant. All the first engineers were independent, and they were paid by either a record label, an artist, or a producer. The first time I got a check from a record company was for a Weather Report album for CBS. That was my transition from second engineer to first engineer. It wasn’t always easy. Sometimes, it was a trial by fire. When did you feel you had “made it”? There are always different levels of making it. The first time was just getting a job at a studio. Then getting an engineering credit on a record seemed like making it. Then it was being a first engineer and mixing an album. Whatever is your goal is what leads to “making it.” Sometimes we can forget our next goal if we get distracted with the current situation we are in. What have you learned from Peter? How to work and enjoy life at the same time! Well, also to use the best equipment, and to hire the best musicians whenever possible. What was it like working with Joe Zawinul? Fascinating. He was a master musician and a great human being. I first met him when I was an assistant at Soundcastle. In the beginning, I was getting his lunch, but while assisting on Weather Report’s This Is This! in 1986, Joe asked me if I had any problem mixing the album. I said, ‘No 12 EQ APRIL 2009 www.eqmag.com http://www.eqmag.com
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