Michael's Mixdown

You folks are in for a treat today! Russ Castillo is a record producer, audio engineer, and former audio professor, as well as my friend for the better part of 10 years. We met when he was invited to be a guest speaker at one of my audio classes in college. It was immediately clear that he'd had a long and storied career in audio in Los Angeles. He worked for Producer's Workshop, which saw many huge bands walk through the door. Russ was close with Pink Floyd during their time making The Wall, and has since worked with other major acts including The Doors, Liberace, and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy. Russ lived in Muncie for a few years, just around the corner from my buddy Steve Robert (see episode 5 for more about Steve), and I got to see him in action once and soaked up as much as I could. Russ is so full of stories, we could probably do several 2 hour episodes, but we'll just start with this one! Thanks again to Russ for taking the time to be on my show, it really means the world to me!

HEY, LISTEN: I never actually thought to record this information, so it might be important for you to know that during this episode, all comparison segments are the 1991 version, followed by the 2022 version. So the first section you hear is the old, then the new. Thanks!

For years I have had a little tradition in November. Whenever it rains, I listen to November Rain. Some years I only listen once or twice, but some years I've clocked over 10 plays. I started the tradition because growing up, Guns N' Roses was one of my favorite bands, and this was kind of a way for me to stay connected to them, even as I got older. So imagine how excited I was to find out that Steven Wilson of Porcupine Tree (one of my favorite bands) was doing a remix and remaster of November Rain, now with a live 50 piece orchestra! Buuuut, only for me to miss that boat by a month or two. And given that I was pretty busy last November (probably) I didn't get around to comparing the two for the podcast until now! Better late than never, I guess! So join me in a little bit about why I love GN'R so much, and how this new 2022 version of the track shakes things up.

In this episode, I decided to talk about one of the most iconic villain voices of all time. Darth Vader! Later in the episode I also take a crack at recreating the iconic character's voice and effects with my own style. I didn't want to do an impression or copy exactly what's already been done, so this will be Vader like you've never heard him before!

Also, this episode contains spoilers for Obi-Wan, so if you haven't seen it yet, go watch that first!

Joining me today is Mikey from the podcast "The Crossover with Josh and Mikey." Josh is a buddy of mine, and you can hear more about him in episode 12. Anywho, Josh introduced me and Mikey and awhile after that he's jumping at the chance to be on my show! So today we're talking about Fleetwood Mac's classic album "Rumors." Sometimes you get a rare album where nearly every song is perfect, and many, if not all, of the songs from the album are successful hits. Equal parts drama, talent, and engineering goodness combine to give us one of the most successful and best-selling albums of all time. Join Mikey and I in a discussion that spans from 1977 to 1997 about Fleetwood Mac (and a few other bands maybe). 

Find "The Crossover with Josh and Mikey" here: https://anchor.fm/thecrossoverwjam

This episode, I wanted to talk about all my favorite albums and songs that came out this year. There's no real order here, it's not a top 10 in any way. Just all my favorite things that came out this year. I discuss what I liked about these releases and how they got me through the year. And since I listen to a decent variety of genres, so there's a whole bunch of different stuff to listen to this episode! And at the end, I got some friends to chime in and tell me what their favorite stuff was this year, and what their music did for them in 2021!

Do you remember the 21st night of September? The day that American Idiot by Green Day was released to the public? And I'm pretty certain that no other significant musical history has to do with September 21st. Anyway, this episode is all about the album American Idiot, which was a huge hit for Green Day in 2004. This album brought them back to the scene, even though it was vastly different than what they'd done before. Full of political unrest and teenage angst, this album contains songs that helped to define my entire generation. This album was ubiquitous when I was growing up, and not Earth, nor wind, nor fire could stop it. Come take a listen to find out what made this album so special. 

So, in or around October of 2020, my friend Jake and I had the idea to have a crossover episode of our respective shows, What Were We Talking About and Michael's Mixdown. So here, nearly a year later, we've done just that! In this episode, we talk about our favorite cartoon theme songs and cartoon music in general, but as usual, we tend to get off topic a little bit. But that's the way we roll. And as we didn't do a whole lotta prep for this one, we left out one of our favorite theme songs, the iconic Duck Tales. Okay listen, WE'RE SORRY. So as a joke, I included the old and the new theme to Duck Tales here and there. Get off our backs. 

*Language Warning* Michael's Mixdown is normally a clean show, but this episode ain't right and it ain't normal, so there's some harsh language in this one. 

I have loved this band since I was a kid, and it's one of the few bands that has stuck with me all my life. Join me in this episode where I talk about all the walks of life that have included Counting Crows. I ramble on about personal stories, times of doubt and hurt, and times where I felt inspired and mighty. Counting Crows has it all. This is probably the most personal I've gotten in an episode to date, so be open and have some feels with me. 

Hmm, what's this? Pop music?! That's right, this is no longer a show just about rock n' roll and heavy metal (and it was never really meant to be, it just took me this long to get to a pop song). In this episode, I break down Billie Eilish's Bad Guy from the album WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO. I discover there's many layers to this song, and tons of production work. This song has some of the biggest, fattest bass I've ever heard. It's no wonder that this song and this album cleaned house at the 2020 Grammys. So join me in some critical listening to Bad Guy!

In this Solo'd episode of Michael's Mixdown, I quickly break down two versions of In The Air Tonight, the first being the original, and the other being a cover version by The Protomen. I talk about how Phil Collins went from being the drummer of Genesis, to being an incredibly successful solo artist. I also talk about the differences between the two songs, and what I like about the cover that they changed. If you recognize this cover of In The Air Tonight, it might be because it was in the latest season of Cobra Kai! 

This episode breaks down the absolutely epic double album "Into The Electric Castle" by Ayreon. What a beast of a subject to tackle. This concept album features multiple characters and dozens of performers and instruments. It took about a month to record and edit the entire thing! And the best part? The creator of the album agreed to answer some of my questions for the show! So come check this out, it will be well worth your time!

Welcome to a new format style episode from Michael's Mixdown. The Solo'd episodes will be shorter and come more frequently than the big deep-dive episodes. Sometimes a song just strikes me in a certain way, and I have an immediate appreciation for the production. Some songs also just do not have all that much detailed history to search for online. So this series was born. These episodes will be more commentary style throughout the song, and just my thoughts and reactions to what I'm hearing. 

In this episode, I tackle one of my favorite albums of all time, Dream Theater's Metropolis Pt.2: Scenes From A Memory. Scenes is an amazing display of musicianship and lyrics, and every time I listen to it, I'm totally blown away. It's one of those feelings that I wish I could go back and listen to it for the first time again. Scenes really is an incredible piece of art, and I hope you all will give it a listen. 

This episode goes in depth on Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody, one of the most iconic and famous rock songs ever made. This episode also features an interview segment with a friend of mine who is something of a Queen expert. Come listen to us nerd out about Queen!

This is a really special, emotional episode. Steve Robert (Roh-Berh) was a very close friend of mine, and one of the most caring and loving human beings this planet has ever seen. Steve passed away from brain cancer, but his influence lives on in his community, and in his friends and family. He was a really special person. He was involved in local community outreach programs and advocated for social justice, love, and equality. He was a musician, song writer, guitar and harmonica player, philosopher, psychologist, a friend, a husband, and somebody very special to me. This is our story. 

This is the second audio terms episode, and this one is fairly short and sweet. In this episode, I talk about most of the same effects, like compression and delay, but this time I apply these effects to the electric guitar so that you might better understand how these effects are used in music. 

I had been getting some questions and feedback from listeners, and the comment I got most was that there were a lot of terms being thrown around in my show that people were not understanding. So I decided to make a two-part episode to explain what some of these terms mean. You'll learn about compression, distortion, reverb, delay, and more! To have examples of these effects make sense, I did some voice over work so that I could manipulate my voice to mimic famous sound-designed big creature voices. This was a super fun episode, and I love doing voice work, so this was a thrill for me!

In this episode, I break down the iconic Thriller, by Michael Jackson. There's a ton of information about this album out there, and there was a lot to unpack. This is a great episode, and you'll learn a lot about what went into Thriller, the best selling album of all time!

In this first episode of Michael's Mixdown, I discuss the Original Broadway Cast Recording of Hamilton, and how the record was made and other behind the scenes details!