Call him The King of Retro Cool. You may have seen Nick Waterhouse wondering “where you think you’re gonna go/when your time’s all gone?” in the current Lexus CT Hybrid “Live a Full Life” commercial campaign, but his super-snazzy brand of modern jazzabilly rock extends well beyond that 30-second snippet. His second full-length LP, Holly (Innovative Leisure), builds on the retro-rockin’ bed of 2011′s Time’s All Gone. Waterhouse and I recently convened to talk about Holly‘s sonic merits, his favorite vinyl reissues, his playback gear, and the benefits of recording in mono.
Mike Mettler: Was Holly recorded direct to tape?
Nick Waterhouse: It was! I did the record at Fairfax in Van Nuys, [California], which is where the Sound City studios used to be. Kevin Augunas was my co-producer on the record. We used four Scully 16-track recorders gotten from A&M Studios, so they’re really ... Read More »]]>
Nick’s got that sweater swing. Photo by Naj Jamai.
Call him The King of Retro Cool. You may have seen Nick Waterhouse wondering “where you think you’re gonna go/when your time’s all gone?” in the current Lexus CT Hybrid “Live a Full Life” commercial campaign, but his super-snazzy brand of modern jazzabilly rock extends well beyond that 30-second snippet. His second full-length LP, Holly (Innovative Leisure), builds on the retro-rockin’ bed of 2011′s Time’s All Gone. Waterhouse and I recently convened to talk about Holly‘s sonic merits, his favorite vinyl reissues, his playback gear, and the benefits of recording in mono.
Mike Mettler: Was Holly recorded direct to tape?
Nick Waterhouse: It was! I did the record at Fairfax in Van Nuys, [California], which is where the Sound City studios used to be. Kevin Augunas was my co-producer on the record. We used four Scully 16-track recorders gotten from A&M Studios, so they’re really nice. And I feel it imported a lot of that character, because Scullys are known to be precise and have a kind of different warmth than Ampexes do. I was so pleased with the results.
Mettler: I really got a sense of the character of the room and space you recorded in, because Holly has that special, live off-the-floor feel.
Waterhouse: Oh yeah yeah yeah! I’m a big advocate of cutting live. A lot of this record was tracked with the keys, rhythm guitar, bass, and drums all together.
Mettler: On a song like “Well It’s Fine,” you really hear the subtlety and detail with [Richard Gowen's] brush drums on the intro.
Waterhouse: That tune was a favorite of mine, even though it’s the most minimal. You can hear so much of the room, and everything was cut live. Listening back to it gave me the chills. It reminded me a lot of the [Rudy] Van Gelder productions for the Blue Note jazz stuff.
Mettler: It’s all got that cool, early-’60s, everybody-is-looking-at-each-other feel. And I love the sax solo on “Dead Room” —
Waterhouse: Mm-hmm, that’s the very talented Jason Freese on tenor sax.
Mettler: “This Is the Game” has some sweet horns in the intro and then that nice organ interplay in the middle. Everything sounds so good digitally, so it begs the question: How good does this album sound on vinyl?
Waterhouse: You’ll love it! I’m very excited. I had the very talented Kevin Gray master it, and had Quality Record Pressings in Salina, Kansas press the record. As you probably know, they did Quality Pressings of some of the Prestige and Blue Note stuff.
Mettler: Oh yeah, that’s as prime as it gets.
Waterhouse: They cut it on the same machine that they do their deep-groove reissues with. Holly is 180-gram on a single disc, at 33. I stayed conservative in that sense. I’m really pleased, because the record clocks in at 31 minutes.
Cul de sac coolness. Photo by Naj Jamai.
Mettler: That’s nice, so you didn’t have to make any compromises at all on either side.
Waterhouse: Not at all. I’m really excited how “Sleepin’ Pills” ends the groove of Side 1.
Mettler: Man, I have to get a copy ASAP. You must have etched something into the runout groove, too.
Waterhouse: Oh yeah, there’s always a little message there.
Mettler: What kind of turntable do you have?
Waterhouse: I have one of those old VPI Classics that I really like a lot. I used to have an Empire 298 that I really liked, and I actually moved that to my office at the studio. I picked up the VPI secondhand last year, with my first big recording check. I figured that was the best way to reward myself. [both laugh] And that goes through a nice Fisher X-101-B receiver. I like the phono stage on that a lot.
Mettler: What kind of speakers do you run through?
Waterhouse: Klipsch Heresys. To me, that’s a very classic high-level consumer system. Most of what I listen to are mono jazz LPs and pop 45s.
Mettler: What kind of cartridge does the VPI have?
Waterhouse: I actually switched between a Denon DL-102 and DL-103. I have the 103 because that thing takes beat-up old 45s really well.
Mettler: What’s your current favorite record that you’re spinning on the VPI?
Waterhouse: Oh, man… well, I’m a massive fan of Chico Hamilton’s Man From Two Worlds (1964), on Impulse! That’s slightly off the beaten path, but —
Mettler: Somebody I talked to last year also recommended a Chico record… let me think for a minute [pauses]… oh yeah! It was Derek Trucks, when he called me from the side of the road. That’s totally in his blood.
Waterhouse: Oh yeah, there’s a lot of heavy jazz in his playing.
Mettler: The Dealer (1966) was the Chico record he was talking about.
Waterhouse: Oh, The Dealer is really tough! I love that record; it’s a funky record. Man From Two Worlds is more my speed, though. Derek Trucks is a little more funky than I am as a player. [chuckles]
Mettler: Smoky cool is what I’d call your kind of playing. What else can you recommend?
Waterhouse: I’m also a really big fan of Garnet Mimms, and he has two records out on United Artists. “Cry Baby” is the single [later covered by Janis Joplin], but As Long As I Have You (1964) is one of my favorite LPs of all time. It’s a really wonderful-sounding, big city, kind of New York-full kind of record with Gerry Ragovoy production. And of course, you can’t go wrong with Bobby “Blue” Bland’s Two Steps From the Blues (1961), on Duke. It’s an amazing-sounding record — and in mono, nonetheless.
Mettler: You released your first album, Time’s All Gone, in mono, right?
Waterhouse: Yeah. All my 45s are in mono, and believe it or not, Holly is in mono too. It’s funny, because I remember sitting with the mastering engineer, and he asked me three times, “This is mono??” It was great!
I come from a background of wanting to learn how to do it myself — the process of how to make the records. I had read a lot of books and interviews about engineering and recording. I never went to engineering school, but they say they teach you how to mix in mono first because if you mess up a mono mix, you mess up the whole thing, but you could squeak by in a stereo mix. But I just stop there, I don’t go any further than that statement. [laughs]
Mettler: Do you remember the first record you bought as a kid, before you worked in the record store? [Waterhouse worked at Rooky Ricardo’s Records in the Lower Haight in San Francisco when he was attending San Francisco State University.]
Waterhouse: It’s funny. There’s a series of records I didn’t put any cash down for but that my uncle gave me. It was three of the earliest Rolling Stones records: The Rolling Stones Now! (1965), Out of Our Heads (1965), and Aftermath (1966). He gave me the London pressings of those. And on top of that, he gave me a couple of Miracles, Four Tops, and a Yardbirds American reissue… what was it called…?
Mettler: It was probably the Yardbirds Greatest Hits (1967), with the “lasso” song logo on the cover, and the LP had that yellow Epic label on it. Had that one in college myself. My Dad also gave me his copy, which didn’t have the outer sleeve.
Waterhouse: Yeah, that’s it! Those records were all big parts of my life. But the first things I bought were not LPs, but two 45s: Booker T. & the M.G.’s’ “Green Onions,” and Charlie Rich’s “Mohair Sam.” Those I see as the cornerstones of my musical vocabulary, really.
Mettler: Please tell me you still have those 45s.
Waterhouse: I do, yeah! They’re in the boxes, so to speak. When I finally became a real musician, I explained to my mom that all those years spent scolding me for spending my day-job money on records was moot now.
Mettler: I love that! How do you stand in the Beatles universe in terms of mono vs. stereo?
Waterhouse: Oh, I have no opinion about that — Ray Charles was my Beatles.
Mettler: Ok, then what about The Rat Pack?
Waterhouse: Oh, The Rat Pack. I dig them, but I never got too heavy into them. I love their records in mono because that’s how they were recorded, in that format.
Mettler: Anything else on vinyl that you took a chance on that was great?
Waterhouse: Let’s see, I’m looking at my wall right now… I just got a really amazing Japanese reissue of Georgie Fame: Rhythm and Blues at the Flamingo (1964), a live record. It’s really nice, a replication of the U.K. pressing. They did a great job remastering it. I’ve got the new Charles Bradley LP here, Victim of Love (2013), which sounds really nice, and I just invested in a subscription to the Prestige Mono LPs Reissues Series, and they just sent me Phil Woods Quartet: Woodlore (1955), Hank Mobley: Mobley’s Message (1956), and Tommy Flanagan: Overseas (1957). I’m really enjoying those right now.
Mettler: Last thing: Bob Dylan. Does he filter into your universe?
Waterhouse: He does, but he came in really late. I feel grateful, actually. I like that he came in after I learned about blues, R&B, folk, and gospel, because now I see all that in there. I love him in mono, especially what’s in The Complete Mono Recordings box set. Here’s a little trivia you’ll enjoy: The console that’s now at Fairfax is the one Kevin Augunas, the owner, got from Bradley Barn, the old RCA studio in Nashville. It was built in 1965, and it might have been used to track Blonde on Blonde. How cool is that?
]]>It’s that time of year: Time to cite the tunes that caught hold of my expert ear over the past 12 months — the ones I consider most worthy of purchase, hi-res download, and/or dropping the needle on at 45 rpm! Here, in reverse order, are my favorite 25 songs of 2013. Happy listening!
25. Joan Jett & The Blackhearts: “Any Weather.” Forecast calls for her continued reign. Co-meteorologized with Foomaster Dave Grohl.
24. U2: “Ordinary Love.” As in, “Extra-” and “This Is No.” And Mandela smiles from The Great Beyond.
23. Michael Monroe: “Ballad of the Lower East Side.” Punkin’-A NYC luv letter. Sneer perfection.
22. Baby Woodrose: “Bubblegum.” Flip your tongue like… super-chewy Euro-garage pop!
21. Palmyra Delran: “Some Day Soon.” Hopeful, wistful, wonderful: Yes, please. Stick it out — rewards ahead.
20. Radio Days: “Love and Fun.” Beach-blanket underground-pop rabble-rouser.
19. Charles ... Read More »]]>
Engineer Men: Roanoke, Virginia’s Young Sinclairs can toot their collective horn for chugging in at #3.
BY MIKE METTLER
It’s that time of year: Time to cite the tunes that caught hold of my expert ear over the past 12 months — the ones I consider most worthy of purchase, hi-res download, and/or dropping the needle on at 45 rpm! Here, in reverse order, are my favorite 25 songs of 2013. Happy listening!
Where Did All of the Workmen Go: Houndmouth put a twang-jammin’ bite on #17.
Vix Humana: Jenn & Reeves are absolutely, seductively transcendent at lucky #13.
Live and Yearn: Amy Gore & Her Valentines go for the jugular valve at #9.
Lightning in My Pocket: The Bayonets ensnare the real deal at #2.
25. Joan Jett & The Blackhearts: “Any Weather.” Forecast calls for her continued reign. Co-meteorologized with Foomaster Dave Grohl.
24. U2: “Ordinary Love.” As in, “Extra-” and “This Is No.” And Mandela smiles from The Great Beyond.
23. Michael Monroe: “Ballad of the Lower East Side.” Punkin’-A NYC luv letter. Sneer perfection.
22. Baby Woodrose: “Bubblegum.” Flip your tongue like… super-chewy Euro-garage pop!
21. Palmyra Delran: “Some Day Soon.” Hopeful, wistful, wonderful: Yes, please. Stick it out — rewards ahead.
20. Radio Days: “Love and Fun.” Beach-blanket underground-pop rabble-rouser.
19. Charles Bradley: “Hurricane.” New millennial soul brother, all aswirl.
18. Kurt Baker: “Weekend Girls.” Bouncy, jouncy, hello-ladies kinda singalong.
17. Houndmouth: “Ludlow.” Spot-on down-home jammin’ and jukin’. Tight futures.
16. Lorde: “Everybody Wants to Rule the World.” Evocative Tears For Fears cover, and perhaps the one thing we have running in our blood common with those ruddy luxe “Royals.”
15. Mark Lindsay: “Show Me the Love.” Killer hook ’n riffs, to be Revered and Raided accordingly.
14. The Launderettes: “Cold Cold Hearts.” A solemnly cool ’n seductive blast of Norwegian love.
13. Jenn Vix & Reeves Gabrels: “Speed of Light.” Wholly auralgasmic electronic guitar mashup in 9/4 time.
12. Jake Clemons: “You Must Be Crazy.” The sax man’s bloodline runs strong ’n true, and grows anew.
11. Daft Punk Featuring Pharrell Williams: “Get Lucky.” More like Daft Funk, especially with main Chic-man Nile Rodgers on guitar.
10. John & Brittany: “Start Sinning.” How to bash out raw sentiment with abandon, drive, and verve.
9. Amy Gore & Her Valentines: “Send Me a Postcard.” Perfect post-garage-punk kiss-on/kiss-off. Mwah!
8. Robin Thicke Featuring T.I. and Pharrell: “Blurred Lines.” Ubiquitously catchy honeydripper. (You know you want it…) The late Robert Palmer woulda simply made it even more irresistible.
7. The Anderson Council: “Gardening Man.” Perfectly tilled garage-rock seeds. Listen how they grow.
6. Ryan Bingham: “Until I’m One With You.” Haunting theme to FX’s The Bridge resonates deep and wide.
5. Paul McCartney, Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic & Pat Smear: “Cut Me Some Slack.” They so heavy. (Dun-dun-dun!)
4. Tedeschi Trucks Band: “Calling Out to You.” Mournful, foot-tapping acoustic quiet prayer, the perfect end to a brilliant album.
3. The Young Sinclairs: “Engineer Man.” Infectious garage riff and spot-on harmonies mesh 1965 vibe with 2013 reality. “He does all of the work around here.”
2. The Bayonets: “Whatcha Got.” Slinky ’n sultry and slunky ’n funky in all the right places. “Casanova was a lightweight, Valentino was a clown … You wanna sweet talk? You can take a walk … So what so what, show me whatcha got.”
1. Steven Wilson: “Luminol.” 12 minutes of hard-charging transcendence, ranging from post-prog pummeling to layered harmonic elegance, fully realized in the mulitchannel king’s own envelope-pushing surround-sound mix. Officially my personal favorite benchmark 5.1 demo track.
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