You learned to record so you could upload songs to MySpace, and around the same time you first went to a Warped Tour. Was it surreal to sign with your management company, Crush Music, who were once synonymous with that era of music?
I moved out here without knowing I would move out here. I thought it was a summer internship at a recording studio, a little in-house factory place. [Songwriters] Sam "S*A*M" Hollander and Dave "Sluggo" Katz came through to produce a Blues Traveler album [Suzie Cracks the Whip], and Sam was friends with Jonathan Daniel over at Crush. We would be tracking, but we would stay and talk, and I was absorbing all these stories, info, and knowledge about bands I loved and admired – from Fall Out Boy to Boys Like Girls to Panic! At The Disco and Gym Class Heroes. That was really cool. Evan Taubenfeld was a producer, working with a Japanese rock band in the studio I worked at. I engineered for him then, and a year later he was working as a publisher at Crush. He said, "You're really cool. What are you doing here, engineering in this weird little factory?" Eventually he signed me, and, in doing so, introduced me to Jake Sinclair, who was Butch Walker's [Tape Op #138] engineer. Jake took me under his wing, and I got to work on all the records he was working on, either engineering or as an additional producer or writer. That whole team means the world to me. It's so surreal. I'll look back and realize, "Holy crap. Tom Morello posted my selfie on his Instagram yesterday. That's not real."
What did you pick up from engineering with Jake?
He's an exceptional producer, songwriter, engineer, and mixer. He's the whole package. But what I really love is wherever he goes, the drums are set up, but not in a live room far away. They're right there; put on the headphones and they're ready to go. The guitar is right there. The bass is right there. Just plug in. Wanna track a vocal? Go stand over there. We just have to dial it in. Everything's all in the room, and it makes it easy to put records together, or the foundations of records. Music is a vibe, and it's beautiful to work with what you have and what's in front of you. He taught me that. He also showed me that it's fun. When it feels like work, and something you hate, or you're treating it as a job, you hear it in the song and in the tracks. But when you're having a good time, it's amazing and cool.
You've been doing some sessions in your home over the pandemic. What do you appreciate about non-traditional studios?
I got a good studio space about four months ago. But up until then, my living room was no longer a living room; it was a recording studio, which was fun. Sunlight, daylight – for that alone, I'd rather record in a giant living room than a soundproofed, nice recording studio. Even in my new studio, there were sound panels blocking the giant windows, and the first thing I did on day one was rip out the panels. We put up 3/4-inch plexiglass over [the windows], and it's no issue; we get daylight. It's a more casual, laid-back atmosphere, which takes the pressure off. Though there are also times I want [recording] to be intense – then I want to be at The Village, I want to be at United [Recording Studios]. But it gives us a feeling, wherever we are. I can record guitar anywhere. I can record vocals anywhere. If we want the huge, fancy, beautiful Capitol Studios [Tape Op #114] Studio A to record vocals, because that's the feeling we're going for, sure! But if they want to sit behind me on the couch and use a [Shure] SM7 [mic], that's chill, too.
What's the most exciting piece of equipment you've gotten to test out in some of those "intense" studios?
I'm sure everyone's going to say this, but Frank Sinatra's old Neumann [U 47] mic in Capitol was pretty cool. The reverb chambers there… plug-ins stand no chance. But every room I walk into, I'm always blown away in some manner, just because someone that I was or am obsessed with came in and made a crazy record that will stand the test of time. That's really cool, whether you're at Henson [Recording Studios] or someone's house.
What about at home base? What are you gravitating towards?
There's this Chase Bliss Automatone [preamp] pedal I just got. I go between that and my Mesa/Boogie Mark I [amp] going into the Universal Audio OX box. I've been getting some sick tones with that. Every session I have in the past month, I'm going between those.
You're really into guitar pedals. Do you stay out of the computer as long as you can?
For guitar zone, I never really use plug-ins. It's all pedals. I share the studio with Zac Carper, from the band FIDLAR, and his pedals, combined with my pedals, we have 100 pedals in a rolling cart I can push around the room. It's fun, while we're dialing a tone in, to throw in the pedals and see what works and let it be like that – rather than recording a crappy sound direct in and then adjusting the levels. The Tech 21 SansAmp Bass Driver V2 is a star for me. And the Chase Bliss MOOD [granular delay].
What about when you do use plug-ins?
UAD, Soundtoys, and FabFilter are my staples. Every session I have, those plug-ins are there. FabFilter's [Pro-Q 3] EQ is just so sick. The oeksound soothe [dynamic resonance suppressor] I've been using a lot – isn't it crazy? Valhalla has my go-to reverbs. [XLN Audio's] Addictive Drums and Keys for programming are really good, especially the MPC sounds. [The Producer's Choice] 808 Warfare – I know everyone thinks that's not cool anymore, but it has 20 different 808 sounds I can go through. [Spectrasonics] Omnisphere [virtual synthesizer] and the TAL [U-No-LX] emulation of [Roland's] Juno synth – you should get it; it's really good! And they have a chorus I use a lot.
I wanted to talk to you about drum patterns, because that's how you started production on Weezer's Van Weezer. But I've also heard you say it's not your favorite part of the process.
I'm eager to do more drum programming, specifically because it's been a challenge to me – I hear hip-hop songs with amazing drum programming, and I get self-conscious. But now that I have drums in my studio, I gravitate towards that and figuring out patterns. It's funny with Van Weezer, and Weezer in general, a lot of the drum programming is [vocalizes a standard rock beat]. So, a lot of the challenge with Weezer is about not doing that beat, and instead trying other patterns that stray from the go-to rock pattern. Ever since that, I've been keener on tuning into kick, snare, hi-hat. Think of "We Will Rock You": Epic rock songs, no hi-hat until the chorus, no crash in the first chorus. Drums are so interesting to me because we can constantly build up the song to get bigger and bigger throughout it.
Do you remember the first producers you admired, before you were one yourself?
Yes. Greg Wells [Tape Op #123], Max Martin, and Rick Rubin – that whole world. I found Greg Wells' website and email in 2009, and I kept emailing him like, "I'm Suzy! I love your work." And he replied one time. I asked, "Hey, can I intern for you? Can I move out?" No response. Two years later, I saw he was working on Twenty One Pilots. I asked again, "Hey, can I intern for you?" No response. Because I was so weird. And Rick Rubin, what a legend. His story, and the fact that he was obsessed with magic and wrestling… he's so cool to me. He's on my list of, "Oh my god, I want to meet him, pick apart his brain, and paint myself the color of the wall and stand along his wall." Those guys all mean a lot to me.
I read that you love Jack Antonoff [Tape Op #135] and Butch Walker because it's easy to hear their production thumbprint on a record. Which of their signatures are exciting to you?
Everyone has their style. With Jack, his melodies, chord changes, and even his synth sounds – I can just tell. The same with Butch, with the more guitar-driven, live feeling. But both of these guys produce emotionally-driven records. They have heart, each in their own specific way. That's what I try, in my own way, to emulate. But I think I'm still developing my sound. My guitar tones and drums are becoming more and more clear and representative of me. Maybe it sounds kind of lo-fi and indie, but I want it to never sound "copy and pasted" together. I want it to sound like a record, a song, or what me, ten years ago, put on in her room and screamed along to. That's what I want to do – capture a feeling.
For mix references, you dig into vintage sounds. Are there any that you're excited by right now, or have rediscovered and started incorporating?
