Behind the Glass Wall: Eric Lilavois
When I was a kid, I would listen to rock-n-roll albums and imagine that the entire band was in a small studio room, playing their instruments, along to the singer belting out lyrics in front of a big silver microphone. Meanwhile, a man behind a glass wall, listened to every note played as he moved a few dials up and down a big board. He’d stop the band when they were out of tune or needed “more cowbell” then after a few takes, the band completed their song and *poof!* there was your record.
Check Out Saturday Night Live: More Cowbell on Hulu.
Established music producer, Eric Lilavois has certainly embraced this role. Although incredibly time consumed with running a 4000 square foot recording studio in Pasadena, known as Crown City Studios and being a partner of Seattle’s legendary London Bridge Studios, Lilavois managed to graciously grant me an interview.
Is the music producer becoming more essential than the artist?
I think having a producer is essential to the greater success and potential of a project, and I believe as an artist, if you find the right producer, the right fit, they’ll be able to help you accomplish goals and growth beyond what you can do on your own. My personal philosophy as a producer is very organic and more closely associated with who the artist is and what their vision is, to guide, dive in, advise and support, so I would have a real hard time saying a producer is more essential than the artist. Without the artist there is no art. It’s that genuine spark thats exciting, hearing that thing in an artist that just can’t be manufactured and nurturing it.
Tell me what music producing was like 20 years ago in comparison to now.
I think music producing has always had a strange reputation, and everyone’s perception of it is a little different, and different artists need different types of producers, now more then ever. Maybe 20 years ago it was a bit more static, less dynamic, though you could still argue about it being somewhat formulaic, but that’s just dependent on the producer, the genre, the goal in my opinion anyway. You have a lot more modern day producers co/writing or co/creating with artists now too, and there’s also the producer / engineer hybrid that’s happened. I remember the first time I sat down with a veteran producer I admired and couldn’t believe that he knew virtually nothing about most of the gear in the studio. Never touched the console, placed or even picked what microphone to use.
I can’t think of the greatest guitar player to come out of this decade, much less this century. Can you?
That’s tough, all around, though. I have to be honest, I cringe when I see those 100 greatest anything lists. Art is subjective and it’s just, it’s just whatever hits you. Different things make different people great, and as far as the greatest, so impossible. I have my opinions, Jack White is brilliant, Page is brilliant, Carrie Brownstein just blows me away, I can’t get over the way she plays guitar. I mean, I think Sonic Youth is amazing, innovative, great, other people think it’s noise, junk. I saw Stanley Jordan in my early 20’s when all that mattered to me were power chords and volume, and I remember sitting through his set thinking, woah there’s a lot out there I’m ignoring, that I’m missing.
Are we losing our appreciation for musicians?
By and large, I have to say yes, or maybe the appreciation or what it is we appreciate has changed, morphed into something different. There are some incredible advocates, educators and protectors of music and musicianship, but then there is also mother culture that focuses more and more on celebrity and less on artistry. It’s another tough one, it’s always been there, but it’s all so amplified, so distracting.
How would you like to revolutionize the recording industry?
Wow, you’re the real deal. That is they type of question every artist, every industry professional should be asking themselves, and I wish more would have before so many things went haywire. It’s crazy that at this point revolutionizing the industry would look something like paying independent artists fairly, accurately, actually paying for the music people create, for the soundtracks of our lives that improve the quality of our lives, and often define and describe our most pivotal moments. What a mind blowing concept right? There’s progress though, there’s revolution, right around the bend, and at the very least more access to music and to independent artists then ever before.
What projects are you working on of late?
I’m pretty focused on the ongoing revamp that’s happening at our studio in Seattle, London Bridge Studio. I have two fantastic partners, Jonathan Plum and Geoff Ott, and we’re working really hard to restore our Vintage Neve 8048 board which is original to the studio, and preserve the history there but also take it into the future. We’ve done some serious and massive gear upgrades. The mic locker and outboard gear collection has just gotten ridiculous, and now we’re working on the lounge and other spaces in the studio. It’s an incredibly special place, so much talent has roamed those halls, and recorded in those rooms, and it’s a real joy to see everyone coming back through, along with a new generation of talent. Producers, engineers, bands, that haven’t been there in years, they’re all coming back and they’re all blown away.
As far as production, I’m in pre-production with Sarah Dashew, Forebear, and Gabriel Wolfchild who was a contestant on the Voice, all incredibly talented individuals. My own record Salt, Sea, and Smoke is coming out on Vinyl towards the end of the year, and I’m also wrapping up a record with Salt Petal which is coming out fantastic.
Is there any song out that is inspiring you most these days? What comes foremost to mind for me, is Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On”…
I love that song, and I think it’s timeless and as relevant as ever. The mood and feel of that song is so perfectly matched with the content, it’s such a deep representation of how powerful and emotive music is. Cat Stevens, Sing Out is one that gets thrown on frequently whenever I’m feeling weighed down by indecision, or feeling a little lost. I was very moved by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis’s track same love when that came out, I’m extremely inspired by conscious material, by songs that ask us to ask questions of ourselves and the world around us.
Are you truly following your dreams? And what’s next?
I think that’s a beautiful question that we should all write on our ceilings above our beds. I’m still a work in progress, I always will be, it’s the way I’m wired, I’m still dreaming. There’s a lot of work to do, and what’s next is beyond my wildest imagination, for now.
Lastly, I am a producer for various reality television shows, including Pawn Stars. Can you tell me how you became involved in composing the show’s theme song?
Oh wow, no way! Well, though I would have greatly enjoyed composing the theme song for Pawn Stars, and by all means if you’re ready for a change up I’d love a crack, haha, but I didn’t compose the theme. I’ve worked on a large amount of cues for Pawn Stars, Cajun Pawn Stars, American Restoration, Counting Cars, and whole handfuls of others with a great friend and composition partner /collaborator Andrew De Witt. We have a custom music company called RAH expression, and we compose, produce, and record just about every genre you can imagine. We have a really talented pool of musicians we pull from and also play a lot of the instruments ourselves, and have a couple fantastic recording studios at our disposal. We also operate a little differently then then a lot of the other outfits that are just cranking out canned files on their laptops. We do a lot of live recording, use real musicians, and often mix on large format consoles.
Feature Photo Credit: Ambushe.com
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