{"id":6840,"date":"2025-01-07T02:44:50","date_gmt":"2025-01-07T02:44:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/platinummind.net\/?p=6840"},"modified":"2025-01-07T07:36:22","modified_gmt":"2025-01-07T07:36:22","slug":"blog-interview-dave-way","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/platinummind.net\/index.php\/2025\/01\/07\/blog-interview-dave-way\/","title":{"rendered":"Blog Interview: Dave Way"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n

Picture: Brendan Holmes<\/p>\n

You are a multifaceted producer and sound engineer, how did it all begin for you?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Well, I played in bands and wrote songs as a kid but at some point decided that I might be better suited for the studio side of making music and so I went to Berklee College of Music. That got me on the path to becoming an engineer and producer. I somewhat kept up with writing songs for a while until I got too busy as an engineer. Though, I was fortunate enough to write a few songs with Teddy Riley. He was very generous to offer me that opportunity and I\u2019m forever grateful to him for that. I don\u2019t write too much anymore, though I do dip my toe in every once in a while.\u00a0<\/p>\n

What did you listen to growing up?<\/strong><\/p>\n

There was lots of Beatles, Elton John and Stevie Wonder. On the radio I listened to all the AM Classics, Motown etc. Towards the end of high school, the punk and new wave scene started and that got me into bands like the Police and the Pretenders, The Clash and Elvis Costello, Tom Petty. It was a very energizing time. I also went through a Prog Rock stage as well as a Synth music stage. I was always open to anything. When I got to Berklee I discovered Jazz which is what I probably listen to most.\u00a0<\/p>\n

You have worked on records that have soundtracked the lives of a generation to say the least. Is there one that made you think from the moment the record button was pressed you thought – HIT!<\/strong><\/p>\n

There were. But then also there were times when I thought something would be a hit and it wasn\u2019t and also times when something I never thought would be a hit became one. The Spice Girls was like that. I thought they\u2019d be a hit in the UK but never really thought they\u2019d connect in the US and the rest of the world. Obviously, when you\u2019re working with someone like Michael Jackson, you expect you\u2019ve got a good chance at having a hit. Remember The Time was like that (One of my favourite songs of all time. Del.)<\/strong> I remember thinking Genie in a Bottle was really cool, but I was still surprised it became such a huge hit. I thought Macy Gray\u2019s first album was going to be a hit. I did an album recently called Billy Valentine and The Universal Truth that is one of my favorite albums I\u2019ve worked on but it\u2019s with a very small label so you keep your expectations reasonable. But really, you just never know. You put everything you got into it and hope for the best.<\/p>\n

Technology has changed quickly since you started out in the business what has been your favourite advancement?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Well, Protools was obviously a big leap forward. There was a lot of resistance to it at first, but I was an early adopter. I think I\u2019m generally not one of those people who is afraid of technology or someone that thinks the new stuff can\u2019t be as good as the old stuff. I really love the way we make records now as compared to the way we made records in the tape days. For the most part it all depends on how you use it. If you give yourself too many options and postpone making decisions, it can become an albatross. But I like working fast and making decisions in the momen so that hasn\u2019t really been an issue for me. Atmos is another recent development that I\u2019m really excited about. I\u2019ve been doing a lot of Atmos mixing over the last five years and I absolutely love it.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As a producer and engineer what are three myths you\u2019d like to break about your role?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Once in a while, I come across a client who thinks that somehow I can miraculously make their song sound like something it\u2019s not. \u00a0I mean, there\u2019s a lot I can do to take something that\u2019s flat and make it come to life. But I can\u2019t really make a bad singer a great singer. Or a bad song a good song I think sometimes people think that all the magic is in the production and the knob turning when it\u2019s really in the artist and the song.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Which leads me to the second one which is that all the gear really doesn\u2019t matter as much as what people think it does. I\u2019d like to think I could make a good record even with crappy equipment. I know I can. If you know what\u2019s important you\u2019ll find a way to make it happen.<\/p>\n

And on the other side, I sometimes find those that don\u2019t appreciate the art and vision that goes into mixing, producing and making a record. That a mixer is very much an artist and it\u2019s not merely technical. There\u2019s so many decisions to be made. Making the right ones, and having the right taste and tuning in to an artist\u2019s vision is an art itself.\u00a0<\/p>\n

You are currently working with your daughter Riley, what do you think has been something you\u2019ve learned about working with each other?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I can\u2019t speak for her and what she may have learned but I think I\u2019ve learned that even with my own daughter, someone I know and am around more than practically anyone, that I still have to treat her as an artist, because she is. And when we\u2019re working together, she\u2019s the artist, even the client (ha!) and I need to think of her as that above being my daughter. I\u2019m ultimately not the boss.\u00a0<\/p>\n

What\u2019s your favourite track from the EP?<\/strong><\/p>\n

My favorite right now is Poison. I think it\u2019s one of her best songs and I think we made a good record with it. She\u2019s been writing some really great songs lately and I\u2019m excited to get back into the studio again with her for the next batch. We\u2019ve got the basics down for a couple that I think have the potential of being her best songs. We\u2019ll see.\u00a0<\/p>\n

If you could be shipped off to a desert island what three albums would you take and what book?<\/strong><\/p>\n

If I were on a desert island I\u2019d be lonely so I think I\u2019d want music that\u2019d cheer me up. I\u2019m gonna go with Duke Ellington Live at Newport, Songs In The Key of Life and maybe The White Album since it\u2019s a double album and covers so much ground. One book might be Songwriters on Songwriting by Paul Zollo. \u00a0<\/p>\n

If you could hear one song that you\u2019ve recorded for the first time again what would it be?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hmm. I have no idea. As in get to re-live the moment a song came to life in the studio? I think I\u2019ll get sentimental and pick the moment when Riley came into the studio for the first time because she wanted to record her voice. I think she was 3. She sang into the mic and when I played it back she said, \u201cWhat happened to my beautiful voice!!!\u201d Her mom and I laughed hysterically but at the same time I was crushed. Here was my moment of truth and I failed. Hopefully I make her happier now with her recordings.\u00a0<\/p>\n

What are you listening to at the moment?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

I listen to mostly jazz. I particularly like music that was recorded before say 1960. Before overdubs became the norm. When recordings were just snapshots of a moment in time and not a construction. That said, I\u2019ve been digging MkGee lately. I saw Madison Cunningham perform recently and she blew my mind. I also like Louis Cole and Knower.\u00a0<\/p>\n

What are you looking forward to doing next?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve just been working with Iron And Wine again and we\u2019ll be finishing that album soon. I\u2019ve also been working with Linda Perry and really enjoying that. I hope to do more with her.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And of course more with Riley. That should be very soon and it\u2019s always rewarding.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Official Website<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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