Kevin “the Caveman” Shirley MTF Write-Up (26th April, 2007)

The role of a producer is an element within the recording arts which captivates me. When all the other factors of recording taken into consideration, the role of a producer seems minimal; well, that’s at least how I initially felt. But after commencing this individual task, as well as attending the lectures from Steve Fieldhouse, my initial views were radically changed.

Kevin Shirley, also known as “the Caveman” for his Neanderthal-like looks was a great choice for me because he had his own website, which gave me an insight into his own personal views on recording from his own perspective, but also his style helped me further understand this idea of “the role of the producer.” I didn’t come across his particular style until very late in my research, and after finally managing to listen to some of his work on the CD’s I purchased.

Shirley’s story is that of rags to richest, beginning his life in troubled South Africa in the 60’s and 70’s. He began his recording career at the age of 19, after managing to score a position working for the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) producing none other than little pop and classical acts.^[1] I am sure that this is how all producers begin, and the success simply comes down to how forward they are within the industry. Let’s face it; you can’t get anywhere unless you show an underlying interest within the career that you aspire towards.

Listening to some of his earlier work I noticed not so much the lack of experience, but more just how it differs from his work now – sound-wise. His earlier work is tinnier, and in a sense more raw, and the overall amount of production is nowhere near as much as to some of his current releases. It seems that as he progressed through his career, he acquired much knowledge through both mistakes and also time. For example, he mentions that drum panning for a producer can be either good or bad, depending on what you are doing. Throughout Silverchair’s 1995 hit album, Frogstomp, Shirley panned the drums hard left-right. He claims that this was the biggest mistake he learnt from (I tend to agree with him), so on future pure rock recordings, he kept the drum-kit in the middle of the mix, such as Iron Maiden and the Black Crowes. It seems that even the professionals, still learn from their mistakes.^[2]

Shirley loves recording in analogue, after all he grew up with it, and for a long time refused to go anywhere near digital, but since the progression of 24-bit technology he has found his own ground on working with ProTools. Now he believes it is essential to recording, especially vocals. However, artists and engineers also appreciate the sound of analogue. As with Journey, the sound of the hi-hats on their 1996 comeback album Trial By Fire, the engineer for the album George Massenberg said “it’s nice to hear a hi-hat again after 15 years.”^[3] I think this is what makes Shirley unique – his drums…

Rather than treat the kit as a myriad of cymbals and toms, he tries to keep the drum kit as a single entity within a mix, and as Steve Fieldhouse mentioned to me, the lack of room mics may also have something to do with this effect.

After reading many interviews with particular artists on Shirley, all of them honour his style and relationship with the musician. After nearly ten years Iron Maiden’s original lead singer Bruce Dickinson came back to rejoin the band and this is where Shirley decided to record them in a live sense, without too many over dubs. To the band this was not desired, and they approached it reluctantly, however after experiencing it, the following two albums have been done in the exact same way; live. Shirley appears to record most of his artists in this way, including Journey, Dream Theatre and others. He tries to make the experience as enjoyable as possible for the artists, as he believes that this is the best way to get the best takes, and of course this is logical to the recording industry itself.^[4]

Every performer is entitled to their own headphone mixing desk, time off, and the scheduling of start and finish times too are important to Shirley. He believes that working all day is not the way to go and that the best thing to do as a producer, is to appreciate the other elements that you have encompassing you in your life, such as family and friends. If thought about, this makes sense, and falls back down to the finished product, if everyone is happy, the recording will also be happy.

After heavy research and many purchased CD’s, I now understand what producer means to artists as well as to the producers themselves. Kevin Shirley is a pure example of a producer who can bring people together, record them and get amazing results. He is also skilled in mixing and engineering and his success is simply because of his forward approach to the art of recording. I think that his open mindedness with digital has given him more flexibility and more flare to record with. His passion for analogue, which should not be forgotten as a recording method has given him a signature sound. I think he also demonstrates to aspiring producers the importance of being able to adapt and to try new ways of recording music, and to never forget the importance of outside influences artists and technologies.

There seems to be an unknown when recording music, and this alone excites me. The way you place a mic, the mic you choose, the compression and EQ settings are all factors which have standards, but there is nothing more exciting than being able to experiment with them and see what can be pushed and what can’t. Kevin Shirley is definitely a producer who demonstrates this.

“You cannot forsake your home life. You have to try and be there for the people around you. Don't make the studio the focus of everything, because you just end up shooting yourself in the foot. And you lose sight of the broader picture. Sometimes you're much better when you've just been able to get away from it and think and let things fall into place and get some perspective.”^[5]

References:

1. Kevin Shirley, Biography, http://www.cavemanproductions.com/biography.htm, accessed April 30^th, 2007

2. Mix Online interview with Kevin Shirley, http://mixonline.com/recording/interviews/audio_kevin_shirley/, accessed April 17^th 2007

3. George Massenberg comments on digital vs. analogue http://www.cavemanproductions.com/REVS/gml.html, accessed May 1^st 2007

4. Mix Buss interview with Kevin Shirley, http://www.mixbuss.com/article.php?id=37, accessed April 25^th 2007

5. Mix Online interview with Kevin Shirley,http://mixonline.com/recording/interviews/audio_kevin_shirley/ accessed April 17^th 2007

Interview with KS, on Journey

http://www.journeydigest.com/Interviews/KS/

Below are my audio samples, in both downloadable and streaming form. Note that the streaming audio won’t be great quality, so if you want to hear better audio, download the samples.

Streaming:

FileFactory.com

Downloadable:

Go to folder - FileFactory.com

Note: When on the download page, scroll down past the Google advertisement list and click on the "Download for Free with FileFactory Basic" link, then fill in the little verification code and commence the download.