‘Love Take Over Me’ Music Producer Jamie Candiloro Talks To The SFN

Music producer Jamie Candiloro recently sat with The SFN to talk about his career, and the highly anticipated upcoming Travis Marsh album he produced. The first single from the album was released on Friday, March 23rd, with a music video premiere on The SFN, starring Travis Marsh, Days of Our Lives alum Jillian Clare and directed by The SFN’s Stewart St. John.

Please tell us what got you into music?
I was always very interested in music from a young age. My father played guitar and we had a lot of sixties records around the house. When I was six, I was turned on to the beatles and there was no turning back.  I needed to have every album and understand every sound on those Lps. When it was time to decide on a career, music was the only job I could imagine not feeling like work and at eighteen years old that is a pretty important feeling.

What would you consider your first big break?
I don’t really believe there is one moment that can define a person in any career but probably the most important moment for me was working with a band named “Luscious Jackson”. It was one of the first projects where I was given a lot of responsibility and the record actually ended up on the radio. That gave me the faith that your work could be heard by a large audience.

Can you share with us some musical acts you’ve worked with?
R.E.M. was a band I worked with a bunch in the early 2000s.  There was a five year period where I recorded most of their albums.  I have done a few records with Ryan Adams. I had the chance to record a few songs and mix a Willie Nelson album. I did a lot of work with Courtney Love for her first solo album. I have also made three records with Lisa Germano and we about to put out a fourth this year.  I am currently working a lot with Ed Kowalczyk from the band Live. He is an amazing artist and I’m very excited about the tracks we have been putting together.  I guess I like the feeling at the end of the day of knowing I created something even if its not perfect or just part of where I needed to wander so I stay busy.

What’s the funniest or scariest story that happened to you while doing music?
I had a funny and scary thing happen once! I was working in New York as an assistant and the engineer there for the weekend thought it would be funny to put an old school clock taped to what looked like a bomb in the piano. He proceeded to tell he was having a problem with the piano making a ticking sound.  Of course I started digging around and I find this thing that resembles a bomb. I was pretty freaked out until everyone started laughing. That was pre-sept 11th new york city mind you.

Tell us about your mentor(s)?
My earliest mentor was Steve Burgh. He owned Baby Monster Studios in new york and really was almost a father in the sense that my family did not understand the music industry. He taught me what a producer does and how to run a studio. He also had the best gear years before people knew about buying neve consoles and urei compressors. I learned on the original stuff.  Next would be Pat McCarthy who worked with R.E.M.  He really taught me about having a vision and creating it as well as the people skills needed to take a project to completion. I owe all my sonic abilities to Elliot Scheiner.  That man taught me how to make a record sound fantastic if that’s what was needed. He really understands balance and keeping things natural. His work always blows my mind.

Who is your dream artist to work with?
Probably Lindsay Buckingham.  He is a real studio craftsman which is what I always aspire to be.

If you weren’t doing music or producing/mixing what would you be doing?
I like building things. I am usually in my back yard sanding an old piece of furniture or making a bookshelf so design and architecture would be my next line of work.  There’s still time I guess!

Favorite instrument you own? whats your go to gear?
I have never considered myself much of a gear head. I was more interested in buying instruments than mic pres and rack gear. My setup is just what I need and nothing more. I have a couple Avalon solid state mic pres that sound great for vocals. I have some universal audio tube pres if I need to round out the transients.  It’s almost embarrassing how simple some of my chains have been over the years. Now a days it’s usually waves SSL stuff on protocols channels when I mix.  In terms of guitars, I like having a few to choose from when I do a record and I usually change things up a lot. My studio work horse is a 90s G & L Tele which sounds kinda great for a lot of different tracking needs.  I keep my gear I great shape because I am very lazy and I hate redoing things!

Why did you decide to take on the Travis Marsh project?
Travis had great songs and seemed very advanced for his age. I was instantly able to communicate with him on a level similar to an artist who had put a lot of time into their career. He also seemed very open and excited to take his music to a new place. People can sing but travis was born with a voice that feels at ease telling a story.  To me, that is the recipe for an artist that will entertain a lot of fans in the future.

What inspires Jamie?
Mastery of anything is the most important thing to me these days. Of course I need to spend a lot of time trying to get things right.  I aim to be as graceful as possible even if it is a small project or simple task.  Mastery gives you so much back as a human being and that’s all we have at the end of the day.
 
Watch the ‘Love Take Over Me’ music video