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Hrvoje Bubić | Interview with Jack Endino
Hrvoje Bubić
Jack Endino is probably best known for his early work with Nirvana. The record producer, recording engineer, mixer, and musician from Seattle has worked on over 500 records for bands from 14 countries on 4 continents since 1986.
Foto: screenshot
For start, tell us about your beginning and influences as musician and producer. What was motivation to become a producer ?
It was something I always knew I wanted to do! I used to listen to albums on headphones when I was a kid, and I would pick the mixes apart with my ears. I used to notice the names of the record producers! I knew which ones I liked: George Martin, Eddie Kramer, Martin Birch, Glyn Johns…
You have been called „The Godfather of Grunge“, since you made albums for well know Sub Pop, label that launched grunge movement. You produced Nirvana’s debut album Bleach and some part of compilation album Incesticide, plus there are Mudhoney, Soundgarden, Screaming Trees, so if I would compare Sub Pop with Motown, you would be like Ashford & Simpson. Of course there is a solo album frontman of Iron Maiden Bruce Dickenson, Therapy? Blue Cheer, Mark Lanegan, Accused and so on. I would love to compare producer with sport coach, as every coach has own style, what is your style since you are know for raw sound technique. Also you are very accessible person, you got your own philosophy what musician and producer should be, please tell us more about that.
It’s hard to say it in few words… but, mainly, I try to capture the FEELING of a live performance in the recording studio (which is a very un-live place). There are a lot of “standard” modern recording techniques that (in my opinion) SYSTEMATICALLY REMOVE the live feeling of the music… tuning every part of the vocals, playing to a click track, replacing the drums with samples, etc… so I try not to do any of those things! I am very “old school” in that way. I am trying to capture “magic” in the studio, that’s it.
Your band Skin Yard, in which you were a been guitar player, has been know of as pioneers of grunge movement, style of rock music that dominated during the early 90’s. Skin Yard released five albums that are great and thre solo albums that deserve more attention. Why Skin Yard stayed in the shadows of well know bands like Nirvana and Pearl Jam since on Youtube channel are comments that praise Skin Yard and your solo stuff. Could you tell us more about Skin Yard & solo stuff?
Skin Yard was considered a little bit too “metal” sounding for the Seattle grunge scene here in the late 80s. Sub Pop just did not like our sound, even though I was recording a lot of records for other Sub Pop bands. That was OK with us, because Greg Ginn signed us to Cruz Records, which was part of his label SST. But because we were never really a “Sub Pop band” and we were not on any other Seattle record label, we kind of got overlooked by the “media” when the big Seattle hype explosion happened. I also think were about ten years too early with our sound! As for my solo albums, when Skin Yard ended in 1992, I had to put my songs somewhere!
You also played as second guitar player in Kandi Coded, that features snowboarding pro Jamie Lynn and there are MKB ULTRA, Beyond Captain Orca, playing bass in Rocket Surgery, Upwell, Wellwater Conspiracy, Terry Lee Hale & The Ones and Actual Size. Are there are more bands were you been played? I heard that your new solo album is soon out and you get a Grammy prize, is that true?
I got a Latin Grammy this year for a Brazilian record I co-produced and mixed, the artist is Nando Reis, who I have worked with since 1992! I played drums in a band called Slippage about ten years ago, I also play bass on the CD. Right now my main bands are MKB Ultra, Beyond Captain Orca!, and also I am playing guitar in a new version of Sky Cries Mary, you can look for our new album called Thieves And Sirens… it is digital only right now, we don’t have a label and vinyl costs too much money. My most recent “solo” project was the band Endino’s Earthworm, I made one record by that name in 1992, and there was no real band by that name until about 7 years ago, but we aren’t really playing right now. We made a new record but I haven’t finished recording the vocal parts yet. I don’t know if I will call it an Earthworm record or a Jack solo record.
For the end, what are your future plans, collaborations, album? Since you are very busy guy, would you stop by in Split, Croatia one day?
I don’t know… if there is ever a European tour for any of the bands I’m with, you might meet me some day!
Meanwhile, here is some “press” for my “improv” band, this just appeared today!
Za početak, recite nam o svom početku i utjecajima kao glazbenika i producenta. Što Vas je motiviralo da postanete glazbeni producent?
To je bilo nešto za što sam oduvijek znao da želim raditi! Dok sam bio dijete često sam preslušavao albume na slušalicama, te bih u ušima razdvajao mixeve. Primjećivao sam imena producenata! Znao sam one koji su mi se sviđali: George Martin, Eddie Kramer, Martin Birch, Glyn Johns …
Prozvani ste “The Godfather of Grunge “, budući da ste napravili albume za dobro poznati Sub Pop, izdavačku kuću koja je pokrenula grunge pokret. Producirali ste Nirvanin debitantski album Bleach i jedan dio kompilacijskog albuma Incesticide, a tu su i Mudhoney, Soundgarden, Screaming Trees, pa ako bih usporedio Sub Pop s Motownom, Vi biste bili Ashford & Simpson. Naravno, tu je solo album pjevača Iron Maidena, Bruce Dickenson, Therapy? Blue Cheer, Mark Lanegan, Accused i tako dalje. Volio bih usporediti glazbenog producenta sa sportskim trenerom, kao što svaki trener ima svoj stil, koji je vaš stil jer ste poznati po svojoj sirovoj tehnici. Također ste vrlo pristupačna osoba, imate svoju vlastitu filozofiju što bi trebao biti glazbenik i producent, molimo vas da nam kažete više o tome.
Teško je to reći u nekoliko riječi … ali, uglavnom, pokušavam uhvatiti OSJEĆAJ izvedbe uživo u studiju za snimanje (što je vrlo ne-živo mjesto). Postoji mnogo “standardnih” modernih tehnika snimanja koja (po mom mišljenju) SUSTAVNO UKLANJAJU osjećaj muziciranja uživo … „peglaju“ se vokali, svira se uz metronom, bubnjeve se zamjenjuje sa samplovima itd. ja pokušavam ne učiniti bilo što od toga! U tom smislu, ja sam vrlo “stara škola“. Pokušavam uhvatiti “magiju” u studiju, to je to.
Vaš bend Skin Yard, u kojem ste bili gitarist, poznat je kao pionir grunge pokreta, stila rock glazbe koja je dominirala tijekom ranih 90-ih. Skin Yard je objavio pet uspješnih albuma i tri albuma koja su zaslužila više pozornosti. Zašto je Skin Yard ostao u sjeni poznatih bendova poput Nirvane i Pearl Jama s obzirom da ih na YouTube kanalu i danas hvale, i Skin Yard i vaše solo uradke. Možete li nam reći više o Skin Yard & solo stvarima?
Skin Yard je doživljavan kao malo previše “metal” bend na grunge sceni Seattlea u kasnim 80-im. Sub Popu se jednostavno nije svidio naše zvuk, iako sam mnogo snimao za druge Sub Pop bendove. To je za nas bilo u redu, jer je Greg Ginn potpisao sa nama preko Cruz Recordsa, koji je bio dio njegove diskografske kuće SST. Ali zato što nikad nismo bili “Sub Pop bend”, a nismo bili ni kod nekog drugog izdavača u Seattleu, “mediji” su nas zanemarili kad se dogodio veliki bum tadašnje scene u Seattleu. Također mislim da smo uranili deset godina sa našim zvukom! Što se tiče mojih solo albuma, kada je Skin Yard prestao postojati 1992., ja sam morao svoje pjesme nekako objavljivati!
Svirali ste kao drugi gitarist u Kandi Codedu, u kojem je i profesionalni snowboardaš Jamie Lynn, te u MKB ULTRA, zatim Beyond Captain Orca, svirali ste bas gitaru u Rocket Surgery, Upwell, Wellwater Conspiracy, Terry Lee Hale i The Ones i Actual Size. Ima li još bendova u kojima ste svirali? Čuo sam da vaš novi solo album uskoro izlazi i da ste dobili nagradu Grammy, je li to istina?
Ove godine sam dobio latinski Grammy za Brazilian record u kojoj sam producirao i mixao, sa glazbenikom Nando Reisom, s kojim sam radio od 1992. godine! Svirao sam bubnjeve u bendu koji se zove Slippage prije desetak godina, a s njima sam snimao i kao basisita. Trenutno su moji glavni bendovi MKB Ultra, Beyond Captain Orca! Sviram gitaru i u novoj postavi Sky Cries Mary, možete potražiti naš novi album Thieves And Sirens… digitalno je dostupan upravo sada, nemamo izdavačku kuću, a vinyl previše košta. Moj najnoviji “solistički” projekt bio je sa bendom Endino’s Earthworm, pod tim imenom snimio sam album 1992. godine, a od tada se pod tim imenom nismo sastali do prije otprilike 7 godina, ali trenutno zapravo ne sviramo. Napravili smo nove snimke, ali još nisam dovršio snimanje vokalnih dijelova. Ne znam bili to nazvao “Earthworm” ili Jackov solo projekt.
Za kraj, koji su Vaši budući planovi, suradnje, albumi? Budući da ste jako zauzeti, biste li se jednog dana zaustavili u Splitu, u Hrvatskoj?
Ne znam … ako ikada budem na europskoj turneji sa bilo kojim bendom, možda me i sretnete jednog dana!
U međuvremenu, ovdje je “press” za moj “improv” bend, to je danas izašlo!
https://www.thestranger.com/slog/2018/05/09/26156994/a-jam-band-for-the-sages-jack-endinos-beyond-captain-orca
