First project with George Pickard since he was a student of mine in the McQueen High School band. From being a promising timpanist George jumped to guitar and hit me with these intoxicating songs that totally impressed me. A very long but rewarding batch of sessions went into this. The extra tag on “Pluto” is in fact the end of the previous take that I managed not to lose. In a last minute idea during the mix the rocket effect was added to tie it in. It’s a disc I really enjoy to this day. Jello Biafra is a proud owner of this disc and it has been heard in a Seattle strip club by a friend of mine.

This record was one of the last things I did before I went free-lance. George Pickard returned with a new lineup, Dion Gilatto on drums (BBQ’d Salad) and Luke on bass. A much stronger ensemble and even better songs. On the outro of “Lonely City” George and Dion had recorded a spoof on Monster Truck Match Commercials that was absolutely priceless! Unfortunately at the mix I couldn’t talk them into keeping it for the record. Several cuts from this disc have been featured on the “Playboy Channel” on a special about swingers clubs. “Swinging On a Friday Night” is about Reno’s Peyton Place which was featured in said Playboy channel special. It also has some of the best artwork I’ve seen on any local record.

This disc is a showcase for singer Johnny Chu and guitar player Eric Stangeland. A very soothing combination of melodies and styles. It harkened me to the late Jeff Buckley, which I promptly made Johnny go listen to. Mario Gusman on Bass and Beau Melia on drums filled out the rhythm section. The cover of Little Wing was nothing short of an epic moment in the studio. The version on the 2” goes for over 9 minutes. It was really staggering to witness. However, I remember getting ill on the chicken wings we had for lunch one of the days of overdubbs. Eric, Mario and Beau were also in Convicted Innocence at the time working on their second disc that was never released. The name of the disc came from the street that Johnny and Eric lived on together which I currently live on.

: This was a time for me to watch and learn. Bjorn Thorsrud was producing and engineering. This was the brain child of Brad McClellan and he had brought in some key players in. I hung around mostly because I had a crush on the female lead singer, Kristen Barber. There was a time however, where Bjorn was tied up and he asked me to do some vocals and sax overdubbs. The problem had just worked 32 hours straight (on no drugs thank you very much, just Mountain Dew) I can’t tell you a single thing that happened that afternoon. It was all a blur.

This was a mastering project for me. It was an early effort of Dan Gomez at Destiny Studios in Stead. The name of the band actually stands for “Another Jukebox Orgasm.” In 1998 I shared the stage with them at Sierra Sticks when I was playing drums for “the Desert Dudes.” The harmonica player, Larry Yates, is also the front man of Tahoe’s “Larry Yates and the Blues Monsters.”

: A dear man, Lex Adams. A staggering 27 song effort that could have easily been the most redundant record ever made. Very limited instrumentation and arrangement made it key that we make the most of “less is more” as well as what was being heard was as important as what wasn’t being heard. I’m astonished that we got the diversity and dynamics that we did. A very nice end product.

I played in this band when I was senior at USC. Singer, guitar player and writer Matt Williams went back to New Jersey and incorporated his wife Kim into the band. Since then he started his own label and production company. This is their second album and it was produced by Carter Humphry, the bass player in the USC line-up. I was flown out to Jersey to mix the record which was the first time I had visited the east coast. It was also the first time that I really realized how a album can really get a fresh start by having someone new mix a record. Once you get involved in a record for along time, you can lose perspective. A fresh set of ears can be a just the ticket at that point. It was really a good challenge for me and a lot of fun to get out of town.

This is the brain-child of songwriter and arranger Collin Scott. This dreamy record has been a long time coming. I think we started on it in 1996. About two years ago I introduced Collin to a Texas transplant named Jacqueline Cashmere who wanted to sing. The two hit it off and collaborated on finishing the songs. I never seen songs take on such a different form when the vocals were added. The instrumental version of the record would be just as enjoyable. Very nice textures and a Reno’s who’s who of cameos including Vince Gates, Jeff Laakso, Gary Setzer, Joe McKenna, Mike Whitwell, Dan Newman, Beverly Colgan and Cliff “Young Peezy” Porter. The tape that this was recorded on was purchased from Vince Gates erasing a very good four song demo I had recorded with him 3 years previous. Rather sad to see that go. But the tape was certainly put to good use.