Mike Mettler

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Music Reviews
Fleetwood Mac: Tusk Deluxe Edition
Mike Mettler  |  Mar 29, 2016
Performance
Sound
Revisionist history is just as much a part of rock & roll as guitars, cars, and odes to love and lust are. Some albums initially looked upon as noble but failed experiments more often than not semi-mysteriously improve with age and hindsight when viewed through the prism of time, wherein listeners finally catch up to the scope of the artists’ originally over-their-heads intentions.
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For the Records
Mike Mettler  |  Apr 18, 2011

Man, do I loooooove Record Store Day.

If there’s one thing to take away from this past Saturday’s RSD, it’s that there’s a strong and rabid group of record buyers willing to wait in line for hours and hours to willingly spend lots and lots of dough on physical product — and that’s incredibly encouraging in light of what many see as an ever-shrinking tactile music marketplace.

Bottom line: Give them a reason, and they will come. And spend.

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The S&V Interview
Former BoDeans Vocalist Sam Llanas Owns the Sound of the Night
Mike Mettler  |  Jan 28, 2015
“I’ve always been a fan of records that tastefully use effects to enhance the listening experience,” says Sam Llanas, former vocalist/guitarist for roots-rock pioneers BoDeans, now ensconced in a full-time solo career. Llanas’ distinct vocal tone — which resides somewhere between gravel and grace — has touched the soul of indelible songs like “Closer to Free,” “Feed the Fire,” and “Rickshaw Riding,” and on The Whole Night Thru (Llanas Music), Llanas opens up his palette on deeply personal tracks like “Deja Vu” and “I’m Still Alive” to achieve an even more honest aural identity. “We did decide early on that we would like to make a record that would be engaging on headphones,” he reports. Here, Llanas, 53, and I discuss the importance of equipment choices and microphone placement, how to make a record that hits “hard and fast,” and his favorite BoDeans album. The man is very much still alive and kicking.
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The S&V Interview
Former Magnificent Moody Blues Mellotron Maven Mike Pinder
Mike Mettler  |  Feb 12, 2014
“We would have done surround sound at the time if it had been available.” Original Moody Blues keyboardist Mike Pinder is discussing the always-enveloping signature orchestral sound of the band he was a part of for its first 15 years. Much of the Moodies’ core "Classic Seven" catalog has since seen a series of 5.1 releases in the interim, and Pinder’s innovative usage of the mellotron helped take many of those mixes (“Higher and Higher,” “Watching and Waiting,” “Legend of a Mind”) to the threshold of aural perfection.
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Music Reviews
Frank Zappa: Over-Nite Sensation – Super Deluxe Edition Box Set
Mike Mettler  |  Mar 27, 2024
Performances
Sound

Frank Zappa was a master at creating musical Venn diagrams. What do I mean by that? Well, Zappa’s compositional talents stretched well beyond the rock music idiom, so many of his releases would offer a keen intersection of doo-wop, classical orchestration, avant-jazz, progressive jams, country funk, and pure pop sensibilities (for starters). Sometimes he would even incorporate all his artistic powers into all 20-plus minutes of an album side’s lone track.

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Other Tech
Freakin’ Surround with Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips
Mike Mettler  |  Mar 04, 2009

So after 6 or 7 years of work, Christmas on Mars (Warner Bros.) is finally here. And it isn't "just" a holiday film, it's what I'm calling a fable for the sci-fi generation. It's a fable of hope for the sci-fi generation, yes. Is there a sci-fi generation?

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The S&V Interview
Gary & Dale Rossington Take It on Faith
Mike Mettler  |  Nov 02, 2016
Photo by Travis Shinn.

Gary and Dale Rossington have been making beautiful music together in their special union for over 35 years and counting — much of it as fully integrated members of the extended Lynyrd Skynyrd family. They've now further cemented their musical bonds by stepping back out on their own again as Rossington to produce a heartfelt, soul-grabbing, and absolutely blues-tastic new album, Take It on Faith. I called Gary and Dale during a Skynyrd tour stop in Dale’s home state of Indiana to discuss the genesis of Faith, Gary’s guitar-tone mastery, and why Skynyrd’s music must endure. Turn it up...

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The S&V Interview
Gavin Elder on Filming David Gilmour’s Live Return to Pompeii
Mike Mettler  |  Oct 25, 2017
Photo: Sarah Lee

David Gilmour’s July 7 and 8, 2016 concerts at the storied Pompeii ampitheatre marked the first time anyone had performed there in front of a live audience since the gladiators put on their own special brand of swords & sandals entertainment back in 79 A.D. Director Gavin Elder and I recently got on the line to discuss the logistics of filming in such a historic locale for Blu-ray, the goals for the concert’s color palette, and how his team figured out a way to accommodate Gilmour’s lone specific visual wish for the production.

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Music and Soundtrack FeaturesThe S&V Interview
Gavin Harrison Exposes the Secrets of His Expert Rhythmic Designs
Mike Mettler  |  Dec 18, 2020
Gavin Harrison knows what he wants, and he knows how to get it. The critically celebrated, session-bred progressive-oriented British drummer vaulted into superstar status during his jaw-dropping eight-year stint as a member of Porcupine Tree, and he's since moved even further up the wide-acclaim foodchain thanks to all the mind-bending work he's done during his current, ongoing gigs behind the kit with both King Crimson and The Pineapple Thief. The thing is, Harrison pays little or no heed to the constant praise for his innovative drumming, nor does he spend much time ruminating over his impeccable legacy.
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New Products
Gear Nuts
Mike Mettler  |  Jun 06, 2001

Ground Control, this is Off-Road Gear One, a.k.a. ORG-1, as I'm still orbiting the earth in the experimental mobile-entertainment vessel I transmitted from last month. Do you copy?

Yes, I copy, ORG-1. This is Steve at Ground Control. I can hear you loud and clear - and without distortion, I might add.

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