BONZAI BEAT

by Mr. Bonzai ©2000

Suspect: S. "Husky" Höskulds
Ancestry: Born and raised in Iceland.
Height: 6’ 4".
Occupation: Recording Engineer.
Residence: Los Angeles.
Vehicle: 1991 Suburban.
Diet: Smoked Trout.

Credits: Suspect has tracked and overdubbed The Wallflowers, Michael Penn, Sheryl Crow, Los Lobos, Vonda Shepard, etc. Currently recording Joe Henry.

Notes: Höskulds studied audio engineering at UCLA. First job was as a runner at One On One Studios (now Extasy Recording), followed by an assistant engineer gig at Grand Master, then Hollywood Sound, and finally the Sound Factory, where for a number of years he assisted the producer/engineer team of Mitchell Froom and Tchad Blake.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

BONZAI: Why did you become a recording engineer?
HÖSKULDS: I was just a fan of music and interested in the gear, so this seemed like the only job where you could meld the two.

Did you have any teachers?
As far as making records, it would have to be Tchad and Mitchell. On the strictly engineering side, Tchad definitely had a lot to do with the way I do things now. Working with those guys was an eye opener. Being a part of making records with artists like Los Lobos -- it feels like you’re working on the Beatles. You just gotta make sure you don’t say anything stupid, while taking it all in.

What is Tchad’s greatest quality?
He’s incredibly generous -- that’s hard to find in this business. He’s fun to work with, and fun to hang out with.

What gear do you have in your personal arsenal?
I have a lot of percussion instruments, like funky old tambourines, bongo drums, and a bunch of old snares. I try to bring things that are different from the norm, something odd that has a different kind of sound from what most drummers would bring to the studio. The most logical place to start -- if you want to have an influence on the sound -- is to go to the source, as opposed to doing it all from the other side of the glass. I also have some keyboards -- an old S-4 tube Hammond organ, a Clavinet, a pretty decent pump organ -- instruments with a different texture.

What about outboard gear and processors?
I’ve got a couple of ratty compressors, and a pretty unimpressive collection of gear compared with the "good" stuff. I don’t have any LA-2A’s or 1176’s, but all the studios do. The ones I have are the DBX 163s, Orban stereo compressors, and things that have a drastic color, a big effect on the sound. I like gear that has a strong character to augment what is in the studios. I also have a couple of nice M-1 pre-amps made by John Hardy that are great for ribbon mikes and for vocal work. A lot of gain, but they are very clean.

What about the major gear -- any preference on consoles?
I don’t have to work on an API or a Neve, but they happen to sound great. I find it easy to work on the APIs at Sound Fctory, because they are well laid out. You don’t have to get up and walk over to the other end of the room to push up the tambourine on channel 74.

Analog or digital, which do you prefer?
I’m fine with both. I usually do my tracking on analog two-inch, and then I have a ProTools rig, the 001 system that I use in tandem -- more as a piece of outboard gear and a sampler, a device to loop things and do a couple of quick edits. I also use it as a back up, for archival purposes, and when I need to twist things around a bit.

Quick impressions of people you’ve worked with -- was it a thrill to work with Bob Dylan’s son?
Absolutely, but it was also great fun to work with such fine musicians, with great senses of humor. I’m just a kid from Iceland, you know, and there was no pop music when I was growing up, so the fact that he is Bob’s son wasn’t really such a big deal to me.

How was it working with Sheryl Crow?
Pretty cool. She had done a considerable part of the Globe Sessions by the time she got to LA and I got involved with the project. We did three or four tracks, and it was good fun. The pressure was off, because she had already done most of the record. She’d be working on a song with her guitar player Jeff Trott, and we recorded pretty fast -- just blew through the material. It came out really well, and she was excited.

How did you get the gig?
I had worked as an assistant for Tchad on her previous record.

What have you been up to lately?
Last night was one of the best sessions I’ve ever worked on. I’m recording Joe Henry now, and we had Ornette Coleman come down and play. Incredible people involved, the players are great, songs are amazing. Ornette came in, got his horn ready, and just started blowing. We put down three or four tracks and after each pass I’d turn around and look at Joe, our producer Craig Street, and our arranger Steven Barber -- they’re jaws just dropped. First take was great, then it just got better and better. The last take really blew the roof off and after I stopped the tape, he said, "Yeah. That was it. On those other takes I was just playing the sax, but on the last one I was playing the music."

What kind of mic did you use?
I had a Coles ribbon mic.

Did you ever screw up in the studio?
Of course not -- that’s not good press.

If you were a microphone, which would you be?
I’d be a skinny long one like me, maybe a C12 -- y’know, very bright.

What's wrong with the music industry?
I’d say there are too many people getting record deals who can’t really play.

What do you listen to while you're driving?
Lately I’ve been listing to Ennio Morricone, Raymond Scott, Esquivel, and Mr. Bungle.

If you could go back in time, what would you like to record?
I wish I could have been around to work on those Esquivel sessions.

What is the first music you remember hearing?
My grandfather, the choral director, rehearsing the town church choir in the living room every week,. Grandma would make coffee and cookies. It was like going to church, except you could go to the bathroom whenever you wanted to.

If you could pick anyone, is there anyone in the world you would like to record?
Tom Waits.

Do you know any interesting music business tricks?
No, not really. You turn in your invoices like anywhere else -- it just takes longer to get paid.

Who is the most amazing artist you’ve worked with?
I hate to single out just one, but there is no way you can’t mention David Hidalgo. But I would like to also mention the people on this Joe Henry record: Mark Ribot on guitar, Brad Mehldau on piano, Abe Laboreal, Jr.and Brian Blade on drums, Dave Piltch and Me’shell Ndegéocello on bass. Craig and Joe really put a great band together.

What was your most ridiculous experience in a recording studio?
I was working on a Hip Hop record at Hollywood Sound as an assistant. The producer brought a little bag with his own master fader so he could run the signal through it and it would "sound amazing." It went in one end, came out the other, and had absolutely no effect on the sound.

Any advice for getting a good start in the engineering field?
You have to really mean it. Many assistants and runners are in it for the wrong reasons. You really have to be sure this is the life you want. It’s pointless to stick around if this isn’t what you really want to do. It’s a very time consuming job, and you get back what you put in. You can’t just show up, do your shift, and then go home -- you gotta put in the extra effort. And don't be afraid to ask. You can’t trick me into thinking you know what you’re doing. Most of us have been runners and assistants. It’s easy to spot the guys who are good, and the ones who aren’t.

What would you like Santa to bring you this year?
A week off with my family at a bed and breakfast up near Santa Cruz. Nothing fancy -- I don’t want him to feel taken advantage of. Even a 3-day weekend would be good.