It’s like when I saw Guster for the first time. It was just two acoustics and bongos but there was something great about them and a challenge to take what they had and make it work.
In addition to Dave Matthews and Phish, in recent years you’ve produced Matchbox 20, Counting Crows and Jason Mraz. Are you thinking about commercial viability in all cases when you go into the studio?
Absolutely. My fundamental belief, which goes to my soul, is the fact that art and commerce can coincide together. They can coexist together. But I have never made a record for commerce. I’ve always made records for art.
All I thought with Dave Matthews was how short should a 10-minute song be? So I did a lot of editing, a lot of making it seem just the right length, the right amount of soloing. But obviously solos become exactly the same thing when you play them over and over again.
Were Phish or Dave Matthews reluctant for you to shorten their songs?
No, no, no. This is the confidence that I have. I can allow an artist to be musicians and I let them play and they let me produce. But I have to earn that right and I earn that right by explaining to them and by my actions.
You only earn any right by your actions. I wouldn’t produce anyone if they just thought, “Oh, we’ll have Steve Lillywhite because of what he’s done.” I would think they would want to say, “Steve, how would you be able to help us out?” I want to be able to sell myself
Do you require that artists do a lot of preproduction such as rehearsing the songs before you begin recording?
I don’t like preproduction. I like discussions and conceptualizing and talking about how and where it’s going to go; some big picture ideas.
And they let me produce but I have to earn it. So many producers loose their nerve. If it’s going wrong and they don’t know how to fix it, they just blindly move forward.
I’ve made records for so long that if I sense something’s going wrong, I’m so ahead of the game, I can normally fix it before it actually does go wrong. And I am not big headed. Some producers are good at some things and I happen to be pretty good at that
In 2002, you began working for Mercury Records in the UK with the title of Managing Director. Can you describe that experience?
I went corporate for a little while and I really enjoyed it. We had some hits. I signed a band called Razorlight in England who became very successful and some other pop things.
But during the last couple of years, that was when U2 called me for the How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb album. So I decided to leave that job to produce the U2 album and from that I got a Grammy for Producer of the Year… so that was very good
What exactly did your job as a Managing Director entail?
The Managing Director is like the president. That’s the British term for president. And then I had a job with Columbia Records in America over here in 2006, which was a similar sort of position. I was a Senior Vice President and we signed MGMT when I was there.
But it was not such a great time for the music business and then my boss got fired. They had different ideas and decided to bring Rick Rubin in.
As someone who comes from the creative side of the business, was working for a corporation a culture shock?
Perhaps I didn’t do my homework so well. It was a culture shock. The creative side of that job with Mercury I really enjoyed. Dealing with accountants and marketing people was a little bit more difficult for me but I did it.
Since I was 17 years old I’ve been used to dealing with creative people so dealing with people who consider it “a job” was different. I wouldn’t say I disliked it but my soul is better when I am around creative people.
Did you feel pressure that the artists you were signing would affect the financial viability of such a large company?
My belief is still the same. Art and commerce can run in tandem. If you have that as a belief it doesn’t matter if you are a producer or if you’re an A&R man or whatever you are doing.
I think you can look at MGMT. There’s a great example of good art and good commercial success
What initially attracted to you to MGMT as a good signing for a major label?
I thought it was very good signing. A band like MGMT will get you other very cool bands. All of sudden, someone will want to sign to the label that has MGMT. I thought of it like that. And you know, those songs are hits.
Now that more alternative-sounding bands like MGMT are being embraced by the mainstream to a certain degree, how can record labels adjust their business models for selling a lower volume of music perhaps across a broader market place?
It’s not the end of the world. If you structure deals accordingly I think it’s good. But sometimes you don’t even need a major label.
Look at Phish for instance. We recorded this new album ourselves and you know, it’s not going to set the world on fire but it really helps. I think Phish are bigger now than they’ve ever been. It’s incredible.
However, with the changing economics of the music business, what kinds of commercial and artistic considerations do you make when deciding which artists to produce or sign to a label you are working for?
I look at a band like Fleet Foxes. I see it as a career, I don’t see it as one record. Maybe Fleet Foxes didn’t sell as many as Britney Spears but I think Fleet Foxes, if they’re clever, are going to have a long career with great sales and a great life.
I am not in the world of Britney Spears. She’s fine. She can do what she wants. But I’m much more interested in artists who think about their art and who see it as art.
In fact, because I’m doing this interview, can you put in a plug? I’m looking for something really cool. It doesn’t matter if they’re successful or not successful. I am very excited about doing some quick records.
People can contact me however they need to. People can find me if they want me. I’m very excited about young artists and I feel I’ve got something I can offer them
You sound so invigorated. Do you ever get burned out after all these years?
No. The difference is I can’t go back to back on records anymore. In the 80s I could just do one after another and not get burned out. Now, I would get burned out if I did that.
So I’m like a boxer now who needs a little bit more time between bouts. But I’m ready right now.
Because more recording studios like the one where you got your start in the 1970s are closing in today’s tough economic environment, what advice would give a kid interested in being “the next Steve Lillywhite”?
It is getting more and more difficult but I still believe in studios. So just send letters to your local studio and try and get some experience. Find the local band that you love and try and record them.
Believe in your heart and not in your eyes. So many people look at music. Everything is on a screen now. That’s important but it’s also important to go where your heart goes and go where your ears go
For more information, Swarm readers can click here to listen to online radio segments from Steve Lillywhite’s regular radio show on NPR which he hopes to restart soon. These segments include Steve’s reflections on classic records he’s been involved in as well as on-air live performances produced by Steve with artists like The Pretenders, Albert Hammond Jr., Goldfrapp and Dr. Dog.
Los Angeles-based writer/musician, Sam J.C. has written for Filter, Vapors, Buzzbands LA and Variety. He can be contacted at samjcmusic [at] gmail.com
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