Russian Recording

Mike Bridavsky is a recording engineer’s engineer. He knows his shit, and he knew where to go to learn it. Divine forebearing intervention may have ultimately swung his parents onto his side in his pursuit of becoming an audio engineer, but Bridavsky quickly evinced from his intuition and tuition (college classes, internships and the like) that becoming a professional recorder of bands is a lot more than having the equipment and pushing a few buttons. It’s about understanding the hows and whys of not only the equipment and the room (acoustics and whatnot), but also the musicians themselves. From sweeping floors to searching Chicago for toiletries for Billy Corgan to being on the receiving end of detailed responses from Steve Albini to his many queries, this product of an internship at Albini’s famed Electrical Audio studios has gone on to start his own studio, Russian Recordings (in Bloomington, IN), and work with many excellent local bands with national reputations like Racebannon and Magnolia Electric Co. It’s interviews like this that reinforce just how little I know about – well, hell, electrical equipment of any kind. Unplug your toaster and read this interview with Mike, then go book time at his studio (from the outside photo of the studio on his website, I think I lodged there during summer camp back in ’83.

How much of what you're doing is learned on the fly (trial and error, etc.) and from schooling or at the side of a more experienced recording engineer during an apprenticeship?
It’s a big combination of everything. You can’t learn how to be an engineer without actually doing it. As I was going through school, I was also recording during most of my free time. If I had just gone to school without reinforcing what I was learning, it would have been a waste of time and money. A lot of the stuff they teach isn’t absolute, so you have try it out and see what works and what doesn’t work.

A lot of people say that going to school for audio recording is useless because you don’t get the experience and you’re better off spending your money on equipment and teaching yourself. It’s not hard to learn how to record stuff on your own, and it’s not expensive either. All you have to do is buy the latest all-in-one digital recorder and read the manual. And there’s nothing wrong with that for people who want to record their own music and get their ideas down. However, to become an engineer (someone who records music professionally) is to really understand how your equipment works, why it sounds the way it does, why it only provides good results in certain circumstances and why the equipment is not nearly as important as understanding acoustics, the physics of sound, electronics and the most important thing, people skills. You don’t get that experience by sitting in your basement with a four-track. Going to school, learning about this stuff and then applying what you learn in your basement with a four-track is the best thing you can do. Then again, that’s just my opinion. I'm sure it’s not so good for some people. But I think it’s a fantastic way to learn.

All in all, I made the most progress as an engineer through my six-week internship at Electrical Audio. On the other hand, had I not gone to school prior to my internship, the internship would have been useless. Going to school prepared me for my internship so that once I was there I could really understand what the hell was going on. Furthermore, Electrical does not accept interns unless the internship goes towards school credit.

When did you break out on your own?
I’ve been buying and collecting recording equipment since high school. I finally started getting some serious equipment about a year before my internship at Electrical. I had a remote multi-track setup and recorded a few jazz recitals and other small projects here and there. Shortly after moving back to Bloomington from Chicago (summer, 2002), I met this guy Jim Zespy. He had this huge space that used to be an Interstate Battery shop. It had no windows, no heat and hardly any light. Jim lived in a broken down van inside the facility. He was a collector of old keyboards and organs. There were thirty-plus keyboards in that place. It was huge, dark and dirty, but had a cool atmosphere to it. He had some decent recording equipment and was recording bands out of there. We decided to combine our equipment (I didn’t have a space of my own, anyway) and collaborate our efforts. We called it The Projects: Recording. It wasn’t really much of a business ‘cause no one ever paid us.

I mostly recorded my own stuff at The Projects, and also recorded a few small projects at Electrical that year, all for free (I was just happy to be there making records). Although The Projects was a cool place, it wasn’t really what I had in mind for a studio. In the spring of 2003, I started looking for a new space to record and live in. One day as I was driving through Brown County on State Rd 46, I noticed this cool house for rent. I gave the number on the sign a call and checked it out the next day. I signed the lease the day after and came up with the name Russian Recording the day after that. Actually, there may have been a few other days thrown in there somewhere in between, but that sounded cooler. I spent the next couple months painting, moving in and hooking up the studio.

The first session was the American Werewolves, We Won’t Stay Dead, in August of 2003. They paid cash and it felt good. I recently moved my living quarters out of the studio, so the studio is now just a studio, rather than a studio with a bed in it.

What's the most difficult aspect of owning your own studio?
This is a hard question to answer because there isn’t one thing that is most difficult, but here’s a few:
-paying for it
-keeping it working
-keeping it clean
-making it better
-keeping it busy
-having time to do all of the above

Does it pay to have taste enter into the equation when considering whether or not to take on new work, or does it pay to get paid at this point?
I take on any work. I will take on any work until I am forced to choose. Fortunately for me, just about every project I’ve worked on at Russian Recording has been relatively awesome compared to some of the crap that some other studios get. I “advertise” by word of mouth only, which means 99% of the bands and musicians that come to the studio are independent and hard working. The music is always original and even though some of the bands aren’t “great,” the people that make up the bands usually are. The studio is appealing to a certain style, and probably isn’t appealing to another. Not coincidentally, the type of bands that the studio is appealing to are the type of bands that I enjoy working with. With that said, I don’t mind working on any type of music as long as the people in the band are easy to get along with, the band is prepared, and I am not expected to “fix” their shitty takes or beg for them to pay me. Thankfully, The latter has never happened.

Do you have a job besides recording bands?
Yes. I am the audio engineer for the Indiana University School of Music Digital Audio Archiving Project. I assembled and operate an analog to digital transfer lab. My job is to establish and execute archiving procedures for the IU School of Music in association with a John Hopkins University archiving research project. I transfer old analog recordings of IU performances for preservation, technological research and online accessibility.

Albini is renown for a certain sound, and often bands seek him out specifically for that sound. Does being renowned for a certain sound limit the recording engineer, like he or she is trapped by their reputation?
Engineers are going to labeled with a sound no matter what they do. Everyone has their idea of what sounds “good” or what sounds “bad.” Thinking about this will only make you crazy. Having a sound is inevitable since every engineer has their own opinion of “good,” and ultimately wants their recordings to sound like that. Some engineers think that they need to have a sound and go out of their way to create a sound for themselves, and then impart this patented “sound” on every band that steps through their door. In my opinion this is irresponsible, selfish and obnoxious. I just do my best to help represent the bands I’m working with in the way that they want to be sonically represented. I work my ass off, I treat every project as if it were my own, and I make sure that my clients are happy. If this ultimately leads to a certain “sound,” then so be it.

Do you have a set way drums should sound, guitars, etc., or does it vary from band to band?
Unless a band specifically tells me that they want me to “make shit sound crazy,” I am going to do my best to accurately capture their live performance. I will always discuss this with the bands prior to recording to see what it is they are after. Based on their expectations, their musical style and the sound of their equipment I will choose and position mics in way that I think will capture their performance in a flattering manner. Then I will record them playing and see if tickles their fancy. If not, we take any steps necessary to remedy the problem and make the recording bombastic. I generally like recordings that are naturally impressive and honest.

In fifteen years, the signature "Bridavsky Sound" is going to be what?
Either a quacking duck or a sigh.

		Russian Recording Studio Interview with Mike Bridavsky by Steve Brydges.
Mike Bridavsky is a recording engineer’s engineer. He knows his shit, and he knew where to go to learn it. Divine forebearing intervention may have ultimately swung his parents onto his side in his pursuit of becoming an audio engineer, but Bridavsky quickly evinced from his intuition and tuition (college classes, internships and the like) that becoming a professional recorder of bands is a lot more than having the equipment and pushing a few buttons. It’s about understanding the hows and whys of not only the equipment and the room (acoustics and whatnot), but also the musicians themselves. From sweeping floors to searching Chicago for toiletries for Billy Corgan to being on the receiving end of detailed responses from Steve Albini to his many queries, this product of an internship at Albini’s famed Electrical Audio studios has gone on to start his own studio, Russian Recordings (in Bloomington, IN), and work with many excellent local bands with national reputations like Racebannon and Magnolia Electric Co. It’s interviews like this that reinforce just how little I know about – well, hell, electrical equipment of any kind. Unplug your toaster and read this interview with Mike, then go book time at his studio (from the outside photo of the studio on his website, I think I lodged there during summer camp back in ’83.
		When did you decide you wanted to become a recording engineer? What was it that sealed it for you? I made a conscious decision to become an audio engineer during my junior year in high school. It was time to look for colleges and think about what it was that I wanted to do with my life, and making records sounded like a good idea. My parents had a little trouble wrapping their heads around it at first, but then they went to one of those spiritual psychic getaways where you get in touch with deceased friends and family. It’s like a ghost zoo or something. Anyhow, the spirit of my step-grandfather visited them and told them that if they support me and the choices I make, everything will turn out for the best. Ever since then they have been overwhelmingly supportive. Is this something for which you went to school or did you work as an apprentice or both? I did both. I did an apprenticeship during my senior year of high school at a studio called GTR (Great Tracks Recording) in Cleveland. They recorded Bone, Thugs ‘n’ Harmony. I then went to Indiana University to study the stuff. IU has a great audio department. I got an Associates Degree in Audio Technology and also a BA in Music and Film Production. The latter was received through a special program called the Individualized Major Program, where you get to make up your own major and curriculum if IU does not offer a degree in the field you fancy. This degree taught me that I don’t ever want to make films. As a part of my audio degree I was required to do full time internship, which I completed at Electrical Audio Recording in Chicago.

How much of what you're doing is learned on the fly (trial and error, etc.) and from schooling or at the side of a more experienced recording engineer during an apprenticeship? It’s a big combination of everything. You can’t learn how to be an engineer without actually doing it. As I was going through school, I was also recording during most of my free time. If I had just gone to school without reinforcing what I was learning, it would have been a waste of time and money. A lot of the stuff they teach isn’t absolute, so you have try it out and see what works and what doesn’t work. A lot of people say that going to school for audio recording is useless because you don’t get the experience and you’re better off spending your money on equipment and teaching yourself. It’s not hard to learn how to record stuff on your own, and it’s not expensive either. All you have to do is buy the latest all-in-one digital recorder and read the manual. And there’s nothing wrong with that for people who want to record their own music and get their ideas down. However, to become an engineer (someone who records music professionally) is to really understand how your equipment works, why it sounds the way it does, why it only provides good results in certain circumstances and why the equipment is not nearly as important as understanding acoustics, the physics of sound, electronics and the most important thing, people skills. You don’t get that experience by sitting in your basement with a four-track. Going to school, learning about this stuff and then applying what you learn in your basement with a four-track is the best thing you can do. Then again, that’s just my opinion. I'm sure it’s not so good for some people. But I think it’s a fantastic way to learn. All in all, I made the most progress as an engineer through my six-week internship at Electrical Audio. On the other hand, had I not gone to school prior to my internship, the internship would have been useless. Going to school prepared me for my internship so that once I was there I could really understand what the hell was going on. Furthermore, Electrical does not accept interns unless the internship goes towards school credit.

How was it to work with and for Steve Albini? What did you do at Electrical Audio? Did you start by sweeping the floors and so forth - something akin to working your way up from the mailroom, a la Michael J. Fox aka Brantley Foster aka Carlton Whitfield in Secret of My Success? I mean that with all due respect. I never saw that movie. I saw Teen Wolf though. Unfortunately, my internship was nothing like Teen Wolf. I ended up doing a lot of stuff at Electrical Audio. Even though my internship only lasted for a month and a half, I worked about 70-90 hours a week. I cleaned the place everyday, which included mopping, constantly taking out the trash, vacuuming, cleaning the litter box, wiping down the console after sessions, doing dishes, getting the cat hair off of the couches, etc. On my third day, Zwan came in to begin tracking for Mary, Star of the Sea in Studio A. Steve had nothing to do with the session; they just rented the studio out with their own engineers. They were there for the entirety of my internship (and beyond), at least twelve hours a day, seven days a week. So in addition to all the cleaning, I got them food and groceries on a regular basis. Once I had to drive all over Chicago to find Bill Corgan unscented bath salts. I should also note that I was not required to do any of this. It’s just such an inspiring place to be that you actually want to do all you can to help it be awesome. In between all of the grunt work I was able to sit in on the sessions that Steve was doing in Studio B. I just hung out and observed. Steve’s a really nice guy, and will go out of his way to answer (in painstaking detail and accuracy) any technical questions you might have. It’s very inspiring to see how much he knows about making records and engineering. I definitely learned some cool mic-ing techniques and the value of proper mic placement, but what I learned most from him was how important it is to know your shit. That guy knows his shit!

	When did you break out on your own? I’ve been buying and collecting recording equipment since high school. I finally started getting some serious equipment about a year before my internship at Electrical. I had a remote multi-track setup and recorded a few jazz recitals and other small projects here and there. Shortly after moving back to Bloomington from Chicago (summer, 2002), I met this guy Jim Zespy. He had this huge space that used to be an Interstate Battery shop. It had no windows, no heat and hardly any light. Jim lived in a broken down van inside the facility. He was a collector of old keyboards and organs. There were thirty-plus keyboards in that place. It was huge, dark and dirty, but had a cool atmosphere to it. He had some decent recording equipment and was recording bands out of there. We decided to combine our equipment (I didn’t have a space of my own, anyway) and collaborate our efforts. We called it The Projects: Recording. It wasn’t really much of a business ‘cause no one ever paid us. I mostly recorded my own stuff at The Projects, and also recorded a few small projects at Electrical that year, all for free (I was just happy to be there making records). Although The Projects was a cool place, it wasn’t really what I had in mind for a studio. In the spring of 2003, I started looking for a new space to record and live in. One day as I was driving through Brown County on State Rd 46, I noticed this cool house for rent. I gave the number on the sign a call and checked it out the next day. I signed the lease the day after and came up with the name Russian Recording the day after that. Actually, there may have been a few other days thrown in there somewhere in between, but that sounded cooler. I spent the next couple months painting, moving in and hooking up the studio. The first session was the American Werewolves, We Won’t Stay Dead, in August of 2003. They paid cash and it felt good. I recently moved my living quarters out of the studio, so the studio is now just a studio, rather than a studio with a bed in it.
What's the most difficult aspect of owning your own studio? This is a hard question to answer because there isn’t one thing that is most difficult, but here’s a few: -paying for it -keeping it working -keeping it clean -making it better -keeping it busy -having time to do all of the above

Does it pay to have taste enter into the equation when considering whether or not to take on new work, or does it pay to get paid at this point? I take on any work. I will take on any work until I am forced to choose. Fortunately for me, just about every project I’ve worked on at Russian Recording has been relatively awesome compared to some of the crap that some other studios get. I “advertise” by word of mouth only, which means 99% of the bands and musicians that come to the studio are independent and hard working. The music is always original and even though some of the bands aren’t “great,” the people that make up the bands usually are. The studio is appealing to a certain style, and probably isn’t appealing to another. Not coincidentally, the type of bands that the studio is appealing to are the type of bands that I enjoy working with. With that said, I don’t mind working on any type of music as long as the people in the band are easy to get along with, the band is prepared, and I am not expected to “fix” their shitty takes or beg for them to pay me. Thankfully, The latter has never happened. Do you have a job besides recording bands? Yes. I am the audio engineer for the Indiana University School of Music Digital Audio Archiving Project. I assembled and operate an analog to digital transfer lab. My job is to establish and execute archiving procedures for the IU School of Music in association with a John Hopkins University archiving research project. I transfer old analog recordings of IU performances for preservation, technological research and online accessibility.
		Has the Electrical Audio connection helped? The independent music and recording community (just like any other community) is tightly interweaved. I’m sure that my connection with Electrical Audio has somehow directly and indirectly helped my recording career in some way. Also, I was able to get an awesome prototype Electrical Audio Mid-Side Decoder, designed by their tech Greg Norman. It has a glowing “E” which changes colors. How do you approach each new recording session? It depends on the band, their setup, their studio experience, their previous studio experiences, their music, their equipment, their aesthetic preferences, their emotional stability and the amount of time they have booked. Communication and preparation are very important. I usually spend a lot of time communicating with the band prior to the session to get these details figured out. I know my studio very well, and from my experience recording bands in there I know what can generally sound good and what can work in terms of setup, etc. So if an inexperienced band comes in, I can suggest things that might work best for them in terms of their setup, tracking arrangement, tracking/mixing schedule, etc. Some more experienced bands will come in and tell me exactly how they want to record and what they want it to sound like and it’s my job to make it happen. I feel that when a band hires me and my studio, it is my responsibility to make the band as comfortable as possible and figure out what steps need to be taken to successfully complete the project in the time that has been allotted for it.

Albini is renown for a certain sound, and often bands seek him out specifically for that sound. Does being renowned for a certain sound limit the recording engineer, like he or she is trapped by their reputation? Engineers are going to labeled with a sound no matter what they do. Everyone has their idea of what sounds “good” or what sounds “bad.” Thinking about this will only make you crazy. Having a sound is inevitable since every engineer has their own opinion of “good,” and ultimately wants their recordings to sound like that. Some engineers think that they need to have a sound and go out of their way to create a sound for themselves, and then impart this patented “sound” on every band that steps through their door. In my opinion this is irresponsible, selfish and obnoxious. I just do my best to help represent the bands I’m working with in the way that they want to be sonically represented. I work my ass off, I treat every project as if it were my own, and I make sure that my clients are happy. If this ultimately leads to a certain “sound,” then so be it. Do you have a set way drums should sound, guitars, etc., or does it vary from band to band? Unless a band specifically tells me that they want me to “make shit sound crazy,” I am going to do my best to accurately capture their live performance. I will always discuss this with the bands prior to recording to see what it is they are after. Based on their expectations, their musical style and the sound of their equipment I will choose and position mics in way that I think will capture their performance in a flattering manner. Then I will record them playing and see if tickles their fancy. If not, we take any steps necessary to remedy the problem and make the recording bombastic. I generally like recordings that are naturally impressive and honest.

What is the most satisfying recording you've done thus far? I did a three-day session with The Coke Dares. The Coke Dares is a three piece (drums, bass and guitars) and also are the drums, bass and guitar for Magnolia Electric Company (aka Songs:Ohia). They are a brilliant rock band. What made this session so satisfying (aside from them being an excellent bunch of jerks to be around) was that in threee days we recorded and mixed forty-two songs entirely live to 1/4” two-track. If you’ve seen The Coke Dares live, you’d know that this is the only way they should ever be recorded. They all performed in the live room. The guitar and bass amps were in a separate room, but they all played together (with the drums) in the live room. They all sang, too, which made the recording part more challenging. After making sure that everything sounded good to tape, we started recording. They would run through a song a few times so I could figure out a mix (I had to figure out exactly when and where different vocal lines came in so I could mute the channels when they weren’t singing, otherwise the drums would bleed into the vocal mics and make it sound poopy). Then they’d play and we’d record it to the two-track. Every song was done in one - three takes. This is such a liberating way to work. Once you’re done, your done! There’s no mixing, no chance for remixing. I even had the flu during the making of this record, and it was still one of the most enjoyable sessions I’ve ever worked on. I don’t think I’ve ever worked with another band that could have pulled it off though, so kudos to The Coke Dares. What are some of the bands you've recorded? I’ve had the pleasure of working with a wide variety of bands and musical styles since the studio’s been open. So, here’s a list of some enjoyable sessions: Racebannon, The Coke Dares, Faith Kleppinger, Angelville, Magnolia Electric Company, Turn Pale, Wasteland D.C., American Werewolves, Sump Pumps, Gentleman Caller, Rapider Than Horsepower, Thousand Arrows, Lucky Pineapple, The Humanists, Trio In Stereo, State, Morrow, and some more.

	In fifteen years, the signature "Bridavsky Sound" is going to be what? Either a quacking duck or a sigh.