Mark Linett Interview, April 2014 (audio & transcript)

[guitarfool2002]

http://barefootsound.com/audio/interview-with-mark-linett/

At the link there is a roughly 20 minute long audio interview with Bonzai (of Mix magazine's 'Lunching With Bonzai' among others...), with the transcript. Unfortunately, considering what they're discussing and what's in that studio...no video!

This flew under the radar somehow in all the Love & Mercy film talk, but here's a segment concerning some of the music and studio scenes in the film:

It struck me when I was working on the Brian Wilson movie Love & Mercy, because they hired real musicians and we transformed Studio Three, where most of the Beach Boys hits were cut, to make it look like the old days. We had them in the room with the right gear, and had them playing. They recorded ambient music, we didn’t record multi track, but to hear that in that room really gave you a sense of how records were made fifty years ago when leakage was your friend, not your enemy. Now we’re always concerned about the bass drum, solothe bass drum, what does that sound like? Nobody ever did that back then. In fact, the drums were the last thing that you put into a live mix, because a certain amount of drums was going to come through all the other mics. The drums were more filler. Of course, the way guys like Hal Blaine played, they played to the mics. There were no mics on the toms, that’s ridiculous.

[bringahorseinhere?]

is it only me, that this guy who has worked on the Capitol era Beach Boys recordings, and Brian Wilson albums, does not get interviewed enough?
I understand that most people would say he is just an 'engineer', but he is one as important as Steve Desper particularly in this new world of
digital, remixing, and even new vinyl rereleases.
It's been marvellous 'Steve' has contributed so much here and answered so much and laid to rest so many of our quiries.
why can't someone in the know get Mark on here to do a Q & A on here and talk about stuff?
Gear? Recording? Brian? Restoration of Tapes? Involvement? blah blah
just putting it out there.  
Please Mark. Come and say Hi!

[Stephen W. Desper]

is it only me, that this guy who has worked on the Capitol era Beach Boys recordings, and Brian Wilson albums, does not get interviewed enough?
I understand that most people would say he is just an 'engineer', but he is one as important as Steve Desper particularly in this new world of
digital, remixing, and even new vinyl rereleases.
It's been marvellous 'Steve' has contributed so much here and answered so much and laid to rest so many of our quiries.
why can't someone in the know get Mark on here to do a Q & A on here and talk about stuff?
Gear? Recording? Brian? Restoration of Tapes? Involvement? blah blah
just putting it out there.  
Please Mark. Come and say Hi!

COMMENT:   I think you have confused the engineering part that Mark played in the movie with his engineering role in real life. I don't know why I'm telling you this, as you of all people must understand what I'm about to write. But I'll say it anyway for the benefit of others. Mark played the part of Chuck Britz who was a staff engineer at Western Recording Studios, not Capitol (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_Britz). The role that Mark played in the movie was really a composite role, i.e. movie talk for the taking several persons or personalities and combining them into one character. So the engineer in the movie represented the many engineers Brian worked with during that time. It was a tribute to Mark, a post-Capitol engineer who has reconstructed many early recordings, to play the part representing many pre-Capitol and Capitol engineers who originated the many early recordings that Mark has worked with.

As to your callout to Mark's involvement here at Smileysmile, go to Ask Honored Guests and ask him a question. He is very busy, but will answer in time. If you go back and review some of Mark's answers to questions ask of him, you will find he is involved in this thread and does bring his insight to answering questions about his involvement with The Beach Boys.

In overview, I would say the Ask Honored Guests feature or thread is under utilized by fans here. For example, for the past three weeks I have made available a wonderful new study-video, but only two people have left comments. This shows me that most people don't check the Ask Honored Guests thread, but if they would, will find a wealth of information not normally found within this discussion thread.  ~swd

[bringahorseinhere?]

Hi Steve, I was mainly addressing that to his work on the pet sounds sessions, the remixing of stereo masters on the releases over the years, and his engineering on Brian Wilson albums.  I'm sure there is heaps of mind pulling questions that could be presented.
And what about a Q & A like the big fella did himself?  make an appointment, we address curious questions, and he can answer what he wants at his will?

[Stephen W. Desper]

Hi Steve, I was mainly addressing that to his work on the pet sounds sessions, the remixing of stereo masters on the releases over the years, and his engineering on Brian Wilson albums.  I'm sure there is heaps of mind pulling questions that could be presented.
And what about a Q & A like the big fella did himself?  make an appointment, we address curious questions, and he can answer what he wants at his will?

COMMENT:  But isn't that what the Honored Guest thread is for, Q & A?  Check it out >>> http://smileysmile.net/board/index.php/topic,201.0.html

[Custom Machine]

After reading Stephen's comments I just did a quick perusal of the Stephen Desper Thread in the Ask the Honored Guests section and wow - since I last checked it out there are some great new posts there - and I'm looking forward to reading them in depth tomorrow.

I think the issue is that the threads in the Ask the Honored Guests section used to be anchored at the top of the threads in General On Topic Discussions. But some Honored Guests rarely posted, so the Honored Guests section was relegated to a "child board" above General On Topic Discussions, where it is not that readily apparent. The result is that it's very easy to miss any new posts there. At the time that change was made I stated that I felt the Honored Guests should be reinstated in their original location at the top of General On Topic Discussions, but that was not done, with the upshot that it's very easy, as was the case recently with me, to forget check the child board. I suspect that many members rarely or never notice that section and thus rarely or never check it.

I'd really love to see the Honored Guests reinstated to the top of the General On Topic Discussions threads, or for that section to somehow become more prominent.

And I'll close with another big Thank You to Stephen W. Desper. Stephen, your posts and study videos are one of the main reasons this board is such a treasure. Sure, there's a fair amount of tripe from various morons posted on the board, but intelligent posts from people with a serious love for the music and the history of the band easily make this the premiere place to discuss Brian Wilson and The Beach Boys. And then to have people like Stephen, who were not only there when it happened but also made it happen - it's almost hard to express my gratitude. But thank you, Stephen, not only for your work with the band and the amazing recordings that resulted, but also for your willingness to engage the fans with your recollections, insight, and study videos. Looking forward to hearing Carl sing the lead on Sail on Sailor!

[The Shift]

I think the issue is that the threads in the Ask the Honored Guests section used to be anchored at the top of the threads in General On Topic Discussions. But some Honored Guests rarely posted, so the Honored Guests section was relegated to a "child board" above General On Topic Discussions, where it is not that readily apparent. The result is that it's very easy to miss any new posts there. At the time that change was made I stated that I felt the Honored Guests should be reinstated in their original location at the top of General On Topic Discussions, but that was not done, with the upshot that it's very easy, as was the case recently with me, to forget check the child board. I suspect that many members rarely or never notice that section and thus rarely or never check it.

I'd really love to see the Honored Guests reinstated to the top of the General On Topic Discussions threads, or for that section to somehow become more prominent.

Fully agree with this suggestion. My perception is that traffic finished in those enlightening threads after they were moved. They really are so much easier to overlook.