Michael Laskow, a question?

A cozy place to hang out and discuss all things music.

Moderators: admin, mdc, TAXIstaff

User avatar
2lane
Serious Musician
Serious Musician
Posts: 1774
Joined: Thu Dec 04, 2008 9:28 pm
Gender: Male
Location: Gator Country
Contact:

Re: Michael Laskow, a question?

Post by 2lane » Wed Apr 02, 2014 7:52 am

davekershaw wrote:
2lane wrote: I'm a big Walsh fan too, although sadly, he never seemed to influence me (not in any way I can pinpoint). I always took to the speed players for some reason?
He's kinda like Elliot Easton to me, not in stylewise, just the fact that they have a lot of taste in their playing...especially soloing
One of my favs from one of my fav live albums
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcap1-J-V58
Yeah, nice track.
Any idea what he's playing? Les Paul?
He's played quite a range of guitars. Seems to favour the John Lennon Rickenbacker nowadays. Would love one of them! And the George Harrison 360/12. Then again I'd like a Gretsch, a Les Paul and a Telecaster!! :D
Some find his voice whiny, but I've always liked it. Good sense of humour too, which is always a plus with me! :D
Les Paul would be my guess too, seems to be what he had in his hands most around that time, but "might" be a 335??
Whinny huh.........they're just haters! Unique is what I'd say...you know his voice when you hear it!
Worse, how can it be worse...Jehova Jehova Jehova

User avatar
davekershaw
Serious Musician
Serious Musician
Posts: 3961
Joined: Fri Dec 28, 2007 2:10 am
Gender: Male
Location: Aylesby, England
Contact:

Re: Michael Laskow, a question?

Post by davekershaw » Wed Apr 02, 2014 8:10 am

2lane wrote:
davekershaw wrote:Whinny huh.........they're just haters! Unique is what I'd say...you know his voice when you hear it!
It is unique and very distinctive!
Seen him doing quite a lot with Paul McCartney recently.

jonnybutter
Committed Musician
Committed Musician
Posts: 834
Joined: Fri Jul 01, 2011 12:37 pm
Gender: Male
Contact:

my answer, not Michael's

Post by jonnybutter » Thu Apr 03, 2014 5:57 pm

Mothers of Invention: "My Guitar Wants to Kill Your Mama" 1969 I believe. There are a few versions but the good one is the one recorded at Criteria. Check out the 'middle 16'!

User avatar
mojobone
King of the World
King of the World
Posts: 11837
Joined: Sat May 17, 2008 4:20 pm
Gender: Male
Location: Up in Indiana, where the tall corn grows
Contact:

Re: Michael Laskow, a question?

Post by mojobone » Mon Apr 07, 2014 6:32 pm

I've spoken with Laskow on the subject, and I'm gonna guess that working with producer Tom Dowd at Criteria was one of the (many) highlights. You should totally buy the book on Tom Dowd, BTW. Apparently, remixing bits of Layla And Other Assorted Love Songs by Derek & The Dominoes was sort of a master's thesis, for him. He has also mentioned working with Harvest-period Neil Young, but that was elsewhere and when. I mention only because name-dropping is a bit of an art form in Southern California, and Michael really doesn't like to brag.
The Straight Stuff; Roots, Rock & Soul

http://twangfu.wordpress.com
http://twitter.com/mojo_bone

User avatar
admin
Site Admin
Posts: 878
Joined: Mon Jan 12, 2004 7:42 am
Location: Calabasas, CA
Contact:

Re: Michael Laskow, a question?

Post by admin » Mon Apr 07, 2014 7:04 pm

Hi Steve,

Although I was only the assistant engineer on the Stills/Young "Long May You Run" record, I sometimes got to do rough mixes or record bkg vocals. It was originally CSNY, but then Graham and David left the project, and it was back to Neil and Stephen. When all 4 were still together, I got to cut some background vocals. That was the only time I ever pinched myself and thought, "Do you realize where you are, and what you're doing right now?" I think I was about 19 or 20 years old at the time.

I remember saying something like, "Stephen, move in about 6 inches, Graham, come in a little, Neil move back, and David stay where you are. Okay, drop a coin by your toe, and come in and listen to the blend and see what you think." I was also tasked with erasing all the parts done by Graham and David when they left the record. Not a fun day at work.

Probably my favorite sessions were the Neil Young, "Comes a Time" days. It was just Neil, my assistant Paul Kaminsky, and me for about 90 days straight. We did it at Triiad Recording. I had to learn the difference between good and great because there was no producer present, and Neil would do a take, look through the window, and ask, "How was that one?" Neil was wise, easy to work with, and I learned a lot from him... especially about capturing the moment, and not worrying about the tech stuff.

Mojo is right about Tommy Dowd. He was a ninja master, and I was honored to have spent untold hours in the control room learning from him. What a good guy, and great man. Google him.

Many, many more stories, but my family is waiting for me to get home for dinner.

Thanks for asking,
Michael

User avatar
HectorRContreras
Serious Musician
Serious Musician
Posts: 1407
Joined: Wed Aug 21, 2013 6:38 pm
Gender: Male
Location: Desert Hot Springs CALIFORNIA
Contact:

Re: Michael Laskow, a question?

Post by HectorRContreras » Mon Apr 07, 2014 7:18 pm

Ah thank you very much dear Michael.

Glad you experienced a close encounter with the impressive beauty of the Californian Mountains, during your well deserved Vacation.

Take care, and all those who you love. :)

User avatar
2lane
Serious Musician
Serious Musician
Posts: 1774
Joined: Thu Dec 04, 2008 9:28 pm
Gender: Male
Location: Gator Country
Contact:

Re: Michael Laskow, a question?

Post by 2lane » Mon Apr 07, 2014 7:42 pm

admin wrote:Hi Steve,

Although I was only the assistant engineer on the Stills/Young "Long May You Run" record, I sometimes got to do rough mixes or record bkg vocals. It was originally CSNY, but then Graham and David left the project, and it was back to Neil and Stephen. When all 4 were still together, I got to cut some background vocals. That was the only time I ever pinched myself and thought, "Do you realize where you are, and what you're doing right now?" I think I was about 19 or 20 years old at the time.

I remember saying something like, "Stephen, move in about 6 inches, Graham, come in a little, Neil move back, and David stay where you are. Okay, drop a coin by your toe, and come in and listen to the blend and see what you think." I was also tasked with erasing all the parts done by Graham and David when they left the record. Not a fun day at work.

Probably my favorite sessions were the Neil Young, "Comes a Time" days. It was just Neil, my assistant Paul Kaminsky, and me for about 90 days straight. We did it at Triiad Recording. I had to learn the difference between good and great because there was no producer present, and Neil would do a take, look through the window, and ask, "How was that one?" Neil was wise, easy to work with, and I learned a lot from him... especially about capturing the moment, and not worrying about the tech stuff.

Mojo is right about Tommy Dowd. He was a ninja master, and I was honored to have spent untold hours in the control room learning from him. What a good guy, and great man. Google him.

Many, many more stories, but my family is waiting for me to get home for dinner.

Thanks for asking,
Michael
Michael, if you peek in again...Thanks SO much for taking the time! Under regular circumstances, it's nice of you.....under what you've been dealing with the last few days, plus your vacation time......it's really a "character halo" you wear!!
I may be slow, but the coin trick was BRILLIANT to me...how many would of thought of that?
Please, get back to your family and try to get a good night's sleep!
Thanks again, and anytime you feel like more stories.....yall come back now, ya hear :D
There are ears to hear here......hey, a lyric maybe ;) :D

Sincerely
Steve
Worse, how can it be worse...Jehova Jehova Jehova

User avatar
guscave
Committed Musician
Committed Musician
Posts: 836
Joined: Fri Jan 23, 2004 3:48 am
Gender: Male
Location: miami, florida
Contact:

Re: Michael Laskow, a question?

Post by guscave » Tue Apr 08, 2014 1:40 pm

Great story Michael. I remember going into Criteria in the mid 80's and seeing all the pictures of some of those Artists and thinking "how cool to have been there", and you were.. :D

I had the pleasure of meeting Tom Dowd in the early 90's. Really cool guy.

User avatar
admin
Site Admin
Posts: 878
Joined: Mon Jan 12, 2004 7:42 am
Location: Calabasas, CA
Contact:

Re: Michael Laskow, a question?

Post by admin » Tue Apr 08, 2014 1:46 pm

The coin trick was something that I learned from Tommy Dowd. He was such a great teacher!

He once asked me if I'd like to know how to mike an acoustic guitar. I responded in the affirmative, and he said, "Get on your knees."

I was a little taken aback, as you might imagine. He saw the look on my face, and exclaimed, "Not for THAT you idiot! Get on your knees, move your head around the guitar and stop where it sounds great. That's where you put the mike... put it where it sounds great to you EAR."

Duh!

Another time, Clapton discovered two guys named Tom and Don camped out on the beach behind his house in the Bahamas. Eric signed them, brought them to Criteria, and was co-producing with Tommy Dowd. They had a song called, "Little Things," Coming out of the bridge, and going into the last chorus, there was a 4 count drum roll with accents on the 1,2,3, and 4. When everybody else went to lunch, Tommy asked me if I wanted to learn how to make a good song into a great song.

He told me to do a rough mix, then edit that 4 count turn at the head of the entire song. I'd never done a 1/4" tape edit. My hands were shaking, and I rocked that tape back and forth over the play head for about a minute. Eeee-oooo,eeeee-ooooo, etc. Tommy said, "Just cut it already!, You can always put it back together." Duh!

I cut out the drum turn, plopped it onto the front of the song, put a paper leader in front of it, and hit play. Brrrrrr, brrrrr, brrrrr, brrrrr, and BAM, the song was instantly better. It went from good to great. I learned how to edit, and to never take a song's arrangement at face value... ever again! Priceless.

All of us who ever worked with Tom Dowd learned things like that every day, no matter what our "station" on the totem pole was. For those of you who watch NCIS, he was like our Leroy Jethro Gibbs.

He changed modern music because of all that he taught to hundreds of engineers over the years. We learned and used those techniques, and passed them on to the next generation. God rest his soul.

Buy this DVD: http://amzn.to/1qgUg13

Tom Dowd and the Language of Music

best,
Michael

User avatar
Mark Kaufman
Serious Musician
Serious Musician
Posts: 1930
Joined: Wed Oct 24, 2007 7:03 am
Gender: Male
Location: Minneapolis
Contact:

Re: Michael Laskow, a question?

Post by Mark Kaufman » Tue Apr 08, 2014 2:36 pm

Awesome. :)

Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 55 guests