Working Class Audio

For episode 614, Matt talks with Michael Frondelli, producer, engineer, and former Vice President of Capitol Records Studios, where he ran the facility for eleven years before going independent in 2001. Michael grew up in Astoria, Queens. Tony Bennett took vocal lessons with his Uncle Sal. The Walken family ran the bakery on Steinway Street. He came up playing guitar in soul bands and rock bands in the 60s, studied business in college, landed a maintenance tech job at Broadway Recording on 1697 Broadway, and from there made his way to Electric Lady in November 1975, where he spent nine years. This is Part 1 of a two-part conversation.
In This Episode, We Discuss:
Growing Up in Astoria, Queens
Music in the Family and Learning Guitar
Soul Bands, Rock Bands, and the 60s
College, the Draft Lottery, and Moving to Manhattan
Carpentry, Soundproofing, and Finding a Way Into Recording
Broadway Recording at 1697 Broadway
Learning to Listen, Watch, and Visualize Signal Path
Landing at Electric Lady in 1975
Nine Years in the Room: Zeppelin, Chick Corea, Jaco Pastorius, Joni Mitchell
Working With Eddie Kramer on Song Remains the Same
Rebel Yell: Finding Billy Idol a Drummer
Keith Forsey, Charlie Sexton, and Don't You Forget About Me
Getting Management and Learning the Business
Going From $5 an Hour to $2,500 a Mix

Matt's RANT!: Revisiting Backing Up and Archiving
Links and Show Notes:
Michael's site
Credits:
Guest: Michael Frondelli
Host/Engineer/Producer: Matt Boudreau
WCA Theme Music: Cliff Truesdell
The Voice: Chuck Smith

For episode 613, Matt talks with Ben Mellott — recording engineer, mixer, and owner of Nothing but Noise studio in Northern Virginia. Ben has been freelance since 2014, balances studio work with live production at churches, farms, and local venues, and runs every dollar through the Profit First system. They talk about building a career on curiosity, the alternative path through cassette manufacturing and church sound, and why the business side of audio doesn't sound like fun until it absolutely is.
In This Episode, We Discuss:
Northern Virginia, Born and Raised
A Dad at Toys R Us and a Mom in the Church Choir
Recording Bands on a Tascam Four-Track at Ten Dollars a Song
The Recording Workshop in Chillicothe, Ohio — Audio Boot Camp
Learning Signal Flow Before Hardware
Manufacturing Cassettes and CDs at Lion Recording
Moving Into Graphics — Quark Express, InDesign, and Terrible Early Websites
Roadie and Merch for a Month-Long US Tour With Frodus
Getting the Farm Festival Gig
Ten Years of Sunday Church Sound — and What He Learned About Temperament
The Drummer in the Crowd Who Got Him the Venue Gig
Real-Life Social Proof — Likable Enough (For a Live Sound Guy)
Curiosity as a Career Strategy
Nothing But Noise — The Studio and the Freelance Life Since 2014
Debt, an Inheritance That Didn't Change the Slope, and the Pandemic
Implementing the Profit First System
Of Every Thousand Dollars, Only $150 Is Spendable — and Why That's the Point
Self-Financing Gear and Paying Yourself Back on a Payment Plan
The Sweetwater Rep Who Said You've Got a Lot of Gear
The Business Side Doesn't Sound Like Fun Until It Is

Matt's RANT!: Doing Things the Alternative Way
Links and Show Notes:
Nothing but Noise
Profit First — Mike Michalowicz (book)
Profit First — Audiobook on Libro.fm
WCA #133 with Alan Evans
WCA #328 with Alan Evans
WCA #576 with Alan Evans

Credits:
Guest: Ben Mellott
Host/Engineer/Producer: Matt Boudreau
WCA Theme Music: Cliff Truesdell
The Voice: Chuck Smith

For episode 612, Matt talks with Brian Starley recording and mixing engineer based in North Hollywood, California, and owner of Bergatron Music Studio. Brian grew up in Salt Lake City with a dad who transferred vinyl to cassette for the car, chased a hockey career to Ontario, came home to Utah without a plan, and found recording through a coworker who'd interned at the Blasting Room. After learning Pro Tools at twenty bucks an hour and getting out of Utah in 2005, he landed at Musicians Institute in LA and then at Lon Cohen Studio Rentals a cartage company where he spent six years moving Tim Pierce's guitars and Mike Elizondo's Logic rig around the city. After going freelance in 2013, he built a YouTube live session channel, had his busiest mixing years during COVID, and then spent the better part of two years fighting LA permits, tariffs, and a construction crew to build his dream studio — refinancing the house to do it. They talk about what cartage taught him about gear and sessions, the mobile recording revelation that shaped his whole approach, building a studio in 2025 LA, the stress that put him in the hospital with diverticulitis, and why you should focus on relationships before gear.

In This Episode, We Discuss:
- Growing Up in Salt Lake City, Utah — The Zion Curtain
- A Dad Who Transferred Vinyl to Cassette and Filled the Car With Music
- Hockey, Rage Against the Machine, and a Dream of the NHL
- Moving to Shelburne, Ontario to Play Junior Hockey
- Coming Home to Utah and Finding Construction Work for His Dad
- A Coworker From the Blasting Room Who Changed Everything
- Learning Pro Tools at Twenty Bucks an Hour on a Digi 001
- Getting Into Trouble and Getting Out of Utah — Moving to LA in 2005
- Musicians Institute and Finding the Path Into Recording
- Landing at Lawn — a Cartage Company for LA's Top Session Musicians
- Tim Pierce, Joe Chiccarelli, Abe Laboriel Sr., and What Cartage Taught Him
- Mike Elizondo's Logic Rig and the Mobile Recording Revelation
- Scab Dates, Church Choirs, and Recording With a Handful of Mics
- Post Production School, Roger Nichols, and Getting Certified in Pro Tools
- Going Freelance in 2013
- Live Sessions at Custom Vintage Keys With JJ Blair and the Boba Jam Channel
- The Decision to Build a Studio — and Reaching Out to Josh Nyback in 2023
- Two and a Half Years of Permits, Hidden Fees, and LA Bureaucracy
- Refinancing the House to Fund the Build
- Tariffs, Construction Costs, and Watching the Budget Disappear
- Supervising a General Contractor Who Didn't Know What a Studio Was
- Isomax Clips, Green Glue, and Checking Every Screw
- Diverticulitis in November From the Stress of the Build
- His Wife Allie — The Person Who Got Them Through It
- Crying in the Finished Room When They First Put the Speakers Up
- California Disability Insurance for Freelancers — and the Scott McDowell Episode
- You Don't Need All the Gear — Build Relationships First
- Support the Ecosystem — Book Studios, Pay for Mastering

Matt's RANT!: Things Matt Is Doing
Links
Bergatron Music
Brian Starley – Credits (Muso.ai)
Brian Starley (Instagram)
Brian Starley (TikTok)
Bergatron Music – Studio Build Videos (YouTube)
Josh Nyback – Nyback Builds
Nyback Builds (Instagram)
WCA #611 with Scott McDowell — California Disability Insurance
Libro.fm — Audiobooks
Four Thousand Weeks — Oliver Burkeman
M-DISC — Wikipedia
Steinberg SpectraLayers

Credits:
- Guest: Brian Starley
- Host/Engineer/Producer: Matt Boudreau
- WCA Theme Music: Cliff Truesdell
- The Voice: Chuck Smith

Scott McDowell is a producer, engineer, and co-owner of Wally's Hydeout at Hyde Street Studios in San Francisco. In episode 611 they talk about getting fired from his first SF internship, becoming a studio partner at Wally’s Hydeout, surviving COVID, getting hit by a car in March 2026, recovering from a TBI, and why every freelancer in California needs to sign up for state disability insurance before something happens.
In This Episode, We Discuss:
Co-owning a Studio, Making Records, and Working in Game Audio
Growing Up in Novato — North Marin County
A Broadcast Engineer Dad
Working Niners Games on the Sideline
Heading to Berklee for Trumpet
A Hernia That Ended the Trumpet Career and Started the Recording One
City College SF, SF Soundworks, and Getting Fired
John Vanderslice, Tiny Telephone, and the Referral to Justin Phelps
Interning at Hyde Street Studios With Justin Phelps and Jaimeson Durr
Filling the Calendar for Six Months to Avoid Being Replaced — Then Getting Made a Partner
The CDR Run That He Thought Was a Firing
Eight Years of Game Audio
COVID Survival
Getting Hit by a Car in Northridge
The TBI, the Wheelchair, and Coming Back
California Disability Insurance Elective Coverage — Why Every Freelancer Should Sign Up

Matt's RANT!: Accumulation
Links and Show Notes:
Fader Solo: https://fadersolo.com/
California Disability Insurance Elective Coverage (EDD): https://edd.ca.gov/en/payroll_taxes/Disability_Insurance_Elective_Coverage/
WCA #082 with Justin Phelps: https://www.workingclassaudio.com/wca-082-justin-phelps/
WCA #211 with Jaimeson Durr: https://www.workingclassaudio.com/wca-211-with-jaimeson-durr/
WCA #047 with John Vanderslice: https://www.workingclassaudio.com/wca-047-with-john-vanderslice/

Credits:
Guest: Scott McDowell
Host/Engineer/Producer: Matt Boudreau
WCA Theme Music: Cliff Truesdell
The Voice: Chuck Smith

For episode 610, Matt talks with Stephen Shirk — engineer, producer, guitarist, and owner of SHIRK Studios in Chicago's West Town neighborhood. Stephen grew up in Bloomington, Illinois, studied business at Miami University, moved to New York in 1998 with a friend's couch as his launch pad, and worked his way through the Hit Factory and a jingle house where he built Pro Tools systems, got his SAG card, and learned from Jay Messina. In 2004 he moved to Chicago, rented studio spaces for a decade, and in 2013 bought the building he now runs as a semi-commercial studio with a Sphere console, instruments on every wall, and a deliberately un-sterile feel. They talk about the HearYa live sessions that built his early reputation, word-of-mouth marketing and what comes next, Steve Albini and Electrical Audio, owning vs. renting in Chicago's studio ecosystem, and getting back out to shows.

In This Episode, We Discuss:
- Growing Up in Bloomington, Illinois
- Church Choir, Guitar at Fourth Grade, and Early Bands
- A Business Degree at Miami University and Playing in Bands
- Moving to New York in 1998 With a Friend's Couch as a Launch Pad
- Learning Pro Tools Version 4 on the Fly
- Starting at the Hit Factory as a General Assistant
- The Culture Shock of New York Speed — and Learning to Shut Up
- Moving to a Jingle House: More Engineering, More Money, a Synclavier
- Building Pro Tools Systems and Getting a Pager From the Boss
- Learning From Jay Messina (Early Aerosmith, Jack Douglas)
- Getting His SAG Card and Discovering Mailbox Money
- Moving to Chicago in 2004 and Renting Studio Spaces
- Buying the Building in 2013 and the History Behind It
- SHIRK Studios: Semi-Commercial, Instruments on Every Wall
- Avoiding the Sterile Studio — Guilford of Maine Walls and Why He Hates Them
- Word of Mouth Marketing and Wondering What's Next
- Chicago's Studio Scene: Narwhal, Brian Deck, and the DIY Wave
- Steve Albini and Electrical Audio
- Owning the Building vs. Renting — Lessons From Chicago Studios
- Live-Work Lofts as an Option for Engineer-Owners
- Getting Back Out to Shows and Reconnecting With the Scene
- The Red Room: Chicago's Fifty-Cap DIY Listening Venue
- Dana Nielsen Listening to the Episode and the Buttoned-Up Business

Matt's RANT!: Getting the Job Done Part 2

Links and Show Notes:
- SHIRK Studios
- WCA #363 with Chaz Root
- WCA #137 with Anthony Gravino
- WCA #607 with Dana Nielsen
-WCA #164 with Steve Albini
Credits:
- Guest: Stephen Shirk
- Host/Engineer/Producer: Matt Boudreau
- WCA Theme Music: Cliff Truesdell
- The Voice: Chuck Smith