Bob Weston
Encyclopedia
Bob Weston is an American
musician
, producer
, recording engineer, and record mastering engineer. Critic Jason Ankeny declares that "Weston's name and fingerprints are all over the American underground rock of the post-punk
era, producing and engineering dates for a seemingly endless number of bands." As a performer, Weston is best known as the bass guitar
ist in the groups Volcano Suns
and Shellac
.
. During the summers of 1985 and 1987, he marched as a bugler with the renowned Garfield Cadets Drum and Bugle Corps
from Garfield, New Jersey. The corps won the Drum Corps International World Championships in both those years. Weston still plays trumpet
, as on the albums The Sea and the Bells by Rachel's
(1996) and Things We Lost in the Fire by Low
(2001).
In 1988, he earned a B.S. in Electrical Engineering
from the University of Lowell in Lowell, MA. While working at the University's campus radio station, WJUL, he began mixing live performances of Boston-area bands such as The Pixies and the Blake Babies
.
In 1987 Weston joined The Volcano Suns
, playing bass guitar
. The group was led by Peter Prescott
, (previously the drummer
for Mission of Burma
, who had broken up in 1983).
Weston joined Steve Albini
and Todd Trainer in Shellac
in 1991. Under Albini, Weston honed his studio production skills and has gone on to record and mix material for bands including Sebadoh
, June of 44
, Polvo
, The Coctails, Archers of Loaf
, Chavez
, Rachel's
, Ken Vandermark
, and Rodan
. Weston was also Albini's Assistant Engineer on Nirvana
's In Utero
album. According to a 2006 interview,Mitts, Eric. "Bob Weston of Shellac", 2006 being a musician has helped shape Weston's work recording, mixing and mastering: "It’s obvious to me that the best recording engineers have played in bands. You understand the dynamic better and can almost become an unofficial band member during the session. And it’s pretty easy to tell on what sort of session your musical opinion is wanted or not." However, Weston's recording and mixing work is not limited to music: he occasionally freelances for National Public Radio, often working on comedy quiz show Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me, which is headquartered in Chicago.
In 2002, Weston joined the reunited Mission of Burma
, taking the place of Martin Swope
as tape manipulator
and live engineer for the band. He appears on and recorded the albums ONoffON
, The Obliterati
, and The Sound The Speed The Light
.
In early 2007, Weston opened Chicago Mastering Service with Jason Ward on Chicago's west side.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
, producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
, recording engineer, and record mastering engineer. Critic Jason Ankeny declares that "Weston's name and fingerprints are all over the American underground rock of the post-punk
Post-punk
Post-punk is a rock music movement with its roots in the late 1970s, following on the heels of the initial punk rock explosion of the mid-1970s. The genre retains its roots in the punk movement but is more introverted, complex and experimental...
era, producing and engineering dates for a seemingly endless number of bands." As a performer, Weston is best known as the bass guitar
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
ist in the groups Volcano Suns
Volcano Suns
Volcano Suns was an American alternative rock band from Boston, Massachusetts formed by Mission of Burma drummer Peter Prescott in 1984.-History:...
and Shellac
Shellac (band)
Shellac is an American group composed of Steve Albini , Bob Weston and Todd Trainer...
.
Biography
Weston was born and raised in Waltham, MassachusettsWaltham, Massachusetts
Waltham is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, was an early center for the labor movement, and major contributor to the American Industrial Revolution. The original home of the Boston Manufacturing Company, the city was a prototype for 19th century industrial city planning,...
. During the summers of 1985 and 1987, he marched as a bugler with the renowned Garfield Cadets Drum and Bugle Corps
The Cadets Drum and Bugle Corps
The Cadets are a Drum Corps International World Class drum and bugle corps based in Allentown, Pennsylvania...
from Garfield, New Jersey. The corps won the Drum Corps International World Championships in both those years. Weston still plays trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
, as on the albums The Sea and the Bells by Rachel's
Rachel's
Rachel's is an American chamber music group that formed in Louisville, Kentucky in 1991. Former Rodan guitarist, Jason Noble, played music individually and referred to himself as Rachel's but then began collaborating with now core members, violist Christian Frederickson, and pianist Rachel Grimes...
(1996) and Things We Lost in the Fire by Low
Low (band)
Low is an American indie rock group from Duluth, Minnesota, formed in 1993. As of 2010, the group is composed of Alan Sparhawk and Mimi Parker , both founding members, and Steve Garrington ....
(2001).
In 1988, he earned a B.S. in Electrical Engineering
Electrical engineering
Electrical engineering is a field of engineering that generally deals with the study and application of electricity, electronics and electromagnetism. The field first became an identifiable occupation in the late nineteenth century after commercialization of the electric telegraph and electrical...
from the University of Lowell in Lowell, MA. While working at the University's campus radio station, WJUL, he began mixing live performances of Boston-area bands such as The Pixies and the Blake Babies
Blake Babies
Blake Babies was an alternative rock band formed in 1986 in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. The three primary members were John Strohm, Freda Love , and Juliana Hatfield, with Evan Dando, Andrew Mayer, Seth White, Anthony DeLuca , and Mike Leahy each also performing as members of the band at...
.
In 1987 Weston joined The Volcano Suns
Volcano Suns
Volcano Suns was an American alternative rock band from Boston, Massachusetts formed by Mission of Burma drummer Peter Prescott in 1984.-History:...
, playing bass guitar
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
. The group was led by Peter Prescott
Peter Prescott (American musician)
Peter Prescott is a musician from Boston, Massachusetts.He is best known as the drummer for Mission of Burma. After Burma disbanded in 1983, Prescott remained active in the Boston music scene, forming Volcano Suns and later Kustomized and The Peer Group...
, (previously the drummer
Drummer
A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...
for Mission of Burma
Mission of Burma
Mission of Burma is an American post-punk band formed in Boston, Massachusetts in 1979. The band was formed by Roger Miller , Clint Conley , Peter Prescott and Martin Swope...
, who had broken up in 1983).
Weston joined Steve Albini
Steve Albini
Steven Frank Albini is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, audio engineer and music journalist. He was a member of Big Black, Rapeman, and Flour, and is currently a member of Shellac...
and Todd Trainer in Shellac
Shellac (band)
Shellac is an American group composed of Steve Albini , Bob Weston and Todd Trainer...
in 1991. Under Albini, Weston honed his studio production skills and has gone on to record and mix material for bands including Sebadoh
Sebadoh
Sebadoh is an American indie rock band, formed in 1986 in Westfield, Massachusetts by Eric Gaffney and Dinosaur Jr bass player Lou Barlow. Along with such bands as Pavement and Guided by Voices, Sebadoh helped pioneer lo-fi music, a style of indie rock characterized by low-fidelity recording...
, June of 44
June of 44
June of 44 was an American rock band which was formed in 1994 from ex-members of Rodan, Lungfish, Rex, and Hoover. The band's music is often described as 'math rock'. The band's name refers the period during which erotic fiction writers Henry Miller and Anaïs Nin corresponded.The band toured...
, Polvo
Polvo
Polvo is an American indie noise rock band from Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The band, formed in 1990, is fronted by guitarists/vocalists Ash Bowie and Dave Brylawski. Brian Quast plays drums, and Steve Popson plays bass guitar...
, The Coctails, Archers of Loaf
Archers of Loaf
Archers of Loaf is an American indie-rock band originally from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, formed in 1990. The group toured extensively and released a total of four studio albums, a collection album, numerous singles and EPs, and a live album which was released after the band broke up in...
, Chavez
Chavez (band)
Chavez is an alternative rock/math rock band from New York, formed in 1993. After a period of inactivity, the band reformed in 2006. They released two independent non-charting albums in the mid-1990s...
, Rachel's
Rachel's
Rachel's is an American chamber music group that formed in Louisville, Kentucky in 1991. Former Rodan guitarist, Jason Noble, played music individually and referred to himself as Rachel's but then began collaborating with now core members, violist Christian Frederickson, and pianist Rachel Grimes...
, Ken Vandermark
Ken Vandermark
Ken Vandermark is an American jazz composer and saxophone and clarinet player.A fixture on the Chicago-area music scene since the 1990s, Vandermark has earned wide critical praise for his playing and his multilayered compositions, which typically balance intricate orchestration with passionate...
, and Rodan
Rodan (band)
Rodan was an American math/post-hardcore band in the early to mid 1990s. The best known lineup of the band consisted of Jeff Mueller , Jason Noble , Tara Jane O'Neil , and Kevin Coultas .-History:...
. Weston was also Albini's Assistant Engineer on Nirvana
Nirvana (band)
Nirvana was an American rock band that was formed by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987...
's In Utero
In Utero
In Utero is the third and final studio album by the American grunge band Nirvana, released on September 13, 1993, on DGC Records. Nirvana intended the record to diverge significantly from the polished production of its previous album, Nevermind...
album. According to a 2006 interview,Mitts, Eric. "Bob Weston of Shellac", 2006 being a musician has helped shape Weston's work recording, mixing and mastering: "It’s obvious to me that the best recording engineers have played in bands. You understand the dynamic better and can almost become an unofficial band member during the session. And it’s pretty easy to tell on what sort of session your musical opinion is wanted or not." However, Weston's recording and mixing work is not limited to music: he occasionally freelances for National Public Radio, often working on comedy quiz show Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me, which is headquartered in Chicago.
In 2002, Weston joined the reunited Mission of Burma
Mission of Burma
Mission of Burma is an American post-punk band formed in Boston, Massachusetts in 1979. The band was formed by Roger Miller , Clint Conley , Peter Prescott and Martin Swope...
, taking the place of Martin Swope
Martin Swope
Martin Swope was the tape manipulator and sound engineer for the Boston-based postpunk band Mission of Burma from 1979–1983, when they split up due to lead vocalist/guitarist Roger Miller's problem with the hearing disorder tinnitus...
as tape manipulator
Reel to Reel
* For the audio technology, see "Reel-to-reel audio tape recording"Reel to Reel is the debut album by Grand Puba. It was Puba's first solo venture, following group projects with the likes of the short lived group Masters of Ceremony and Brand Nubian. Both of the group’s albums were critically...
and live engineer for the band. He appears on and recorded the albums ONoffON
ONoffON
ONoffON is the second album by post-punk group Mission of Burma, their first studio recording after their nineteen year hiatus.-Track listing:# "The Setup"# "Hunt Again"# "The Enthusiast"# "Falling"# "What We Really Were"# "Max Ernst's Dream"...
, The Obliterati
The Obliterati
The Obliterati is the third album by the American post-punk band Mission of Burma. In September 2005, Mission of Burma began recording their third studio album, the second since their 2002 reunion...
, and The Sound The Speed The Light
The Sound the Speed the Light
The Sound the Speed the Light is the fourth album by American post-punk band Mission of Burma.-Track listing:#"1, 2, 3, Partyy!" - 2:46#"Possession" – 4:27#"Blunder" – 3:39...
.
In early 2007, Weston opened Chicago Mastering Service with Jason Ward on Chicago's west side.
External links
- http://www.eqmag.com/story.asp?storycode=9388Interview with EQ Magazine featuring Weston and Mission of BurmaMission of BurmaMission of Burma is an American post-punk band formed in Boston, Massachusetts in 1979. The band was formed by Roger Miller , Clint Conley , Peter Prescott and Martin Swope...
]