Patrick (Bischoff) Brown
Encyclopedia
Patrick Brown (born August, 26th 1978 in Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
) is an American Engineer/Producer/Studio Owner. He has been the CEO of several record labels, including Brown Bottle Records and Different Fur
Different Fur
Different Fur is a recording studio located in the Mission District of San Francisco, California, and is located at 3470 19th Street...
Studios. He is the current owner of Different Fur Studios in the Mission district of San Francisco, CA.
Biography
Brown spent his early life in Arizona and later moved to Long Island, New York where he studied web design. He found out that he had a talent for recording after working on various projects with friends and helping friends' bands record. Because of this talent Brown moved to San Francisco in 1998 where, after getting settled, he attended Ex'pression College for Digital ArtsEx'pression College for Digital Arts
Ex'pression College for Digital Arts is a private, for-profit college located in Emeryville, California, geared toward the entertainment industry and known for its around-the-clock schedule and five week classes...
. In 2004, during his final semester at Ex'pression, Brown was hired as an Intern at Different Fur
Different Fur
Different Fur is a recording studio located in the Mission District of San Francisco, California, and is located at 3470 19th Street...
. There he was given his first solo session, Gordon Gano
Gordon Gano
Gordon James Gano is an American musician. He is best known for being the singer, guitarist and songwriter of American alternative rock band Violent Femmes.-Early life:...
from The Violent Femmes
Violent Femmes
Violent Femmes were an American alternative rock band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, initially active between 1980 and 1987 and again from 1988 to 2009...
. 2006 marked a turning point for the studio because Brown helped bring in various bands through iTunes' Live Sessions. In 2007 Brown purchased the studio from Jeremy Smith. Most studios are not owned by engineers, but Brown purposefully wanted to create a studio that focused on this aspect of the recording process. As owner, he morphed the business model by brining in more interns, because Brown believes it takes a community of passionately involved people to really create something worthwhile. Since Brown's purchase of the studio, he has been credited as an owner who has "modernized the studio without losing any of the building's pastoral charm".
Recording Technique
As an engineer, Brown is constantly focused on the sound and vibe in the room. He pays attention to who is coming in and out, the reactions of people, and who needs coaxing in one direction or another. He views being an engineer as an art form in and of itself because he has to look at the sound being put to tape on different levels - the musician's, the consumer's, the technical side, and the sonic side - and balance all of these levels at the same time. According to Brown, "it's sort of like a balance between the performance itself and the actual sound, you know, you're deciding which is more important or how to get both. And they're completely different things."That being said, Brown feels he is an under-producer in that he wants to hear the emotion behind the artist and his/her songs first and foremost. "All in all, I'll do everything I can to make sure things sound the way you expect, and hopefully even better, so that when you leave you are proud of what we've accomplished."
Brown also focuses on trying to get bands to their next place. He constantly thinks about getting artists more attention for their music, which starts with the recording itself, but also includes getting fans out to their shows, telling people about the record, and finding new ways of getting records into the hands of fans.
Brown plans to keep the studio on the creative cutting-edge and in 2011 completed an upgrade accompanied by construction. He is also content to keep the studio focused on local bands and local labels, including Tricycle Records
Tricycle Records
Tricycle Records is a San Francisco based independent record label founded in 2006 by Julie Schuchard and Don Joslin . The label launched with the release of The Union Trade's first EP, Now the Swell, in 2007. Since the launch, Tricycle records has grown into a multi-genre label catering to DIY...
and Omega Records. However, this doesn't prevent the occasional big name artist from stopping by. And while Brown will focus on getting out the sounds a band wants in their song, he is also going to make sure they're comfortable. Plus, if an artist does something funny, chances are he will tweet about it.
Influences
Growing up, Brown was a fan of artists he first heard through his Mom, including Paul SimonPaul Simon
Paul Frederic Simon is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist.Simon is best known for his success, beginning in 1965, as part of the duo Simon & Garfunkel, with musical partner Art Garfunkel. Simon wrote most of the pair's songs, including three that reached number one on the US singles...
, Billy Joel
Billy Joel
William Martin "Billy" Joel is an American musician and pianist, singer-songwriter, and classical composer. Since releasing his first hit song, "Piano Man", in 1973, Joel has become the sixth best-selling recording artist and the third best-selling solo artist in the United States, according to...
, and Neil Young
Neil Young
Neil Percival Young, OC, OM is a Canadian singer-songwriter who is widely regarded as one of the most influential musicians of his generation...
. He also listened to a lot of late 80s and early 90s pop like Technotronic
Technotronic
Technotronic is a Belgian studio-based music project formed in 1988 by Jo Bogaert , who had already made his musical mark in the beginning of the 1980s as a part of a cover band and as a solo artist under various New Beat projects, including The Acts of Madmen and Nux Nemo...
, Lisa Lisa, MC Hammer
MC Hammer
Stanley Kirk Burrell , better known by his stage name MC Hammer , is an American rapper, entertainer, business entrepreneur, dancer and actor. He had his greatest commercial success and popularity from the late 1980s until the mid-1990s...
, and a lot of Bobby Brown
Bobby Brown
Robert Barisford "Bobby" Brown is an American R&B singer-songwriter, occasional rapper, and dancer. After success in pop group New Edition, Brown began his solo career in 1987 and had a string of Top 10 Billboard hits, culminating in a Grammy Award. He was a pioneer of New Jack Swing music, a...
. In fact, Bobby Brown's Don't Be Cruel, which was recording at Different Fur
Different Fur
Different Fur is a recording studio located in the Mission District of San Francisco, California, and is located at 3470 19th Street...
Studios, is an influential album for Patrick Brown.
Brown is a fan of very few engineers but is constantly evaluating other people's works and learning from them. Engineers that Brown finds influential include Russell Elevado
Russell Elevado
Russell Elevado , is a recording engineer and record producer based in New York City. Elevado's achievement for recording and mixing contemporary R&B recording artist D'Angelo's critically acclaimedVoodoo album, gained him a Grammy award in 2000...
, Tony Maserati
Tony Maserati
Tony Maserati is an American record producer and studio audio engineer who has worked with many mainstream artists including Lady Gaga, Beyonce, Jason Mraz, James Brown, Mariah Carey, Destiny's Child, R...
, and Tom Dowd
Tom Dowd
Tom Dowd was an American recording engineer and producer for Atlantic Records. He was credited with innovating the multi-track recording method. Dowd worked on a virtual "who's who" of recordings that encompassed blues, jazz, pop, rock and soul records.- Early years :Born in Manhattan, Dowd grew...
. However, he draws more inspiration from producers and musicians like Morris Day
Morris Day
Morris E. Day is an American musician and composer. He is best known as the lead singer of The Time.-1970s and 1980s:...
, Prince
Prince
Prince is a general term for a ruler, monarch or member of a monarch's or former monarch's family, and is a hereditary title in the nobility of some European states. The feminine equivalent is a princess...
, D'angelo
D'Angelo
Michael Eugene Archer , better known by his stage name D'Angelo, is an American R&B and neo soul singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and record producer. He is known for his production and songwriting talents as much as for his vocal abilities, and often draws comparisons to his influences,...
, Biggie, Funkadelic
Funkadelic
Funkadelic was an American band most prominent during the 1970s. The band and its sister act Parliament, both led by George Clinton, began the funk music culture of that decade.-History:...
's album Maggot Brain, the first N.E.R.D. record, and the first Kenna
Kenna
Kenna Zemedkun, known professionally as simply Kenna, is an Ethiopian-born American musician. His track "Say Goodbye To Love" was nominated for Best Urban/Alternative Performance in the 2009 Grammy Awards.-Personal life:...
record. Overall, Brown is influenced by those people and records that have challenged what has been established. This is what helps him grow the most as an engineer, producer, and studio owner; and it is the type of person Brown aims to be.
Albums
- 2006 Karpov - Soliloquy
- 2006 Transdub Massiv - Negril To Kingston City
- 2006 FM Fatale - Soft Life for Killers
- 2007 Chow NastyChow NastyChow Nasty is a blues-rock trio based in San Francisco. The group, composed of singer/guitarist Damon Harris, bassist Joey Enos, and multi-instrumentalist Zac Hewitt, formed in Chicago in 2003....
- Super Electrical Recordings - 2008 Michael Franti & Spearhead - All Rebel Rockers
- 2008 The Morning BendersThe Morning BendersThe Morning Benders are an indie rock band from Berkeley, California, now based in Brooklyn, New York.In 2008, they released their debut album Talking Through Tin Cans on +1 Records...
- Talking Through Tin CansTalking Through Tin CansTalking Through Tin Cans is the first studio album by Berkeley, California-based indie pop band The Morning Benders. It was released in 2008 on +1 Records.It was named best indie/alternative album of 2008 by iTunes.-Track listing:... - 2008 Alison Harris - Smoke rings in the sky
- 2009 Trainwreck Riders - The Perch
- 2010 Flexx Bronco - Volume 2: Off the Record
- 2010 The Morning BendersThe Morning BendersThe Morning Benders are an indie rock band from Berkeley, California, now based in Brooklyn, New York.In 2008, they released their debut album Talking Through Tin Cans on +1 Records...
- Big EchoBig EchoBig Echo is The Morning Benders' second studio album, released on Beggars/Rough Trade Records in 2010. It was co-produced by Grizzly Bear bassist Chris Taylor.... - 2010 Gomorran Social Aid Club - The Gomorran Social Aid and Pleasure Club
- 2011 NeaCombo Diffuzion - Round 2 Digital Attack (Mastering)
- 2011 Lowered (Mastering)
EP's
- 2010 A B & The Sea - Boys and Girls
- 2011 Dylan Fox and The Wave - Tunnel Vision
- 2011 Bird Call - Other Creatures (co-engineered)
- 2011 A B & The Sea - Run Run Run!
Live Session (iTunes exclusive)
- 2007 Black LipsBlack LipsBlack Lips are a "Flower Punk" band from Atlanta, Georgia.-History:The band formed in 1999 in Dunwoody, Georgia after guitarist Cole Alexander and bassist Jared Swilley left the Renegades, and guitarist Ben Eberbaugh left the Reruns. Alexander and Swilley were known for their crude antics both...
. iTunes link - 2007 Rodrigo y GabrielaRodrigo y GabrielaRodrigo y Gabriela , also known as "El Rodri y La Gabi", are a Mexican musical duo who specialize in playing fast, rhythmic acoustic guitars...
. iTunes link - 2007 MewMew (band)Mew is a Danish alternative music band consisting of Jonas Bjerre, Bo Madsen, and Silas Utke Graae Jørgensen. Bassist Johan Wohlert was also a founding member of the band, but left in 2006...
. iTunes link - 2007 Jack IngramJack IngramJack Owen Ingram is an American Texas Country artist signed to Big Machine Records, an independent record label. He has released eight studio albums, one extended play, six live albums and eighteen singles. Although active since 1992, Ingram did not reach the U.S. country Top 40 until the late...
. iTunes link - 2007 GomezGomez (band)Gomez are an English indie rock band from Southport, comprising Ian Ball , Paul "Blackie" Blackburn , Tom Gray , Ben Ottewell and Olly Peacock . The band is distinguished for having three singers and four songwriters, employing traditional and electronic instruments...
. iTunes link - 2008 One Republic. iTunes link
- 2008 Tristan PrettymanTristan PrettymanTristan Prettyman is a singer-songwriter and former Roxy model from San Diego, California. She is signed to Virgin Records and released her first major label album Twentythree on August 2, 2005, followed by her second album Hello...x which was released on April 15, 2008...
. iTunes link - 2008 The BlakesThe BlakesThe Blakes are an American indie rock band from Seattle, Washington. The band had several independent releases before signing to Seattle record label Light In The Attic, and then had two more studio releases: The Blakes LP and Streets EP...
. iTunes link - 2008 Tegan and SaraTegan and SaraTegan and Sara are a Canadian indie band composed of identical twin sisters Tegan Rain Quin and Sara Keirsten Quin . Both Tegan and Sara play guitar and keyboard and write songs.-History:...
. iTunes link - 2008 Amos LeeAmos LeeAmos Lee is an American singer-songwriter whose musical style encompasses folk, rock and soul. Lee has four albums on Blue Note Records and has toured as an opening act for Bob Dylan, Elvis Costello, Norah Jones, Paul Simon, Merle Haggard, Van Morrison, John Prine, Dave Matthews Band and Adele. In...
. iTunes link.
Singles
- 2009 Skin & Bones, featuring Chris Chu, Bernie Worrell and 88 keys - Lemonade (Executive Producer/Engineer)
- 2009 A B & The Sea - Suzie/Yellow-Haired Girl
- 2011 Skin & Bones, featuring Izza Kizza and Bernie Worrell - Holdn’ Back
- 2011 The Park - Belleville
Videos
- 2010 Toro y Moi - You Hid
- 2010 Chromeo - Don't Walk Away
- 2011 Sun Airway - Oh Naoko
- 2011 Lower Dens - Batman
- 2011 Yuck - Policeman
- 2011 UMO - How Can You Luv Me