You worked on Paul McCartney's Chaos and Creation in the Backyard album?
I really only worked on it for a few days. My good friend, Darrell Thorp, engineered the whole album. I joined the session for woodwind and string overdubs when the session split into two rooms. Even though it was only a few days, I was in heaven working with Sir Paul.
You also worked with Ringo and George Martin?
I worked with Ringo Starr on two different live shows: VH1's Hard Rock Live and VH1 Storytellers in the Sony Studios main stage. George Martin was producing The Who's Tommy Broadway show. Pete Townshend was there too, overseeing the project as an executive producer. I think that Pete wanted to make sure that even though it was a Broadway show, it didn't lose that rock element, which it didn't. I believe that show helped lead the way for shows like Green Day's American Idiot on Broadway. It was definitely one of the highlights of my career to work with Sir George Martin. I've really been fortunate to have worked with so many great artists who I've grown up listening to and loving.
The mentoring that you got to take advantage of is quickly disappearing. It feels like you're among the last to have really gotten that experience.
It still happens in big studios, but there are fewer of those big studios around. A lot of those studios aren't booking projects that stay there for the duration of the project, so the person who is on staff as an assistant engineer might only be on it for a week. They're not seeing the whole process. They see a small part of it, so that's different as well. It's a shame, because a lot of producers and engineers who have a lot of knowledge aren't there for assistants to learn from.
That's why magazines like Tape Op are so important, to pass along that information and inspire the next generation.
Absolutely. I read Tape Op, Sound on Sound, Mix, and Billboard. I like to keep up with the business. I think it's important to read all different articles. You can read something on live sound or theater production, and there's always something in the article that you can take from it and incorporate into what you're doing.
Do you have any books that you'd recommend for recording and mixing?
Any of the books that Bruce Swedien has written, like Make Mine Music or In The Studio with Michael Jackson. Microphone Manual: Design and Application by David Miles Huber explains microphones. One of the best books is Digital Audio Explained: For The Audio Engineer by Nika Aldrich. It does get in-depth and complicated, but it explains concepts in a very clear way. Also, I'd recommend reading Billboard every week to keep up with what's going on in technology, streaming, downloads, and the charts.
www.brianvibberts.com www.spotlight87.com
Chris Vibberts is a composer/producer who owns The Rabbit Hole Recording in Petaluma, CA, and is half of the pop/rock duo Team Venus, whose new EP, Love On a Faultline, was mixed by Brian Vibberts. www.chrisvibberts.com
