Edited by Penny Melanson
Reprinted by permission from Musician News
Musician News: Hello, Glenn, or should I call you Doctor? And thank you for taking time to give everyone some in-depth insight into the musical world of Glenn Davis.
Glenn Davis: Hi, Kimberly, you're welcome and thank you. You can call me anything you like as long as it's good (laughs), but Glenn is fine. Your hair and clothing choice look so good.
Musician News: (laughs) Thank you. (pauses) Are you joking about my hair and clothes?
Glenn Davis: No. You are decadent eye candy, Kim.
Musician News: Let's start with when and how you became a musician.
Glenn Davis: I guess we could put the blame (grins) on music itself. For as long as I can remember, I have been obsessive about anything music. I was the first one to bring to school an AM transistor radio on a regular basis starting in kindergarten. My addiction to listen rapidly became a desire to perform. My parents bought me a blue sparkle "Sears Best" drum set while in my early years in elementary school. The school was kind enough to let me play on special occasions and after a couple years even suggested that I keep the set at school to avoid the hassle of moving it. Around fourth grade, I started organizing school talent shows and would audition close friends and fellow classmates to join in, but most backed out at the last moment due to nerves, so I started to put on theatrical shows instead. We did little plays based on popular cartoons of the time like "Top Cat" in which we all dressed up as the different "Cats" and used ash cans for props, as you know from the show, they lived in ash cans. I guess I was and still am a "leader" type personality......even as far back as nursery school, I put on little plays or shows turning the whole class into a favorite Chinese restaurant complete with menus. Around middle school, I kept a drum kit in an open room adjacent to the school cafeteria and lunch room and would play during lunch, which turned out to be a distraction to the entire school, including the teachers, so they would let me play only after everyone was done eating and even let the time run over into class times. I think the big thrill for me, was that it was a magnet for girls. All the girls would swarm around me as I played. The cutest girls in the school would always gravitate around me in or out of class and it sometimes became a war for attention between them. My parents would get calls from other parents asking if it was okay for their daughters to come over and often stay overnight, even on school nights.
Musician News: Girls staying overnight at that young age?
Glenn Davis: Oh yeah (with an evil look). I think that's how I got the nickname 'Devilish' where I grew up. Even as far back as birth, I grew up with twins named Vicky and Becky who lived across the street and were born on the same day and year as me. And please don't ask about my birthday, since it falls on the same day as the death of John Lennon and I will go into a whole story about how I predicted it just hours before he was shot in New York City. But yeah, the whole girl thing was connected with my love of music from almost day one. I would attribute the fact that I always had more female friends than males and got along with them so well to my musical interests.
Musician News: Did you take any classes in music while attending public schools?
Glenn Davis: Several, including private instruction, but I am mostly self-taught at anything I do. I subscribe to the "I graduated from the school of life" way of becoming educated and cultured. I always think it's a better idea to learn something hands on rather than watching someone else do it, or just reading about it in a text book. Don't just spectate, ask questions and participate. We are all just "practicing" up until our last breath is what a famous classical composer once said, and if you look at some of the most accomplished people in history, regardless of what they do, they are more often than not, self-taught. I would come back from trips and kids in school were reading about something or someplace I had just experienced in real life.
Musician News: You say "trips", did you travel a lot growing up?
Glenn Davis: That would be a slight understatement. My parents had me out of school so much for traveling, that by sixth grade, my homeroom teacher called my parents to complain that I was not in school enough to finish out the year and that I was distracting the class since I was always the center of attention (laughs). He even would try to sit the girls away from me since I was such a distraction to them. I think he felt threatened by me since I would often teach the class more than he could whenever I came back from trips and shared photos and stories with everyone.
Musician News: Did you finish out the year? And what impact did your travels have on your musical talents and abilities?
Glenn Davis: Yes, I finished the year and never "stayed back", eventually graduating from Weston High with my class. I am thinking about writing a book on my world travels which would include an extensive pictorial as well. As far as what impact travel had on my music skills, I would say that it played a huge roll. Thanks to traveling, I was fortunate enough to meet and often play with several legendary and iconic people. In addition, I became cultured in various parts of the world, not just here in the States, or a few scant other places, but a true world class exposure. Any hotel we stayed in that had a lounge act or hotel bar band, I would chat up the guys and girls about the equipment they had and what they listened to and played. My strategic goal was of course, to play with them. Sometimes the guy (or girl) would feel threatened and say "go away little boy", but that never deterred me and I would eventually charm them enough to let me have a go at it for at least a couple tunes. Again, the magnet thing too. One trip in Europe comes to mind where we were on a cruise and there was this beyond hot girl that I was chasing around the ship and she was the real stuck-up type that was rude to me every time I would run into her and try to talk to her. I was, I think around eleven years old and she was thirteen or so. At one point she basically told me to leave her alone and that very same night, there was a shipboard dance contest and I convinced the drummer of the ship's band to let me fill in for him for the night while he still got paid and sat and got drunk at the bar. It was just me and an old guy on a grand piano. Well, the girl was there too for most of the night until her parents dragged her off to bed around 1 am. The next day, as soon as I opened the door to my stateroom to go up for food, she was right there in the passageway and she followed me like a lost puppy. Needless to say, she never shut up from that point on and never left me alone for the entire cruise. We had criminal amounts of fun. Life is not just good, it's effin great!
Musician News: Did you meet a lot of girls traveling?
Glenn Davis: Good God, yes. And once again, from a very young age too. There wasn't a hotel, resort or cruise ship that I graced that didn't have a fully stocked selection of fine female. Cruise ships and world-class resorts yielded the creamers. You see, during the late 60's, 1970's and into the early 80's, cruise ships and resorts were only for the most well-to-do. Places like the Southampton Princess in Bermuda, where we were the first paying customer while most of the hotel was still under construction. Swank resorts like The Fontainebleau in Miami and a long list of cruises. It's not like today with things like Carnival Cruises, where it's affordable for anyone to try. I would meet girls who's daddy was some famous dignitary, or some fortune five-hundred oil magnate. We always had the penthouse, presidential suite or in the case of ships, an owner's stateroom, so we always sat at the captains table which only helped my chances of meeting girls or rubbing elbows with some VIP.
Musician News: It seems like your family's financial stature played a role in your music.
Glenn Davis: Oh yes. Big time. Since we met top entertainers staying on the same floor, or eating with us at the captains table, or just at some charity function. We would always run into Frank Sinatra at the Fontainebleau and even ate lunch with him where he asked me to play drums for him at the hotel that night. The next day, we ran into him again at Wolfie's Deli, where Frank, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis used to eat often and they put our picture in the newspaper. I remember playing with the Bermuda Strollers at Elbow Beach Club and Jackie Gleason was in the audience and came up to me after the show to meet me and was amazed at how young I was to be playing for an audience. We met Lucille Ball in Las Vegas at the Original MGM Grand and talked to her for a while and I mentioned how much I liked the drums and liked to watch Desi play percussion on "I Love Lucy". She must have liked me, because later that day, we saw her eating in the coffee shoppe with Charlie Rich who was headlining at the hotel and she called me over and introduced me to Charlie who let me sit in on rehearsal and let me play drums on "Behind Closed Doors" that night in front of a sold-out crowd. I even got to sing with Bob Hope at The Boston Pops with Arthur Fiedler and we ate with them after the show to raise money for charity. When I played with Lionel Hampton, he met me at secret locked security gate by Space Mountain at Walt Disney World, so I could park my car there and we could get in and get out easy from the stage. Without my family's where-with-all, some of these events may never have transpired, so yes, I have been very fortunate, plus being at the right place at the right time didn't hurt either.
Musician News: I read somewhere or saw in a television news chronicle show that your family knew Victor Borge. Did you ever perform with him?
Glenn Davis: I was part of his act when he played at my parent's twenty-fifth wedding anniversary at Woodland Country Club in Massachusetts. My father later had him hire a gentleman by the name of Bruce Haack to tutor me in-home. Instead of tutoring, it just became jam sessions and what came out of it was some of my early recordings at the first recording studio that I owned.
Musician News: What did you do during summers growing up?
Glenn Davis: Well, in my younger days, I went to Day Camp in the same town where I was living. And later, I went to an exclusive private sailing camp on Cape Cod. After I stopped going to camp, I just stayed home to play music. People used to come over to either jam, or just watch me play. I used to play for hours and hours and when I stopped for a break, I would look down at the driveway at our Weston Estate and usually see several cars with kids partying. I would yell out: "what are you guys doing here?" and they would say "just listening". I would have to clear them out, or go out with them partying since my Mother did not like people in "her house". Except for a few certain un-named women/girls, most people were snuck in and out through windows (laughs).
Musician News: You played music at camp too?
Glenn Davis: Need you ask? I organized talent shows and dances. I was also the only camper who had a "real stereo" in any of the cabins. The girls used to get in trouble coming over to listen. Playing live, though, was the highlight. One summer, I think I had a different girl for each night and when we took field trips to the Cape Cod Melody Music Tent (where I also played with several local and name acts), it was all about who was going to "sit in Glenn's lap" since the girls always waited for the shuttle van to fill before getting in. It wasn't so much an ego trip for me, it was just pure heaven.
Musician News: Let's talk about your work as producer and studio owner.
Glenn Davis: Okie dokie. What would you like to know, Kim?
Musician News: How did you make the shift from avid performer to recording and production?
Glenn Davis: Well, my Dad owned his own company and I am youngest of three brothers who are all five years apart and it was because of this that I found my way into producing and studio work. I had been shopping deals in the 1980's and the then Major Labels seemed interested, but no one would touch me since I had no music attorney and no management company. I had Warner Bros., IRS, Sire Records, Island A&M and MCA all ready to sign me "as soon as I had representation". I met with a well known entertainment lawyer in Boston. He told me he would represent me for a retainer. Well, the retainer fee was, well let's just say it was huge, more than I had in my pockets. I went to dear old dad, he exploded and said forget it! Since my father was kind enough to pony up the jing for my recording and for my own studio, I never pressed it further and focused on producing other artists and doing freelance live sound reinforcement. My Dad wanted me to work for him since my middle brother had major issues and my oldest brother had spent his life in private schools like Cheshire Academy, Pine Crest and Embry-Riddle in Florida
Musician News: Those are all Aviation Schools, right?
Glenn Davis: That is correct. My oldest brother is a pilot, so after all those years and benjamins for world-class schooling, there was nobody else in the family to help my Father. The bummer was that Dad's company had nothing to do with music.
Musician News: Did you work anywhere except for your studio since your father's company was not music related?
Glenn Davis: Yes. Many places over the years. I worked in retail positions in electronic sales, managed a Radio Shack for a while and sold cars, boats and motorcycles. I also worked at a synthesizer company that was in walking distance from my father's company, they [ARP] were up against Bob Moog and Moog pretty much put them out of business. I worked for Bose in Framingham and also had a short stint in broadcasting. There were several companies the next town over from where I lived that were engaged in state of the art music electronics manufacturing (DBX, Lexicon, Kurzweil), so I got involved with them as well. It didn't hurt that our next-door neighbor was one of the top people connected with these companies. I even worked one summer in speaker design at EAW [Eastern Acoustic Works]. I had many odd-jobs too, but working at several music stores like Wurlitzer and others gave me great hands on with the ever changing gear that is part of the music trade.
Musician News: Getting back to your studios, can you tell everyone more about how they evolved over time?
Glenn Davis: Well, it started with my bedroomesque studio I named the Cave. Later I took over a whole floor at the Weston Estate and built Sounds On Reel. A lot of great talent passed through those doors and I really enjoyed working with and producing the records that came out of there. In between being at the Reel, I recorded much of my own material at larger studios in the Northeast and got to make some great friends and connections because of it. People like Ross Warner who told me that "oh, it's okay" after I drove over his newly planted landscaping while wasted late at night coming back to his studio [Fishbrook Music] in between mixing. Rik Tinory, who took time to work on lead sheets with me while people like Aerosmith and Air Supply were booked there. Artie Shaw, who did me favors since the first time I met him, he ran over into time that I was booked for at Blue Jay Studio. Bobby Nathan who let me come in during Steve Winwood's "Back In The Highlife" sessions to record at his NYC Unique Recording Studios, which turned out to be a double delight since Steve was cool about using his gear set up there. Ben Orr [The Cars] who had stuff set up and even helped out on some tracks. People like Phil Greene who I woke up out of a sound sleep and he rewarded me by playing back some of the first solo stuff Steve Perry [Journey] did. He [Phil Greene] had a great studio. I really loved the geodesic iso booth for drums and the secret downstairs "room of tiles" with moving panels. So many people in the Music Biz have been so cool to me. I have been very fortunate and I only hope that I gave back as much to them. The names and places are too numerous to list.
Musician News: What is your favorite studio?
Glenn Davis: The one that I'm working in right now (laughs). No, but really, each studio has it's own selling point. I would go to one place just to record a hi-hat track, another studio for a vocal track. If something was a two part harmony, I would choose one place for the lead and record the two-part harmonies (triad when finished) at another studio. J. Geils old studio [Sanctuary] was sold and became Mission Control, which is where New Edition and New Kids did most of their stuff....it had a great room that was as big as an effing gymnasium. They even had the first "split" SSL console in the states, I think.
Musician News: Speaking of SSL, what is your favorite console and least favorite console to work on?
Glenn Davis: Well, it's not always the console, the room and other factors make up the equation too. As many may know, I am old school, I am Mr. Analog. I love analog consoles. Helios, Trident A Range, API, Aengus and exotic stuff. The old Sony boards were loaded with iron and are pretty sweet. The more vintage the better. People like Fletcher [Mercenary Audio] appreciate taking analog to the nth degree still. Gimme a discreet Neve plus a Studer with a two-inch, sixteen track headstack, thank you. I want to get my hands on a Studer with a two-inch, eight track block, record direct and send the prints through Fletcher's old Neve console at Longview. I think Martina Mcbride's husband, John, is one of the few who actually possess a JRF two-inch, eight track headstack, godbless him. As far as dislikes; not too many things jump out except when it comes to automation. Roger Nichols may remember this: NECAM. Hated it. Unless you were grouping, every time you touched the fader, it would override your previous moves....really sucky since you ride the dynamics of things. I am partial to supertrue and anything GML. SSL total recall is a wonderful thing too. I could go to New York City and then come back home to Boston and all my mixes were right there. I never had a problem with the VCAs on an SSL, people who claim an SSL is sterile sounding are probably overly used to hearing transformers. I would call an SSL transparent, but never sterile. And no, the VCAs do not cause sonic degradation.
Musician News: You mention vintage gear. Is there any thing you cannot live without in the studio?
Glenn Davis: Several things come to mind: Lexicon 224XL. AMS. Neumann. But keep in mind, it's not all about what you use, but more what you do with things. Some of the best recordings were "just a demo" recorded on a half inch eight track, which I still use for many projects. Even with instruments, anything can be an instrument.....I have used coke bottles and even my mother's pots and pans as a musical instrument. I like to use variations to get a "certain sound" by recording some things on an MCI machine, and other things on an Otari and still others on a Studer. The old antiques like the 3M M56 are priceless. I even go the other way just to get a unique "Glenn Davis" sound by using lower end almost consumer gear like an Amek Tac Console I recently relieved Bennett Chandler's SSL/Studer facility of. It will be used for monitoring mostly, but the EQ section had a certain sound that I was looking for, kind of a Sowter thing like Lee Perry's S1 Soundcraft that he had at Black Ark. I am revisiting my reggae days and there is very specific target sound that I have in my head.
Musician News: Do you still use digital keyboards or only analog?
Glenn Davis: I still use both. I use a Fairlight CMI and Synclavier II for most of my sampling. I still use my W-30 for drums along with a Linn 9000, EMU SP-1200, Obie DMX . I use several Roland and Korg analog keyboards augmented by a custom card Roland made. The Linn 9000 still has quirks even with the FORAT and my SP1200 still has lag issues on long SMPTE runs and will still overheat. I am also using my TAMA kit all the time again. I also have several non-descript secret weapons in my arsenal, but if I told you what they were, I would have to kill you, then kill myself (laughs). I still sequence things with and without quantizing. If you listen to stuff I did with Ross Warner back when nothing locked up and in the pre-MIDI days, there was little or no sequencer memory, so you printed every thing live and in real time without quantizing to tape, it sounds effing great. You could feel the groove. It gave things life and made the music real. Old tricks never die.....things like recording stuff backwards, you know, flipping the reel over. Or improvising with gear....doing things it wasn't designed to do. I have one of the first Ibanez DDL units and it's really easy to overdrive it, no matter how you set it, it clips eventually. It adds to the sound. But I was always stumped as to why a lot of high end outboard gear lacked true unity gain settings? And I still try to avoid Protools. Sure, you can edit easy with cut and paste Protools, but I don't edit much, not even with tape. The first pass, like the first mix is almost always the keeper. If you second guess everything, you lose the feeling you had to begin with. You start to overproduce things, even more so when mixing. Creating the perfect mix is like painting a 747 with Q-Tips. I can sit behind an SSL and write automation till I am blue in the face sometimes.
Musician News: Do you have a secret to being happy with a final mix?
Glenn Davis: Yes. Several secrets. Mix really quiet and take frequent breaks. Your ears become tired if you don't. Play things back on all sorts of monitors and when it sounds good on all of them, you are there. The listener should be able to walk into the mix regardless if they are still using 6x9 coax car audio, or a K-Mart boom box. If your playbacks sound crappy set flat through junk, you're in trouble. Big monitors color sound and I still use vintage NS10m's and Genelec, but they sound different on various consoles due to either the angle or the mass, so I try to always use pedestals. Monitors are the weakest (and final) link in the audio chain. I always say your ears are the best musical instrument there is. The room combined with the monitors are the two most important issues when it comes to recorded music. The final chance to change anything critical or otherwise, comes in when the mastering lab gets it. The less they should have to do beyond normalizing, spacing and the token compression the better. Oh, and I still have a tiny set of speakers that came as a freebie on a carton of ciggies many moons ago which never lie. They should be in an audio museum some day. Also, I am never afraid to experiment. I would rather set trends, than follow them.
Musician News: Where does your inspiration come from when you are writing a song?
Glenn Davis: It depends. Sometimes it's a mood I'm in. Sometimes it's a new toy in the studio that is inspiring. Sometimes it's the actual studio or place. One time we rented the Josiah Smith Tavern for an entire week and I recorded a whole album live with several local musicians there...it was very inspiring to be in this wonderful historic place and the sound of the room is beyond words. We used no outboard gear and just one stereo mic, so it really sounds like you are there if you close your eyes. Some of my more "inspired" works were authored and or recorded on or near the water. I spent many hours floating around tied up, or on the hook writing and recording in a room I set up on the family boat.
Musician News: Recording on a boat?
Glenn Davis: Well, more like a small yacht I guess (laughs). But my biggest inspiration in song writing is usually related to women, partying, a major event in my life or any combination of the three.
Musician News: So what's in the musical future for you, Glenn?
Glenn Davis: Big news. Very BIG news. (very serious look).
Musician News: What is it?
Glenn Davis: You and the entire world will know when it happens along with the reason why I can't tell you right now.
Musician News: Do you have anything that is very recent that you can share?
Glenn Davis: Yeah.
Musician News: What is it?
Glenn Davis: I just did a remix of a song and when I added some extra acoustic drum kit parts, I used only one mic, I won't tell you what microphone I used, but I will say that using the one mic to mic the room in mono instead of using several to capture the kit left me breathless. I then double tracked it and the phasing that I got, or rather didn't get is something that defies description....you just have to hear it. The phrasing that I got on the hi-hat due to this formula was equally intense. I panned one track all the way to the left and the other track, all the way to the right. The tracks were beyond in-your-face, and as always, the natural compression that analog tape lends was icy. I also may be recording some new material with Roy L.T., Johnny 5 and D-Lishus for Long Jing Productions.
Musician News: Thank you ever so much for being gracious enough to allow for this interview.
Glenn Davis: It's been a pleasure to share the treasure.