From the Used and Good Charlotte to Ashlee Simpson and 5 Seconds of Summer, producer extraordinaire John Feldmann spills all.
Meet John Feldmann.
You may think you don't know him, but you totally do. The man has had a hand in some of the most important pop-punk (and pop, looking at you, Ashlee Simpson, Hilary Duff, and Mandy Moore) records of the last two decades, perfecting a millennial sound all-too familiar: Loud live drums, a focus on vocal performance, raw guitars and bass. He started as the frontman of the iconic '90s pop-punk band Goldfinger and has since produced everyone from Good Charlotte, The Used, Cute is What We Aim For, Circa Survive’s Anthony Green, Saosin, Four Year Strong, Plain White T's, Panic! at the Disco, Neon Trees, All Time Low, Escape the Fate…the list goes on and on.
BuzzFeed Music sat down with the pop-punk prodigy—you know, in between recording with up-and-coming girl group Sweet Suspense and Aussie dreamboats 5 Seconds of Summer—to hear tale of some of the biggest and most important bands and releases he's ever worked on.
John Feldmann (left) / Via instagram.com
Showoff - Showoff (1999)
"There was never a decision [to become a full-time producer.] I knew I could make Showoff, the Chicago pop-punk band, the first band I ever produced; I knew I could make them sound better," Feldmann tells BuzzFeed Music. "They opened for Goldfinger at the Fireside Bowl, a punk rock bowling alley in Chicago. They gave me a cassette tape, and in my walkman on the plane back from Chicago I thought, 'Wow, this does not sound like the same band that I saw.' I called them up and had them come out to my house in LA. I borrowed a friend’s two-inch, 24-track tape machine and I recorded three songs. We shot that demo to a bunch of labels and got them signed to Maverick Records in 1998, which was Madonna's label at the time."
Mest - Wasting Time (2000)
"[Showoff] were friends with another band called Mest from Chicago. We played the Metro and they opened for us and I said the same thing. I took them to LA. I knew I could make their demo sound better. I did and I got them signed to Maverick, too. It all just kind of happened because I was just showing up and trying to help these guys. I didn't really know it was going to be a career because neither Showoff nor Mest really became—Mest had a gold album in Japan, but they didn't turn into Green Day or anything."
The Used - The Used (2002)
"Goldfinger was in Salt Lake City and Bert [McCraken] from the Used somehow weaseled onto our tour bus and chucked a CD at us. Our tour manager literally picked him up and threw him on his face out of the bus. I just thought this annoying kid—you know when you're on the road you meet all these sorts of weirdos, it wasn't like he was absurdly creepy—he just ran onto our bus and threw this demo. I listened to it and as soon as I heard his voice I knew exactly what was there.
"They're seminal. They were the turning point in everything in my entire career and me for them. What are the symbiotic relationships with the whale sharks and the fish that attach to them? I was the fish attached, and without that fish the whale shark is going to get sick. Without me helping to really define the sound...there was such a thing as post-hardcore at that point but nobody sang. Nobody sang like Michael Jackson. Nobody had these hooks like Bert wanted to do. Michael Jackson was his all-time favorite. That was what I knew I could make different. I could make this crazy post-hardcore sound with these amazing pop hooks and Bert would give it his all, vomiting three or four times a session."
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