Christopher Mario Testa (born March 8, 1973) is an American producer, mixer, engineer, re-recording mixer, sound designer and musician. [1] He was born in Florham Park, NJ. He now resides in Los Angeles, California.
Christopher Mario Testa (born March 8, 1973) is an American producer, mixer, engineer, re-recording mixer, sound designer and musician. [1] He was born in Florham Park, NJ. He now resides in Los Angeles, California.
In the late 1990s Chris started his career as a drummer playing live gigs and doing sessions in and around the New York City area. In 2002 he got his first gig as an assistant engineer at the legendary, now defunct, Hit Factory Studios. He was the only person working there who didn't have any formal recording training. Even though he only worked there for a year it was enough time to work with many of rock, pop and hip hop's biggest stars such as Bruce Springsteen, Paul Simon, Billy Joel, Kanye West, J Lo, Beyoncé, and Justin Timberlake to name a few. [2] After developing a relationship with Los Angeles producer's Jim Scott and John Fields he was convinced to make the move to Los Angeles to further his music career. He worked on many pop records working as engineer to producer John Fields with such pop artists as Pink, the Backstreet Boys, Mandy Moore and Switchfoot. [3] Following that was a year stint at the legendary Cello Studios (the old United Western Recorders, the studio where the Beach Boys recorded Pet Sounds) working with fellow engineer and producer Jim Scott with such artists as Wilco, Tift Merritt, Kathleen Edwards, and Nikka Costa. [4]
In mid-2005 Chris, along with Jim Scott, started work recording the Dixie Chicks Grammy Award winning album "Taking the Long Way" with Rick Rubin producing. Recording for the record went well into the following year. He did the bulk of the record with Jim Scott then continued on his own with the three girls, Natalie Maines, Martie Maguire, and Emily Robison. The record was recorded in legendary Los Angeles studios Sunset Sound and The Village. He is credited with engineering and playing additional percussion on the record. [5] As the record finished up the girls put him to work on preparing material for the live show, working on their back catalog of ringtones and helping organize the studio audio for the movie "Shut Up and Sing" directed by Academy Award- winning director Barbara Kopple and Cecilia Peck. [6]
In 2007 the Dixie Chicks won 5 Grammy's at the 49th Grammy Awards. The record won every coveted award including Album of the Year, Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Country Album of the Year, and Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. [7] This marked the first time any band has won that many Grammy awards in the same year. Chris won Grammy's for 3 of the 5 including Album of the Year and Record of the Year. [8] The record went on to sell almost 4 million copies worldwide and was #1 on Billboards Top 200 albums for 2 weeks in a row reaching gold status in the first week. [9]
Immediately following the Dixie Chicks record, Chris went to Tempe, AZ to record with emo rock pioneers Jimmy Eat World on what would become "Chase This Light". [10] He was signed on first to engineer the record with the band producing and the legendary Butch Vig acting as Executive Producer. [11] He wound up participating in more ways than the band had originally envisioned and was granted a producer credit on the record by the band. [12] The record went on to be Jimmy Eat World's highest debut ever, debuting on the Billboard Top 200 at number 5. [13]
He spent most of time producing and mixing bands moving back and forth between well known acts and more independent bands such as Rickie Lee Jones, Switchfoot, Sherree Chamberlain, The Dollyrots, Liquid Love Letter, Mat Kearney, the Goo Goo Dolls, the Subways and producing and mixing Phoenix indie rockers Source Victoria, Reubens Accomplice, Kinch and Courtney Marie Andrews. [14] [15] He continues to move between smaller bands and more well known artists producing and mixing from his adopted hometowns of Burbank and Silverlake, CA. Currently he is moving between mixing television shows, films and records. He spent most of 2013 working for TheCo as their in house re-recording mixer and sound designer. In 2014 he started working for Lighthearted Entertainment as their in house re-recording mixer. In 2015 he mixed over 70 episodes for the Company, Lighthearted Entertainment and Intuitive Entertainment for such networks as CNBC, MTV, VH1, TLC and the Food Channel.
Recording artists / albums
Television
Films
Natalie Louise Maines is an American musician. She is the lead vocalist for the country band the Chicks.
The Grammy Award for Album of the Year is an award presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without regard to album sales, chart position, or critical reception." Commonly known as "The Big Award", Album of the Year is the most prestigious award category at the Grammy Awards, and is one of the four general field categories alongside Best New Artist, Record of the Year and Song of the Year that have been presented annually since the 1st Annual Grammy Awards in 1959. Taylor Swift has won the award for a record four times.
The 41st Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 24, 1999, at Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the year 1998. Lauryn Hill received the most nominations with 10, setting a record for the most nominations for female artist in one night. During the ceremony, Hill became the first woman to receive 5 Grammy Awards in a single night, and the first woman rapper to take home Best New Artist. Her album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill became the first hip hop album to win the award for Album of the Year. Hill's Grammys sweep is widely considered as one of the biggest moments in hip hop history.
The 42nd Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 23, 2000, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the year 1999. Nominations were announced on January 4, 2000. Santana was the main recipient with eight Grammys, tying Michael Jackson's record for most awards won in a single night. Santana's album Supernatural was awarded a total of nine awards. Former Mouseketeers and American teen singers, Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera, were both nominated for Best New Artist, ultimately won by Aguilera.
John Elefante is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. From 1981-1984, he was lead vocalist of the rock group Kansas and is currently touring with several groups that have featured members from classic rock bands. His credits include writing and singing lead vocals on three multi-platinum albums. He produced albums that have earned numerous GMA Dove Awards, four Grammy Awards, and ten Grammy nominations. He has maintained a close working relationship with his brother, Dino, co-writer of several Kansas songs.
Taking the Long Way is the seventh studio album by American country music group Dixie Chicks. Released on May 23, 2006, through Columbia Nashville, it was also the group's last album released under the “Dixie Chicks” name. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and sold over 2.5 million copies in the U.S., being certified 2× platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America on July 11, 2007. It won five Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year, Record of the Year, and Song of the Year in February 2007.
The 49th Annual Grammy Awards was a ceremony honoring the best in music for the recording year beginning October 1, 2005, and ending September 30, 2006, in the United States. The awards were handed out on Sunday, February 11, 2007, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The Dixie Chicks were the night's biggest winners winning a total of five awards. Mary J. Blige received the most nominations, with eight. Don Henley was honored as MusiCares Person of the Year two nights prior to the show on February 9, 2007. The show won an Emmy for Outstanding Lighting Direction for VMC Programming.
"Not Ready to Make Nice" is a song co-written and performed by American country music trio Dixie Chicks. It was released on March 20, 2006 as the first single from the band's seventh studio album, Taking the Long Way. The Dixie Chicks wrote the song in response to the backlash they experienced in 2003 after criticizing President George W. Bush.
Unique Recording Studios was a five-room recording studio operating near Times Square in New York City from 1978 until 2004. Founders and co-owners Bobby Nathan and Joanne Georgio-Nathan installed the first Otari 24-track tape deck in New York. The studio was known for its extensive collection of synthesizers, which attracted Steve Winwood, who jammed for many hours in the process of creating his multi-Grammy winning album Back in the High Life (1986) at Unique.
The Chicks are an American country band from Dallas, Texas. The band consists of Natalie Maines and sisters Martie Maguire and Emily Strayer. Maguire and Strayer, both née Erwin, founded the band in 1989, with bassist Laura Lynch and vocalist and guitarist Robin Lynn Macy. They performed bluegrass and country music, busking and touring the bluegrass festival circuits and small venues for six years without attracting a major label. In 1992, Lynch replaced Macy as the lead vocalist.
Paul Worley is an American record producer and session guitarist, known primarily for his work in country music. Formerly a vice president at Sony BMG, he later joined the staff of Warner Bros. Records' Nashville division as chief creative officer. Since leaving Warner in the early 2000s, Worley has worked mainly as a record producer for other acts, such as Big & Rich, as well as an occasional session guitarist. He is most widely known as the co- producer of the self-titled debut album of Lady Antebellum (2008) and as one of the producers of their second album, Need You Now (2010). He also discovered the Dixie Chicks and, with Blake Chancey, co-produced their first two albums.
Attention is a rock band from Minneapolis, MN. Featuring former members of The Stereo, Gloria Record, New End Original and Gratitude, Attention is singer/guitarist Jeremy Tappero, drummer David Jarnstrom, guitarist Eric Fairchild, and bassist Derek Ritchison.
Hello Hurricane is the seventh studio album by American alternative rock band Switchfoot, released on November 10, 2009. It was co-produced by the band and Mike Elizondo, after initially self-producing their work, as well as test runs with producers such as Ken Andrews and Charlie Peacock. The album was recorded mainly in the band's Spot X Studio in their hometown of San Diego, California. It was originally to be released on October 6, 2009, but was pushed back to a November 10, 2009 release on their independent record label, the Atlantic-distributed lowercase people records. On February 13, 2011, the album won the award for Best Rock Gospel Album at the 53rd Grammy Awards.
Jim Scott is an American record producer and audio engineer, best known for his large body of work as an engineer, and his work as a producer with American rock bands Tedeschi Trucks Band and Wilco.
Matt Hyde is an American record producer, engineer and mixer. He has been credited as engineer, producer, mixer and/or mastering engineer on notable albums such as No Doubt's Tragic Kingdom, Monster Magnet's Powertrip, Slayer's God Hates Us All, Hatebreed's Perseverance, Parkway Drive's Atlas, and Deftones' Koi No Yokan and Gore.
John Fields is an American record producer, recording engineer, mixer, and musician. Fields has produced for a number of musical artists, including the Jonas Brothers, Switchfoot, Pink, Har Mar Superstar, Miley Cyrus, Ben Rector, Andrew W.K., Busted and Demi Lovato. He also has played a number of musical instruments on various albums, and even occasionally performed live with bands such as Nick Jonas & the Administration, Soul Asylum, and The Rembrandts. He is a founding member of the Minneapolis Funk Collective, Greazy Meal.
Andrew Dawson is an American music producer, engineer, mixer and songwriter based in Los Angeles, California. Dawson is a three-time Grammy award winner and six-time Grammy nominee, having won for his work as engineer and mixer on Kanye West's Late Registration (2005), Graduation (2007), and My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010) - each winning the Best Rap Album category. Dawson is also credited with additional production on My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. Although Dawson made his initial breakthrough with hip hop artists including Kanye West, Jay-Z, Common, Tyler The Creator, and P.O.S, Dawson has also moved on to produce and work on records for pop, indie and rock bands including fun., The Rolling Stones, Pet Shop Boys, Sleigh Bells, Baskery and Night Terrors of 1927.
Vance Powell is an American six-time Grammy Award winning record producer, engineer and mixer. His credits include Phish, Chris Stapleton, Jack White, Tyler Bryant & The Shakedown, The Raconteurs, The Dead Weather, The White Stripes, Arctic Monkeys, Wolfmother, Deadly Apples, Seasick Steve, Black Prairie, The Revivalists, Tinariwen, JEFF the Brotherhood, Illiterate Light, Daniel Ellsworth & The Great Lakes, and Martina McBride, among many others.
Brian Vibberts is an American audio engineer, a native of Portland, Connecticut, who has been active since 1991. He is a 7-time Grammy Award winner and has participated in the making of numerous albums that have resulted in Grammy Award nominations and winners. Also known by the nickname, "Dr Vibb," he has creatively recorded or mixed many multi-platinum artists in many genres, including Michael Jackson, Aerosmith, The Pussycat Dolls, Bon Jovi, Natasha Bedingfield, Green Day, Trace Adkins, Faith Hill, Toby Keith, Ice Cube, Boyz II Men, Elton John, Eric Clapton, Chick Corea, Brad Paisley, Ringo Starr, Mariah Carey and Tony Bennett.
Danton Supple is a British record producer and mixer, best known for his work with Coldplay.