Sonic Iguana / Mass Giorgini article
Brian Ruh
This article appeared this weekend in the Lafayette, IN Journal and
Courier. I thought some on this ng would find it interesting:
Underground Sound
By Tim Brouk
Lafayette Journal and Courier
Sunday, Jan 16, 2000
In the underground sound of punk rock, Lafayette recording studio Sonic
Iguana is attracting dozens of bands from all over the country that want
to be recorded by its owner, Mass Giorgini.
Bassist for the infamous Lafayette punk band Rattail Grenadier, which
became Squirtgun in 1993, Giorgini owns Sonic Iguana and serves as its
chief engineer. His downtown Lafayette studio is home to more than 100
recordings, most of which can be found in record stores all around the
world.
"I know it seems funny, but being in the band and the studio almost helped
both," Giorgini said. "Helped both just by association."
National exposure has put a spotlight on Giorgini's studio in recent
years.
In 1992, Giorgini got a break from his friend Ben Foster when Foster's
band Screeching Weasel decided to record at Sonic Iguana. That album,
Wiggle, would become one of the 1990s' best punk records, and it opened
the gates to dozens upon dozens of bands from all over the country
requesting to be recorded by Giorgini.
"Wiggle, by some stroke of luck, became a pretty big album," Giorgini
said. "And Screeching Weasel was getting very popular right then. A lot of
people listened to that album and said, 'Now this sounds like a punk rock
album.' I didn't know what it was, but I had a feeling that nobody's
recording that right now.
"To me, it was like the guitar has to have this certain sound, and it has
to be this loud. There needs to be more guitar than drums. I had certain
opinions on how it should sound, and I just kind of put them into the
Weasel Wiggle album.
"Of course, I can't understate the importance of the whole Screeching
Weasel connection. I mean, most of the bands I got came because of the
Screeching Weasel thing. Not to mention the band I'm in now."
Giorgini, still strong with Squirtgun, joined Screeching Weasel in 1997
and has been their bassist on two full-length albums, an EP (extended
play) and an upcoming release to be recorded this spring. Giorgini also
plays bass on an upcoming release from Common Rider a new project from
Jesse Michaels, who fronted the legendary '80s punk-ska outfit Operation
Ivy. Half of Operation Ivy went on to form the mega-popular Rancid.
In the mid-1990s, punk became a part of the mainstream with the commercial
success of Green Day.
"Of course, the biggest reason of my business exploding so much when it
did was the Green Day thing," Giorgini said. "I never recorded Green Day
per se, but I recorded a few demos for them in the basement at Billie Joe
(Armstrong, guitarist and vocalist for Green Day)'s house."
Giorgini also recorded a Screeching Weasel album with Green Day's Mike
Dirnt playing bass, and Giorgini co-produced the self-titled Riverdales
release in 1995 with Armstrong.
"Also, Mike from Green Day, the first time they appeared on the MTV Music
Awards, he wore a Squirtgun shirt," Giorgini recalled. "They'd interview
the guys, 'What are your favorite bands that are out there right now?,'
and they'd always mention Squirtgun. So that helped us a lot."
Giorgini and his studio were featured in an interview in Guitar World in
1997, and he was listed on "The Hot List" for "25 People in Indie Rock You
Ought to Know" in the October 1997 issue of Request, the second largest
music magazine behind Rolling Stone in circulation numbers. Also on the
list were the Chemical Brothers, Lou Barlow from Sebadoh and Fat Mike from
punk rock superpowers NOFX. Both articles were complimentary to Giogini's
band and studio, resulting in the studio picking up several dozen bands to
record.
*Recording Process*
Giorgini's theory to a good recording is simple.
"A live punk band is basically just ripping through the whole song,"
Giorgini said. "If a guitar is not a big wall of sound between your face,
then it becomes a thin recording, in my opinion. So I just think for it to
match the feel of a live punk band, you have to have a big wall of guitar,
which is probably where my sound has been identified because my guitars
are very loud. My vocals are almost to the point of being buried but not
quite. They're still radio playable like Green Day or something in that
neighborhood."
Much more complex is the studio's high-tech equipment. Giorgini uses the
best and latest in recording equipment - everything from microphone cords
to mixing boards. Giorgini has equipment that's compatible with both
analog and digital equipment.
"It's pretty nice that the transition has been a constant improvement in
the studio equipment as well as the reputation growing,' Giorgini said.
"So both went up together."
Besides recording the bands, Giorgini also always mixes the recording -
getting the levels of the numerous instrument and vocal tracks just right
to sound the best. Lately, he has also ventured into mastering - putting
the record through various processes that get it to sound the best on any
and every kind of stereo.
Operating a recording studio is an expensive venture. In 1990, Giorgini
started off small and experimented with Rattail Grenadier recordings. With
the help, guidance and inspiration of rock producer Paul Mahern (John
Cougar Mellencamp, Iggy Pop), who met Giorgini in 1988, Giorgini soon
became "a full-time engineer."
Opening' his first studio in Lafayette in 1991, Giorgini soon found
success meant moving again. With the growing national success of Squirtgun
- a $20,000 video on MTV for the song "Mary Ann," more touring and the
selection of "Social" on the 1995 film Mallrats soundtrack, where the
entire song was used for the opening credits - Giorgini, now 31, moved
camp to his current location in January 1996.
"I custom-designed it," said Giorgini of his current location that
features an apartment for bands to stay in. "I gutted it, basically. There
was nothing there. I completely redesigned the building."
*Lafayette native*
Giorgini was born in Lafayette and graduated from Jefferson High School in
1986. His parents, Aldo and Elena Giorgini, were originally from Italy and
moved to America in the early 1960s. Aldo wanted to teach at a college and
was impressed with Purdue University. He decided to settle the family in
Lafayette.
His father was a civil and mechanical engineer. But Mass' musical side may
come from Aldo.
"My dad was actually pretty renowned in the art world," Giorgini said.
"He even had some of his works in the Smithsonian collection. ... His love
was more in the arts.... He even sang in the choir at La Scala in Milan,
Italy."
Mass Giorgini took only a few radio and television classes in high school
and one recording class at Purdue. He eventually graduated in 1993 with a
bachelor's degree in psychology.
Giorgini has the skills to become a major label recording engineer, but it
was his choice to stick with the underground sounds of punk rock. Giorgini
gave a heartfelt explanation in an interview for the Swedish magazine
Terrorpop last November.
"As far as the (major record labels) were concerned " Giorgini said, "I
started off in that direction but never really followed it through. My
father became ill with brain cancer at about that time, and I decided that
because life is so short I should do what I want to do, not what earns
money.
"As it turns out, I spend 100 hours per week and barely break even! My
accountant recently told me that if I were to work at McDonald's for the
same amount of hours I would make much more money and not have as much of
the risk!"
Of all the records he has recorded, it is difficult to choose a favorite.
Giorgini lists Squirtgun's "Mary Ann" EP as a favorite because he felt the
final product came out well even with time constraints and the fact that
much of his better equipment was being repaired. A record by a new band
called the Lillingtons also made his list of favorites.
"I'm really proud of that record because I feel like I helped them with
the harmonies and helped them with parts," Giorgini said. "I got tough
with them, but not too tough, to the point where they had fun recording
it, but it came out twice as good as it would have if they didn't have
someone pounding on them, in my opinion. And we ended being really good
friends through it."
With tons of hard work and talent, Giorgini has gained significant
exposure and success, but he has also received help from a steady source
in his life. Dan Lumley, drummer in all of the bands Giorgini is
affiliated with and best friend since high school, is the chief drum
technician and assistant mix engineer at Sonic Iguana.
"I do not mix a record without Dan Lumley assisting me anymore because
he's very good at what he does. He can see to the details," Giorgini said.
"I can't run the studio without him.
"He's my main, right-hand man."
--
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Brian Ruh - CS190w TA, | No Decaf! Records Online:
dharma bum, etc. | http://expert.cc.purdue.edu/~beruh/nodecaf.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Grat
Brian Ruh <be...@expert.cc.purdue.edu> wrote in message
news:867e9c$4o8$1...@mozo.cc.purdue.edu...
>
> This article appeared this weekend in the Lafayette, IN Journal and
> Courier. I thought some on this ng would find it interesting:
>
> Underground Sound
> By Tim Brouk
> Lafayette Journal and Courier
> Sunday, Jan 16, 2000
>
> In the underground sound of punk rock, Lafayette recording studio Sonic
> Iguana is attracting dozens of bands from all over the country that want
> to be recorded by its owner, Mass Giorgini.
>
> Bassist for the infamous Lafayette punk band Rattail Grenadier,
I thought Mass was the only connection between the two bands.. they sound
nothing alike..
grat
Brian Ruh
Grat <spr...@flashcom.SPAMINATOR.net> wrote:
>>
>> Bassist for the infamous Lafayette punk band Rattail Grenadier,
>
>nothing alike..
>
>grat
They basically had the same instrumental lineup, but with a different lead
singer. Although the singer position in RG seemed to be pretty fluid as
well -- I have a tape, as CD and a comp they're on, and each has a
different singer.
Grat
> >
sound
> >nothing alike..
> >
> >grat
>
> They basically had the same instrumental lineup, but with a different lead
> singer. Although the singer position in RG seemed to be pretty fluid as
> well -- I have a tape, as CD and a comp they're on, and each has a
> different singer.
OK.. the only think I've heard is that comp... that "Walking The
Dog......" song...
grat
Corey Barr
>Giorgini, still strong with Squirtgun, joined Screeching Weasel in 1997
>and has been their bassist on two full-length albums, an EP (extended
>play) and an upcoming release to be recorded this spring. Giorgini also
>plays bass on an upcoming release from Common Rider a new project from
>Jesse Michaels, who fronted the legendary '80s punk-ska outfit Operation
>Ivy. Half of Operation Ivy went on to form the mega-popular Rancid.
Six degrees of Nazi.
--
Corey Barr
alt.punk supports Pat Buchanan for President.
Crazy leaders for crazy times.