Question: If you could work with any producer, dead or alive, who would it be?
Vicario’s power-pop project Smirk's new and third full-length LP, Speculative Fiction, is out July 3.
Nick Vicario (Smirk)
A: There are plenty of producers who have passed away that I would love to work with, but I am going to manifest this and go with someone still with us: Dave Fridmann. The records he makes somehow manage to sound huge and blown-out while still feeling intimate and in your face, which is a balance I’ve always been drawn to with Smirk. I’d love to see what he’d do with my songs and what I’d learn from watching him work.
Good Flying Birds’ 2025 record, Talulah’s Tape.
Obsession: Aside from my son, Harry, my current obsession is the band Good Flying Birds from Indiana.
David Jackson, Reader
A: I’d want someone open to all possibilities, able to encourage creativity, and Conny Plank, the producer who said no to U2, fits that description perfectly. A lesser-known figure outside aficionados of obscure German krautrock bands, Plank had a wide-ranging career. The motoric rhythms of Neu!, the proto ambient textures of Cluster, and Kraftwerk’s first four albums benefitted from his skills, and inspired Bowie’s Berlin trilogy. In the ’70s, he built his own studio in an old farmhouse, and musicians of all kinds came to stay and record: Brian Eno, Devo, Ultravox, Clannad, DAF, Killing Joke, Eurythmics. Sadly, he died of cancer in 1987, too ill to mix Eurythmics’ Revenge album. And U2? It was Eno who recommended Plank to work on The Joshua Tree, but after meeting Bono, Plank decided that he couldn’t work with him and walked away. Sometimes you can do more good by saying no.
Obsession: Alto saxophone. I love the sax as much as I love the guitar, and I can make wild screaming noises on both.
Charles Saufley, Gear Editor
A: Jack Nitzsche blurred the lines between arranger and producer. But that is exactly the kind of musician I would want to work with to create my dream record. Nitzsche crafted the sound world behind Neil Young’s Buffalo Springfield masterpiece “Expecting to Fly”—the most beautiful song ever in my book. But Nitzsche also played with Crazy Horse and worked constantly with the Rolling Stones in the mid-1960s. In fact, Keith Richards claimed that Nitzsche was the real genius behind Phil Spector’s sound. The crazy thing? The stuff I’ve listed here only scratches the surface of Nitzsche’s accomplishments. Were he still with us, I would gladly accept his help.
Obsession: The horizon. I live in and among the trees and I’ve realized how critical a long scan of a distant horizon is for the mind—and how vital the concept of “horizon” is to the music I like to make.
Brett Petrusek, Director of Advertising
A: There are so many greats, it’s really hard to pick just one! Currently, Mike Shinoda—he’s been the key sonic architect to most of the Linkin Park catalog. I love his approach to vocals and songwriting on From Zero. The dynamics are incredible, from intimate to massive impact, and the guitars always rip and sound great. Here’s a list of runners-up: Jeremy Tappero, Rick Rubin, Brendan O’Brien, Dave Jerden, Jimmy Page, Bob Rock, Mutt Lange.
Obsession: Writing and recording with producer Jeremy Tappero (Soul Asylum) and engineer Ian Combs, finalizing my band's second album at Sun Dog Studios here in Minneapolis.
