Today we’d like to introduce you to Benny Grotto.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
After starting as an avid hobbyist in middle school and later attending college for a more formal education in recording, I got my professional start around 2005 at a (now-defunct) vocal production studio in the Back Bay, where I worked for a couple years before leaving in search of a better workplace.
I freelanced around town for several months but found myself consistently returning to Mad Oak Studios. It had quickly become my favorite studio in town to work from, and my clients uniformly loved it. After a series of sessions there, the owner, Craig Riggs, asked if I’d be interested in working there as the house engineer. I’ve been there ever since, going on eleven years this July.
Since then, I’ve continued freelancing around Boston and the country, done a few stints in some great bands (including drumming for Slapshot on a number of international tours, as well as Honeysuckle for a Lollapalooza gig), and held a staff engineer job at Converse Rubber Tracks.
I’ve also played spokesmodel for a series of Quickbooks commercials. Ha. But Mad Oak has always been my headquarters and my home, and to this day — and with no disrespect, to the many amazing studios Boston is so lucky to have — I consider it the finest studio in town.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Like everyone working in professional recording, it was tough to find paid entry-level work while taking time to hone my skills (technical, artistic, and — importantly — social). Competition is stiff and the jobs are finite.
There’s also the toll it takes on your social life; the hours are crazy and it takes an incredibly patient partner to stick that out. Friendships definitely suffer too. It’s a rough side-effect of a great job.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Mad Oak Studios – what should we know?
The philosophy at Mad Oak has always been to strive to give artists — particularly local ones — a world-class recording facility and experience, regardless of their budget. One of the things that resonated so strongly with me when I first started there as a freelancer all those years ago was how deeply Craig Riggs was committed to that.
It’s certainly instilled in me a great sense of pride at being able to provide great gear, a great room, and great service to our clients. Our prices are extremely competitive, which keeps us booked very solidly. That allows us to reach out to musicians we like and want to help out, which is a great position to be in.
That workload also means an incredibly diverse range of clients, from local songwriters to international stars, across nearly every genre. My favorite example of this is, in a period of three months, I worked with Magnetic Fields and Daughters; I don’t think it gets much more diverse than that.
I just finished the new Kingsley Flood record, and two weeks prior to that I was starting work on a Chinese noise/metal album. We had a few different freelancers working on everything from fusion to punk rock. This sort of diversity is routine for us here, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
It keeps things fresh and exciting, and it keeps us from getting lazy, complacent, or relying on any sort of cookie-cutter production approaches. Every artist, every record, hell, every song here gets its own approach, tailored to its individual needs for the best results.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
Oh hell yes. I gotta thank the fine folks over at Q Division for beating me up a bit when I was an intern with them in college. They knocked some much-needed sense into me. Ditto goes for my former professor Mark Wessel.
He saw potential in me at a time when I was my own worst enemy, and very patiently put me in my place time and again in spectacular fashion. I certainly owe him big time for that.
The first studio I worked at was crucial in learning the importance of speed and professionalism, and mutual respect.
Obviously, the folks at Mad Oak — Craig Riggs and PK Pandey — have been hugely important in my career. I basically owe everything to them.
Mastering wizard Jeff Lipton of Peerless Mastering has long been a huge advocate for me and has landed me more great gigs than I can count. He’s been really amazing, and a great friend.
Sean Slade taught me everything I know about producing, and to this day remains probably my biggest influence. Any time I’m in a bind at work, I ask myself what he’d do. There’s nobody better.
And then there’s this whole network of awesome professional peers and friends. Folks like Sean McLaughlin, Jesse Vengrove, and about a dozen other people that make up the great recording scene we have here in Boston.
I feel really fortunate to be in such a vibrant and friendly community. We support each other and each others’ studios, we help one another with gigs, and it’s all quite lovely.
Pricing:
- Mad Oak starts at $550/day with engineer, with reduced prices for longer lockouts and/or other special circumstances
- My mix rates begin at $350/song and vary by venue, project size, etc
Contact Info:
- Address: 390R Cambridge St, Allston, MA 02134
- Website: http://madoakstudios.com
- Phone: 857.205.4279
- Email: studiomanager@madoakstudio.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/madoakstudios/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MadOakStudios
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/madoakstudios
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/mad-oak-studios-allston
- Other: https://www.instagram.com/benny.grotto/
Image Credit:
Jay Fortin, @RealRatCity
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