29-06-2021, 21:14
Kevin ‘Caveman’ Shirley was born on this day in 1960 in Jozi, South Africa. From humble beginnings producing artists who were relative unknowns back in the early 80’s (and still are, globally speaking!), he has become something of a household name in the biz. He left SA for Oz in 1986 and ended up working there with The Hoodoo Gurus, Cold Chisel, Tina Arena and Silverchair to name a handful, before heading off to the USA where he now produces for Joe Bonamassa and has also tucked Aerosmith, Dream Theater, Black Country Communion, Journey, The Black Crowes, Rush, Iron Maiden and Led Zep (retrospectively) under his recording belt.
I found an interview he gave which was interesting – an excerpt here … from Music Connection Magazine …
Virtually every producer and/or engineer uses strategies to draw the best out of an artist. Shirley employs a range of them, depending on a session’s atmosphere. “Some days you’re a school teacher,” he explains, “some days you’re a musician, others you’re a babysitter. It all depends what you need on the day. There’s a psychology to producing records. I like to make people feel good. I don’t like confrontational sessions. But sometimes they’re necessary, especially if you’re trying to elicit a particular performance and you need some anger.
“I can get somebody like Joe Bonamassa, who’s an incredibly gifted guitarist,” he continues. “You have to discover what his patterns are, because sometimes laziness sets in because he can do so much. You have to find ways of bringing out things that he can play. I’ve done solos with him where I’ll say, ‘Start one bar before the solo’ and not tell him what key it’s in. This is so I can get a reaction rather than something prepared.”
Over the years, the producer has faced various difficulties. The biggest, he finds is working with subpar musicians. “Average artists are the biggest challenge,” he asserts. “If a drummer doesn’t know how to tune his drums, then that makes an engineer’s job very difficult. There are a lot of people making records who shouldn’t be. They have a passion but not the ability. At some point it’s a profession. An average drummer is never going to be better unless you put [the session] into Pro Tools and then it’s going to sound like a computerized machine. I like editing but I don’t like to computer-homogenize everything.” https://www.musicconnection.com/producer...n-shirley/
I ended up listening to some of our local artists that he recorded/produced/engineered. Edi Niederlander, who I haven’t heard in years – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slNqAsF_VyY
Lesley Rae Dowling, who I dredge up out of the ancient past every now and then when I’m in the mood for memory lane, and Coenie de Villiers who I’ve never listened to before and mainly because Lesley Rae sings on one song “Kaneelverkoper”, on his Hartland album which was produced by the Caveman. It’s sung in Afrikaans and is incredibly rich and evocative - the language is wonderfully descriptive – so gorgeous when used in poetry and song – there are single words that encompass so much and even the way they sound, in this song in particular, wakens all the senses – it seems to describe an entire culture and way of life in just a few short verses (unless my imagination has completely run away with me which is a distinct possibility! Lol! That is the point, I guess, to write a song in such a way that your listener gets a whole story unfolding in their mind). Such a pity that the Google translation doesn’t do it justice. Kaneelverkoper means cinnamon seller and I suppose, by inference here, spice trader - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbsBxn7oDEo.
And this is a Lesley Rae Dowling song from her album, Unravished Brides which was produced by Kevin Shirley and Tully McCully –
I found an interview he gave which was interesting – an excerpt here … from Music Connection Magazine …
Virtually every producer and/or engineer uses strategies to draw the best out of an artist. Shirley employs a range of them, depending on a session’s atmosphere. “Some days you’re a school teacher,” he explains, “some days you’re a musician, others you’re a babysitter. It all depends what you need on the day. There’s a psychology to producing records. I like to make people feel good. I don’t like confrontational sessions. But sometimes they’re necessary, especially if you’re trying to elicit a particular performance and you need some anger.
“I can get somebody like Joe Bonamassa, who’s an incredibly gifted guitarist,” he continues. “You have to discover what his patterns are, because sometimes laziness sets in because he can do so much. You have to find ways of bringing out things that he can play. I’ve done solos with him where I’ll say, ‘Start one bar before the solo’ and not tell him what key it’s in. This is so I can get a reaction rather than something prepared.”
Over the years, the producer has faced various difficulties. The biggest, he finds is working with subpar musicians. “Average artists are the biggest challenge,” he asserts. “If a drummer doesn’t know how to tune his drums, then that makes an engineer’s job very difficult. There are a lot of people making records who shouldn’t be. They have a passion but not the ability. At some point it’s a profession. An average drummer is never going to be better unless you put [the session] into Pro Tools and then it’s going to sound like a computerized machine. I like editing but I don’t like to computer-homogenize everything.” https://www.musicconnection.com/producer...n-shirley/
I ended up listening to some of our local artists that he recorded/produced/engineered. Edi Niederlander, who I haven’t heard in years – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slNqAsF_VyY
Lesley Rae Dowling, who I dredge up out of the ancient past every now and then when I’m in the mood for memory lane, and Coenie de Villiers who I’ve never listened to before and mainly because Lesley Rae sings on one song “Kaneelverkoper”, on his Hartland album which was produced by the Caveman. It’s sung in Afrikaans and is incredibly rich and evocative - the language is wonderfully descriptive – so gorgeous when used in poetry and song – there are single words that encompass so much and even the way they sound, in this song in particular, wakens all the senses – it seems to describe an entire culture and way of life in just a few short verses (unless my imagination has completely run away with me which is a distinct possibility! Lol! That is the point, I guess, to write a song in such a way that your listener gets a whole story unfolding in their mind). Such a pity that the Google translation doesn’t do it justice. Kaneelverkoper means cinnamon seller and I suppose, by inference here, spice trader - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbsBxn7oDEo.
And this is a Lesley Rae Dowling song from her album, Unravished Brides which was produced by Kevin Shirley and Tully McCully –
"The surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that it has never tried to contact us." ~ Bill Watterson
