Grammy-Winning Sounds: Bonzai's Legacy in Music & Beyond

Six-time Grammy-winning mix engineer James Bonzai Caruso returns to reveal the secrets behind crafting award-winning albums. From his formative days in New Jersey to collaborating with music legends like Damian and Stephen Marley, James's journey is both inspiring and enlightening. As he shares his role in shaping Grammy-winning projects, listeners will gain valuable insights into the essential skills of a mix engineer and the passion required to excel in the music industry. His early experiences at Secret Sound Studios, working with icons such as Melly Mel and Whitney Houston, highlight the importance of perseverance and dedication.

Listeners are invited to explore the intricate world of music production with Bonzai as their guide. From his transition from an aspiring guitarist to a seasoned engineer and producer, James delves into the emotional and spiritual connections that music evokes. The episode sheds light on the technical and artistic balance needed to capture a song's initial energy, whether building from scratch or enhancing existing tracks. Bonzai also reflects on navigating the challenges of working with high-profile artists, sharing anecdotes from his collaborations with Stephen Marley and Biggie Smalls.

As the music industry evolves, so too does Bonzai's career, adapting to technological advancements and embracing change. The discussion also explores the impact of AI in modern music studios, including the innovative Shrine Studios in Las Vegas. Beyond the studio, Bonzai shares his love for Italian cuisine, current projects, and exciting collaborations. This episode offers an engaging look into the mind of a music industry titan, full of personal stories and professional wisdom that will resonate with music lovers and aspiring engineers alike.

Transcript

Speaker 1 0:11

Welcome to Vegas Circle Podcast with your hosts, paki and Chris. We are people who are passionate about business, success and culture, and this is our platform to showcase to people in our city who make it happen. On today's podcast, we're going to be diving in deep into what it really takes to create a Grammy-winning album and discussing how to build a perfect recording studio. Please help us welcome him back to the circle Six-time award-winning mixing engineer, producer, songwriter and the co-owner of a new studio here in Las Vegas called Shrine Studios. We got Mr James Banzai Caruso.

Speaker 2 0:42

We got Mr James Banzai Caruso. So good to have you back in the circle brother.

Speaker 3 0:44

Yeah, definitely good to see you again. Thank you so much for having me back.

Speaker 1 0:47

Yeah, man. So we definitely got a shout out International GT man for connecting us. We had you about I think it was about a year. A little over a year ago, we had you on the pod.

Speaker 3 0:54

Has it been that long? Yeah, goes quick.

Speaker 4 1:00

It goes quick, man.

Speaker 1 1:00

So you produced and been part of some of my favorite music. I mean I can't even list. I mean Chris and I were talking about it earlier. I mean your resume is is unreal, from Mariah Carey and just all these different people that you work with. I mean you produced Distant Relatives, which is one of my favorite albums with Nas and Damian Marley. But let's talk about just the six Grammys. So the six projects you've worked on. Can you kind of name those six Grammys that you actually won? Yeah, absolutely.

Speaker 3 1:30

And just to clarify, I was a mix engineer on those, not producer, no.

Speaker 1 1:33

I'm sorry, I apologize.

Speaker 3 1:35

I mean, I'm always involved with we're doing the production together, but I'm credited as the mix engineer.

Speaker 1 1:40

The mix engineer. I always get that wrong, which is fine.

Speaker 3 1:41

This is basically what I do, Okay, but in terms of those Grammys it was. The first one was 2001 with Damian Marley, Halfway Tree.

Speaker 1 1:50

Wow.

Speaker 3 1:50

Okay, and then followed by was it Welcome to Jamrock in 2005?. Fire, album which actually a lot of people don't know this, but Welcome to Jamrock won two Grammys, did it really? It won for Best Reggae Album and Best Urban Alternative Single as well. So, there's two on that, one for the single and one for the album Wow, followed by 2007 with Stephen Marley's debut album Mind Control.

Speaker 1 2:19

One of my favorite albums. Isn't that beautiful yeah.

Speaker 3 2:21

I love that. We spent years on that record. Oh my God, it's such a beautiful album. I love that album. Isn't that beautiful? Yeah, I love that. We spent years on that record. Yeah, oh, my God, it's such a beautiful album. I love Steven so much. Yeah, anyway. And then the one after that was in 2009,. The same album, mind Control, but in the acoustic format. We re-released it in acoustic format, wow, and it won the Grammy in 2009.

Speaker 2 2:41

Wow, yeah, is that hard to do. Like to do that Cause the winner for one album is one thing, right, but to reintroduce it in a different way and win it again like that seems like it doesn't happen very often. It wasn't really hard.

Speaker 3 2:52

It was just a different approach musically to those same beautiful, wonderful songs, but just like kind of I don't want to say reinventing them, but, you know, reproducing them in an acoustic unplugged, if you will format Right.

Speaker 1 3:05

Yeah, that was really really cool I really enjoyed doing the unplugged version. Yeah, very organic, right, the noise and everything, the whole. Yeah, the spread of the room. That's powerful. What kind of sparked your interest to kind of get into the music industry? Like, when did you get in? Oh geez.

Speaker 3 3:20

Long story but I'll keep it short. You know, as a child growing up in the country of New Jersey working on farms, and I picked up an acoustic guitar when I was about 13 or 14. And I had kind of a rough childhood there for a minute with an abusive stepfather and I just was in a bad place and very angry and upset young man. But music was obviously made me so happy and safe and and wonderful feeling and I just got deep into it at a young age, fortunately. So, when I graduated high school, uh in new jersey, I went straight to manhattan and uh enrolled in the institute of audio research and at that time it was part of nyu or I could transfer the credits to NYU anyway in Greenwich Village, there that was.

Speaker 3 4:07

I was 17, 18 years old, and so they placed me in an internship at a studio called Secret Sound Studios, okay, which is a little analog 24-track room where I started, you know, learning how to use microphones. It was all analog back in those days. Of course this was their very early 80s and did jingles and jazz records. And then the drum machines were kind of new on the scene, along with samplers, so the 808 and the DMX and the Lindrum, and I learned how to rock those things. I was kind of left alone there At that time. There were staff engineers so they would show up to do their 9 to 5 and whatever a jingle or a piano vocal that day, or perhaps a guitar overdub or vocal overdubs and then they'd go home. That was the thing. They were there for a paycheck. I was interned and hungry and I just wanted to learn.

Speaker 3 5:02

I basically lived on the couch and spent 90 hours a week there at the studio and that's how I progressed to learning how to. That's how I hooked up with all melly, mel and grandmaster flash and, uh, sissy houston, whitney houston and you know the whitney and I are about the same age, so she was singing backgrounds on her mother's album. So it was a great time in new york city to be interning in the studio and with all these people coming in and out every day, it was very fortunate and blessed I can't even let you pass up on it.

Speaker 1 5:32

You just said molly, I mean everybody that you're saying are like legends in the music industry, man that must have been did you realize that at the time, like how special that moment was, that where you were able to like be on the couch and be able to be in these, these rooms, and behind the scenes.

Speaker 3 5:47

Yeah, yes, yeah, it was special in a spiritual way, I don't know, to me. I was just very, I felt very fortunate and very. I had a just very blessed yeah for the opportunity, even though I was only getting paid five dollars a day I don't think I would have cared.

Speaker 3 6:03

Man, listen to all these different people about that was my sandwich for the day, yeah yeah, but you know, it was very special in that regard, um, and for me it was just like being in the university, being in the college and learning, because I was driven to this by listening to those records in the 70s and you know like, oh, he's great and why each album sounded different from other albums, and then started learning about microphone techniques and you know recording techniques, so I was just threw myself in deep to learn how to use microphones, which microphones, microphone placement, you know, and the whole production and how to overdub and build. Oh, that's how they got all these voices on these records because, your mic placement.

Speaker 1 6:47

All these, different things, all these layers to it, right and as I'm learning to play guitar.

Diving Into Music Production Processes

Speaker 3 6:50

It's like, wait a minute, that's impossible to play though that oh, it was overdubbed.

Speaker 2 6:55

So learning all the techniques of production it was the thought always been to be kind of behind the scenes in the music industry like, like hey, I want to go play guitar for this band, or has that ever been part of your thought process?

Speaker 3 7:08

Maybe early, early on in my late teenage years. Yeah, I wanted to be there. I thought I was a good guitar player.

Speaker 1 7:15

I think we all tried to be Michael Jordan or something.

Speaker 3 7:18

Thrown in the studio with the real guys. I would plug in like Mike Stern, he's an amazing jazz guitarist. Oh my gosh, the guy's phenomenal. Uh, and I would you know. I remember plugging him into his amp and and listen, and I was like it's still special. One guy three people playing. It was like, okay, I'm just gonna Three people playing. I was like, okay, I'm just going to stay over here, very humbling, and I'm going to learn how to record and produce.

Speaker 2 7:49

And how do you decide, once you determine that right, just going through your path, finding your lane within the music industry? There's a lot of different facets to it, right? I'm assuming behind the scenes you have your point. You say a lot of things that I'm not familiar with, but how do you find, as you work through it, the lane that you wanted to be in, whether it's producing or engineering or mix and engineering or kind of whatever that lane is? Just to kind of educate even me and some of the listeners, for me it's a very emotional.

Speaker 3 8:13

It's spiritually and very emotional thing. Songs, it's just songs that make me cry and make me laugh and make me feel happy and make me feel sad or make me think about stuff, make me want to dance, you know. So I'm a song oriented person. So for me it was all about how do we make songs, the you know the best, you know before the you release them out to the world. You know, because there's a process from writing to demoing to producing, you know, getting it right before you release it right. So that's what intrigued me was the song writing process, the song production process, you know, yeah, that's all about the song.

Speaker 1 8:50

You know it's still to this day. Yeah, that's, I'm like law, I'm so. I just want to listen to you just talk about it. When I ask you questions, you can just do like a motivational speech on on everything.

Speaker 1 8:59

Man, I mean to kind of piggyback on so being a like a recording engineer right, that's technically what you are, but I know you've written and stuff too. Like what is that process like? Are you, are you there from like the whole process? So like, let's say, it's Damian Marley or or or or Steven Marley, are you there right from the beginning, or are they like recording, doing the whole nine, and you're kind of coming in to kind of edit and do the whole nine and make sure it's on point Both, okay, not only both but also just mixing.

Speaker 1 9:28

Got you.

Speaker 3 9:29

I really enjoy the process from Jump Street, from Blank Slate, especially with Stephen and Damian those guys. That's awesome. You know artists and producers like that, so that you're in on the ground floor. So the day one when we're tracking and we're putting ideas together, I'm already mixing.

Speaker 3 9:47

You know what I mean I start mixing on day one, because you know we capture that energy and so many times that energy, that vibe of those initial days, those first days, is like we captured it and you know you got it. You know if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Speaker 3 10:07

You know what I mean, Because you can sit there and tweak it and you know polish it and so it's like you know, which sometimes is necessary and sometimes it's great. So every project is different. To answer your question, every project is different and I like being in on the project from day one. Not everybody can afford that, you know, especially in these days. Back in the day, when people used to buy these things, they were called cds.

Speaker 1 10:35

My kids don't even know what cds are for real, we had these things called big budgets yeah that still exists today.

Speaker 3 10:41

I'm just, I'm just bugging you, um, but uh, it's nice to be a part of that project from beginning to end. Not that I'm, I know I still enjoy mixing, because mixing is a big part of what I do every day, and it's already been recorded, you know. So when I get the tracks, sometimes it's like whoa, these guys did a really good job. I'm proud of them. This is awesome. Now I got to take it to the next level.

Speaker 3 11:02

Oh my god got it you know, love the challenge, but sometimes I'll get stuff. I was like dude, that's your drums, that's your bass, those are your guitars, those are your vocal. Oh my God, I got work to do.

Speaker 1 11:14

So you got to figure out how to make it sound perfect before I mix.

Speaker 3 11:17

Right, so got it. It all I take it all.

Speaker 2 11:21

I love it all and how does that work?

Speaker 2 11:22

so say you do get this right and you do have to go through and change it all, you have to make it to maximize it, but at some point does it change the initial theme? And say you do change their initial theme. How much like autonomy do you have to be able to like make your own spin on it, or do you have to kind of run through it with them every step of the way because they're paying you to do what you do, right? But then when you do what you do, are they like is there some back and forth on that?

Speaker 3 11:48

see, that's a good question, because that's a great question, because every artist is different and most of the people that know me, they come to me because they know out of respect to the next level I'm gonna you know, and 90 of the time, they love what I do and there are times where I'll do something like now, bonnie, we like the way it was before and that happens, that's fine, yeah sure, um, but it's really.

Speaker 3 12:08

Every artist is different, every project is different and when I approach it, I for me, it's I never lose sight of. It's all about the song, it's all about the energy, the emotion, what the artist is trying to say with the songwriter. The song is trying to convey whether it the songwriter, the song is trying to convey whether it's happy, sad, you know, whatever it is embellish that Bring out those, the best elements.

Speaker 2 12:31

Not change it, but like just yeah, maybe change it a little bit, Change it you know for the better.

Speaker 3 12:36

Yeah, and also try to read into what the artist is trying to convey here, right?

Egos and Collaborations in Music

Speaker 1 12:42

Because that's the most important thing. Yeah, you're such a big energy person, right. That's why we vibe, right. I don't know if it's just such a studio just recently, but like you had to work with some strong egos, right. I can't even imagine like the Mariah Carey's of the world and I don't even know the list of people on your list but who have you enjoyed working with the best and like, what's the what's like the big lesson from that Just being in the studio with them, especially winning Grammys and stuff. You've got amazing. You know resume, well, there's quite a few.

Speaker 3 13:12

I've been very blessed. So, and you're right about the dynamic between the, you know just learning how to deal with ego and it's I'm good with, I'm totally okay with it, because it's kind of necessary on some level for them as an artist. Obviously their heads are inflated and that's why they're stars, right, that's fine. I'm totally cool with that. I don't have my.

Speaker 3 13:33

I check my ego at the door, I pick it up on the way out, yeah, but in terms of and before you answer that, like people, like Madonna, I was looking at you, madonna, I mean Mariah Carey, those are strong, strong egos, yeah, and there's so many of them I could name, but, to answer your question, if I were to pick a favorite, it would have to be Stephen Marley, because Stephen, his ear and his mind, his musical approach to things, and I've learned so much over the years I mean Stephen and I have been working together on and off since 95 are you serious wow, since, uh, halfway tree, wow, uh, with Damien and, and Damien as well, both of them, I mean they, they're really it's, it's.

Speaker 3 14:19

I learn a lot from working with them, especially Stephen, because it's it's an approach, it's a vision and it's multifaceted in terms of fun, serious and happy and dark and all those things.

Speaker 1 14:36

Yeah, does he talk about his father at all, when you've had those intimate conversations A little bit here and there it comes up once in a while.

Speaker 2 14:42

Yeah, I'm sure it has to be a curiosity right. Talk about how that, yeah, you know something for that long gong is the gong, and he's, he's always there.

Speaker 2 14:51

Yeah for sure, right for sure, and that's you know, kind of you know another thing is like you're when you have those relationships for you know, 20, 30 years and as an artist they kind of you ever feel like they like. Sometimes you get pigeonholed in a certain dynamic, pigeonholed in a certain style and then when you try to push, you know how do you like help somebody navigate, to grow and push themselves into a different atmosphere.

Speaker 3 15:13

That's a really good point because back in the day that was a huge factor back in like the 90s and early 2000s. You know people whoa he's the guy who does electronic dance Because I was doing a lot of house music remixes with like David Morales and Frankie Knuckles and CNC Music Factory and all the Mariah Carey stuff. They were all remixes Got it. I was the remix guy. So I got pigeonholed to dance music. Got it, and I made a living and paid my rent in New York City for 10 years. Then I did one reggae record with this girl, diana King. That Shy Guy record, oh, smack, yeah. Ended up in Bad Boys the film oh, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 3 15:54

With Martin Lawrence and Will Smith. Yeah, so that record was the first reggae album. I did the whole album with her and I was a fan of reggae and Bob Marley and but it's like I was doing all this electronic dance music all the time, Right so to I had the. You know, I just absorbed and learn. I was early days of learning reggae for me in terms of engineering, recording and production wise. So that Diana King record went huge. A shy guy, would you know, became. It was a big hit and I that's when I was contacted by Stephen Marley to, to, to go down to.

Speaker 1 16:32

Jamaica and start working that's absolutely amazing, that was that changed everything.

Speaker 3 16:37

I mean, that was like, okay, here we go. And I just embraced it, loved it. It was like opening up an encyclopedia and going you need to learn this now.

Speaker 4 16:46

You know it was a big learning process, but it was you know it's still, you know it never stops.

Speaker 1 16:51

You got a list of songs that I love. I mean Method man and Mary J Blige.

Speaker 3 16:55

All I need is to get by Exactly.

Speaker 1 16:58

Didn't you do Ready to Die with Biggie, Biggie yeah.

Speaker 3 17:01

So you did his mixing. I recorded. Yes, I was with Biggie the first time. I did a couple of records with Puffy before he was known.

Speaker 4 17:10

I still call him Puffy. Okay, I got you I still do.

Speaker 3 17:18

He was Puffy then Sure, and I did a couple records with him before and he one day brought this guy.

Speaker 3 17:23

Sean Brought Biggie in. I mean to Biggie in and it was his first day in a big studio and he was the nicest guy and we just hit it off. So I did a lot of the recording on that first album and some of the mixes. I remember when the credits came out on the album I was miscredited with the under engineer and some mistakes in their crediting, but still it was me, tony Maserati, prince Charles, I think. I'm trying to think of the other engineers that were. We were all at the Hit Factory, like every night in New York City, legendary Hit Factory, by the way.

Speaker 2 17:58

But I loved working with Viggy.

Speaker 3 17:59

He was just the sweetest guy. The way he would throw down just straight off the top of his head without you know, because a lot of the you know a lot of the rappers which is fine would sit there and you know, write out all the lyrics and go over it over and over and then go step up to the mic.

Speaker 3 18:14

So okay, and just read it, which is fine, it's great, that's fine, but not biggie. Biggie would just step up one, take, hit it bonds, hit record, and he would just spit this flow Like I'm like, oh my God, and then you go let back and I'd play it back for him and be like yeah, bonzo, let me hit that one more time.

Speaker 3 18:41

He's like, uh, I'm gonna keep that. Go to another track, right, it's analog days. You hit, oh, so you hit, that's it, it's a wrap done, yeah, right. So he's like no, no, go over that. I was like you sure I could keep that I'll go to another track.

Speaker 3 18:47

He's like no, no, hit it again, go over it. Like all right, I don't. Okay, I'm nervous, but he's the boss. He would spit a completely different rhyme, completely different story, completely different lyric, completely different everything. And I'm sitting there going wait. We're right now erasing what he was previously done.

Speaker 1 19:09

I can't hit stop.

Speaker 3 19:10

I'm not going to hit stop.

Speaker 1 19:12

When you hear that all the time, I mean you're saying I mean people rap, battle all the time at barbershops, top five, dead or alive, whatever you just explaining that makes me say that he has to always be in the top five.

Speaker 2 19:24

Or just be on a wasted talent. That happens.

Speaker 4 19:27

Like the wasted songs that you never even got to hear.

Speaker 2 19:29

You're probably one of the only people that ever got to hear that, like, that's pretty wild to even think about, very true, so many, but it's the way his mind worked.

Speaker 3 19:36

You know he was a storyteller. He was a, you know, a lyrical genius and now, you know he was a storyteller and he, he had all this. It was like a a library in his head, right, yeah?

Speaker 1 19:51

what's your thoughts on puffy? I can't let you pass that, with puffy dealing with all he's doing right now. What's your thoughts on Puffy? I can't let you pass that, with Puffy dealing with all he's dealing with right now. What's your thoughts on his situation? Man, I don't know.

Speaker 3 19:58

I mean it's hard for me to comment on that. I feel I don't know all the details me neither, but I mean. I haven't worked with Puffs since like oh my gosh since probably 2002 or something it's been a while, Okay, we did. I'm trying to remember he had a girl group, yeah.

Speaker 1 20:17

Danny DeCain.

Speaker 3 20:18

Yeah, a couple of these little projects. And oh, there was another record we did was. It was Flavor In your Ear. Who was that? Craig?

Speaker 1 20:26

Mack. Craig Mack, yeah, he passed away man, oh no. Yeah, yeah, craig Mack passed away a few years back. Oh, I saw you hear that you worked on with Craig Mack.

Speaker 3 20:34

Yeah, actually, we did a record with Craig Mack and Biggie together on one track.

Speaker 2 20:39

But, oh my God, there's a story behind that.

Speaker 3 20:41

It never came out. It was never released. I love the track and it was called my man, my Nigga.

Speaker 1 20:48

That's what it said. That was the album.

Speaker 3 20:50

No, it was a single, it was one song Single okay and I love the track. They went back and forth complimenting each other and I thought it was a great track but it was never released. Interesting.

Speaker 2 21:03

I mean the room. It's crazy how this stuff just happens and never comes out.

Speaker 3 21:07

Yeah, oh there's so many great records that never saw the light of day, especially back in those days in the 90s early 2000. These great records and for whatever reason it could be contractual, could be publishing, can't get the clearing Sample, clearance Exactly. And these wonderful records, and I'm just sitting there going wait, it's not coming out. You gotta be kidding me.

Speaker 1 21:30

Can we do something else with it? Especially Biggie and Craig Mack at the peak. I mean, he was exploding, I think that was a publishing issue.

Speaker 2 21:36

Okay. When that happens, you still get paid, so they're paying you for your time regardless, so they distribute it, make money on it, Like you're booked.

Speaker 1 21:53

Welcome to a special edition of Vegas Circle. Behind the Lights we got our guy James Trader, who's actually the owner of Kase Sake and Sushi. Talk a little bit about your restaurant, how this all came together.

Speaker 4 22:02

So, kase, we're a casual omakase experience here in Las Vegas. Omakase literally means I'll leave it up to you, so leave it up to us to curate your experience here. One of our most popular menu items is our amori. It's a seven course plated meal, and with that you'll start with a seaweed salad, sashimi special, 10 pieces of fresh nigiri and two hand rolls.

Speaker 2 22:25

This location is fantastic. The environment is lively yet intimate. I think it's great for date nights. The overall experience has been extremely positive. If our listeners could choose one thing on the menu that you'd recommend.

High-Tech Music Studios in Las Vegas

Speaker 4 22:34

What would it be? Definitely my favorite is our A5 Wagyu Foie Gras. We serve that with a cherry amaretto jam, and that's just to die for.

Speaker 2 22:41

Me and Pac are both big sake fans.

Speaker 4 22:43

We drink it all the time we drink it all the time.

Speaker 2 22:44

Dig in a little bit on what that sake experience is like here at.

Speaker 4 22:47

Kase. So we have a great selection of sakes here, from Junmai to Junmai, Daiginjo's and even a few Nigoris. We also have a server pick three sampler where our servers will curate depending on your taste and your meal.

Speaker 1 23:04

A few glasses for you to enjoy and try to just see the depth that different sakes will have as far as flavors go. So you guys got to come down and check out kase. They are located off of jones, north of 215 freeway. Check out kase.

Speaker 3 23:11

Saki sushicom yeah, I don't, yeah, I'm not entitled to those residuals. So when they do come out, guess who makes the big bucks yeah, I mean I'm you know I get paid for my time unless I'm a co-writer. Some records are if I'm a co-writer or produce. Sometimes, if I'm for my production, I'll get a point or a percentage five percent, ten percent or twenty or thirty percent of the record, depending upon my involvement right, wow, that's awesome.

Speaker 1 23:37

What do you, how do you feel about the state of music now and specifically the direction of like AI and things like you seen what Drake just did with the diss track with about Kendrick Lamar and all of that like, how do you feel about all the AI stuff that's happening? We live in interesting times, because I can come me and Chris can come out with our album and sound awesome.

Speaker 3 23:55

I mean, I haven't really gotten into it in terms of research myself on what's being like what you just mentioned with those records, being like what you just mentioned with with those records yeah, but in terms of using ai in the studio, I have found a lot of it's, especially a year.

Speaker 1 24:15

it's moving so quickly it's advancing so it's oh my gosh exponentially like anyway.

Speaker 3 24:21

But for in terms of, you know, production usage in the studio, it's what I'm finding is it's getting pretty good at isolation. So if you have a track that's an old track from, let's say, the 1970s or whatever, and there's no stems, it's not digital, all there is is a stereo track and the label or the producer or whoever owns the publishing wants to do a Dolby Atmos mix with it or a remix or whatever. Some of the new AI-driven software is getting pretty good at isolating just a drum track to spit out stems, isolating stems. Oh, okay, so you end up with the drums separate the bass and guitar, your vocals really isolated. But back in the day it was, you know, even a couple of three years ago, to isolate the vocal from a track using filters. You know you could do a pretty good job of it depending on the track behind the vocal. But with the AI assisted, you know, stem extraction, if you will, is I'm pretty impressed.

Speaker 1 25:27

It's getting better and better. Yeah, that's good stuff. Is that scary, Do you think for people that have you will is. I'm pretty impressed it's getting better and better.

Speaker 3 25:29

yeah, that's good stuff.

Speaker 2 25:30

Is that scary, do you think, for people that have your level of experience?

Speaker 3 25:36

That's not scary to me, it doesn't bother me, it is what it is. You've got to embrace the times. It's like when digital audio came out, I was analog. Everything we did was analog tape, reel to reel tape, big consoles and you know. And then when digital audio came out and I was beta testing pro tools and some other, uh, digital audio recording software and it was a transition and a lot of my clients, a lot of people were like and I'm and I it, and I'm.

Speaker 3 26:08

I'm with that, yeah, sure, A hundred percent, but also embracing that you know this was what 90, 94, 95, 93. Um, and you know it's like you embrace change. You have to embrace change and just hope people are going to use it or, and yourself, have the integrity to use it in a good way that helps out everybody involved.

Speaker 2 26:33

It could open up avenues you haven't thought about yet, like digital did right when you had analog, open things that nobody, I'm sure, envisioned 20 years ago what it was doing for the last 20 years Exactly, and people are going to benefit. As long as you utilize the tools effectively, it makes a lot of sense.

Speaker 3 26:46

Yes, the advent of digital audio recording just was a game changer big time. That's awesome.

Speaker 1 26:54

Yeah, let's talk about your new studio. You just had a party VIP launch and got a chance to see that and see all the new rooms. Which amazing studio. Now, if I remember correctly, it's the only Adobe recording studio here right or certified here. I don't know that it's the only Adobe recording studio here, right?

Speaker 3 27:09

Or certified here? I don't know that it's the only Okay, but I know that there's only a couple here in Vegas, okay, but we might be the only certified, although I'm not really sure on that. There's two or three others Okay, but yeah, we just opened our doors. Shrine.

Speaker 1 27:22

Studios on.

Speaker 3 27:23

Charleston Street downtown and yeah, it's a beautiful facility, charleston Street downtown and yeah, it's a beautiful facility. We have the capability of 9.4.2 Dolby, but most Dolby Atmos right now is working in 7.1. Okay, so we have the capability of both and it's just a beautiful environment and it's both logic-oriented and Pro Tools so you can run logic sessions and Pro Tools sessions in there and we're just opening our doors, so we're just getting started. I'm super excited with my partner, simon.

Speaker 4 27:54

Apex, I met Simon. You're a great guy. Simon's amazing.

Speaker 3 27:57

And the whole staff there, everybody there is just wonderful.

Speaker 1 28:01

Shout out to your GM too. I forgot your GM's name, your manager, billy, billy, great dude.

Speaker 3 28:09

He's holding down the fort he makes sure everything is running smoothly, yeah, but yeah. So I mean, simon has put so much into it and over the last several months, in terms of the design and the build of it, and I would just come in and go, yeah, well, we have to do this, this and this and this and this, and here we go, okay, but it. But it just came out, so it's just beautiful, you saw it.

Speaker 1 28:29

It's gorgeous, right.

Speaker 3 28:31

And it's you know, we're just super excited because of the advent of what's going on in this town, right, that's what I wanted to get to.

Speaker 1 28:39

Yeah for sure.

Speaker 3 28:40

The film industry moving here from Hollywood. What are they calling Vegas Hollywood 2.0?

Speaker 4 28:45

Yeah.

Speaker 3 28:45

Right. So it's a perfect time. We're just getting started. We're going to see a lot of changes in development in that area right.

Speaker 1 28:53

Yeah, in the coming years I mean they say probably the next five to seven years is like a gold rush in Vegas, just with everything. Like you said, hollywood 2.0. I mean, was it Sony and Howard Hughes just opened up in Summerlin and then I can't remember, wasn't Disney. Yeah, he's doing some consulting with them, but not Disney. But was it Warner Brothers?

Speaker 3 29:12

I heard Disney as well. Oh, was it Disney? I couldn't remember. It's one of the two.

Speaker 1 29:14

Yeah, it's either Warner Brothers or Disney. I know they're opening up a studio, so it's going to be like three, much better as a city.

Speaker 3 29:28

Just oh my god, this town is blowing up. Yeah, is that why you moved here? That's what I was gonna ask you why?

Speaker 1 29:34

because you moved you originally in new york city, right? So?

Speaker 3 29:36

when did you move to vegas? I'm um.

Speaker 3 29:38

Yeah, I lived in new york city most of my about 30 years okay and I came out here in 2008 to help and design um and build the studio. At the time time it was called Odds On it's right close to here on Sunset Way. At that time in 2008, we built a beautiful multimillion-dollar studio. It's absolutely gorgeous and I was the chief engineer there for a while and I wasn't going to stay here, I was going to go back to New York, but I kind of met a girl, you know how that is.

Speaker 3 30:10

I'm still here 14 years later, yeah, but since then that studio originally was called odds on, now it's called the hideout oh, I went to the hideout yeah that's why I went to listen to international gts uh, listening party.

Speaker 3 30:20

Yeah, yeah, that was the reason why you built. Okay, so you yeah, when I I had come out here and that that was just a warehouse with dirt floor, yeah, nothing in it, basically A little office and a little tiny little studio in the front. But they had a vision to put Vegas on the map with this. You know the biggest, most beautiful multimillion-dollar recording studio here and I was like, okay, I'll do that.

Speaker 4 30:45

Yeah, that's good stuff.

Musical Inspirations and Production Styles

Speaker 3 30:46

And then I fell in love with Vegas. I really did. You, okay, I'll do that, yeah, that's good stuff. And then I fell in love with Vegas. I really did. I still work in New York and I go back, my family's there and I still go back. I love New York City. It'll always be my home, yeah, but I love it. There's something magical for me here in Las Vegas. There's something magical about the desert. I love the Native American culture since I was a kid and that could be anywhere, right. But there's something about the desert. Southwest is especially magical because of the hardships here for them, the indigenous people, and I don't know just the open space and the weather, I mean, come on, we have no— Sunny every day.

Speaker 1 31:24

We're like 360 days a year of sunshine. Man, it's like only a couple days days. Yeah, it's only a couple of days. It's cloudy, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 3 31:31

In New York City I was with a woman, my partner, my first wife. Actually, for many years she suffered from SAD seasonal affective disorder. Because in New York City, like basically from what November through almost March, it's great.

Speaker 1 31:45

A lot of gray sky, cave and gulf. I lived in New England for many years.

Speaker 3 31:49

Yes, same, very gray there is something to be said for that sunshine, because it really does affect people. You know different people differently, that's true, yeah.

Speaker 1 31:58

Good point, very good point. Yeah, I love the direction that Vegas is going Who's's kind of spoken in your life? And that you kind of bounce things off to kind of keep you straight and keep you aligned.

Speaker 3 32:14

I mean, uh, back in the day, originally, when I was just getting into it, it was producers. Like you know, Trevor Horn is the first guy that comes to my mind, Trevor Horn. I was a huge fan of Trevor Horn when he came out with because I was a big yes fan in the 1970s when I was a child. Those yes records were great and I loved, like Jimi Hendrix and the Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, that whole psychedelic movement.

Speaker 3 32:39

I really loved Pink Floyd, of course, but when Owner of a Lonely Heart came out, that 90, the yes, that he produced, the yes album, I was just you. You know, sampling was a pretty new technology.

Speaker 3 32:51

we had one of the first samplers and I heard that record and I just fell in love with trevor horn's production. And he went on to produce. He produced all the seal records. Oh wow, responsible for seal, uh, grace jones, oh wow, slave to the rhythm, which is one of my faves, yeah, so he was a big inspiration, trevor horn, and still is.

Speaker 1 33:10

I mean, I still listen to those records and I'm just like man is it just what, like actually watching them and act like I know international gt's mentioned you like just watching you in action, how you do it? Is it that let you kind of learn? Is you can actually see them do something and like, okay, I need to learn this and tweak this. I wish I've never got to sit with Trevor Horn.

Speaker 3 33:28

I mean he's based in the UK.

Speaker 1 33:30

Oh, okay, okay, okay.

Speaker 3 33:34

But just listening to his productions was very inspiring to me but in terms of like one-on-one fast forward for me, really, guys like Stephen Marley Again, I go back to Stephen because of the way he approaches things and also a big and Arif Mardin he produced a lot of huge. Who did I work with? Diana Ross?

Speaker 4 33:57

was him.

Speaker 3 33:59

And he taught me and Bette Midler. We did a Bette Midler record, we did a Diana Ross record, we did a couple other huge and you know, arif Mardin really taught me how to get performances from vocalists, how to get them to be in that moment, to read those lyrics on the page and convey that emotion, make them cry make them laugh whatever the song was about. So I learned a lot from Arif Mardin for vocal vocal production.

Speaker 1 34:33

That's powerful performances out of out of these artists, because sometimes they walk up to the mic in the studio and they kind of clamp it. Yeah, a little timid.

Speaker 3 34:36

It's just like set the lighting, I'll set up, I'll do stuff. Like I'll set up a, a, a, a artboard and there's some pencils and some colored paints and etzel or easel, easel, yeah, yeah, yeah, and you know, and just while they're on the mic, throw some paint on there and I'll watch you one time I put up a mannequin with a bunch of paint brushes and I was like, paint the mannequin while we're singing just to get them in something else.

Speaker 1 35:01

Get their mind off of it.

Speaker 4 35:02

That's good depending on the song and depending on the artist, obviously, Because some artists they don't need to do anything Just put one of these in front of them and let them do their thing.

Speaker 1 35:11

Yeah, that's powerful. I'd love to just be a fly on the wall just for some of the people you've worked with man just to be in a studio.

Speaker 2 35:17

Maybe just to see one song being produced from start to finish.

Speaker 3 35:20

I've never, you know, I don't think I've ever seen that, I've never had Watching videos, but not in there in the studio and that process you just mentioned could be a day, it could be a week, it could be a month, it could be a year. Oh wow On one song.

Speaker 2 35:34

That's pretty crazy. To make it right, it really depends.

Speaker 3 35:38

Every project, every song is different. Every artist.

Speaker 2 35:42

That's wild. What do you find to be the best ones, like the ones that take a long time or the ones that are?

Speaker 3 35:47

like rapid. There's a lot to be said for both. I kind of like the ones that come together really quickly.

Speaker 2 35:52

Yeah.

Speaker 3 35:52

I did a record with Ice-T, his very first album was called Rhyme Pays, oh wow.

Speaker 1 35:57

Ice-T man.

Speaker 3 35:58

We went in there with blank tape. This was also analog days, before computers, yeah, and I think we went in the studio on a Friday. I'm trying to be accurate about this, but I believe we went. It was me and him and Izzy. I forget all the other guys on Eazy-E, oh yeah. Eazy-e for sure, and we went in on a Friday Secret Sound Studios in Manhattan and I think we were finished by Monday.

Speaker 4 36:24

We did that whole.

Speaker 3 36:25

We just lived in that studio for whatever 72 hours the whole album and there's something, so there's a lot of magic so there.

Speaker 3 36:33

Yeah, even when I'm writing songs and do demos at home with acoustic guitar and a piano and a singer, and we just lay down a basic oh, do you want to overdo it? And spend a bunch of time, you this, polishing that, because then you overdo it. So it's kind of like painting. I paint on the side as therapy. It's my therapy. I'm an abstract painter, but it's the same thing. It's like knowing when to stop right. It's like we're done Enough background vocal parts, enough guitar parts, enough percussion yes, we can add tambourine and shaker but it's knowing when to say when I got it, that's it.

Speaker 1 37:15

Yeah, that's good. How many songs do you think you've been a part of? Do you stop keeping track now, since you've been in for this long, a long time ago? Yeah.

Speaker 3 37:25

Thousands and thousands and thousands.

Speaker 1 37:26

That's awesome Very long time ago, yeah, yeah, thousands and thousands, yeah, that's awesome. Yeah, very blessed. Um, just for business advice, man, I mean you, you're in so many different rooms right and there's musicians that you know build their own businesses. They've got small businesses, they invest in different things. What's something that you would leave on? You know, leave somebody with a nugget you would leave. Uh, you know, maybe an artist with that maybe wants to, they're afraid to put out their music, or whatever the situation is. Or, you know, maybe they've got a vision to build their own business and what's just one nugget you would leave them with just following your heart and your dream, just believing in yourself.

Speaker 3 37:59

You know and I know it's cliche, everybody says, you know, believe in yourself, following your heart, but that really is true. I mean, and challenge and challenge yourself. I mean, you know, if you think you can do better, then that means, you can probably do better. You know, if you think like, oh my God, I'm really proud of this, I like it, then leave it and either learn from it, because years later you're going to look back and go I should have kept going. And you learn as you go, right, like anything else.

Speaker 1 38:28

Sure, that's good advice, Very good advice. You know I'm a big foodie. We were talking about this recently. I mean I love, and Vegas is becoming the food mecca now. I mean literally coming like New York City, I believe. But what's your favorite restaurant in Vegas? Like you said, I can't keep up with them. There's so many.

Speaker 2 38:46

I mean, I thought New York had great restaurants. Oh my God, this town has got like tenfold.

Speaker 3 38:50

Yeah, every day there's a new one 100% I don't know, I'm Italian, so I love Italian food.

Speaker 1 38:56

I love Italian food also.

Speaker 3 38:58

So there's one spot I don't go to. The strip isn't really my. I mean, there's so many great restaurants, sure, sure, but I love the little local joints off the street. I love it, yeah, but there's one place on the strip that I kind of I don't know. There's something about it reminds me of home is maggiano's there, my job is great.

Speaker 1 39:17

That was good, yeah, in terms of that fashion show, right, right.

Speaker 3 39:20

Fashion show, yep Family style. And then there's also I love Japanese food. Okay, japanese food, I love sushi.

Speaker 4 39:28

Yeah.

Speaker 3 39:28

There's a little local place near me I could walk from my house.

Speaker 1 39:33

It's called Soho Japanese.

Speaker 3 39:34

Soho. Okay, where is that located? It's on Warm Springs and Jones. Okay, okay, so awesome. They're great. I love that place. Okay, there's some Gaetano's another great Italian restaurant.

Speaker 1 39:46

Is that Henderson? It is on Eastern. Yeah, they have a very good family. Yeah, I think the son took over the restaurant, if I'm not mistaken.

Speaker 3 39:54

Very good food. Food there is really good. Prosciutto Italian is another one of my faves. Oh, I could see here going on and on.

Speaker 1 40:01

I was Italian in another life. Man, I love Italian. I stay away from the carbs, but I love Italian food.

Speaker 3 40:05

You're going to get me hungry?

Speaker 1 40:06

Yeah, I should I probably should talk about it. That's good, man. There's some gems. What else did you want to leave us out on? Man, I know you got the new studio, shrine Studios studios. Who are you working with right now? Can you share who you, who you've been in the studio? Oh my gosh, I gotta get a shout.

Speaker 3 40:21

So right now. The mortimer album just came out last week I think I saw.

Speaker 1 40:25

Yeah, you posted that. Oh, my goodness, fire. If I heard the song.

Speaker 3 40:28

Oh, the whole album. I think I spent I don't know, maybe a year, year and a half mixing, okay, these songs with uh, mortimer is just amazing songwriter and his producer winter, winter jams okay, um is just an amazing songwriter and his producer Winta Winta Jams okay is just. I mean just the songs are. I mean I would, I would literally be working on these songs and just like just sob and wiping tears and I'd have to like yo.

Speaker 1 40:52

I can't keep my cheeks these songs are beautiful, they're powerful.

Speaker 2 40:56

The.

Speaker 3 40:56

Mortimer album that just came out is simply amazing. We have reggae rise up coming up this weekend, which is going to be great, I'm not trying to go to that.

Speaker 4 41:05

Yeah, you're going to that oh I'll be there all three days and then, yeah, I got a stick figure and slightly stupid that's downtown right, yeah, center right.

Speaker 2 41:14

Where is it at? Is it downtown events?

Speaker 3 41:15

downtown event center okay, perfect, okay, yeah shout out to them.

Speaker 1 41:18

Those are two, two.

Speaker 3 41:19

I'm working on a record right now with remember Aini Kamasi. I don't know who that?

Speaker 4 41:23

is it's called, not Step Up.

Speaker 3 41:25

Murder.

Speaker 1 41:26

I know that song for sure, yeah.

Speaker 3 41:28

I always called him Aini Kamasi, but I guess it's I-N-I.

Music Projects and Social Media

Speaker 1 41:31

So you're working with him now. Yeah, he's got some new material that we've.

Speaker 3 41:34

Oh what else it's hard to keep. John Ein, from Jamaica, is also, with VP Records, doing some stuff for VP Records. Yeah what else, oh, some Southern Cali stuff, fortunate Youth. Okay, I worked on the Tribal Seeds. I mixed the Tribal Seeds out.

Speaker 1 41:54

You introduced me to that with the Tribal Seeds, yeah, okay.

Speaker 3 41:57

Yeah, I'm just blessed to be busy and working on some really great killer projects, really beautiful stuff.

Speaker 1 42:05

Well, guys pay attention to. Bazaar man, I swear you need to come out with a movie they need to have a documentary on you, man of all those stories.

Speaker 3 42:12

That's actually in the works.

Speaker 1 42:14

Okay, I would super support that. I'm really looking forward to seeing that there's a documentary in the works here.

Speaker 3 42:19

That's awesome, I seeing that there's a documentary in the works here.

Speaker 1 42:21

That's awesome.

Speaker 4 42:22

I applaud that. That's good stuff, man.

Speaker 1 42:23

What's your social handles? People can reach out to you on.

Speaker 3 42:26

BonsaiCarusocom is my website, but Instagram. At Bonsai Caruso Facebook, I have a couple of them James Bonsai Caruso Awesome. And Bonsai Caruso, but yeah, I have a social media guy. And Bonsai Caruso but yeah, I have a social media guy. Big shout out to LV Roots here in Vegas. Yeah, my man, julian. Julian, he pretty much manages my social media accounts Awesome. So big up, julian, he's amazing. And yeah. So. At Bonsai Caruso Instagram.

Speaker 1 42:55

Yeah, and we're waiting for that documentary. Man, keep me posted on that. I'd love to support that man. That'd be good stuff. Man, check us out at thevegascirclecom and subscribe with us.

Speaker 4 43:02

Man, appreciate your time brother, that was really good, thank you man, thanks.