Jerry Finn
Jerry Finn | |
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Background information | |
Birth name | Jermone Gregory Finn |
Also known as |
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Born | Ventura, California, U.S. | March 31, 1969
Died | August 21, 2008 Los Angeles, California, U.S. | (aged 39)
Genres | |
Occupations |
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Years active | 1992–2008 |
Jermone Gregory Finn (March 31, 1969 – August 21, 2008), sometimes credited as "Huckle" Jerry Finn, was an American
. Finn was known for the warm guitar tone present on albums he produced as well as the "punchy" sound of his mixes. He was instrumental in developing the polished sound of pop-punk in its second wave of popularity between the mid-1990s and early 2000s.A graduate of the Dick Grove School of Music, Finn began his career in the early 1990s as an assistant engineer at various Hollywood-based studios. He began an association with producer Rob Cavallo, with whom he engineered and mixed Green Day's Dookie (1994). Finn's career subsequently prospered, as he moved from being an engineer to producing albums with the likes of Pennywise and Rancid. Finn forged a strong bond with Blink-182, producing four albums with them, beginning with Enema of the State (1999). He also worked extensively with Sum 41 and Alkaline Trio. Over the course of the 2000s, Finn worked on numerous albums with Morrissey before his sudden death in 2008.
Known for his kind manner and technical expertise, Finn was valued by engineers and musicians alike. Scott Heisel of Alternative Press wrote that Finn often "helped rough punk bands refine their sound, and helped them discover the power of a good vocal hook."[1]
Life and career
Jerry Finn was born on March 31, 1969, in
Afterwards, Finn worked as an assistant at
Finn forged a particularly strong bond with
Finn co-produced AFI's major-label debut Sing the Sorrow (2003), which has been called a "landmark in the post-hardcore genre."[5] Alternative Press wrote that "None of it would've been possible had Jerry Finn not manned the boards and polished the band's previously metallic sound into spike-covered punk-rock candy cane."[1] In his later years, Finn worked with Morrissey on his best-selling You Are the Quarry (2004). Morrissey was introduced to Finn via a mutual friend and was effusive about his work: "He made me feel very confident. He's not easily pleased and he's not prepared to be overwrought. He knows exactly what he wants to do."[5] Finn's last production credits included Decemberunderground (2006) by AFI, Music from Regions Beyond (2007) by Tiger Army, and Years of Refusal (2009), for which he reunited with Morrissey.[5]
Death
In July 2008, Finn suffered an
Recording style and influences
Finn was known for his dynamic, warm guitar sound, featured prominently on Blink-182 albums and Sum 41's All Killer No Filler (2001).[5] "Whenever I could corner him at a party, I harassed him about how he gets guitar sounds and how he gets his mixes to sound so punchy," said producer and Goldfinger frontman John Feldmann.[11] Finn achieved the sound by recording instruments through more than one amplifier at the same time.[5] "Many engineers try to keep everything separate and add effects later," said Finn. "Players play to the sound, so you just have to get a sound and go with it. This allows you to mix tones together to get just the right sound."[5] Finn reportedly owned over 100 guitars,[4] and he would often bring large collections of instruments and amplifiers to the studio.[5]
He estimated that it took him 10–12 days to mix an album, though some took less or more.[12] Upon reviewing rough mixes, Finn would attempt to craft the mix around the "sound in [his] head" he created.[13] In mixing songs, Finn preferred to first "get the drums happening to where they have some ambience," followed by the vocal tracks. In terms of mixing bass and drums—"perhaps the most difficult task of a mixing engineer," according to Bobby Owsinski—Finn preferred to have the "kick [drum] and the bass ... occupying their own territory and not fighting each other."[14] He felt the "sound of modern records today is compression. Every time I try to be a purist and go, 'You know, I'm not gonna compress that,' the band comes in and goes, 'Why isn't that compressed?'"[15] When setting the compressor, Finn would set the attack slow and the release fast so that "all the transients are getting through and initial punch is still there, but it releases instantly when the signal drops below threshold." Finn called this "the sound of my mixes. It keeps things kinda popping the whole time."[16]
Blink-182 bassist Mark Hoppus called Finn "meticulous in getting great sounds".[9] Considering recording drums to be a "lost art," Finn took great interest in this step of the process. He often focused on room microphones to capture drum ambience naturally.[13] This proved frustrating to Blink drummer Travis Barker: "For hours and hours, Jerry would be adjusting microphones. [...] I'd sit around drinking coffee and smoking cigarettes, just praying that I'd be able to start playing soon."[17] As for Finn's producing style, Barker wrote, "[Jerry] was more about giving us ideas and lending an extra set of ears. He'd say, 'Hey, that sounds cool—why doesn't that part at the end go a little longer?' Or 'What if this song had an intro?'"[18] Frequent collaborators to Finn included drum technician Mike Fasano, and engineers Sean O'Dwyer, Ryan Hewitt and Joe McGrath.[4] He was also known for working with keyboardist Roger Joseph Manning Jr., whom he brought into Blink-182, Alkaline Trio and Morrissey sessions.[5] Finn credited John Bonham as a musical inspiration growing up, and Don Was, Ed Cherney, Mick Guzauski, John Purdell, and Duane Baron as influential on his recording techniques.[2]
Legacy
Finn was known for his genial demeanor and technical prowess. According to Pierre Perrone of The Independent, "He could act as a sounding board or confidant and push musicians and singers to perform at their best. He would order food and shoot the breeze with his clients and generally create a relaxed atmosphere."[5] Finn would occasionally mix albums for independent bands or friends "from anywhere from free to half [his] rate" because he enjoyed the music.[12] Bobby Owsinski, author of The Mixing Engineer's Handbook, wrote that Finn "represented one of the new generation of mixers who knows all the rules but is perfectly willing to break them."[19] After his death, Alternative Press compiled a list of nine "classic" albums helmed by Finn, writing that "Finn's bread and butter during the past decade was helping rough punk bands refine their sound, and helping them discover the power of a good vocal hook."[1]
Finn's impact on Blink-182 led bassist Mark Hoppus to dub him the "fourth member" of the band.[20] "Every day I spent with Jerry over the past 10 years, I feel like he taught me something new about music, or recording, or life," he wrote after his passing.[5] "Jerry wasn't some asshole rolling up to the studio in a Bentley—he was one of us. He could be honest with us, and we would listen to him," drummer Travis Barker remembered in his memoir Can I Say (2015).[18] When the band reconvened to work on their reunion album Neighborhoods (2011), the band found it very difficult to work without Finn.[8] They continued to work alone into 2016, until they recruited co-founder of third-wave ska band Goldfinger, John Feldmann for their seventh album California. Feldmann considers himself a disciple of Finn, commenting, "the sound of my records was influenced by the records Jerry made."[11]
Production discography
This list does not include
Year | Artist | Release | Details | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
1992 | Color Me Badd | Young, Gifted & Badd: The Remixes | Assistant engineer, remix assistant | |
PH Factor | PH Factor | Assistant engineer | ||
1993 | Everette Harp | Common Ground | Mixing | [21] |
Ill Repute | Big Rusty Balls | Engineer and mixing | ||
León Gieco | Mensajes del Alma | Assistant | ||
Lea Salonga | Lea Salonga | Assistant engineer | ||
Man | "Chocolate Rocket" | |||
The Muffs | The Muffs | Assistant engineer | ||
Taj Mahal | Dancing the Blues | Engineer | ||
999 | You Us It! | Engineered | ||
1994 | Alvin and the Chipmunks | A Very Merry Chipmunk | Assistant engineer | |
Body Count | Born Dead | Assistant engineer | ||
Front Page | Front Page | Second engineer | ||
Green Day | Dookie | Mixing | ||
Woodstock '94 | Mixing ("When I Come Around") | |||
Matthew Sweet | Son of Altered Beast | Assistant mixing | ||
Maria Muldaur | Meet Me at Midnite | Engineer, assistant engineer | ||
Patrice Rushen | Anything But Ordinary | Assistant engineer | ||
Peter Rodgers Melnick | Arctic Blue | Engineer | ||
1995 | Ash | "Kung-Fu / Jack Names the Planets" | Mixing | |
Dance Hall Crashers | Lockjaw | Mixing | ||
Goo Goo Dolls | A Boy Named Goo | Engineer and mixing | ||
"Don't Change" | ||||
Green Day | Insomniac | Mixing | ||
The Jerky Boys | Remix ("2000 Light Years Away") | |||
IV Xample | For Example | Engineer | ||
Jawbreaker | Dear You | Mixing | ||
Love Spit Love | Angus: Music from the Motion Picture | Mixing ("Am I Wrong") | ||
The Muffs | Blonder and Blonder | Engineer and mixing | ||
Pennywise | About Time | Producer and engineer | ||
Rancid | ...And Out Come the Wolves | Producer and mixing | ||
Slash's Snakepit | It's Five O'Clock Somewhere | Engineer | ||
That Dog | Totally Crushed Out! | Mixing | ||
Weezer | Angus: Music from the Motion Picture | Engineer ("You Gave Your Love to Me Softly") | ||
1996 | Daredevils | "Hate You" | ||
Fastball | Make Your Mama Proud | |||
Goo Goo Dolls | "Hit or Miss" | |||
Green Day | Bowling Bowling Bowling Parking Parking | Mixing ("Dominated Love Slave") | ||
"Brain Stew / Jaded" | Mixing ("Do Da Da") | |||
Jawbreaker | Jabberjaw...Pure Sweet Hell | Mixing ("Sister") | ||
Magnapop | Fire All Your Guns at Once | Mixing | ||
N.Y. Loose | Year of the Rat | Mixing | ||
The Presidents of the United States of America | II | Mixing | ||
Schleprock | (America's) Dirty Little Secret | Mixing | ||
The Suicide Machines | Destruction By Definition |
Mixing | ||
Sukia | Contacto Especial con el Tercer Sexo | |||
Van Gogh's Daughter | Shove | Mixing | ||
1997 | Coward | Coward | Producer and mixing | |
Green Day | "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)" | Mixing ("Rotting") | ||
Kara's Flowers |
The Fourth World | Engineer | ||
Millencolin | "Lozin' Must" | Remix ("The Story of My Life") | ||
Smoking Popes | Destination Failure | |||
1998 | Liars Inc. | Superjaded | Mixing | |
The Living End | The Living End | Mixing | ||
Madness | Universal Madness | Mixing | ||
The Presidents of the United States of America | "Tiki God" | Mixing ("Tiki Lounge God") | ||
Rancid | Life Won't Wait | Mixing | ||
Superdrag | Head Trip in Every Key | Co-producer, engineer, and mixing | ||
The Vandals | Hitler Bad, Vandals Good | Mixing | ||
1999 | ||||
Blink-182 | Enema of the State | Producer and mixing ("The Party Song" and "Wendy Clear") | ||
"Family Reunion" | Producer and mixing | |||
Fenix*TX |
Fenix*TX |
|||
The Offspring | "Beheaded" | |||
"The Kids Aren't Alright" | Mixing | |||
2000 | Blink-182 | The Mark, Tom, and Travis Show (The Enema Strikes Back) |
Producer and mixing | |
Green Day | 86 (Live from Prague) | Mixing | ||
Marvelous 3 | " Reelin' in the Years " |
|||
ReadySexGo! |
||||
MxPx | The Ever Passing Moment | |||
New Found Glory | "Hit or Miss" | Mixing [A] | ||
Sum 41 | Half Hour of Power | Mixing | ||
2001 | Alkaline Trio | From Here to Infirmary | Mixing | |
Blink-182 | Take Off Your Pants and Jacket | |||
Fenix*TX |
Lechuza | |||
MxPx | Fat Club | |||
Sum 41 | All Killer No Filler | |||
2002 | Bad Religion | The Process of Belief | Mixing | |
Box Car Racer | Box Car Racer | |||
MxPx | "Christmas Party" | Mixing | ||
Sparta | Wiretap Scars | |||
2003 | AFI | Sing the Sorrow | ||
Alkaline Trio | Good Mourning | Co-producer and mixing | ||
Blink-182 | Blink-182 | Producer and mixing ("Feeling This", "The Fallen Interlude", "Asthenia", and "Here's Your Letter") | ||
The Offspring | "I Wanna Be Sedated" | |||
Vendetta Red | Between the Never and the Now | |||
2004 | Marjorie Fair | Self Help Serenade | ||
Morrissey | You Are the Quarry | |||
Nancy Sinatra | "Let Me Kiss You" | Mixing | ||
The Vandals | Hollywood Potato Chip | Mixing | ||
2005 | Alkaline Trio | Crimson | ||
Blink-182 | Greatest Hits | Producer and mixing ("Not Now" and "Another Girl, Another Planet") | ||
Eisley | Room Noises | Mixing | ||
The Offspring | "Can't Repeat" | |||
2006 | AFI | Decemberunderground | ||
+44 | When Your Heart Stops Beating | Co-producer and mixing | ||
2007 | Tiger Army | Music from Regions Beyond | ||
2009 | Morrissey | Years of Refusal |
Notes
- ^ Finn's mix of "Hit or Miss", unreleased at the time, was later included on a 2010 reissue of New Found Glory.
References
Footnotes
- ^ Alternative Press. Retrieved July 30, 2013.
- ^ a b c David Goggin (September 2001). "Bonazi Beat: Jerry Finn, Topping the Charts with Green Day and Blink-182". EQ.
- ^ Owsinski 2006, p. 155.
- ^ a b c d Matt Gallagher (September 30, 2008). "Remembering Jerry Finn". Mix. Archived from the original on March 28, 2012. Retrieved July 30, 2013.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Pierre Perrone (September 15, 2008). "Jerry Finn: Empathetic record producer". The Independent. Archived from the original on June 8, 2022. Retrieved July 30, 2013.
- ^ Owsinski 2006, p. 158.
- ^ a b Hoppus 2001, p. 92–95.
- ^ a b James Montgomery (April 8, 2011). "Blink-182's Mark Hoppus Talks Moving On Without Late Producer Jerry Finn". MTV News. Archived from the original on November 7, 2012. Retrieved July 15, 2011.
- ^ a b Take Off Your Pants and Jacket (2013 Vinyl Reissue) (liner notes). Blink-182. US: Geffen / Universal Music Special Markets. 2013. SRC025/SRC026/SRC027/SRC028.
This reference primarily cites the Mark Hoppus foreword.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ Jonathan Cohen (August 22, 2008). "Producer Jerry Finn Dies At 39". Billboard. Retrieved July 15, 2011.
- ^ MusicRadar. Retrieved August 23, 2016.
- ^ a b Owsinski 2006, p. 152.
- ^ a b Owsinski 2006, p. 153.
- ^ Owsinski 2006, p. 31–32.
- ^ Owsinski 2006, p. 52.
- ^ Owsinski 2006, p. 63.
- ^ Barker & Edwards 2015, p. 170.
- ^ a b Barker & Edwards 2015, p. 123.
- ^ Owsinski 2006, p. xviii.
- ^ Hughes, Hilary (April 29, 2016). "Blink-182 Q&A: Why Their New 'California' Album 'Feels Like Home'". Fuse.com. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
- ^ Common Ground (booklet). Everette Harp. Blue Note Contemporary. 1993. 7 89297 2.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
Sources
- Owsinski, Bobby (2006). The Mixing Engineer's Handbook (2nd ed.). Thomson Course Technology. ISBN 1-59863-251-5.
- Barker, Travis; Edwards, Gavin (2015). Can I Say: Living Large, Cheating Death, and Drums, Drums, Drums. William Morrow. ISBN 978-0-06-231942-5.
- Hoppus, Anne (2001). Blink-182: Tales from Beneath Your Mom. ISBN 0-7434-2207-4.
External links
- Jerry Finn – Credits at AllMusic
- Jerry Finn discography at Discogs