Mike Mettler

The S&V Interview
Slide Maestro Sonny Landreth Is Right at Home, Live in Lafayette
Mike Mettler  |  Jul 05, 2017
Sonny Landreth is the consummate slide player’s slide player. His smoky, swampy, down-home, Nawlins-certified slide playing carries such a unique blend of influences and originality that the phrase “slydeco” was coined just to describe it. I got on the horn with Landreth to discuss his SQ aspirations for the double LP Recorded Live in Lafayette, respecting and building on music history, and how learning to play wind instruments influenced his guitar style.
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Reference TracksThe S&V Interview
John Mellencamp Explores His American Roots With Sad Clowns & Hillbillies
Mike Mettler  |  Jun 14, 2017
John Mellencamp has never been known to pull his punches. “I saw through the music business very early, with the ‘Johnny Cougar’ thing,” he says, referring to the cringeworthy stage name given to him by a former manager in the 1970s. “I had the reputation of being very difficult—but I’m not, really. I’m just doing what most guys don’t do, which is stand up for yourself.”
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Music Reviews
Paul McCartney: Flowers in the Dirt Super Deluxe Edition
Mike Mettler  |  Jun 07, 2017
Performance
Sound
Paul McCartney was on quite the rollercoaster ride as an artist in the 1980s. He started the decade strong with the mostly one-man effort McCartney II and its on-the-mark hits like the pure pop perfection of “Coming Up” and the still influential electronica of “Temporary Secretary.” (I can also confirm firsthand that the latter track has been an early-set highlight of Sir Paul’s recent 2015-16 Out There! and One on One tour outings.)
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The S&V Interview
Giles Martin & Little Steven on 50 Years of The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper
Mike Mettler  |  Jun 01, 2017
It was 50 years ago today that. . . well, you, of course, know the rest, don’t you? For on this storied day of June 1, 1967, The Beatles transformed the album format into an artform virtually overnight when they released the long-anticipated Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. To get a relatively balanced perspective on Sgt. Pepper at age 50, I spoke with both producer Giles Martin and Little Steven Van Zandt about the album's impact on both sides of the Pond.
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The S&V Interview
Richie Kotzen Seeds His Songwriting Future on Salting Earth
Mike Mettler  |  May 18, 2017
Richie Kotzen is a human dynamo. The prolific triple-threat songwriter/guitarist/vocalist has just released his, yes, 21st solo album, Salting Earth, on his own custom label, Headroom-Inc., but he doesn’t view that somewhat stunning stat as any kind of milestone. “I started making records when I was 18 [circa 1988], so it all makes sense to me. I’m persistent and consistent.” I got on the horn with Kotzen, 47, to discuss how microphones and preamp choices are critical for getting the sounds you want in the studio, why compression is a good thing, and his views on streaming.
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The S&V Interview
Director John Badham Reflects on 40 Years of Saturday Night Fever
Mike Mettler  |  May 04, 2017
“It’s just part of our audio culture,” believes Saturday Night Fever director John Badham, who supervised the 4K 1080p print restoration and English 5.1 Dolby TrueHD surround sound updates for the film's Director’s Cut, which was released by Paramount on Blu-ray on May 2 in celebration of the film’s imminent 40th anniversary. Badham, 77, called in from Southern California to discuss how to maintain a gritty look in 4K, matching song tempo to what was being filmed, and the song originally used during the infamous dance-contest rehearsal that had to be replaced at the literal last minute.
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The S&V Interview
Procol Harum Fuse Sonic Shades of Past & Present With Novum
Mike Mettler  |  Apr 19, 2017
Though “A Whiter Shade Pale” singlehandedly sealed their position in rock history 50 years ago this May, Procol Harum continued to make sonic waves from the late ’60s on into the ’70s. Fast-forward to the present day, where Procol Harum continues to shine brightly as evidenced by the sweet and salty sounds of Novum, out on April 21. I called I called PH vocalist/pianist Gary Brooker across the Pond to discuss the live approach to cutting Novum, the ongoing impact of “A Whiter Shade of Pale,” and why he still likes playing with orchestras.
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The S&V Interview
Mike + The Mechanics Reach New Sonic Heights With Let Me Fly
Mike Mettler  |  Apr 05, 2017
With Genesis essentially in the rearview mirror save for reissues and other archival material, Mike Rutherford, the consummate songwriter/guitarist/bassist, has focused his energies on ensuring Mike + The Mechanics remains a going concern. To that end, Rutherford and his Mechanics have collectively tinkered under the hood to engineer the quite-fine-indeed-sounding Let Me Fly (The End/BMG), out on April 7. Rutherford, 66, called in to discuss his approach to Fly, how he thinks you should listen to it, and why he no longer sings his own material.
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Music Reviews
Lou Reed: The RCA & Arista Album Collection
Mike Mettler  |  Mar 29, 2017
Performance
Sound
“Isn’t that amazing? I mean, there it actually is. I can’t believe it. I lived long enough to hear it right.” That’s Lou Reed, lifelong audiophile, commenting to his longtime friend and producer Hal Willner while listening to the in-studio playback of the remastered version of “I Wanna Be Black,” from his landmark 1978 album, Street Hassle.
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The S&V Interview
Chilly Gonzales & Jarvis Cocker Request Our Presence in Room 29
Mike Mettler  |  Mar 22, 2017
Chilly Gonzales (seated) and Jarvis Cocker. Courtesy of Deutsche Grammophon.

Let us now give praise to the power of the almighty song cycle that comprises Room 29, a decidedly thrilling 16-track treatise jointly concocted by vocalist/lyricist Jarvis Cocker (of Pulp fame) and composer/pianist Chilly Gonzales (Feist, Peaches, Daft Punk) in and around a baby grand piano located in the same-numbered room on the second floor of the famed Chateau Marmont Hotel on Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood. Gonzales called in from his room across the Pond to discuss the sonics of Room 29, his and Cocker’s “reverse” song-cycle writing process, and how (yes) Gilligan’s Island fits into the middle of it all.

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