By John Vidiadakis

Neil, let's start with the beginning of your career. How, in what age and when exactly did you first get involved with the whole matter of productions, and which were the main reasons for this choice? 

I come from a musical family. Both my parents played music, so I've been around it all my life. I started playing at age 4. When I left school at 17 I looked for a job in the music biz. I started in music publishing at Essex Music in London, but after a short time I realised I wasn't really hearing music much, so I happened to talk to a couple of well-known producers who had an office at Essex, and they both advised me to apply for a job at a recording studio. They told me the one they recommended most, and that night I wrote a letter to Trident Studios. Luck was on my side,
because after a series of interviews lasting a couple of months, I got a job as teaboy. Three of us started the same day, and we were chosen out of 3500 applicants, so we were very fortunate. So, that got my foot in the door, and from there (over the next 3-4 years) I was slowly promoted to tape operator, assistant engineer and engineer. My only motivation was to "be around" music, and so this was a great environment to hear all sorts of great artists making albums and singles. 

Which were the first groups and artists you ever helped on the production, and what memories do you have from these early years? 

At Trident I was fortunate to be able to work with David Bowie, Elton John, Queen, Mahavishnu Orchestra and many others (I include a copy of my bio with this email) . As Trident was the #1 studio in the world at that time (as luck would have it) the quality of clientele was very high, and many high-profile artists came through there. One of the fun moments was working on "Bennie and the Jets" by Elton John, doing handclaps to make it sound like it was recorded "live". I was one of 4 people doing this, and we recorded several tracks of claps, and on the last track the producer (Gus Dudgeon) asked if anyone could whistle to make it sound like a whistle from the audience. I was the only one, so I did a few towards the end of the song. So the whistles on that song were by yours truly...it was fun at the time of course :-) 

In 1986 "Rage for order" is released, and a new metal movement begins to unfold. What do you now think on this album, and how did you manage to create such a unique, futuristic and sensational sound for Queensyche? 

I really liked "The Warning" by Queensryche, and when I heard they were looking for a producer I immediately approached them to let them know I was interested. They had never heard of me, but after the saw my resume, and that I had worked on a wide variety of music, from pop to jazz/fusion to metal, they agreed to meet me. We got along very well and had a great time making the album. We decided at the beginning of rehearsals to make as hi-tech an album as possible. I was already using a Macintosh computer for my work and we used this to generate sequence tracks and add samples to the band's music. There was a loosely based concept for the album, and we structured things so the tracks would flow smoothly from song to song with few gaps, thus pulling the listener into the album. For a long time this album was my favourite production. I have always loved listening to albums that are full of "ear candy" and things that don't catch your attention till after several listens, and RFO has loads of stuff flying around all over the place, so there's lots to hear. At the time, this album had a lot of critics, particularly the traditional "metalheads" most of whom thought the keyboards and electronics were too much or unnecessary. My personal belief was that this album was a bold statement. We all wanted to make a hi-tech album, and I think we did. While it's nowhere near as hi-tech as a lot of today's music, it still hold up pretty well. I have long been a huge fan of industrial and programmed music, so for me the step is a natural one. 

You are also responsible for the sound on all Nevermore releases. What do you think on their music and what are your impressions from this co-operation? Will you be the producer for them again in the future? 

Well, I hope I'll be asked to continue to work with the Nevermore lads again. They are all very good friends of mine, from the days I used to live in Seattle. I produced and recorded the demos that got them their deal with Century Media and we've been involved since then. I am a big fan of the band and I think the albums have just got better and better. 

On which upcoming releases are you working by the time? Which are the plans you have for the future? 

I've been quite busy this year. I did an album with a Norwegian band called Spiral Architect which will come out next year on Sensory. They are a very technical metal band. I did the new album by Death SS, also due to come out next year. I did a new album for N17, one of my heavy industrial bands for Slipdisc Records. This came out in September. I also did the new album by Chicago metal band Macabre which is a 26 song concept album based on the life of Jeffrey Dahmer, the serial killer. It's a factual account of his life and eventual death in prison. Quite an achievement I think. Currently I am working in Italy with a band called Labyrinth on their next album. This will also come out early next year. 

Now, some questions on your way of working. Do you prefer to co-operate with artists that have strong opinions and demands on the final result, or is it more pleasant to you to have more freedom on customizing the sound? 
First of all I only get involved with music I really like. I get many offers that I turn down for the reason that I simply don't like it enough. The criteria for me to be interested is if I get chills or goosebumps when I hear the demos etc. At that point I am very interested in collaborating on a project. If I get a bad feeling after speaking with or meeting an artist, I probably wouldn't continue to be interested, as it's very important that you see eye-to-eye while working together. That way you share the same end vision, and can make a focused album. I see the role of producer as someone who can act in several roles in the studio. First of all to be a catalyst, to contribute ideas, sonically and musically, to act as a facilitator..helping create a productive environment for the artist to create within, and also as psychologist..to understand any band conflicts/personality clashes etcetc. There are many facets to the job, all of which are intertwined. I also do my own engineering, so it all keeps me busy. 
Have you ever experienced any serious conflicts and communication problems  with any artist? Have you ever faced the situation of having to co-operate with egocentric and difficult personalities? 

There have been a couple in my years of production, but only one or two. I've worked with many bands who had big differences of opinion or personality conflicts within the band, such as Queen  and Dokken. These differences can certainly affect the smooth running of the project, but you can usually sort it out, at least enough to continue with the album. I've had several occasions, as many producers do, where a musician is simply not practised or good enough to appear on the album. This can be a very difficult position to be put into, but a producer is hired by the label to make the best possible album within the budget available, so anything that slows things down or brings them to a halt is something you have to deal with. It would be wonderful if all musicians could be equally
dedicated to their craft, but sadly this is not always the case. In this business you do come in contact with strong egos, but in a biz that relies on survival, this is to be expected I think. In most cases there is a way to understand the people you are working with, find out what makes them tick, and what their needs are to make the best possible record. 

Which atmosphere do you prefer while working? Do you accept a cool and relaxed way of working, or do you try to keep everybody concentrated at his work? 

I like to work efficiently, and like to keep the atmosphere light and productive. Humour is very important. It's difficult to do your best work if you're not having a good time, so I always try to keep things flowing along. Concentration and dedication to your work is very important in my opinion, and I'm known as a bit of a whipcracker, but hard work never hurt anyone, and there's usually lots to do, so focus is very important. 

What's your opinion when a group tries to access a more commercial sound? Do you give the freedom to do it or you try instead to give a more original quality to the final result?

I think it can be a mistake to "try" to do anything in music that simply "feels" wrong. I've always been a believer in integrity, that is why I only work on projects I'm genuinely excited about. For a group to try to do something simply to "sell out" can be a risky move. If it works, you usually lose your old diehard fans...if it fails, you have to convince your fans you didn't really want to sell out in the first place. My advice is to always follow your heart and do the right thing. 

What are your favorite styles and groups in music? Have you ever worked for a group that you disliked? 

I like to listen to many different styles of music. I am a big fan of technical music, fusion, jazz, a lot of industrial, ambient etc. I like really strange things, like Mr Bungle, Mike Patton, John Zorn..Bill Laswell, Scorn..weird and interesting stuff. My favourite heavy band is definitely Meshuggah, although I was a bit disappointed by their last album. 

Which is the most exciting experience for you after all these years in the seat of the producer, and which co-operations with artists do you consider as the best ones? Also, which are the worst and the funniest memories of your carrer? 

I've been very lucky to have had a huge number of great experiences. I've worked on over 200 albums, and out of those only had maybe 2 or 3 bad experiences, which is hardly any. Several of my favourite albums were "Rage For Order", "Cuatro" by Flotsam and Jetsam, "Shadow Of Doubt" by Skrew. I was working in prepro with a band called Hericane Alice in '91 when we got a call to say the band had been dropped by the label that day, along with another 90 artists. That was a pretty bad day for everyone. I was working in Holland on the day John Lennon was shot, which completely ruined all chances for any productive work to be done. I was working with the band JKayak at the time. As far as funny moments, there have been so many...on every album really funny things happen, but most of these are really only funny if you are in the situation of course. It's hard to re-tell the story that was hilarious at the time, but doesn't really seem that funny years later. One of these was during RFO, when we were driving back to Seattle after recording in Vancouver, BC. We were in a convoy, and I was in the last car with Geoff Tate driving. The first car got waved through at the border and drove on, then Chris De Garmo, who was driving his Judge, was motioned to pull over to be searched, but he mistook the wave as to be waved through, so he put his foot down and the cop started to chase him..however, he was going much too fast. So the cop immediately spun round and walked towards me and Geoff, holding his hands out, telling us to not move. He waved us over and the guards immediately searched the car for hours. It was pretty scary at the time, but funny later of course, once we tracked Chris down and told him he might have a warrent out for his arrest following this.