Former Beardenite Nick Raskulinecz earns recognition as a big-time record producer
by Mike Gibson
Few would have guessed that Nick Raskulinecz's first job in Knoxville—as a cook at what's now Chez Guevara Mexican restaurant some 15 years ago—was but shrewd preparation for his first job in Los Angeles, as an assistant at the storied Sound City recording studio.
"At Sound City, I fixed a lot of meals, kept the coffee fresh; I've cooked out for Tom Petty, John Fogerty, Carl Perkins," says Raskulinecz in a recent phone interview. Now an L.A.-based record producer and engineer, the former Knoxvillian recently won a Grammy for his work on the latest Foo Fighters release One By One.
"Everyone likes to eat. I'd cook barbecue, then I'd sit in on sessions and just hang out, get to know everyone. That was an important step for me, because learning to be a great engineer or producer is only half of it. The other half is hanging out, being comfortable with people."
A graduate of Bearden High School, Raskulinecz was once recognized hereabouts as the rangy bass player for popular Knoxville thrash-funk band Hypertribe—later renamed Movement—in the early 1990s. Even then, Raskulinecz earned recognition from local musicians for his eight-track home recording chops; some of his early recording work is preserved on seminal singles from Knoxville indie-pop survivors Superdrag.
When members of the four-piece Movement decided to chase their dreams elsewhere in 1996, Raskulinecz moved West and landed a job at Sound City. The group eventually disbanded, but Raskulinecz stayed in the industry. Working his way up the studio hierarchy—a process that entailed often-brutal hours—he made enough connections and logged enough recording time to fly on his own, first as an engineer, then as a record producer.
Last month's Best Rock Performance Grammy marked the former Knoxvillian's biggest success to date. Foo Fighters' svengali Dave Grohl went so far as to give Raskulinecz effusive props on national television when he accepted the award from presenter Fred Durst of Limp Bizkit.
"When it came up and we won, I was like 'Holy Shit!'" Raskulinecz says. "I had tried not to be too excited beforehand. That's something I learned in my old band days, from when people would tell you something was going to happen, then it wouldn't happen."
Though Raskulinecz is an eminently capable engineer, his goal is to work exclusively as a record producer, a role that is both more prestigious and more artistically satisfying.
"The producer is responsible for the song—looking at the song-writing, melodies and arrangements," Raskulinecz explains. "He's the artist's 'objective' person. The engineer is responsible for the sounds, the recording. As a producer, you can't get overwhelmed by that technical part of it. "
It was as an engineer that Raskulinecz met Grohl, when he recorded a pair of Foo Fighters movie soundtrack contributions a few years back. The two were fast friends, and Raskulinecz later assisted the head Foo in producing the major label debut of Nirvana-esque Birmingham trio Verbena.
"I guess Dave liked what he heard, and he kept calling me," says Raskulinecz. "I didn't see him for a while, then we ran into each other in a parking lot. He said 'Hey dude, let's hang out.' Then he told me he was making a new record, and asked me if I'd like to produce."
Raskulinecz says his close friendship with Grohl has been but one of many highlights of his time in L.A. Though he's conversant now with any number of industry luminaries, he's still occasionally overtaken by moments of fan-boy awe, such as during his initial face-time with former Guns 'n' Roses bass player Duff McKagan, for whom he produced and engineered a solo release.
"Duff was a lot of fun," Raskulinecz says. "It was pretty amazing to be with him at his home, on his couch watching G'N'R videos on TV.
But working in the industry has been occasionally disillusioning for a guy who grew up playing in local bands and worshipping his rock idols; Raskulinecz learned that a few favorite artists didn't play on their own records, relying on studio musicians instead. And not every brush with celebrity has been pleasant. He recalls most notably a project that brought him in proximity with the aforementioned Fred Durst.
"Dealing with him was a nightmare; let's leave it at that," Raskulinecz says. "It's unfortunate he's influencing a generation of kids. It was pretty sweet that Fred had to present our Grammy."
Most of his experiences have been happily memorable, however, from his engineering on a handful of Heartbreakers tracks to his work with a hard-nosed but affable Glenn Danzig to his production of former Movement bandmate Mick Murphy's L.A. metal outfit My Ruin.
"Mick is out here slaying everyone with his guitar playing," Raskulinecz says of Murphy, who shared local stages with Raskulinecz in bands even before Hypertribe.
"It's nice to work with someone from back home. Knoxville has a little part in all of this. My family and friends are still there. I got my first eight-track recorder there. Winning the Grammy—it was for everyone back there, too."
March 20, 2003 * Vol. 13, No. 12
© 2003 Metro Pulse
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