One of my good friends, Dave Bechtel, is a music producer in Nashville, TN. He’s been working in Nashville for about ten years now and has produced nearly 150 albums. Dave and I grew up together in Columbus, OH and have known each other since kindergarten. He and his family have had a huge influence on me musically and otherwise. In particular, Dave’s dad, Bob Bechtel, was my middle school and high school band teacher. Bob reached out and encouraged me as a young musician. In addition, throughout the years, Dave and I have worked on several music projects together, and I owe much of my recording knowledge to him. I feel honored to have Dave as my first interviewee.
How did your interest in music begin?
“My interest in music began simply by being born into a family that had a great deal of involvement in music. My mother actually went into labor while playing the organ at the church Christmas Eve musical that my dad was directing. My father was the oldest of six children all of whom were school band or choir directors at some point. The whole music thing has just been an everyday part of my life as long as I can remember.”
Who has been the biggest inspiration to you musically?
“By far my biggest inspiration in music would be my dad. He had a collection of thousands of LPs and then later CDs. I was exposed to an extremely large variety of music on a daily basis in our home.”
Describe your work as a producer. What exactly do you do?
“What exactly do I do as a producer? That's the second most asked question I get asked from people when talking about work (the first being "What famous people have you worked with"?). It really varies from day to day. Some days are filled with nothing but phone calls, emails and text messages trying to juggle schedules and come up with a plan that accommodates all the various talent that is involved in making a record. Other days, I'll have my nose buried in a computer monitor preparing for a recording session or editing the recordings that we have made. Occasionally, I help an artist with their song writing. Everyday seems to present a different challenge that requires a broad skill set. The whole "jack of all trades, master of none" could certainly apply to me.”
What do you enjoy the most about producing artists?
“Probably the most rewarding aspect about working with an artist is to bring his/her vision and frankly, his/her dreams to life. There is nothing better in my work life than seeing an artist cry when playing back a recording in the control room.”
What inspires you musically?
“I really have very little appreciation for music that doesn't create an emotional impact when I'm listening to it. I absolutely cannot stand "background music." I would MUCH rather listen to the beautiful sound of silence than listen to a homogenized, uninspired noise that is designed and created to blend into the background. A song doesn't have to be "BIG" to create a meaningful emotional reaction...sometimes it's the simplicity that is the driving force behind the song.”
Describe your creative process. What are some of the key stages you go through while producing an album for an artist?
“Every project is different so there are different approaches for each project. Some projects require an extensive amount of planning and preparation to execute — songs to be selected, charts to write, orchestrations to be arranged, players to be scheduled, studios to be booked…the list goes on…and of course there are other projects where I have folks call up and say "I'm coming up to Nashville in three weeks. Get the crew together…we're going to cut six songs" and the first time I will hear the songs is when the artist shows up at the studio. Overall, I'd say that planning stage of making a record might seem like something that is very "un-creative" but, it's with the structure and parameters that are installed that make the creative process really flourish. Boundaries are actually are very good thing in the creative world as it allows an artist to focus their energies on a vision and task and then execute it. That's one of the main things that I try to help with.”
What are some of the biggest lessons you’ve learned working as a producer?
“I think the biggest lesson I've learned in working with artists is learning how to listen to them. It's critical that I work on achieving their vision for the project and not mine. If there are creative choices I'm making that don't fit into what the artist has in mind, I need to step back and be able to put my pride aside and work harder to capture the artist’s vision or gently explain why some of the choices I am making could perhaps be in the best interest of the artist and their project.”
What are some of the challenges you've faced as a producer?
“Budgets.”
In your opinion, what is the difference between a good album and a great album?
“I really think it comes down to the songs. A great song can overcome a poor recording or an uninspiring mix.”
What do you think makes an album over-produced?
“I don’t think there is such a thing as an "over-produced" project. However, I believe that an album can be poorly produced and sometimes, such a project can be mislabeled as an “over-produced” album. A song isn’t necessarily “over produced” if there are a lot of elements in the mix. However, a song is poorly produced if layers and layers of sounds are stacked on top of each other simply because a person cannot make a decision about which elements are critical to the song.”
What projects are you currently working on?
“By the time this interview is read, I'm sure I'll have a completely different set of projects I'll be working on but right now...I just finished up a Country pop EP, am mixing a Christian pop rock album and will be finishing the mixes on a traditional Irish folk album and I have lots of preparations to be made for a large scale Christmas project.”
How does your faith impact what you do as producer?
“My faith is or at least should be intertwined with everything that I do. There are times when I work with artists that have opposing world views and different moral standards and it's not really my place to tell them how I think they are wrong about any given hot topic issue but rather to be salt and light and let the love of Christ shine through. There can be a lot of shady folks in the music business and I'm grateful for parents and mentors that drilled into me the importance of living out my faith and standing by my convictions.”
To learn more about Dave Bechtel and his work, visit his web site at www.davebechtel.com
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