Darryl Neudorf
Encyclopedia
Darryl Neudorf is a Canadian
musician
, record producer
and audio engineer.
He was the drummer for 54-40
from 1982–1986. He is best known during this time for co-writing the hit song "I Go Blind", a Canadian hit which was later covered
by U.S. rock group Hootie and the Blowfish.
He has also worked as a producer for a number of other recording artists, including Sarah McLachlin, Neko Case
, The New Pornographers
, Kevin Kane
, Kinnie Starr
, Twilight Circus Dub Sound System
, Dead Voices on Air
, Justin Rutledge
, Jim Bryson
, Jim Cuddy
, Bob Egan, The Sadies
, and Blue Rodeo
.
Neudorf continues to produce music at his residential recording studio
, located about an hour north of Toronto
, Ontario
. His studio is called Operation Northwoods and is located in The Hills of Headwaters.
, British Columbia
, where his parents bought him a drum kit
for Christmas when he was ten years old.
Throughout his teens Neudorf picked fruit in orchard
s, worked at The Pop Shop, skateboard
ed around Kelowna and formed the band
Empty Set with his sister Adele Neudorf, Kevin Kane
and Jon Brotherton.
as their drummer
. They recorded two albums, toured extensively in North America
and at the time of his departure, 54-40 had signed a deal with Warner/Reprise. The songs that Neudorf performed, co-composed and produced with 54-40 helped to catapult their career, achieving gold and platinum status
in Canada. In 1986, after four years in the band, Neudorf left 54-40 to pursue a career in music production.
. This recording, the album Touch
, resulted in garnering the interest of Arista Records
. She signed a multi-album contract with them and two of the songs that Neudorf worked on with her became commercial hits in Canada
. In 1991, Neudorf was invited back to work with McLachlan on her second album, Solace
.
In 1993, he filed a lawsuit against McLachlan and her label, Nettwerk
, alleging that he had made a significant and uncredited contribution to the songwriting on Touch, and alleging that he wasn't paid properly for work done on Solace. The judge in this suit eventually ruled in McLachlan's favour on the songs; though Neudorf may have contributed to the songwriting, neither regarded each other as joint authors. The judge ruled in Neudorf's favour on the payment issue.
, Darryl Neudorf and Tracy Pillsworth met with Tom Anselmi of the band Copyright
. The three met on the top floor of a building that was built in 1948 through Jim Carrico who had found the Hastings Street
space for lease. An artists' co-operative was about to burgeon and become home to a group of people generating dozens of CDs and vinyl representing Vancouvers' eclectic
underground. Neudorf and Pillsworth lent Anselmi their recording equipment to record what was to become Copyright's second CD, Love Story. The building of a recording studio
that was soundproofed
and secure followed. The studio was named after the arched words painted in gold on the front of the buildings' black and green tiled facade
; Miller Block was born.
Throughout the 1990s, Neudorf designed, managed, owned and operated Miller Block with Tracy Pillsworth (aka Sugarpill), where he did much of his recording and production. This work resulted in scores of releases in a wide variety of genres from underground rock to roots rock
to country
to avant-garde
electronica
. Among others, this list includes cub
, Duotang, Neko Case
, Kinnie Starr
, Herald Nix, The New Pornographers
, Superconductor, Kevin Kane
, I Am Spoonbender
, Twilight Circus Dub Sound System
, Faust
and Dead Voices on Air
. The merging of equipment, space and trust surrounding Miller Block resulted in a creative studio environment that flourished for six years, until the Fall of 2000.
singer Neko Case.
for, a new audio production school located in downtown Toronto called The Audio Recording Academy. Neudorf remained head teacher until 2008 when during an indefinite leave, producer / engineer Damon de Szegheo took over head instructor duties.
-styled location to set up a recording studio, Darryl Neudorf and Tracy Pillsworth found a creative retreat.
The studio is called Operation Northwoods Recording Services where musicians have produced recordings with Neudorf at the helm
, with him either producing, mixing
, engineering
, drum
ming and mastering. Among others, these musicians include The Sadies
, Jim Cuddy
, Justin Rutledge
, Bob Egan, The Mohawk Lodge
, Jim Bryson
and Neko Case
.
Neudorf continues to produce music amidst the Oak Ridges Moraine
, along the shores of one of South-central Ontario's kettle lakes, just north of Toronto, Ontario.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
, record producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
and audio engineer.
He was the drummer for 54-40
54-40
54•40 is a Canadian alternative rock group from Tsawwassen, British Columbia.The band takes their name from the slogan "Fifty-Four Forty or Fight!", coined to express the expansionist agenda of James K...
from 1982–1986. He is best known during this time for co-writing the hit song "I Go Blind", a Canadian hit which was later covered
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
by U.S. rock group Hootie and the Blowfish.
He has also worked as a producer for a number of other recording artists, including Sarah McLachlin, Neko Case
Neko Case
Neko Case is an American singer-songwriter, best known for her solo career and her contributions as a member of the Canadian indie rock group The New Pornographers....
, The New Pornographers
The New Pornographers
The New Pornographers is a Canadian indie rock band formed in 1997 in Vancouver, British Columbia.-History:The band's first four albums each ranked in the top 40 on The Village Voices Pazz & Jop year-end poll of hundreds of music reviewers. From 2000 to 2006, either a New Pornographers' album or a...
, Kevin Kane
Kevin Kane
Not to be confused with the drummer for the band Bad City.Kevin Kane is a Canadian songwriter, musician, and record producer.He was a founding member of The Grapes of Wrath in 1983, but was ejected from that band in 1992...
, Kinnie Starr
Kinnie Starr
Alida Kinnie Starr Pierre is a Canadian singer-songwriter from Calgary, Alberta. Her music, which blends hip hop and alternative rock, has been described as "hip hop aggro groove". Her songs have been included on the soundtracks for the TV series The L Word and the movie Thirteen...
, Twilight Circus Dub Sound System
Twilight Circus Dub Sound System
The Twilight Circus Dub Sound System is the reggae project of Ryan Moore, former bassist of the Legendary Pink Dots. Twilight Circus is becoming increasingly popular and well-known for Moore's work with artists such as Big Youth, Michael Rose of Black Uhuru and Ranking Joe...
, Dead Voices on Air
Dead Voices on Air
Dead Voices on Air is Mark Spybey's Experimental and Industrial project formed after his departure from Zoviet France. Many people classify a large portion of his works as Ambient, but Spybey insists his music is not ambient music of any sort and calls it "music for the eyes"...
, Justin Rutledge
Justin Rutledge
Justin Rutledge is a Toronto-based alt-country singer-songwriter signed to Six Shooter Records.Rutledge's musical style is often compared to that of American alt-country singer Ryan Adams. His influences, both of the literary and music world, include Leonard Cohen, Hank Williams, Richard Brautigan...
, Jim Bryson
Jim Bryson
Jim Bryson is a Canadian singer-songwriter. Briefly a founding member of the band Punchbuggy, he moved to a musical life under his own name with the release of his debut album, The Occasionals, in 2000....
, Jim Cuddy
Jim Cuddy
Jim Cuddy is a Canadian singer-songwriter primarily associated with the band Blue Rodeo. He has also recorded three solo albums with the Jim Cuddy Band, which features musicians Bazil Donovan, Colin Cripps, Joel Anderson, Anne Lindsay and Gavin Brown...
, Bob Egan, The Sadies
The Sadies
The Sadies are a Canadian indie rock and alternative country band from Toronto, Ontario.-Background:The band consists of Dallas Good , Travis Good, Sean Dean and Mike Belitsky...
, and Blue Rodeo
Blue Rodeo
Blue Rodeo is a Canadian pop and country rock band, which was formed in 1984 in Toronto, Ontario. They have been signed with Warner Music Group since their debut album Outskirts in March 1987...
.
Neudorf continues to produce music at his residential recording studio
Recording studio
A recording studio is a facility for sound recording and mixing. Ideally both the recording and monitoring spaces are specially designed by an acoustician to achieve optimum acoustic properties...
, located about an hour north of Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
. His studio is called Operation Northwoods and is located in The Hills of Headwaters.
Early life
Darryl Neudorf grew up in the Okanagan Valley in KelownaKelowna
Kelowna is a city on Okanagan Lake in the Okanagan Valley, in the southern interior of British Columbia, Canada. Its name derives from a Okanagan language term for "grizzly bear"...
, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, where his parents bought him a drum kit
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
for Christmas when he was ten years old.
Throughout his teens Neudorf picked fruit in orchard
Orchard
An orchard is an intentional planting of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit or nut-producing trees which are grown for commercial production. Orchards are also sometimes a feature of large gardens, where they serve an aesthetic as well as a productive...
s, worked at The Pop Shop, skateboard
Skateboard
A skateboard is typically a specially designed plywood board combined with a polyurethane coating used for making smoother slides and stronger durability, used primarily for the activity of skateboarding. The first skateboards to reach public notice came out of the surfing craze of the early 1960s,...
ed around Kelowna and formed the band
Band (music)
In music, a musical ensemble or band is a group of musicians that works together to perform music. The following articles concern types of musical bands:* All-female band* Big band* Boy band* Christian band* Church band* Concert band* Cover band...
Empty Set with his sister Adele Neudorf, Kevin Kane
Kevin Kane
Not to be confused with the drummer for the band Bad City.Kevin Kane is a Canadian songwriter, musician, and record producer.He was a founding member of The Grapes of Wrath in 1983, but was ejected from that band in 1992...
and Jon Brotherton.
54-40
At eighteen Darryl Neudorf joined the band 54-4054-40
54•40 is a Canadian alternative rock group from Tsawwassen, British Columbia.The band takes their name from the slogan "Fifty-Four Forty or Fight!", coined to express the expansionist agenda of James K...
as their drummer
Drummer
A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...
. They recorded two albums, toured extensively in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
and at the time of his departure, 54-40 had signed a deal with Warner/Reprise. The songs that Neudorf performed, co-composed and produced with 54-40 helped to catapult their career, achieving gold and platinum status
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
in Canada. In 1986, after four years in the band, Neudorf left 54-40 to pursue a career in music production.
Recording work
In 1987, Darryl Neudorf was asked to work on a project for Nettwerk Productions involving a newly signed artist in their repertoire named Sarah McLachlanSarah McLachlan
Sarah Ann McLachlan, OC, OBC is a Canadian musician, singer and songwriter. Known for her emotional ballads and mezzo-soprano vocal range, as of 2006, she has sold over 40 million albums worldwide. McLachlan's best-selling album to date is Surfacing, for which she won two Grammy Awards and four...
. This recording, the album Touch
Touch (Sarah McLachlan album)
Touch is the debut album by Canadian singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan which was released in 1988 and then re-released in 1989.The album was originally released in 1988 by Nettwerk...
, resulted in garnering the interest of Arista Records
Arista Records
Arista was an American record label. It was a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment and operated under the RCA Music Group. The label was founded in 1974 by Clive Davis, who formerly worked for CBS Records...
. She signed a multi-album contract with them and two of the songs that Neudorf worked on with her became commercial hits in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. In 1991, Neudorf was invited back to work with McLachlan on her second album, Solace
Solace (Sarah McLachlan album)
* In Canada, "Wear Your Love Like Heaven" appeared on Nettwerk's Donovan tribute album, Island of Circles. McLachlan fought hard to not have the song on her album but she eventually let Arista Records include it on the record...
.
In 1993, he filed a lawsuit against McLachlan and her label, Nettwerk
Nettwerk
The Nettwerk Music Group is the umbrella company for Nettwerk Management, Nettwerk Records, Nettwerk One Publishing, Nutone Records, and Artwerk. With over 150 employees, the Vancouver-based company has offices in New York, Los Angeles, London, Boston, Nashville, and Hamburg...
, alleging that he had made a significant and uncredited contribution to the songwriting on Touch, and alleging that he wasn't paid properly for work done on Solace. The judge in this suit eventually ruled in McLachlan's favour on the songs; though Neudorf may have contributed to the songwriting, neither regarded each other as joint authors. The judge ruled in Neudorf's favour on the payment issue.
Miller Block
Late one fall night in 1994, in Vancouvers' Downtown EastsideDowntown Eastside
The Downtown Eastside is one of the oldest neighbourhoods in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and is known as "Canada's poorest postal code"....
, Darryl Neudorf and Tracy Pillsworth met with Tom Anselmi of the band Copyright
Copyright (band)
Copyright was a Canadian alternative rock band, active in the 1990s. The band was launched by vocalist Thomas Anselmi and guitarist Christian Thorvaldson, former members of the short-lived and controversial punk rock band Slow, with new bassist Eric Marxsen and drummer Pete Bourne.Initially, the...
. The three met on the top floor of a building that was built in 1948 through Jim Carrico who had found the Hastings Street
Hastings Street (Vancouver)
Hastings Street is one of the most important east-west traffic corridors in the cities of Vancouver and Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada, and used to be a part of the decommissioned Highway 7A...
space for lease. An artists' co-operative was about to burgeon and become home to a group of people generating dozens of CDs and vinyl representing Vancouvers' eclectic
Eclecticism in art
Eclecticism is a kind of mixed style in the fine arts: "the borrowing of a variety of styles from different sources and combining them" . Significantly, Eclecticism hardly ever constituted a specific style in art: it is characterized by the fact that it was not a particular style...
underground. Neudorf and Pillsworth lent Anselmi their recording equipment to record what was to become Copyright's second CD, Love Story. The building of a recording studio
Recording studio
A recording studio is a facility for sound recording and mixing. Ideally both the recording and monitoring spaces are specially designed by an acoustician to achieve optimum acoustic properties...
that was soundproofed
Soundproofing
Soundproofing is any means of reducing the sound pressure with respect to a specified sound source and receptor. There are several basic approaches to reducing sound: increasing the distance between source and receiver, using noise barriers to reflect or absorb the energy of the sound waves, using...
and secure followed. The studio was named after the arched words painted in gold on the front of the buildings' black and green tiled facade
Facade
A facade or façade is generally one exterior side of a building, usually, but not always, the front. The word comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face"....
; Miller Block was born.
Throughout the 1990s, Neudorf designed, managed, owned and operated Miller Block with Tracy Pillsworth (aka Sugarpill), where he did much of his recording and production. This work resulted in scores of releases in a wide variety of genres from underground rock to roots rock
Roots rock
Roots rock is a term now used to describe rock music that looks back to rock's origins in folk, blues and country music. It is particularly associated with the creation of hybrid sub-genres from the later 1960s including country rock and Southern rock, which have been seen as responses to the...
to country
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
to avant-garde
Avant-garde
Avant-garde means "advance guard" or "vanguard". The adjective form is used in English to refer to people or works that are experimental or innovative, particularly with respect to art, culture, and politics....
electronica
Electronica
Electronica includes a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; however, unlike electronic dance music, it is not specifically made for dancing...
. Among others, this list includes cub
Cub
A cub is the young of certain large predatory animals such as bears, lions, wolves, and big cats; analogous to a domestic puppy or kittenCub may refer to:* Cub, a member of Cub Scouts* Cub player, a member of certain sports teams, e.g...
, Duotang, Neko Case
Neko Case
Neko Case is an American singer-songwriter, best known for her solo career and her contributions as a member of the Canadian indie rock group The New Pornographers....
, Kinnie Starr
Kinnie Starr
Alida Kinnie Starr Pierre is a Canadian singer-songwriter from Calgary, Alberta. Her music, which blends hip hop and alternative rock, has been described as "hip hop aggro groove". Her songs have been included on the soundtracks for the TV series The L Word and the movie Thirteen...
, Herald Nix, The New Pornographers
The New Pornographers
The New Pornographers is a Canadian indie rock band formed in 1997 in Vancouver, British Columbia.-History:The band's first four albums each ranked in the top 40 on The Village Voices Pazz & Jop year-end poll of hundreds of music reviewers. From 2000 to 2006, either a New Pornographers' album or a...
, Superconductor, Kevin Kane
Kevin Kane
Not to be confused with the drummer for the band Bad City.Kevin Kane is a Canadian songwriter, musician, and record producer.He was a founding member of The Grapes of Wrath in 1983, but was ejected from that band in 1992...
, I Am Spoonbender
I Am Spoonbender
I Am Spoonbender is an American/Canadian multimedia group formed in San Francisco in early 1997 by composer/multi-instrumentalist/producer Dustin Donaldson, with Brian Jackson and cub guitarist Robynn Iwata I Am Spoonbender is an American/Canadian multimedia group formed in San Francisco in early...
, Twilight Circus Dub Sound System
Twilight Circus Dub Sound System
The Twilight Circus Dub Sound System is the reggae project of Ryan Moore, former bassist of the Legendary Pink Dots. Twilight Circus is becoming increasingly popular and well-known for Moore's work with artists such as Big Youth, Michael Rose of Black Uhuru and Ranking Joe...
, Faust
Faust (band)
Faust are a German krautrock band. Formed in 1971 in Wümme, the group was originally composed of Werner "Zappi" Diermaier, Hans Joachim Irmler, Arnulf Meifert, Jean-Hervé Péron, Rudolf Sosna and Gunther Wüsthoff, working with record producer Uwe Nettelbeck and engineer Kurt Graupner.-History:Faust...
and Dead Voices on Air
Dead Voices on Air
Dead Voices on Air is Mark Spybey's Experimental and Industrial project formed after his departure from Zoviet France. Many people classify a large portion of his works as Ambient, but Spybey insists his music is not ambient music of any sort and calls it "music for the eyes"...
. The merging of equipment, space and trust surrounding Miller Block resulted in a creative studio environment that flourished for six years, until the Fall of 2000.
The move East
In 2001, Darryl Neudorf, Tracy Pillsworth and the boxed up studio moved to Toronto, Ontario. Once in Toronto, Neudorf continued to produce and engineer successful recordings, among others, AmericanaAmericana (music)
Americana is an amalgam of roots musics formed by the confluence of the shared and varied traditions that make up the American musical ethos; specifically those sounds that are merged from folk, country, blues, rhythm and blues, rock and roll and other external influential styles...
singer Neko Case.
The Audio Recording Academy
During 2002 Darryl Neudorf was asked by Shannon Murray to become the head instructor at, and design the curriculumCurriculum
See also Syllabus.In formal education, a curriculum is the set of courses, and their content, offered at a school or university. As an idea, curriculum stems from the Latin word for race course, referring to the course of deeds and experiences through which children grow to become mature adults...
for, a new audio production school located in downtown Toronto called The Audio Recording Academy. Neudorf remained head teacher until 2008 when during an indefinite leave, producer / engineer Damon de Szegheo took over head instructor duties.
Operation Northwoods Recording Services
In November, 2004, after looking for a resortResort
A resort is a place used for relaxation or recreation, attracting visitors for holidays or vacations. Resorts are places, towns or sometimes commercial establishment operated by a single company....
-styled location to set up a recording studio, Darryl Neudorf and Tracy Pillsworth found a creative retreat.
The studio is called Operation Northwoods Recording Services where musicians have produced recordings with Neudorf at the helm
Leadership
Leadership has been described as the “process of social influence in which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task". Other in-depth definitions of leadership have also emerged.-Theories:...
, with him either producing, mixing
Audio mixing (recorded music)
In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may...
, engineering
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
, drum
Drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
ming and mastering. Among others, these musicians include The Sadies
The Sadies
The Sadies are a Canadian indie rock and alternative country band from Toronto, Ontario.-Background:The band consists of Dallas Good , Travis Good, Sean Dean and Mike Belitsky...
, Jim Cuddy
Jim Cuddy
Jim Cuddy is a Canadian singer-songwriter primarily associated with the band Blue Rodeo. He has also recorded three solo albums with the Jim Cuddy Band, which features musicians Bazil Donovan, Colin Cripps, Joel Anderson, Anne Lindsay and Gavin Brown...
, Justin Rutledge
Justin Rutledge
Justin Rutledge is a Toronto-based alt-country singer-songwriter signed to Six Shooter Records.Rutledge's musical style is often compared to that of American alt-country singer Ryan Adams. His influences, both of the literary and music world, include Leonard Cohen, Hank Williams, Richard Brautigan...
, Bob Egan, The Mohawk Lodge
The Mohawk Lodge
The Mohawk Lodge is a Canadian indie rock group, fronted by singer and songwriter Ryder Havdale, who tours with different collaborators and guests....
, Jim Bryson
Jim Bryson
Jim Bryson is a Canadian singer-songwriter. Briefly a founding member of the band Punchbuggy, he moved to a musical life under his own name with the release of his debut album, The Occasionals, in 2000....
and Neko Case
Neko Case
Neko Case is an American singer-songwriter, best known for her solo career and her contributions as a member of the Canadian indie rock group The New Pornographers....
.
Neudorf continues to produce music amidst the Oak Ridges Moraine
Oak Ridges Moraine
The Oak Ridges Moraine is an ecologically important geological landform in the Mixedwood Plains of south-central Ontario, Canada. The moraine covers a geographic area of between Caledon and Rice Lake, near Peterborough...
, along the shores of one of South-central Ontario's kettle lakes, just north of Toronto, Ontario.
External links
- Darryl Neudorf official website