R. Walt Vincent
Encyclopedia
R. Walt Vincent is a Los Angeles based record producer, recording engineer, composer, and multi instrumentalist known for his work with indie rock icons Pete Yorn
, Liz Phair
, and Tommy Keene
.
Grandson of recording pioneer George Robert Vincent
, founder of the Vincent Voice Library at Michigan State University, R. Walt Vincent studied piano and bass in his home town of Thousand Oaks, California before graduating from UCLA with a degree in music composition.
In 1999 Vincent produced and mixed Jonathan Elias
' The Prayer Cycle
for Sony records. A symphonic work featuring the London Chamber Orchestra and Choir, the album showcased the talents of a cast of vocal soloists including the late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Alanis Morissette
, Salif Keita
, James Taylor
, Perry Farrell
, Ofra Haza
, and Linda Ronstadt
.
Following The Prayer Cycle release, Vincent began collaborating with singer/songwriter Pete Yorn
, on recordings that would become Yorn's 2001 debut musicforthemorningafter
for Columbia Records
. The album, recorded in Vincent's Culver City studio with the assistance of veteran producer Brad Wood
, included the hit singles, "Life on a Chain
" and "Strange Condition
" earned RIAA gold status for sales in the US.
As musical director and bass player for Dirty Bird, the original incarnation of Yorn's touring band, Vincent appeared on The Tonight Show
with Jay Leno
, Late Night with Craig Kilborn
as well as concert stages and arenas throughout the United States.
Returning to the studio to produce Yorn's follow up release, Day I Forgot
, Vincent went on to produce successful albums for a wide variety of artists, including Liz Phair
, The Format
, SoulKid #1, House of Fools
, Kip Boardman, Gush, Crosstide, and Tommy Keene
. Vincent's latest production, Prayer Cycle II, the follow-up by Jonathan Elias
, again features a number of performers including Sting, Sinéad O'Connor
, Jonathan Davies
, and Serj Tankian
, among others, and was scheduled for release in the fall of 2009.
In addition to production, Vincent is credited as a musician performing a variety of instruments, including drums, bass, guitars, and keyboards, banjo, and harmonium. In addition to his own productions, he has performed on records for a number of other artists including James Blunt
, The Bangles
, Fastball
, and The Twilight Singers
. As a composer, his songs have been featured in films including Scary Movie 3
, Cry Wolf, and the Jim Carrey
comedy Me, Myself, and Irene. Vincent compositions can also be heard in a number of national TV spots and promotional campaigns including American Movie Channel, Lee Jeans, Carl's Jr.
, Budweiser
, and Evergreen Investments
.
Pete Yorn
Peter Joseph Yorn is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist who first gained international recognition after his debut record, Musicforthemorningafter, was released to critical acclaim in 2001.-Early history:Yorn's father is a dentist and his mother is a former concert pianist who worked as a...
, Liz Phair
Liz Phair
Phair's entry into the music industry began when she met guitarist Chris Brokaw, a member of the band Come. Brokaw and Phair moved to San Francisco together, and Phair tried to become an artist there...
, and Tommy Keene
Tommy Keene
Tommy Keene is an American singer-songwriter, best known for releasing critical acclaimed new wave/power pop songs in the 1980s. He has a longtime cult following among fans of the musical genre of power pop...
.
Grandson of recording pioneer George Robert Vincent
George Robert Vincent
George Robert Vincent was a pioneer in the field of sound recording and archiving.In 1912, he brought a wax cylinder recording device, which he had borrowed from his friend Charles Edison, to the home of former President Teddy Roosevelt, and convinced Roosevelt to speak into it...
, founder of the Vincent Voice Library at Michigan State University, R. Walt Vincent studied piano and bass in his home town of Thousand Oaks, California before graduating from UCLA with a degree in music composition.
In 1999 Vincent produced and mixed Jonathan Elias
Jonathan Elias
Jonathan Elias is a U.S. composer and record producer, known for his movie soundtracks, production for several pop and rock acts, and his award-winning advertising music including the PBS logo instrumental from October 1, 1984 to October 1, 1989....
' The Prayer Cycle
The Prayer Cycle
The Prayer Cycle is a choral/orchestral album by American film and television composer Jonathan Elias, and was released by Sony Classical Records in the United States on March 23, 1999.The project, recorded and mixed by co-producer R...
for Sony records. A symphonic work featuring the London Chamber Orchestra and Choir, the album showcased the talents of a cast of vocal soloists including the late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Alanis Morissette
Alanis Morissette
Alanis Nadine Morissette is a Canadian-American singer-songwriter, guitarist, record producer, and actress. She has won 16 Juno Awards and seven Grammy Awards, was nominated for two Golden Globe Awards and also shortlisted for an Academy Award nomination...
, Salif Keita
Salif Keita
Salif Keïta is an internationally recognized afro-pop singer-songwriter from Mali. He is unique not only because of his reputation as the Golden Voice of Africa, but because he has albinism and is a direct descendant of the founder of the Mali Empire, Sundiata Keita...
, James Taylor
James Taylor
James Vernon Taylor is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A five-time Grammy Award winner, Taylor was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2000....
, Perry Farrell
Perry Farrell
Perry Farrell is the frontman for the alternative rock band Jane's Addiction. Farrell created the touring festival Lollapalooza as a farewell tour for Jane's Addiction in 1991; it has since evolved into an annual destination festival. Farrell continues to produce Lollapalooza with partners William...
, Ofra Haza
Ofra Haza
Ofra Haza was an Israeli singer of Yemeni origin, an actress and international recording artist....
, and Linda Ronstadt
Linda Ronstadt
Linda Ronstadt is an American popular music recording artist. She has earned eleven Grammy Awards, two Academy of Country Music awards, an Emmy Award, an ALMA Award, numerous United States and internationally certified gold, platinum and multiplatinum albums, in addition to Tony Award and Golden...
.
Following The Prayer Cycle release, Vincent began collaborating with singer/songwriter Pete Yorn
Pete Yorn
Peter Joseph Yorn is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist who first gained international recognition after his debut record, Musicforthemorningafter, was released to critical acclaim in 2001.-Early history:Yorn's father is a dentist and his mother is a former concert pianist who worked as a...
, on recordings that would become Yorn's 2001 debut musicforthemorningafter
Musicforthemorningafter
Musicforthemorningafter is the critically acclaimed and commercially successful debut album by Pete Yorn, released on March 27, 2001 through Columbia Records...
for Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
. The album, recorded in Vincent's Culver City studio with the assistance of veteran producer Brad Wood
Brad Wood
Brad Wood is a record producer from Rockford, Illinois. He served as a drummer for the band Shrimp Boat. Brad records, mixes and produces records and is based in Los Angeles, California. He began his career in earnest in 1988 with the construction of Idful Music Corporation- a recording studio in...
, included the hit singles, "Life on a Chain
Life on a Chain
"Life on a Chain" is a single from the album Musicforthemorningafter by Pete Yorn.-Track listing:# "Life on a Chain" # "Knew Enough to Know Nothing at All"# "Dancing in the Dark" # "On Your Side" [Acoustic]...
" and "Strange Condition
Strange Condition
"Strange Condition" is a song by American musician Pete Yorn. Produced and recorded by R. Walt Vincent and Brad Wood, it appears on his first studio album Musicforthemorningafter. It also appears on Yorn's 2000 Sunset EP as well as on the soundtrack to the films Me, Myself & Irene, 40 Days and 40...
" earned RIAA gold status for sales in the US.
As musical director and bass player for Dirty Bird, the original incarnation of Yorn's touring band, Vincent appeared on The Tonight Show
The Tonight Show
The Tonight Show is an American late-night talk show that has aired on NBC since 1954. It is the longest currently running regularly scheduled entertainment program in the United States, and the third longest-running show on NBC, after Meet the Press and Today.The Tonight Show has been hosted by...
with Jay Leno
Jay Leno
James Douglas Muir "Jay" Leno is an American stand-up comedian and television host.From 1992 to 2009, Leno was the host of NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Beginning in September 2009, Leno started a primetime talk show, titled The Jay Leno Show, which aired weeknights at 10:00 p.m. ,...
, Late Night with Craig Kilborn
Craig Kilborn
Craig Kilborn is an American actor and talk show host. He was the original host of The Daily Show, a former anchor on ESPN's SportsCenter, and Tom Snyder's successor on CBS' The Late Late Show. On June 28, 2010, he launched The Kilborn File after a six-year absence from television...
as well as concert stages and arenas throughout the United States.
Returning to the studio to produce Yorn's follow up release, Day I Forgot
Day I Forgot
Day I Forgot is the second studio album by Pete Yorn, released on April 15, 2003. It contained the single "Come Back Home," and featured R.E.M...
, Vincent went on to produce successful albums for a wide variety of artists, including Liz Phair
Liz Phair
Phair's entry into the music industry began when she met guitarist Chris Brokaw, a member of the band Come. Brokaw and Phair moved to San Francisco together, and Phair tried to become an artist there...
, The Format
The Format
The Format was an American indie rock band formed by Arizona natives Nate Ruess and Sam Means. The band announced a hiatus on February 4, 2008. Their style can be considered a mixture of indie, alternative, punk and folk music, with elements of 1960s and 1970s pop music...
, SoulKid #1, House of Fools
House of Fools (band)
House of Fools is a rock band from Greensboro, North Carolina. Members include Josh King , David McLaughlin , Joel Kiser , Matt Bowers , Jordan Powers and Jack Foster .House of Fools formed in 2004, from a demo recording made by King and Bowers...
, Kip Boardman, Gush, Crosstide, and Tommy Keene
Tommy Keene
Tommy Keene is an American singer-songwriter, best known for releasing critical acclaimed new wave/power pop songs in the 1980s. He has a longtime cult following among fans of the musical genre of power pop...
. Vincent's latest production, Prayer Cycle II, the follow-up by Jonathan Elias
Jonathan Elias
Jonathan Elias is a U.S. composer and record producer, known for his movie soundtracks, production for several pop and rock acts, and his award-winning advertising music including the PBS logo instrumental from October 1, 1984 to October 1, 1989....
, again features a number of performers including Sting, Sinéad O'Connor
Sinéad O'Connor
Sinéad Marie Bernadette O'Connor is an Irish singer-songwriter. She rose to fame in the late 1980s with her debut album The Lion and the Cobra and achieved worldwide success in 1990 with a cover of the song "Nothing Compares 2 U"....
, Jonathan Davies
Jonathan Davies
Jonathan D. Davies MBE is a Welsh retired professional dual-code rugby footballer who represented his country in both rugby union and rugby league. A goal-kicking backline player in both codes, he played his club football in Wales, England and Australia...
, and Serj Tankian
Serj Tankian
Serj Tankian is a Lebanese-born Armenian-American singer–songwriter, composer, multi-instrumentalist, playwright, record producer, poet, and political activist...
, among others, and was scheduled for release in the fall of 2009.
In addition to production, Vincent is credited as a musician performing a variety of instruments, including drums, bass, guitars, and keyboards, banjo, and harmonium. In addition to his own productions, he has performed on records for a number of other artists including James Blunt
James Blunt
James Hillier Blount , better known by his stage name James Blunt, is an English singer-songwriter and musician, and former army officer, whose debut album, Back to Bedlam and single releases, including "You're Beautiful" and "Goodbye My Lover", brought him to fame in 2005...
, The Bangles
The Bangles
The Bangles are an American all-female band that originated in the early 1980s, scoring several hit singles during the decade.-Formation and early years :...
, Fastball
Fastball (band)
Fastball is an American rock band that formed in Austin, Texas in the 1990s. The band originally called themselves "Magneto U.S.A." but changed their name after signing with Hollywood Records....
, and The Twilight Singers
The Twilight Singers
The Twilight Singers is an American indie rock band. The group was initially formed as a side project of The Afghan Whigs leader Greg Dulli in 1997...
. As a composer, his songs have been featured in films including Scary Movie 3
Scary Movie 3
Scary Movie 3 is a 2003 American science fiction comedy film, which parodies the horror, sci-fi, and mystery genres, directed by David Zucker. It is the third film of the Scary Movie franchise, as well as the first to have no involvement from the Wayans family...
, Cry Wolf, and the Jim Carrey
Jim Carrey
James Eugene "Jim" Carrey is a Canadian-American actor and comedian. He has received two Golden Globe Awards and has also been nominated on four occasions. Carrey began comedy in 1979, performing at Yuk Yuk's in Toronto, Ontario...
comedy Me, Myself, and Irene. Vincent compositions can also be heard in a number of national TV spots and promotional campaigns including American Movie Channel, Lee Jeans, Carl's Jr.
Carl's Jr.
Carl's Jr. is an American fast-food restaurant chain located mostly in the Western and Southwestern United States. The first store has opened in Canada in Kelowna, BC. They are in the process of expanding to Mexico, Malaysia, Denmark, Costa Rica, New Zealand, Australia, Singapore, Russia, Vietnam,...
, Budweiser
Budweiser
Budweiser is a German adjective describing something or someone from the city of České Budějovice in Southern Bohemia, Czech Republic.Beer brewing in České Budějovice dates back to the 13th century...
, and Evergreen Investments
Evergreen Investments
Evergreen Investments was the investment management business of Wachovia. The brand was merged into Wells Fargo Advantage Funds and subsequently phased out following Wells Fargo's acquisition of Wachovia...
.
External links
- http://www.rwaltvincent.com
- http://vvl.lib.msu.edu/index.cfm
- http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,274928,00.html