Behind every rock and roll legend, there's a legendary rock and roll sound technician. This week in our celebrity mullet section we pay tribute to one of the great technical minds that is behind the magic of the jammin' hard rock, heavy metal, and power ballad tunes we all know and love.
Jeremy "J-dawg" James has worked with legends like Styx, Winger, and is currently touring with the great Air Supply. We were lucky enough to catch up with him at Charlie's Club in Park City, Utah where Air Supply is entertaining the Hollywood hipsters and international Indie Film gurus at the Sundance Film Festival.
MM: So, to what do you attribute your success in the rock and roll world?
J-Dawg: Well, (laughs) I get asked this question all the time, you know. Because by working with celebrities, that pretty much makes me a celebrity too. I mean you've heard the term "party like a rock star," well, I think that's pretty much why I got into this gig. I'm not in any bands, but, when it comes time to roll up your sleeves and get to work, chicks can't tell the difference. To them, there's only a slight difference between "hey, baby, i'm in the band" and "how's it goin' sweetheart, I'm with the band." I mean, even you journalist types screw that up sometimes. You know, like, how you're doing this interview and stuff.
MM: Right. Well, I know that magicians never give away their tricks, but can you give our readers any insight into what it takes to make a Styx or Air Supply show work, on a technical level?
J-Dawg: You know, it's funny that you compare me to a great magician, like Houdini, or Copperfield or one of those cats, because it really takes a certain showmanship, my lifestyle, even though technically I'm never in front of the audience. Like I said before, I take the business of goose-huntin', you know getting the ladies, very seriously, and to be honest, my wildly successful career isn't enough. You know, like a babe doesn't know the difference between balanced and line-level audio. I could talk myself into circles about XLR and RCA and Watts and Hertz and Voltz, but that's not going to get the old Dawg a piece of the Pie, you see what I'm saying? That's why I say it's about the style, the finesse. Usually, if I'm behind the soundboard and I catch the eye of a lovely lady in the crowd, I look down at the knobs of the board very seriously, like I'm thinking really hard, and maybe I just tweak one, a touch, just like one tenth of a dB, and then I toss the old mane back, just like so, (flares the mullet) and right then, it's over. Huntin' Dawg has moved in, and there's a doe in the bag, if ya' know what I'm saying.
Yes, J-Dawg, we do. We do understand very well. Keep on Rockin', and we'll keep on rollin'.