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Full name: |
Kenny Laguna |
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City/Town
of birth:
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Greenwich Village, NYC, NY |
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Country:
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USA |
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Educated:
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Tin Pan Alley |
| First musical experience: | 13 years old - played behind Shangri La's, Regents, and others at "WMCA Good Guys" High School Dances. |
| First record bought: | "Jailhouse Rock b/w Treat Me Nice", Elvis Presley |
| Bands played in: | Tommy James and the Shondels, Music Explosion, 1910 Fruitgum Co., Ohio Express, Archies, Derek, Shadows of Night, Kazenetz-Katz Orchestral Circus, Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, Darlene Love and The Blossoms. |
| Instruments played: | Piano, B3 Hammond Organ, Guitar, Percussion, Vocals, Melodica |
| First production: | "And Your Bird Can Sing" - the Loved Ones on Kapp Records/Kama Sutra/"The Girl Won't Have to be a Lover "- Ken Laguna/ Kama Sutra |
| Biggest influence: | Anders and Poncia, Elvis, Dion, Artie Ripp, Neil Bogart, Bill Curbishley, Matthew King Kaufman, Leber-Krebs. |
What does a producer do; what style of producer are you? How do like to work? |
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A producer controls the final outcome of a recording. I am a "songwriter producer". I derive the sounds mostly through arrangements and overdubs which mult the musical figures and create overtones. These records tend to mix themselves. I came into the business during the tail end of the era of Tin Pan Alley. The great masters of the Broadway era such as Rogers & Hart and Jimmy Van Husen had created a tradition of apprenticeship that led to the first great group of rock writers led by, Leiber & Stoller in the west 50's in NYC. Leiber & Stoller begat Phil Spector, Anders & Ponica, Goffin & King, Greenwich & Barry, Mann and Weill, Neil Sedaka, and on down until the chain led to me. We
were trained to do demo's, which we embellished with overdub techniques
of using percussion and doubling parts to create an orchestra of
rock musical instruments with one or two musicians. In this way,
we learned to write and produce. |
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| What are your best 5 single productions and why? | |
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1. "I Love Rock n' Roll" by Joan Jett & the Blackhearts 2. "I Want Candy" - Bow Wow Wow 3. "Makin' My Way" - Bill Medley 4. "I Hate Myself For Loving You" - Joan Jett & the Blackhearts 5.
"Make A Change" - Darlene Love & the Blossoms (Honorable Mention)
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| What are your best 5 album productions and why? | |
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1. Bad Reputation - Joan Jett & the Blackhearts (Raw yet slick, Punky & Poppy) 2. Abdul & Cleopatra (So modern, yet so retro). Jonathan Richman 3. Rollin' On - Steve Gibbons Band (Recorded on Pete Townsend's estate, the lyrics are awesome, arrangements innovative and the top ten UK hit Tulane, was an obscure Chuck Berry gem) 4. Evil Stig - Evil Stig - Punk Rock LP (Pays homage to murdered lead singer) 5. Headlock - Joan Jett & the Blackhearts (with Teddy Templeman) - (Crowning achievement of a great career)
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| The best 5 singles productions by other producers: | |
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"Rag Doll" - Four Seasons - Produced by Bob Crew & Bob Gaurdio "Don't Be Cruel" - Produced by Elvis Presley "Honky Tonk Women" - Rolling Stones - Produced by Jimmy Miller "Sloop John B" - Beach Boys - Produced by Brian Wilson "Jump"
- Van Halen - Produced by Teddy Templeman |
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| The best 3 album productions by other producers: | |
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"Let It Bleed" - The Rolling Stones - Produced by Jimmy Miller "Pet Sounds" - Beach Boys - Produced by Brian Wilson "Rubber
Soul" - Beatles - Produced by George Martin
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| What artist would you have wanted to produce? | |
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Dean
Martin |
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What
artist would you like to produce? |
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What
is your favorite studio? |
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Favorite
desk: |
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Favorite
monitors: |
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Favourite
mastering engineer: |
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| Best
Recording engineer ever: Thom Panunzio |
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Best
new recording engineer: |
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| Best session musicians: | |
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DRUMS:
Thommy Price
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