It Takes a Village
(7 min read)
We think we have a pretty extraordinary group of creatives around us. Constantly surrounded by powerful visionaries, masters of execution, and overall excellent human beings, we wouldn’t be where we are today without their support and contributions.
Filled with images of our studios, our teammates, our collaborators and, of course, our music, we hope this quick video introduction can give you a taste of what we’re all about as a creative team.
We’d like to take a minute to highlight some of our friends seen here… so let’s break it down.
The footage itself was shot by Stephen Spurlock, an inimitable filmmaker, photographer, and storyteller. Stephen took the sights and sounds of our studio headquarters and created visuals that give you a glimpse into our daily lives here. And let’s just say that most of us are not used to being on camera... we usually stay behind the scenes, or behind a recording console. Stephen made us all feel comfortable in front of his lenses (even chief studio rat Daniel) and grabbed everything he needed to tell our story with an easy, positive presence.
We entrusted Rob Due of Over Easy Productions with the editing and coloring. Rob’s masterful color grading is just a portion of why we loved working with him on this project. We had a lot of footage and a lot of ideas. Rob was able to take that vision and create structure, motion, and a narrative that fit the vibe of our team.
And then, of course, there are the faces you see. In addition to our team, you’ll see the following beautiful people who took time out of their busy schedules to help us out :
Abby Jeanne
Songwriter and singer extraordinaire Abby Jeanne has a voice that makes you pay attention. Her powerful and expressive soul comes through every note, helping her audience on their own cosmic journey. Abby recorded her album Music Box Dancer at our studios with Daniel behind the board producing and mixing.
“Being at Wire & Vice was ALWAYS a great day and felt like home. Aside from the studio having all the equipment and space one would want, Daniel also allows the atmosphere to be molded as needed. He truly cares and believes in the art that he is a part of while getting the job done.”
Abby Jeanne is currently in New York working on new material for her next album. Take a listen to what she’s go going on!
Justin Perkins
When you hear a new License Lab track, you can bet your bottom dollar that part of why it sounds so good is because of Mystery Room Mastering. Justin holds court in Studio D and is our resident Mastering Engineer. One of Justin’s many talents is taking the diverse parts of our catalog and making them sound like a unified piece of work and not just a bunch of random tracks that we found on the interwebs. Justin also has an impressive list of clients who have trusted his ears with their own music, including The Replacements, Midnight Reruns, Smoking Popes, and many more.
Angie Swan
Angie Swan is a powerhouse. With performing credits that range from CeeLo to Cirque du Soleil, Angie’s skills as a guitarist, bassist, and producer are in high demand. If you’ve seen David Bryne performing over the last few years, Angie has been on stage right beside him every night. She’s currently on Broadway with Byrne in his critically acclaimed American Utopia. We were ecstatic to work with Angie on one of our newest offerings from Eyeballs & Eardrums, Filthy Funk.
Michael Rossetto
An accomplished banjoist and guitarist, Michael has spent time in Minneapolis and Milwaukee performing with a variety of groups including Spaghetti Western String Co., The Pines, Buffalo Gospel, and more. His tasteful yet virtuosic playing can be heard on some of our finest offerings here at the Lab. Michael’s newest record, Intermodal Blues, is an homage to the global music well from which he draws inspiration. We recently did a feature on Michael as part of the Call & Response series on our blog, Lab Notes. You can go deeper right here.
Klassik
Multi-instrumentalist, performing artist, producer and friend of the studio, Klassik is based in Milwaukee and creates truly unique music. His songs are multi-layered and lush, equal parts jazz, hip-hop, and R&B; intimate, insightful, and sometimes haunting. Klassik has shared the stage with acts like Kendrick Lamar, Talib Kweli, and DJ Premier to name a few. Sound interesting? Check out the singles from his upcoming album “QUIET” here. As an active member of our creative community, Klassik also recognizes we’ve got something good going here in MKE.
“Right now it feels like everyone is really putting their best foot forward and it's a motivation/inspiration circulation. Self-sustaining fuel for the artistic fire. We all want it to be great, and have always wanted it to be something respected and recognized; now that quality is there across the board and has depth and variance.”
NICK RAD
Nick occupies Studio B at Wire & Vice and brings an infectious passion for music with him every day. He is a highly sought after mixing engineer and producer who has worked with major artists such as Rachel Platten, Hilary Duff, Melissa Etheridge, Anberlin, and Skillet. Nick has contributed to The License Lab catalog and is an invaluable set of ears to have around.
As with any expanding creative enterprise, it really does takes a village to put this all together and we are forever grateful to everyone who worked on this project. Truly. Thanks for being curious and for supporting our creative community.
Related Albums/Playlists:
