A Night at the Opera: Kurt Schlegel’s Take on Mixing for the Melvins & Where Music is Headed
Jake Forgan
As a front-of-house engineer for over 33 years, Kurt Schlegel has worked with many big-name bands such as Boris, Swans, Jello Biafra, and has been working with the Melvins for most of the 2000’s. Starting at a nightclub in New Orleans in the early 90’s, Kurt jumped right into scene working shows almost every night. He eventually made his way out west to San Francisco and began at a club named Bottom of the Hill. Nowadays, still based in San Francisco, he works at the Great American Music Hall as well as The Chapel.
Kurt first heard about EarthQuaker Devices while working as an engineer at a number of venues. “I started seeing bands coming through with EarthQuaker Devices and I was always impressed by their versatility and how good they sounded. I thought ‘wow, that’s a great sounding pedal’ or ‘that’s a great concept of things that that pedal does’”. He also states the Pyramids as one of his favorites. “I have always loved modulation pedals… and the Pyramids flanger is, I think, a fantastic pedal. I’ve used it in the studio a lot… and they’re a lot of fun in the studio and can add a lot of character to a track”.
Currently working as the touring engineer for Melvins, Kurt uses EQD pedals in his signal chain as a way to really express himself in the mix, truly feeling the music while he mixes. The pedals, aside from the sounds they create, allow him to manipulate the physical knobs while the band is performing. This gives him the control to trigger sounds or to use tap tempo functions to taste even if the performance is slightly different than the night before. Watching him do this in person is truly as entertaining as watching the show he is mixing.
The Avalanche Run, Pyramids, and Hizumitas are in his current lineup of touring pedals, using them in very unique ways. “I use the Avalanche Run for delays, and I love that there’s three different delay characteristics: swell, normal, and reverse. I use all three with Melvins. I use the aforementioned Pyramids on overheads and vocals. During drum solos I’ll throw a flanger on the overheads to get a nice liquidy effect. I am also using the Hizumitas to put some distortion on drums and vocals on a handful of songs in their current set”.
Outside of the touring world, Kurt operates Lucky Cat Recording in San Francisco where he really gets to enjoy his down time from touring. Working with hundreds of bands a year has shown him how the music industry is trending, and bands are playing it a little too safe in many aspects. “I think people need to take more chances artistically. They need to step away from the cut and dried and proven, and get more experimental. You know, it takes a little more time to find things that work, but I think that the rewards are definitely worth the time spent, whether it be in the studio or the rehearsal room. Experimentation is lacking right now, not to say that you need to be avant garde or anything like that, but stepping outside the comfort zone is something that, for me, is always welcome”.
Kurt cites performers such as Jack White and Melvins as two bands specifically who are not taking the safe route, as well as local bands he works with such as Secret Chiefs and Bolero, who are paving the new generation of sound exploration.
Kurt Schlegel’s take on music is very hopeful and inspirational, yet leaving a lot to be discovered. It’s not about being famous, it’s about being yourself. “Have fun! Play around your music. Music is fun. You know you put in the work, and then it’s time to just have a ball. That’s what it’s all about.”
Jake Forgan is a Medina, OH based musician, student, and employee of EQD that specializes in audio engineering and production. While not a professional in this particular field, Jake frequently earned A’s on essays and reports throughout his high school and undergraduate education, and also enjoys writing poetry in his free time. He hopes you’ve enjoyed seeing his hands throughout the last few months’ demo videos and hopes to one day sneak his elbow into a video or two.
