Lambgoat recently had a chance to ask producer and engineer Matt Bayles a few questions. If that name doesn't mean anything do you, he's done work for bands like Pearl Jam, Isis, Mastodon, Burnt By The Sun, and many others. Bayles is also a member of the band Minus The Bear.

How is Minus The Bear going?

Good. We are getting home from an 11-week tour on November 13th. We went to Europe for five weeks of it, including Iceland, so it was long, but cool because we were in Europe.

What are you working on right now from a production standpoint?

I have Norma Jean coming up, then the new Minus The Bear record, as well as mixing a band called the Swords Project, which despite the name is entirely unbrutal. Then I have a few things in the works that aren't confirmed, so I can't really say.

How did you learn engineering? Did you go to school for it?

Yes, I went to school. I graduated from Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro that had an amazing new building with two 48-track studios. I decided to endure the South for the sake of learning on the best gear I could find in an actual university, instead of a recording school.

Analog or digital?

I am comfortable with both. With the new hi-definition Pro Tools, the gap has been closed. If I have my way, I use both. Drums, bass, guitars to tape, vocals to Pro Tools. But at this point either works for me.

Neve or SSL?

Tracking -- Neve or API. Mixing -- SSL.

What's your studio vocal microphone of choice?

Depends. Some singers need to hold the mix to really feel it, so that could mean a [Shure] SM58 or an SM7. If I am dealing with a "singer," then I really love the Sony C800G, and Soundelux makes really great mics. Sometimes tube mics with a "screamer" are not really the way to go, so any decent condenser mic can work.

Out of all the bands you've ever produced or recorded, whom do you consider to be the most talented musicians?

Trying to get me into trouble? I won't even try to pick people out. But each band is a sum of their parts and whether they are the most technical performers or not, they all bring something important to the table. I know it sounds like politician double-talk, but it really is true. I think I will let the fans of these bands argue over who is the most talented.

What do you think about Dave Witte and Mike Olender leaving Burnt By The Sun?

A bit of a surprise, but not a total one. As far as what I think, I think that there are a lot of little things that resulted in that decision, and I am sure I only know a few of them. They are better suited to comment.

How did you hook up with Norma Jean?

Their label contacted me. I have had a general awareness of them for a couple of years. But honestly, to the horror of some I imagine, I am somewhat out of tune with a lot of heavy music.

What can we expect from the new Buried Inside album?

Hard to pigeonhole music at all, so I don't know where to start. See them live and then if you like it, buy it.

What were the dudes in Pearl Jam like when you worked with them?

They are great people to work for. When I was an assistant I got to work with Brendan O'Brien, their producer, whom I have looked up to for quite a while. I met them when I was a runner on the record they did with Neil Young. Shortly there after I got hired at Studio Litho, which is owned by one of the members. I slowly worked my way up to engineering an entire record for them. The cool thing about recording with them is there is no time constraint, so there is little pressure to race through getting parts done, so in that sense it was a very relaxed atmosphere.

I was reading your discography and noticed you engineered some unreleased material by Joan Osborne... why was the material never released?

For a while she was working on her second record with alot of different producers, and one of the ones she tried was Steve Fisk, and he hired me to engineer. There are a ton of songs she recorded that have not made it out at all.

Do you make a living from production and engineering, or do you have another job?

Yes, I make a living from production. I have no other job.

Will you work with a band whose music you don't respect or admire?

I think that music is so personal that I can find something to respect in most music. I do not feel like it is my job to issue a harsh judgement on bands that contact me. As far as working for bands, I need to feel either connected to the people making the music or feel connected to the music, or in a perfect world, both to want to take part in it.

Name three albums that you consider to be production/engineering masterpieces?

Here are three, but these are the first off the top of my head at the moment. There could easily be 50 more. Radiohead's OK Computer, At The Gates' Slaughter of the Soul, and The Doves' Lost Souls.

Not so much personally, but with regards to the material they engineer, who are some of your peers that you dig? I'm looking for your take on people like Brian McTernan, Alex Newport, Kurt Ballou, etc.?

While we all may work in similar genres of music, we all do different things. They are all talented and successful. But I could not single anyone out. The interesting thing to notice is that we all have played, or do play, in bands.

So what will be going on in 2005 for Matt Bayles?

A bunch of work, hopefully some vacation, and then some more Minus the Bear touring in the summer.

Any final thoughts?

Not really, perhaps just to clarify that a while ago I posted on my website that I was done with producing heavy music, and that is not true and it never will be. I enjoy recording heavy shit. I just need to have variety in my projects to keep my interest. Thanks for the interview.