Don Gehman
Don Gehman is an American record producer, engineer, and executive, best known for his work with John Mellencamp and Hootie & the Blowfish.
[3] His interests evolved from a photography dark room in the basement to chemistry to physics to electronics.
[4] Music journalist and producer Tim Sommer says that Clair and Gehman "virtually invented the modern rock band P.A.
[3][5] He worked with various well-known acts of the era, including James Brown; Blood, Sweat & Tears; Chicago; Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young; The Four Seasons; the Four Tops; the James Gang, Loggins & Messina; The Supremes; The Temptations; and Yes.
Stephen mentioned he was working at Caribou Studios in Colorado on a new solo album and needed some help.
[1][6] That same year, Gehman produced Long May You Run for The Stills-Young Band, a collaboration of Neil Young with Stephen Stills.
[4] However, he learned from the producers who came to Criteria, including Tom Dowd, Phil Ramone, and Bill Sczymczyk.
[4][6] At Criteria, Gehman was the recording engineer for the Bee Gees, Eric Clapton, Firefall, Robin Trower, Barbra Streisand, and Jesse Colin Young.
[7] He was also the engineer of Pure Prairie League's Can't Hold Back which was released in 1979.
"[8] Gehman also oversaw the setup The Shack, a studio in Indiana for Mellencamp, moving equipment from Criteria to the new location.
[9] American Fool yielded the hits "Hurts So Good" and "Jack and Diane," and resulted in a Grammy Award nomination for Gehman.
"[13] In addition, the trial studio experience of recording demos was a challenge for both parties—John Kean noted, "Gehman was a little taken aback by their insistence on doing things their own way.
I didn't just record things—I liked to spend time on the arrangement and layer in the overdubs and comp the vocals—all this process which, to me, was normal record-making, they had never been through before.
When they saw that kind of record-making process didn't take anything away—that it actually added another level of artistic expression—they were very excited by it.
"[11] Gehman also introduced a special microphone that removed Stipe's singing lisp, making the vocals easier to understand.
[11] He allowed Mills to experiment with a variety of keyboards to add textures to the music, challenged Peter Buck to consider why he made certain choices with his guitar playing, and gave Bill Berry the drum sound he had always wanted.
[11] Yet, Stipe says, "The direction of Don Gehman pushed me in Lifes Rich Pageant really paralyzed me for several records because he had such an idea for what a vocal should be, that it threw me into this place of wild insecurity.
"[11] Regardless, the fans and reviewers were impressed, and it yielded the band its first gold record and first hit single, with "Fall On Me" reaching number five on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Chart;[11][13] however, the band believed that Gehman's "meticulously high standards" meant he did not consider the album a complete success.
[7] Gehman's other production credits of the era include The Knife Feels Like Justice by Brian Setzer in 1986, Tied to the Tracks by Treat Her Right in 1989, After Here Through Midland by Cock Robin in 1987, Victory Day by Tom Cochran in 1988, Say Something Good by River City People in 1989.
[3] He produced four albums with Jimmy Barnes, including 1990's Two Fires, 1991's Soul Deep, 1993's Heat, and 1994's Flesh and Wood.
[7] In 1992, he produced Hunters and Collectors's most successful album Cut, included the rock anthem "Holy Grail."
[17] In an article in Rolling Stone (Australia), Gehman said, "They wanted change but when it came to it there was a lot of mumbling in the ranks, there was resistance, but I just stuck to my guns.
"[19] The turnaround on Cracked Rear View was quick, with just eighteen days to record and mix the album.
[7] He then produced 1996's Friction Baby for Better Than Ezra and 1997's Blue Roses from the Moons for Nanci Griffith, as well as her Other Voices, Too in 1998.
[2] In the 21st-century, Gehman has continued working, producing Familiar 48's Wonderful Nothing in 2002 and Jason Michael Carroll's Waitin' in the Country in 2007.
[16] Blue's Traveler's John Popper wrote, "Working with Don Gehman was a huge treat because he had done so many albums I didn't even know I liked.
There's one song on there, "Unable to Get Free," that was actually inspired by an old Barbra Streisand tune, "Woman in Love," that, it turned out, Don Gehman had recorded and engineered.
I referred to this Barbara tune as far as the emotional pang I wanted my voice to hit, and he said, 'Oh yeah, I did that song,' which in itself, blew me away.
"[24] In addition, Gehman gave the band the freedom to resolve small details while recording, something that was a first for them.
[7] He also worked on greatest hits albums, box sets, or collections for Jimmy Barnes, Better Than Ezra, Blues Traveler, Boom Crash Opera, Harry Chapin, Tracy Chapman, Chicago, Foreigner, Bruce Hornsby, Hootie & the Blowfish, Jonah Koslen, R.E.M., and Stephen Stills.
