Recording - March 2014 - 55

MARCH 2014
TAXI Road Rally 2013

Geoff Emerick Interview, Part One
Interview by Michael Laskow
Legendary producer/engineer Geoff Emerick was
just 15 years old when he worked on the historical,
first EMI sessions recording the Beatles. At age 19,
Geoff became the "first engineer" on Revolver, and
subsequently engineered Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts
Club Band, The Beatles (White Album), and Abbey
Road. He's also engineered three of Paul McCartney's classic solo albums, and engineered or
produced artists like Elvis Costello, Badfinger, Art
Garfunkel, America, Supertramp, Cheap Trick, and
many, many more during his incredible, decadeslong career. Emerick has received four Grammy
Awards, and is the co-author of the incredible
book, Here, There and Everywhere - My Life Recording The Beatles. We were thrilled to honor Mr.
Emerick with TAXI's Lifetime Achievement Award
and do a live, keynote interview with a gentleman
who has literally been an integral part in musical
history on a global basis. We hope you enjoy it!
-Michael Laskow
Geoff and I relate because we are both audio guys.
We were talking right before we came on stage,
and he said, "You know it's not about the two dBs of
this, or four dBs of that, it's about music." What was
it that captured your imagination at a very early
age that made you decide to take this career path?
Well, when I was very young, about seven years
old, I was listening to my grandmother's old 78
records on a windup gramophone and sort of fell
in love with music, in the sense that if I was listening to something orchestral, I would say, "Well, I
like that bit, but I would lift that level up with that
one. And that should be louder," and so on. So it
was just the involvement with music, it wasn't anything to do with technicalities at that time.
And you were 15 when you got your first gig at EMI,
right?
When I started at EMI I was 15. I mean, I sort of lied
about my age. I told them I was 16, but I was like
three months short of being 16. So it's a long story,
as you know if you've read the book, about getting
the interview at Abbey Road. So I was there, and on
the second day I was learning the ropes, and that's
when the Beatles came in to record "Love Me Do."

Michael Laskow (left), and an enraptured audience take in every word Geoff Emerick (right) says during his Keynote Interview.
Photo by James DiModica

What was your very first impression of them?
The first impression on that day was the way they
were dressed, obviously. But on the first session
that I actually physically worked on, I can quite
remember the humor and the attitude in the studio. I was imagining all the bands and the artists
that had been in the studio, which at that time was
a very regimented system. You know, George Martin was the schoolmaster, and they were the kids in
the studio, and they sort of obeyed what he said.
But they changed that. Basically, they were against
the establishment as it was at that time. That was
the attraction for us youngsters at that time-the
anti-establishment part.
All the pictures of you, though, at that time, you
certainly don't look like an anti-establishment
guy-skinny tie and all. And for those of you who
don't know, George Martin, the Beatles producer
who has received so much credit and adoration over
all these many decades, actually produced comedy
records before the Beatles.
Middle-of-the-road records, and some orchestral.
Was he prepared at all for what he was walking
into? Did he have any idea?
Not really. I think the attraction was... Again,
because George had a great sense of humor-sort of
a dry sense of humor-I think it was the remark
that George Harrison made. George Martin said to
the band, "Is there anything you want to say to me. I

have been telling you things." And George [Harrison] said, "Yes, I don't like your tie." Because of
that-George's sense of humor-that's why he
signed them. That's my theory, anyway. I don't think
it was the musical ability at that time with them, it
was just the humor. He just liked them, you know.
But he was well-known for being kind of a schoolmarm to them, and yet they were well-known for
resisting authority, but yet they still respected him
and listened to him?
Oh yeah, in the early days, obviously, because of his
involvement with the harmonies and the vocals. But
gradually as time progressed and we went into the
latter albums, the respect was sort of diminishing.
Did it ever appear to you that George Martin was
out of his depth?
Oh no, not at all. He was not out of his depth. But,
obviously, we were sort of out of our depth when it
got later into the heavier type of music. It was a
question of not keeping control of the situation
more than anything. What do we do? You know,
they're down in the studio running through songs
normally late at night, or going to a jam-and jams
in the studio would go on forever. Then George and
I would fall asleep.
Tell the audience how quickly things happened in
the studio back then-how many songs a day were
Continued on page 56
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