Patrick (Bischoff) Brown (born August 26, 1978, in Phoenix, Arizona) is an American engineer, producer and studio owner. He has been the CEO of several record labels, including Brown Bottle Records and Different Fur Studios. He is the current owner of Different Fur Studios in the Mission district of San Francisco, California.
Brown spent his early life in Arizona and later moved to Long Island, New York, where he studied web design. He found out that he had a talent for recording after working on various projects with friends and helping friends' bands record.[1] Because of this talent Brown moved to San Francisco in 1998 where, after getting settled, he attended Ex'pression College for Digital Arts. In 2004, during his final semester at Ex'pression, Brown was hired as an Intern at Different Fur. There he was given his first solo session, Gordon Gano from The Violent Femmes. 2006 marked a turning point for the studio because Brown helped bring in various bands through iTunes' Live Sessions.[2] In 2007 Brown purchased the studio from Jeremy Smith.[3] Most studios are not owned by engineers, but Brown purposefully wanted to create a studio that focused on this aspect of the recording process. As owner, he morphed the business model by bringing in more interns, because Brown believes it takes a community of passionately involved people to really create something worthwhile.[2] Since Brown's purchase of the studio, he has been credited as an owner who has "modernized the studio without losing any of the building's pastoral charm".[4]
Brown's work has been featured on Pitchfork,[5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12] Stereogum,[13][14] Urb,[15] Fader, PrefixMag, Imposemagazine, Vice, Noisey, Spinner, Hybebeast, Spin.com, iTunes New & Noteworthy, iTunes Indie Spotlight, WorldStar HipHop, 2dopeboys,[16] The Owl Mag,[17] Live 105, "Chronicle" the movie, a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup commercial,[18] The Bay Bridged,[19][20][21][22][23][24][25] Impose Magazine,[26] The Bold Italic,[27] Playboy,[28] and his work with The Morning Benders was voted iTunes Indie album of the year in 2008.[29]
As an engineer, Brown is constantly focused on the sound and vibe in the room. He pays attention to who is coming in and out, the reactions of people, and who needs coaxing in one direction or another.[1] He views being an engineer as an art form in and of itself because he has to look at the sound being put to tape on different levels – the musician's, the consumer's, the technical side, and the sonic side – and balance all of these levels at the same time. According to Brown, "it's sort of like a balance between the performance itself and the actual sound, you know, you're deciding which is more important or how to get both. And they're completely different things."[30]
That being said, Brown feels he is an under-producer in that he wants to hear the emotion behind the artist and his/her songs first and foremost.[30] "All in all, I'll do everything I can to make sure things sound the way you expect, and hopefully even better, so that when you leave you are proud of what we've accomplished."[31]
Brown also focuses on trying to get bands to their next place. He constantly thinks about getting artists more attention for their music, which starts with the recording itself, but also includes getting fans out to their shows, telling people about the record, and finding new ways of getting records into the hands of fans.[32]
Brown plans to keep the studio on the creative cutting-edge and in 2011 completed an upgrade accompanied by construction.[2] He is also content to keep the studio focused on local bands and local labels, including Tricycle Records and Omega Records. However, this doesn't prevent the occasional big-name artist from stopping by. And while Brown will focus on getting out the sounds a band wants in their song, he is also going to make sure they're comfortable. Plus, if an artist does something funny, chances are he will tweet about it.[33]
Growing up, Brown was a fan of artists he first heard through his Mom, including Paul Simon, Billy Joel, and Neil Young.[34] He also listened to a lot of late 1980s and early 1990s pop like Technotronic, Lisa Lisa, MC Hammer, and a lot of Bobby Brown. In fact, Bobby Brown's Don't Be Cruel, which was recorded at Different Fur Studios, is an influential album for Patrick Brown.[35]
Brown is a fan of very few engineers but is constantly evaluating other people's works and learning from them.[32] Engineers that Brown finds influential include Russell Elevado, Tony Maserati, and Tom Dowd. However, he draws more inspiration from producers and musicians like Morris Day, Prince, D'angelo, Biggie, Funkadelic's album Maggot Brain, the first N.E.R.D. record, and the first Kenna record.[32] Overall, Brown is influenced by those people and records that have challenged what has been established. This is what helps him grow the most as an engineer, producer, and studio owner; and it is the type of person Brown aims to be.[32]
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