Steven Lee Tracy is the owner, producer, and mixing engineer at Saint Cecilia Studios in Tucson, Arizona. Before he was behind the board, he was on stage: a decade as guitarist and songwriter in Seattle indie-rock band The Myriad, whose single "A Clean Shot" became MTV's most-played video in spring 2008 after the band won MTV2's Dew Circuit Breakout. That artist-first background shapes his mixing today; a self-described "production-style" approach built for records that sound like the artist's favorite albums, not just a polite balance of tracks. At Saint Cecilia, Tracy has worked with acts spanning Seattle indie rock to Tucson's Latin-music scene, including Orkesta Mendoza and the Morrissey tribute act Mexrrissey, alongside sync and commercial work for MTV, Adobe, and Axon.

IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN:

Why your 50th listen is lying to you about what's wrong with the mix
The one thing Steven does in the first 30 seconds of every new song
Why he builds drums, bass, and vocals in the same order every single time
What separates a song that needs help from a song you just need to get out of the way of
The mistake Steven made early on that he'd undo if he could start over
Why lower overhead led to better work, not less of it
What changed the moment he stopped saying “yes” to every opportunity

To learn more about Steven Lee Tracy, visit: https://www.saintceciliastudios.com/

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