what's in a name?

"We've been offered different things from 3-4 different companies, legitimate offers, but nothing has worked out just right. And we're very picky about the whole process. But we feel so confident and hopeful for this record.

"But Jack always tells us - it's the quest that you're going to remember. It's the process that you love. The whole band thing is such a soap opera that, as a band, I think we're happiest at Lakewest. Jack is really the perfect guy - he knows everyone inside and out."

Try this link:
www.dispatchmusic.com

        
o band likes to change its name, but Chad Urmston of Dispatch figures change is just a part of life. "It was tough," Urmston said of the switch from "One Fell Swoop" over copyright problems in 1998. "With a band name, it was like an identity thing. But I feel like our music has kind of been going through a progression, and I think Dispatch is more where we are now."

Urmston, Brad Corrigan, and Pete Heimbold came to Jack Gauthier and Lakewest Recording in 1996, rooted in acoustic guitars and three-part harmonies. But they returned to Lakewest this past winter to record their third album having grown as musicians and as writers, and feel like they are peaking at he right time. "With this album, we feel like we've come a long way," Urmston said. "We want to go further than our live sound, really go all out."

Incorporating funk and reggae while adding keyboards and turntables to the mix presented a challenge Urmston knew Gauthier would be up to. "When we first recorded with Jack, he knew exactly what we wanted," he said.		 "He's all about organic drum sounds, which is what we wanted - the real thing. And he's so easy to talk with and to communicate with. It's always a dream to be here at Lakewest."

With Lakewest engineer John Mailloux contributing production and programming, Gauthier is throwing both ears firmly into the mix. Much of the album was recorded at the mammoth Bearsville Studio in upstate New York, with final mixing to be spearheaded by Jack at Blue Jay Studios in Carlisle. "We've been letting Jack sit back and produce," Urmston said. "Jack knows exactly what we're looking for."

While Disptach's sound is maturing, the basics are still firmly in place. "We're still all about singing, the three-part harmonies," Urmston said. "I think that's what makes us stick out a little bit."

The business of music is nothing new to dispatch. They have stayed the independent route, putting out their last album "Four-Day Trials." But they feel the soon-to-be-completed project will give them their best opportunity to kick things up a notch.

ith the onset of computer technology and cheaper home studio recording, established studios are all taking steps to compete. Lakewest is no different.

Although most of Lakewest's projects are recorded on reel-to-reel, which provides the maximum richness, there are other options. Lakewest now offers 24-track digital recording to ADAT, digital tape being a big savings over analog.

            Thom Hiller

Jack also uses his years of experience to keep bands from wasting time and money in the studio - no "stalling for dollars here".

new horizons

Whether an act is polished or experimenting, Jack's goal is to keep everything flowing. Lakewest has also added a top-of-the-line CD burner to its arsenal, great for listening to rough mixes without worrying about cassette quality.

Equipment isn't all that's new at Lakewest. Thom Hiller was recently added to the Lakewest staff as a house engineer. Thom met Jack in 1989 as guitarist for the band John Monopoly, and Lakewest was like a second home to him as Jack produced more than 10 projects for the band over the next eight years.

Since coming aboard full-time in December of 1999, Thom has been involved in every major project at Lakewest. He has also recorded an independent jazz project for guitarist J. Geils.

As for Thom, the shift from being recorded in the studio to recording others has been an eye-opener.
"As an engineer now, I have a whole fresh look at all the amazing things Jack does," he said. "It seems so effortless, but it's obviously not." Hiller has already been working with some new alternative rock acts, including Something Ira, Snow Monkey Plum, Estabrook, and Winebone, and looks forward to working with many more.

    



         
blues and beyond On the album's most ambitious track, "Brazil", cellos, flutes, piano and Brazilian vocals are seamlessly added to the already active five-piece base.

Another act getting the Lakewest treatment is the Chris Fitz Band, a powerful 3-piece blues act from Boston hoping to capture their unique sound that 'til now has only been heard live






        
he Jack Gauthier - Duke Robillard blues connection has produced several new projects scheduled for release in 2000. Duke and Jack have teamed up on more than 25 albums to date, and the late 1999 - early 2000 period was a very productive time. Blues legend Eddie Clearwater and "Sax" Gordon Beadle both completed their second albums with Jack and Duke for Bullseye/Rounder Records this winter.

Also going strong is the connection with Stony Plain Records in Edmonton. Legendary big band leader Jay McShann has recorded his second record with Jack and Duke. The pair also worked Stony Plain projects for bluesman Roscoe Gordon and Billy Boy Arnold, as well as the five piece jump/swing act the Rockin' Highliners.


Duke Robillard(L) and
Jack Gauthier(R)





And Robillard is currently working on his new album for Shanachie Records, scheduled for release later this year.

Of course, man cannot live on blues alone. With Jack at the helm, the Pittsburgh act Salsamba! completed it's second album, Latinventions, late last year. A spicy musical blend, the album has a great natural feel to it and has been a big local hit. Eric Susoeff, who has worked with Jack on five albums, says of Gauthier, "He's the guy, as far as I'm concerned. We did have a lot going on, and to see how he handled it, especially mixing, was great."
call him captain With a given name like John Paul Gauthier, you almost have to play hockey. And so Jack has, ever since he was knee-high to a G clef.

Hockey is a game that seems a bit impossible to most people; unless you play, it's hard to fathom the ease with which players seem to operate. In that way, it is not unlike music.

Like great hockey, great music is best when it seems effortless, seems like pure joy. Whether he learned the lesson on the ice or off, Jack Gauthier definitely knows that great music seems effortless, but is far from it. He knows how much musicians give to their work, because it is his job to take that hard work and effort and tie it into one easy-sounding package. He sees musicians at their most vulnerable, and he makes them as comfortable as they need to be to make it seem easy. And like musicians do on stage, Jack makes it look easy in the studio. But it is not.

Like a great Hockey player knows, Jack knows that being a great producer is about knowing exactly what is needed at any given time. If he needs to take charge, he'll take charge. If he needs to sit back and let others call the shots, so be it. He knows all the roles, and is willing to take whichever one is available. That is the mark of a great producer; always confident, never cocky; always ready to make the best decision possible for the good of the project.

That is why anyone who has ever worked with Jack Gauthier has come away better for the experience - and with a great-sounding record. If he were a professional hockey player, he'd wear a big "C" for Captain on his Jersey. But he's not. He's a professional producer. And he doesn't need sticks and skates to be the best. He just needs himself.




              

...or check out a video of Jack being interviewed on Mixed Media.
ditor's note: We asked newspaper columnist Jonathon Comey, a longtime friend and client of Jack Gauthier, to contribute a piece on the man who makes Lakewest tick. Here's what he came up with:

Perhaps hockey and music are not as classic a combination as, say, peanut butter and jelly. You don't really think of them together, unless you happen to be the organist for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Take Canda, for example. For years Canadians have worshipped at the altar of hockey. Their heroes are Bobby Orr, Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, not Jimi Hendrix, John Lennon, Eric Clapton.

It's probably not a coincidence that when you try and compile a list of great Canadian musical acts, you don't need much paper. It starts with Rush and ends with Rush. Perhaps you could add Gordon Lightfoot, Neil Young, and Loverboy, but only if you're feeling charitable. Still, the two disciplines are not altogether different. Jack Gauthier can tell you that.



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