Jerry Finn | |
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 Finn in 2001 | |
| Background information | |
| Also known as |
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| Born | Jermone Gregory Finn (1969-03-31)March 31, 1969 Ventura, California, U.S. |
| Died | August 21, 2008(2008-08-21) (aged 39) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Genres | |
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| Years active | 1992–2008 |
Jermone Gregory Finn (March 31, 1969 – August 21, 2008), sometimes credited as "Huckle"Jerry Finn, was an Americanrecord producer andmix engineer. He worked with numerouspunk rock andpop-punk artists such asBlink-182,AFI,Sum 41,Alkaline Trio,Green Day,MxPx, andRancid. Finn was known for the warm guitar tone present on albums he produced as well as the "punchy" sound of his mixes. He was instrumental in developing the polished sound of pop-punk in its second wave of popularity between the mid-1990s and early 2000s.
A graduate of theDick Grove School of Music, Finn began his career in the early 1990s as an assistant engineer at variousHollywood-based studios. He began an association with producerRob Cavallo, with whom he engineered and mixed Green Day'sDookie (1994). Finn's career subsequently prospered, as he moved from being an engineer to producing albums with the likes ofPennywise and Rancid. Finn forged a strong bond with Blink-182, producing four albums with them, beginning withEnema of the State (1999). He also worked extensively with Sum 41 and Alkaline Trio. Over the course of the 2000s, Finn worked on several albums with Morrissey; he suffered abrain hemorrhage in July 2008, and died the following month.
Known for his kind manner and technical expertise, Finn was valued by engineers and musicians alike. Scott Heisel ofAlternative Press wrote that Finn often "helped rough punk bands refine their sound, and helped them discover the power of a good vocal hook."[1]
Jerry Finn was born on March 31, 1969, inVentura,California. When asked about his ancestry in a later interview, Finn did not know, noting he was adopted. The first music he remembered hearing was the soundtrack toFiddler on the Roof.[2] He attendedDick Grove School of Music. He became an assistant at The Music Grinder inHollywood in the early 1990s, and he was later hired as a second engineer. Finn then moved toDevonshire Sound Studios,[3] where he metRob Cavallo.[4] He became a "right-hand man" to Cavallo, who at the time was producingGreen Day's major-label debut,Dookie (1994). When the band declared themselves dissatisfied with the original mix, Finn and Cavallo set to work again and came up with a brighter mix.[5] "Anyone who heard Green Day's first two records knew the breakout potential was there, but it took Cavallo and Finn to draw it out," wroteAlternative Press.[1]
Afterwards, Finn worked as an assistant atConway Recording Studios, which he regarded as his favorite studio to work in. He left the job after several months to pursue work independently because of the success ofDookie. "Being realistic about the music business, I thought I'd have a red[-]hot career for six months and then be back assisting, so when I left I made them promise that when my career fell apart they'd hire me back as an assistant," Finn joked in 2006.[6] According to engineer Ed Cherney,Dookie's success made Finn "the great hope of every assistant engineer everywhere."[4] Finn characterized the massive change in his life thanks to the success of the album: "Before [Green Day], I was an assistant making eight bucks an hour. I was producing gold records less than a year after them."[2] Soon, Finn began a fruitful association withEpitaph Records, and he co-producedPennywise'sAbout Time (1995) alongside the label's founder,Bad Religion guitaristBrett Gurewitz. Finn's first solo production endeavor,Rancid's…And Out Come the Wolves, came the same year.[5] He mixed the "landmark punk album"Dear You byJawbreaker in 1995 andThe Suicide Machines'Destruction by Definition in 1996, the latter described byAlternative Press as "a watershed moment for ska-punk."[1]
Finn forged a particularly strong bond withBlink-182 in the late 1990s. He first worked with the band to record "Mutt" for theAmerican Pie soundtrack, after which he produced their breakthrough albumEnema of the State and they chose to "never work with anyone else again."[7] According to writer James Montgomery, "[Finn] served as an invaluable member of the Blink team: part adviser, part impartial observer, he helped smooth out tensions and hone their multiplatinum sound."[8] When recording sessions became contentious, Finn would often smooth over differences with humor, advice, and a new perspective, according to bassistMark Hoppus.[9] "Recording can get pretty monotonous, but at least we could laugh with Jerry. A pretty typical day would involve multiple takes for one part of one song, and then everyone would get naked and jump on Jerry," he said.[7] He subsequently returned to produceThe Mark, Tom, and Travis Show (2000),Take Off Your Pants and Jacket (2001) andBlink-182 (2003). He also produced the 2002self-titled debut album byBox Car Racer, which featured guitaristTom DeLonge and drummerTravis Barker, and co-produced and mixedWhen Your Heart Stops Beating (2006) by+44, which featured Hoppus and Barker.[5]
Finn co-producedAFI's major-label debutSing the Sorrow (2003), which has been called a "landmark in the post-hardcore genre."[5]Alternative Press wrote that "None of it would've been possible had Jerry Finn not manned the boards and polished the band's previously metallic sound into spike-covered punk-rock candy cane."[1] In his later years, Finn worked withMorrissey on his best-sellingYou Are the Quarry (2004). Morrissey was introduced to Finn via a mutual friend and was effusive about his work: "He made me feel very confident. He's not easily pleased and he's not prepared to be overwrought. He knows exactly what he wants to do."[5] Finn's last production credits includedDecemberunderground (2006) by AFI,Music from Regions Beyond (2007) byTiger Army, andYears of Refusal (2009), for which he reunited with Morrissey.[5]
In July 2008, Finn suffered anintracerebral hemorrhage followed by a massiveheart attack.[5] He was taken off oflife support on August 9 after never regaining consciousness, and he died on August 21, 2008.[10] Following Finn's death,Dexter Holland ofThe Offspring posted a statement on their website regarding the recent death of producer Jerry Finn: "We would like to extend our deepest sympathy to the family of Jerry Finn. We worked with Jerry in the studio many times over the years, and he produced the songs "Can't Repeat" and "Next To You" for ourGreatest Hits album. He was a pleasure to be around and we are thankful for the time we were able to spend with him. Jerry left his mark on countless great records, and he will be missed. RIP, my friend. Dexter"[11]
Finn was known for his dynamic, warm guitar sound, featured prominently on Blink-182 albums andSum 41'sAll Killer No Filler (2001).[5] "Whenever I could corner him at a party, I harassed him about how he gets guitar sounds and how he gets his mixes to sound so punchy," said producer andGoldfinger frontmanJohn Feldmann.[12] Finn achieved the sound by recording instruments through more than one amplifier at the same time.[5] "Many engineers try to keep everything separate and add effects later," said Finn. "Players play to the sound, so you just have to get a sound and go with it. This allows you to mix tones together to get just the right sound."[5] Finn reportedly owned over 100 guitars,[4] and he would often bring large collections of instruments and amplifiers to the studio.[5]
He estimated that it took him 10–12 days to mix an album, though some took less or more.[13] Upon reviewing rough mixes, Finn would attempt to craft the mix around the "sound in [his] head" he created.[14] In mixing songs, Finn preferred to first "get the drums happening to where they have some ambience," followed by the vocal tracks. In terms of mixing bass and drums—"perhaps the most difficult task of a mixing engineer," according toBobby Owsinski—Finn preferred to have the "kick [drum] and the bass ... occupying their own territory and not fighting each other."[15] He felt the "sound of modern records today iscompression. Every time I try to be a purist and go, 'You know, I'm not gonna compress that,' the band comes in and goes, 'Why isn't that compressed?'"[16] When setting the compressor, Finn would set the attack slow and the release fast so that "all the transients are getting through and initial punch is still there, but it releases instantly when the signal drops below the threshold." Finn called this "the sound of my mixes. It keeps things kinda popping the whole time."[17]
Blink-182 bassist Mark Hoppus called Finn "meticulous in getting great sounds".[9] Considering recording drums to be a "lost art," Finn took great interest in this step of the process. He often focused on room microphones to capture drum ambience naturally.[14] This proved frustrating to Blink drummerTravis Barker: "For hours and hours, Jerry would be adjusting microphones. [...] I'd sit around drinking coffee and smoking cigarettes, just praying that I'd be able to start playing soon."[18] As for Finn's producing style, Barker wrote, "[Jerry] was more about giving us ideas and lending an extra set of ears. He'd say, 'Hey, that sounds cool—why doesn't that part at the end go a little longer?' Or 'What if this song had an intro?'"[19] Frequent collaborators to Finn included drum technician Mike Fasano, and engineers Sean O'Dwyer, Ryan Hewitt and Joe McGrath.[4] He was also known for working with keyboardistRoger Joseph Manning Jr., whom he brought into Blink-182, Alkaline Trio and Morrissey sessions.[5] Finn creditedJohn Bonham as a musical inspiration growing up, andDon Was,Ed Cherney,Mick Guzauski,John Purdell, and Duane Baron as influential on his recording techniques.[2]
Finn was known for his genial demeanor and technical prowess. According to Pierre Perrone ofThe Independent, "He could act as a sounding board or confidant and push musicians and singers to perform at their best. He would order food and shoot the breeze with his clients and generally create a relaxed atmosphere."[5] Finn would occasionally mix albums for independent bands or friends "from anywhere from free to half [his] rate" because he enjoyed the music.[13] Bobby Owsinski, author ofThe Mixing Engineer's Handbook, wrote that Finn "represented one of the new generation of mixers who knows all the rules but is perfectly willing to break them."[20] After his death,Alternative Press compiled a list of nine "classic" albums helmed by Finn, writing that "Finn's bread and butter during the past decade was helping rough punk bands refine their sound, and helping them discover the power of a good vocal hook."[1]
Finn's impact on Blink-182 led bassist Mark Hoppus to dub him the "fourth member" of the band.[21] "Every day I spent with Jerry over the past 10 years, I feel like he taught me something new about music, or recording, or life," he wrote after his death.[5] "Jerry wasn't some asshole rolling up to the studio in aBentley—he was one of us. He could be honest with us, and we would listen to him," drummer Travis Barker remembered in his memoirCan I Say (2015).[19] When the band reconvened to work on their reunion albumNeighborhoods (2011), the band found it very difficult to work without Finn.[8] They continued to work alone into 2016, until they recruited co-founder of third-wave ska bandGoldfinger,John Feldmann for their seventh albumCalifornia. Feldmann considers himself a disciple of Finn, commenting, "the sound of my records was influenced by the records Jerry made."[12]
This list does not includegreatest hits compilations. Finn was producer unless otherwise noted.
This reference primarily cites the Mark Hoppus foreword.
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