Chris Steinmetz

Chris Steinmetz (born 1966) is a record producer and engineer living in Chicago. He is president of Stonecutter Records.

For the American college basketball player of the 1900s, see Christian Steinmetz.

Biography

Early life

Chris Steinmetz was born in 1966 to Kenneth and Virginia Steinmetz in Barrington, Illinois. He began playing guitar at age 12 and played in bands throughout high school. It was during this time that Steinmetz first became interested in audio engineering. While playing a show one night, he was struck by the lower quality of his band's sound compared to the headliners.[1] Despite his newfound interest in audio, Steinmetz entered the University of Utah majoring in biomedical engineering upon graduating high school. However, the call to music proved too strong and a year later Steinmetz dropped out and moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in the recording industry.

Recording career

Steinmetz career in LA took off quickly as he spent his first three sessions working with Paul Simon, John Denver, and David Lee Roth.[2] Within a year, engineer Michael Wagener took notice of Steinmetz and hired him to engineer many classic 80s hard rock albums for his label. During his time in LA, Steinmetz also did freelance work for many other bands as well as for some feature films.

In 1996, Steinmetz moved back to his native Chicago to be closer to family. He began freelancing at Chicago Recording Company, Chicago Trax, and Terry Fryer Music. Provided with access to Chicago's growing rap music scene, Steinmetz' normal clientele began to shift from hard rock to hip hop. Between 2004 and 2006 six alone, he received credits on albums by Kanye West, Twista, Lil Jon, Usher, E-dub, and Jin with all six going platinum or gold.[3] During this time, Steinmetz also helped to pioneer the field of music mixing in 5.1.[4]

Stonecutter Records

Chris Steinmetz created his own label, Stonecutter Records, in 2006 out of the desire to "advance [artists] to the next level in their careers and get them the exposure they deserve."[5] The label's first project, Acoustic Chicago, is a compilation of 13 Chicago artists and features their music in an acoustic format to highlight songwriting ability.

Stonecutter Recording Studios

In 2012, Steinmetz opened Stonecutter Recording Studios. Located in the south loop of Chicago, it is a recording facility providing recording, mixing, mastering, marketing and production.

Partial discography
Artist Project Year      Credit
Smashing Pumpkins Control Room 2007 Mixing
Kanye West Alicia Keys Remix 2007 Engineer, Mixing
Feist Control Room 2007 Mixing
Jay-Z Control Room 2007 Mixing
Heather Headley & Andrea Bocelli Live in Italy 2007 Engineer
John Cooper Jazz Orchestra John Cooper Jazz Orchestra 2007 Engineer, Mixing
Jimmy Buffett Live 2007 Engineer
Sones de Mexico Esta Tierra Tuya 2007 Engineer, Mixing
Queen Latifah Hairspray 2007 Engineer, Mixing
Fantasia The Color Purple 2007 Engineer
Various Artists Acoustic Chicago 2007 Producer, Engineer, Mixing
Styx iTunes Live 2006 Engineer
Jay-Z Live Show 2006 Engineer
Kanye West & Jamie Foxx One Night Extravaganza 2006 Engineer
Lovehammers Marty Casey & Lovehammers 2006 Engineer, Mixing
Twista Kamikaze 2004 Engineer, Mixing
Lil' Jon & the East Side Boyz Crunk Juice 2004 Engineer
Usher Confessions 2004 Engineer
E-Dub Prezident 2004 Engineer
Enuff Z'Nuff ? 2004 Mixing
Rival State of Mind 2004 Producer, Engineer
Jin The Rest is History 2004 Engineer
Tori Amos Mona Lisa Smile 2003 Engineer
Ben Harper Q101 Live 2003 Engineer
Enuff Z'Nuff Welcome To Blue Island 2003 Engineer, Mixing
Disturbed Live in London 2003 Engineer
Mickey Hart Best of Mickey Hart: Over the Edge 2002 Engineer
Rod Stewart It Had to Be You: The Great American Songbook 2002 Engineer
Common Electric Circus 2002 Engineer, Assistant
Kiss Box Set: Special Edition 2001 Engineer
Limp Bizkit End of Days Soundtrack Engineer, Mixing
Madonna Ray of Light Live Engineer, Mixing
Nas & R. Kelly Street Dreams Engineer, Mixing
Crucial Conflict Good Side, Bad Side Engineer
Kiss Revenge Engineer
Alice in Chains Live Facelift Engineer, Mixing
Suicidal Tendencies Lights...Camera...Revolution! Engineer
White Lion Big Game Engineer
B.B.King King of Blues:1989 Assistant Engineer
Faster Pussycat Faster Pussycat 1987 Assistant Engineer
Miles Davis Music from Siesta Assistant Engineer
Paul Simon Graceland Assistant

References
  1. http://www.ChrisSteinmetz.com/bio Biography
  2. http://www.ChrisSteinmetz.com/bio Biography
  3. http://www.ChrisSteinmetz.com/discog Discography
  4. http://mixguides.com/consoles/tips_and_techniques/six-views-51-0800/%5B%5D Six Views on 5.1
  5. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2008-10-13. Retrieved 2008-08-10.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) Interview with music producer Chris Steinmetz
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