David Frangioni has worked on world-class projects for clients such as Aerosmith, Ozzy Osbourne, Shakira, Rascal Flatts, Sting, Journey, The Stones, Kiss, Elton John, Ringo Starr, Cher and countless other musical powerhouses.
We’ve asked him to share what it’s been like to work with singers – and his thoughts on how all singers can “up” their musical game.
You’ve worked with so many professional, award winning singers known for their unique, characteristic voices. Are there any qualities that are shared between them?
Yes, incredible natural talent combined with a solid work ethic.
Anything that you’ve noticed on what these singers do to get into “the zone” or feel the “vibe” when they are recording in a studio setting or preparing for a live performance?
Yes: all of them are focused and centered around the song that they are singing in that moment.
We’d love to know when you got goose bumps as an engineer/producer when working on vocal tracks – any stories come to mind?
There are too many to list but recording Steven Tyler consistently made me shake my head in disbelief as to how creative and high-energy his talent is – as well as the same for Ozzy Osbourne though Ozzy is a true comedian and softer-spoken man so their personalities off-mic are very different but their on-mic talent is indescribably amazing. You know it’s them singing from note one onward…
Other than practice and rehearsal, what are some things that professional singers do to prepare for studio work?
Drink tea or something to soothe the vocal cords, warm-up properly, and make sure the headphone mix is solid before final takes.
You have such a rich set of skills as a drummer and as a technologist. As you look at singers what would you most like to see them do to improve their rhythm?
Understand where the downbeat is and be able to intrinsically count in rhythm as well as time the measures.
What would you recommend in terms of a singer taking a step ahead into the area of technology?
Get a great mic that sounds best for your voice and learn the basics of recording on a computer so you can practice and hear back what they need to work on.
At this time, many singers may want to be recording their voices at home for sharing on social platforms – any tips or insights you have for them to “up their game” (I suppose that could be an entire article itself!)
Yes, that’s a long story but short version is to get the right mic and mic pre amp and learn how to sing in the studio by doing it at home!
Any dreams and goals for the next few years that are inspiring you?
Dreams and goals fuel every day and have since I was a kid. Every idea starts with a dream, once it turns into a goal there’s no stopping until it’s manifested.
A quote that inspires you in your work?
“Never, Ever, Ever Give Up”
What are you working on at the moment?
Many different projects including CEO/Publisher Modern Drummer, Producing & mixing some tracks for various artists, Building studios for producers and artists through Frangioni Media and lots more
Check out our article by Grammy Award Winning Engineer Gustavo Borner sharing the qualities he obverses in professional singers.
David Frangioni is the recipient of dozens of Gold and Platinum albums as technical consultant, engineer, and/or programmer having worked with Ozzy Osbourne, Steven Tyler, Olivia Newton-John, Ringo Starr, Shakira, Bryan Adams and Ricky Martin. David is founder of Frangioni Media www.frangionimedia.com ; IDA: Inspire & Develop Artists artist development program www.allaccessida.com and Audio One www.audio-one.com
