Dave_Cobb

Dave Cobb

Dave Cobb

American record producer

Dave Cobb (born July 9, 1974) is a 9 time Grammy Award Winning American record producer based in Nashville, Tennessee, best known for producing the work of Chris Stapleton, Brandi Carlile, John Prine, Sturgill Simpson, Jason Isbell, The Highwomen, Take That, Rival Sons, and Zayn Malik, among others.[1][2]

For other people with similar names, see David Cobb (disambiguation).
Quick Facts Born, Genres ...

Cobb is also a contributor to the six million-selling 2018 A Star Is Born soundtrack and produced "Always Remember Us This Way" for Lady Gaga.[3][4]

Early life

Cobb was born in Savannah, Georgia,[5] to Mary Cobb (née Floyd) and David Cobb, Sr. He went to The Cottage School in Roswell, Georgia.

Cobb said his family was very religious and was active in the Pentecostal faith (his maternal grandmother was a minister).[6] Cobb started out playing drums and taking guitar lessons at church when he was four years old.[6]

Career

When Cobb was first starting in music, he worked as a session player in Atlanta, Georgia.[7] He joined the band The Tender Idols, featuring Ian Webber (vocals), Danny Howes (guitar), Guy Strauss (drums) and Joe Jones (bass). They released three LPs, the second of which Dave Cobb co-produced. They signed with Emagine Records based in New York City.

Cobb played guitar and bass and was in this band for seven years.[8] He was involved in the recording process, which got him interested in being in the studio, and led to him recording and producing other bands he was friends with.[5] The record contract was very restrictive and took a long time to get out of.[6]

Cobb moved to Los Angeles, California after he left his band. He lived there from 2004 to 2011, eventually moving to Nashville, Tennessee in 2011.[3]

Cobb considers Shooter Jennings family. The two have worked together for a long time, since they met in California via Cobb's manager, Andrew Brightman.[5] In 2005, Cobb and Jennings made the record Put the "O" Back in Country, together as their first collaborative work.[8]

In 2009, thanks to his professional connection to Jennings, Cobb produced the Oak Ridge Boys' record The Boys Are Back,[4] encouraging the band to record outside their standard catalog. The group then went on to cover songs by The White Stripes, Neil Young and John Lee Hooker.[9]

Cobb and Sturgill Simpson originally first met at a Billy Joe Shaver concert.[10] They then went on to complete Sturgill's record Metamodern Sounds in Country Music in only four days. Cobb has said he used many different vintage recording techniques, avoiding any electronic recording approaches for this particular album.[8]

Cobb's approach of studio recording for Jason Isbell's Southeastern was an effort to chronicle an acoustic sound similar to what is found on Simon And Garfunkel's Bridge over Troubled Water, where a non-traditional recording environment was captured to provide an organic, live and "warm" sound.[5][11]

Cobb met singer-songwriter Anderson East at Nashville's legendary Bluebird Cafe. The two ended up making East's record, Delilah, which was recorded at legendary FAME Studios in North Alabama's Muscle Shoals. Rodney Hall from FAME allowed the pair into the archives—in the vault they found George Jackson's song, "Find 'Em, Fool 'Em, Forget 'Em," which is now a track on Delilah.[12] The video for "Find 'Em" is shot at FAME.[13]

In 2013, Cobb began work producing Early Morning Shakes, the third studio album from Whiskey Myers, a Country Southern rock band from Palestine, Texas. The record was released on February 4, 2014.

Cobb's professional career is managed by Brightman Music.[14] Cobb also runs Low Country Sound[15] an imprint of Elektra that has a distribution deal with Atlantic Records.[16] The debut project for Low Country Sound was the 2015 record Delilah, by Anderson East, who is currently signed with the label.[17]

In 2016, Cobb produced and curated the collaborative album Southern Family. Cobb has said he was inspired by the album White Mansions. It was released on his Low Country Sound imprint. The record, which is characterized as a concept album, is focused on themes centered on family values and the artist's experiences growing up in the South. It contains song contributions by Zac Brown, Anderson East, Jason Isbell, Shooter Jennings, Jamey Johnson, Miranda Lambert, Morgane and Chris Stapleton among others. It was officially released on March 18, 2016.[18]

In July 2016, Cobb began a long-term residency at RCA Studio A on Nashville's Music Row. The studio is adjacent to the famed RCA Studio B which opened in 1956. The title of Chris Stapleton's 2017 release From A Room: Vol. 1 refers to the album being recorded at the studio, as does The Oak Ridge Boys' 2018 release, 17th Avenue Revival, referring to the studio's location on 17th Avenue in Nashville.

In 2022, Cobb produced Gavin DeGraw's eighth album titled Face the River, 4 by Slash featuring Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators and Sammy Hagar and The Circle's album Crazy Times.

Artistic approach

Cobb has said he focuses on the performer's voice, aiming for an end product which sounds natural. Cobb often plays guitar, and occasionally drums, on the records he produces.[5] Cobb cites Jimmy Miller (Sticky Fingers, Exile on Main Street) as an important influence in his approach to producing, as well as Glyn Johns and Brendan O'Brien.[19] Current influences include Gabriel Roth (Daptone Records).[5]

Cobb also is known to not have a preference over analog recordings versus digital, instead believing the spontaneous nature of creativity as well as the inspiration derived from new discovery, predominantly drives the organic quality of a song.[5]

Personal life

Cobb lives in the Green Hills neighborhood of Nashville, Tennessee.[3][17] Cobb is married; he and his wife, who is from Albania, have one daughter together.[6][8][3]

One of Cobb's paternal cousins from Georgia is the singer-songwriter Brent Cobb.[8][20] Additionally, Cobb said he grew up with musician Butch Walker.[6]

Cobb has talked about the long-term passion that turned into a serious hobby where he explores different types of wine, especially from Paso Robles and other California vineyards.[6]

Awards

Equipment

  • Console / board: HELIOS by Dick Swettenham (Abbey Road Studios)[6]
  • Recorder: Endless Analog's CLASP (Closed Loop Analog Signal Processor)[22][23]
  • Converters: Burl Audio B80 Mothership and the B32 Vancouver[24]

Selected discography

More information Artist, Album ...

See also

References

  1. [1]
    Powers, Ann (June 22, 2015). "The Making Of Jason Isbell's '24 Frames'". NPR Music. Retrieved August 13, 2015.
  2. [2]
    Lane, Baron (November 5, 2015). "David Cobb – The Man Behind The Roots Music Tide". Twang Nation. Retrieved November 9, 2015.
  3. [3]
    Powers, Ann (December 16, 2015). "An Outsider Remakes Nashville's Traditional Sound". NPR Music.
  4. [4]
    Kerns, William (June 19, 2009). "Oak Ridge Boys: Legendary vocalists reinvent band with stripped-down sound". Lubbock Avalanche-Journal.
  5. [5]
    Bosso, Joe (October 6, 2014). "Nashville's hottest producer, Dave Cobb, talks "sound purity"". MusicRadar.
  6. [6]
    Monahan, Pat (March 30, 2015). "Episode 87: Dave Cobb by Patcast by Pat Monahan". Patcast by Pat Monahan (Train). starts at 19:40[permanent dead link]
  7. [7]
    Leight, Elias (November 19, 2015). "Producer Dave Cobb Talks Working With Chris Stapleton & Country's 'Tipping Point'". Billboard.
  8. [8]
    Moss, Marissa R. (July 23, 2014). "Producer Profile: Dave Cobb". Rolling Stone.
  9. [9]
    Gerome, John (May 29, 2009). "Oak Ridge Boys tackle White Stripes on new album". Pioneer Press. Associated Press.
  10. [10]
    "Sturgill Simpson & Dave Cobb – Interview". LR Baggs. August 12, 2014.
  11. [11]
    Verity, Michael (October 23, 2015). "The Producers, Part 1: Dave Cobb". The Bluegrass Situation.
  12. [12]
    Orr, Dacey (July 23, 2015). "How a bathroom break at The Bluebird sold superproducer Dave Cobb on Anderson East". Nashville Scene. Archived from the original on December 20, 2015. Retrieved August 13, 2015.
  13. [13]
    East, Anderson (March 2, 2015). "Anderson East – Find 'Em, Fool 'Em and Forget 'Em [Live from FAME Studios]". Anderson East.
  14. [14]
    "Brightman Music – Producer Management". Brightman Music. Retrieved September 20, 2017.
  15. [15]
    "Low Country Sound Official Site". Low Country Sound. Retrieved September 20, 2017.
  16. [16]
    Orr, Dacey (July 24, 2015). "Dave Cobb and Anderson East Talk Bromance, Nashville, FAME Studios, Chris Stapleton and More". Nashville Scene. Archived from the original on August 22, 2015. Retrieved August 11, 2015.
  17. [17]
    Rau, Nate (April 14, 2015). "Red-hot producer Dave Cobb partners with Elektra Records". The Tennessean.
  18. [18]
    Vain, Madison (January 6, 2016). "Dave Cobb explains 'Southern Family'". Entertainment Weekly.
  19. [19]
    Bosso, Joe (February 16, 2015). "Dave Cobb's top 5 tips for producers". MusicRadar.
  20. [20]
    DeYoung, Bill (January 8, 2013). "5 questions: Brent Cobb". Connect Savannah.
  21. [21]
    Mansfield, Brian (September 18, 2014). "Jason Isbell dominates Americana Music Awards". USA Today.
  22. [22]
    "Dave Cobb mixing with Endless Analog CLASP". Endless Analog. February 28, 2010.
  23. [23]
    "Dave Cobb Chooses CLASP for Secret Sisters". Clyne Media. November 5, 2010.
  24. [24]
    "Dave Cobb using the B80 Mothership / B32 Vancouver". Burl Video Productions. October 10, 2013.
  25. [25]
    Roland, Tom (July 22, 2015). "A Thousand Horses Hope They Have The Public's Number With 'Drunk Dial'". Billboard.
  26. [26]
    Horowitz, Hal (February 24, 2015). "Kristin Diable: Create Your Own Mythology". American Songwriter.
  27. [27]
    Lindenmuth, Katy (June 1, 2015). "8 Music-Related Reasons Nashville Is Buzzing Right Now: 6. The Existence of Chris Stapleton". Billboard.
  28. [28]
    Billboard Staff (July 17, 2015). "Tomorrow's Hits: R. City, Anderson East & Rico Richie". Billboard.
  29. [29]
    Dauphin, Chuck (August 6, 2015). "Go Behind the Scenes With Country Singer Lindi Ortega as She Records New Album 'Faded Gloryville': Exclusive Video". Billboard.
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