Linda Perry

I left 4 Non Blondes and went to work with Bill Bottrell on In Flight [Perry’s 1996 solo album, re-released in 2005], and right then and there I met my mentor. I kept asking questions, and finally Bill put me in front of the board and said, “Here you go. This is your pan, this is your effects, this is your low end, your mid-lows, your mid-highs, here’s your gain, here’s your fader. Turn the knobs and push buttons and raise the faders until it all sounds right to your ear.” And I said, “Well, what about all those little needles? What if they’re pushing into the red?” He said, “Don’t pay attention to that. Listen with your ears, not your eyes.” That has been my No. 1 rule of recording. If it sounds good to me, I keep it and that’s that. That’s what makes me a good producer: I’m a really good listener. I’m not looking for perfection. People have to learn that perfection isn’t best. If you want to hear what perfection is doing, listen to the radio and go out and see concerts, see what it’s doing to people. It’s taking the human out of the music.

From Performing Songwriter Issue 99, Jan/Feb 2007

Category: In Their Own Words