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Zac Cataldo was raised on
The Beatles and Barry Manilow although he has forgiven his parents for the
latter. At fourteen he formed Straight Edge, a ten-piece Boston rock band
(that’s 4 girl backup singers and a cello) and played local clubs like the
Rat and the Channel (gone but not forgotten). As the
Singer/Songwriter/Guitarist, Zac figured out how to keep beer bottle
throwing to a minimum. As the band’s Babysitter/Manager he learned the ins
and outs of the local music scene, and could be seen pawning tickets in
Kenmore Square to a show (back then you paid to play). To put himself
through college, Zac worked as a mobile and radio DJ, in the days when you
needed a van to lug around your “record collection”.
 Truthfully, Zac started
playing in a band when he was thirteen that recorded in his Math teacher’s
8-track basement studio. Although he’d like to forget about most of the
music, it was this eye-opening experience that sparked his interest to
become a sound engineer. At 15, Zac began interning at Boston’s 24 track
studios like Newbury Sound and Pyramid, working with producers like Drew
Townson and WBCN’s Lisa Traxler. Zac was highly sought after and worked
with 80’s bands like The Next, Bang, and Anastasia Screamed because he would
gladly run off to the corner store for coffee and guitar strings (or dirty
magazines for a certain bassist who will go nameless).
In the early 90’s, Zac
relocated to L.A. (why – he still can’t tell you) and returned with memories
of egocentric music executives, corporate power lunches, and earthquakes.
Upon his return in the mid 90’s, Zac started the original 2 room Night Train
Studios, which could have fit in today’s Isolation Room A with room to
spare. There, he pioneered digital recording long before it became the
standard that it is today. Back then everyone thought he was crazy, and
looking back even he will admit he squeezed more tracks out of a PC than
should have been physically possible.
In the late 90’s, Zac bumped
into Stephen Messinger, a recent graduate of Middlebury College, and knew
right away that their combined forces would either conquer the world (or
undermine world stability). After entering the world of music as a radio
DJ at WRMC, Stephen had to be escorted everywhere by personal bodyguards who
often had to test their mettle against unruly crowds. Working behind the
scenes, as a sound engineer would provide just the level of anonymity that
Stephen was looking for.
Actually, Stephen’s
energetic youth coupled with his never give up attitude mixes perfectly with
Zac’s middle-aged lethargy and “we’ll fix it in the mix” style to create the
musical dream team. Zac and Stephen enjoy working with talented local
musicians. Their perfect blend, much like a pot of Costa Rican coffee
extracts great performances and makes musicians feel right at home in the
studio. |
