Catching Up With...Steve Lillywhite

Paste: You’ve worked with U2, Talking Heads, Matchbox 20 and Guster. How do you decide which ones are right for you and which ones aren’t going to be for you?
Lillywhite: There are so many different things I have to… Well, for instance, Matchbox 20 is a band I’d always liked, but never really thought I’d be their producer. But when they called me up, and they said they wanted to make a different sounding record from their last one, I was interested, and then I had a meeting, and the thing about them is that they all wanted me to do it for different albums I’d produced. It wasn’t all because I’d worked with one group, you know?

And I remember, for instance, with Guster, when I went to see them, all the songs I liked when they played live were songs that were going to be on the album for me to produce, so I thought, “Wow, this is great! I love these songs.”
It was a no-brainer, and I went to see a band the other day, and the one song they played that was a new song was my favorite, and I went, “Oh my God, I have to produce this band.” There’s a band called Blue October, and they’ve done quite well without anyone really knowing who they are. I’m going to be doing their album next.

Paste: When you started in the music industry, you were a tape operator. Did you expect to get to where you are now from your job with Polygram, or was it a glorious accident? Did you kind of find your way as your were going along, or is this how you hoped it would be?
Lillywhite: Well, everyone always thinks it’s an accident to start with, but you can only con people once or twice. To be able to still make good records 30 years later, I think you have to have some talent. But for me, how it started was punk rock in the late '70s, and that’s how I got my first break really. It was great, I really enjoyed it and I like the attitude of punk rock. That’s how I’m going to carry on with my work.

Paste: On June 5 you’re going to be doing a preview on NPR of the "Sessions," and you’re going to give away the top five songs significant to your career, is that right?
Lillywhite: I think I am, yes. I looked at my records, I had to go on the Internet to remind myself who I’d produced, and I chose five songs really for the stories that go with them as much as the music. There are quite a few records I could have chosen that would have been pretty good, but the stories were good for these five, so I think you’ll enjoy the music if not my talking.

Paste: And what is it about Avatar Studios that’s so legendary? Is it because it’s been around for so long? The many different people have recorded there?
Lillywhite: It’s been around for so long, but also recording studios are really being hit by the recession in the music business slow down. Because of the cost of real estate being so high in Manhattan, there are very few studios left. I grew up in recording studios and I'm forever grateful for them. Avatar Studio is my favorite studio in New York. There’s no question.