It is my pleasure to bring you an exclusive interview with one of Raleigh’s most well known recording engineers & producers in the scene. Dick Hodgin from Osceola Studios has been in the music business for 30 years as a producer and manager. He relocated to the triangle in 1982 from South Carolina and has been a part of the NC music scene in someway since then. Dick has a reputation for sharp, HONEST, no punches pulled advice and counsel which has earned him “Dream Assassin” nickname. Over the years, he’s worked as a manager, producer, engineer, booking agent, publicist, promoter, tour manager, sound man, travel agent, baby sitter, transmission repairman, radio promoter, etc.
Dick’s portfolio of artists that he has worked with include: Lynyrd Skynyrd, Hootie and The Blowfish, Corrosion Of Conformity, Confessor, Clay Aiken and many, many more.
Here we go:
1. For the readers out there that don’t know you, let us know a bit about what you and Osceola Studios do?
I’ve been in the music business for 30 years as a engineer, producer and manager. I relocated to the triangle in 1982 from South Carolina, and opened M80 Management Company in 1985. I’ve have a reputation for sharp, HONEST, no punches pulled advice and counsel which has earned me the nickname of “The Dream Assassin”.
Over the years, I’ve had to wear about as many hats as there are to wear in the music biz. Manager, producer. Engineer, booking agent, publicist, promoter, tour manager, sound man, travel agent, baby sitter, transmission repairman, radio promoter, etc. My Studio, OSCEOLA STUDIOS, is a full service recording studio with analog and digital service.
I was a co-founder of the famed NORTH CAROLINA MUSIC SHOWCASE, I’ve written numerous articles on the web, moderated music panels for various conferences and I’m still a voting member of the Grammys organization, NARAS. I’ve got a few awards including a regional EMMY, a Parents Choice Award and a Kids Music Award. I’m a father of two, served for 8 years on the North Carolina Childcare Commision and have taught digital audio as an Adjunct Lecturer at North Carolina State University.
2. You have been around the Raleigh rock & metal scene for years now, who are some of the local artists that you have worked with over the years.
I’ve produced, engineered, or managed such artists as: The Accelerators, Hootie and The Blowfish, Cravin’ Melon, Jason Michael Carroll, Clay Aiken, Corrosion Of Conformity, Johnny Quest, Big Daddy Kane, Troop 41, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Flat Duo Jets, Far Too Jones, Confessor, and J. Cole to name just a few.
3. Osceola has worked with many major label artists, who are some of the biggest that you have worked with over the years?
I’d say Lynyrd Skynyrd was the biggest to come through……
4. What is your approach in the studio in regards to working with new artists with a limited budget vs working with major label artists with a lot more money to spend?
When you’re working with major label stuff, there is no clock (so to speak) it’s all going on the tab and no one is really freaking out about it……when i’m working on indie artists who are shelling out the $$ from their own pockets, there’s a lot of educational PRE-RECORDING work that i like to do that prepares the artist to make better use of the time and budget…..lot’s of artists walk in and go ” Ooooooooo” at all the gear and think that all that gear is gonna make them sound perfect….. making the best use of their time and PREPARING for all the things they’re gonna be doing in here is SO important…
I ask the band to give me a number for the budget they have to work with, and then i work backwards from there to break it down in terms of how much time is allowable for each different section of work that needs to be accomplished… Tracking, over-dubbing, additional instrumentation, vocals, background vocals, editing all the parts, pitch correction and mixing all take time. It’s important to get an idea up front of how MUCH time is going to be used for each. I never want a client to have sticker shock at the end of the project..
5. Osceola recently moved to a new location, give us the details of that, what was the reason for the change and what can future customers expect from the new place?
The old studio’s lease on Boylan Ave had run out, and quite frankly, the building owner wanted more money than it was worth… We made the decision to make the move in May of 2011, and it took us about 3 months to get it done. We had massive wiring and equipment issues with the old and the new building. The new location has bigger, nicer rooms and the up fit for the tracking and control rooms is suWEET…
6. What is your opinion on the state of the music industry in general these days?
The “industry” of making music is in trouble. They missed seeing the digital genie getting out of the bottle, then tried to throw scads of money at trying to force him back in. Historically, the music “business” has overlooked thousands of artists who could be viable commodities by just hanging around waiting on the “next big thing”.. I’ts like a big shrimp boat…..labels had a bad habit of just getting the nets in the water and scooping up whatever they found, and then picking out the best ones. Instead of maybe looking a bit deeper, or going to different areas to look, they just took whatever. Sure, they found some hits, but then they also put out a bunch of CRAP hoping they would be hits.
Let’s face it. It’s ALL just speculation…..if a record company KNEW what a hit was, i mean beyond a shadow of a doubt, that’s ALL they would put out..but they DON”T know…..they’re just speculating like everyone else..
Now, we have the internet……the good and the bad…….it’s an amazing tool for bands to finally have their own “store front”, accessible globally, but the problem now is that there are SO FRICKING MANY that it’s confusing and overwhelming to the average music lover…
7. You have been around the Raleigh music scene for years now, how have you seen it change & what is your opinion on the current scene in Raleigh?
The Brewery is gone now. 
soon, Sadlacks too. When i first came to NC, the Cameron Village Subway had 3 different venues across the hall from each other running completely different genre’s of music. There used to be big clubs with their own styles of music that did well. Now, not so much. The the drinking age changed and that put a hurting on bars everywhere……when the bottom line got tighter, the choice of what kinds of music the club would have changed drastically.
Bands like Johnny Quest, COC, Sex Police, Dillion Fence all had huge fan bases…..they could draw 800 people on a freaking tuesday night with hardly any promotion. Not any more….the “regional band” is all but gone……can you name one un-signed band doing original music that can draw like that?
8. We have seen a lot of what people used to go to a recording studio been replaced by advances in technology, how does a recording studio such as Osceola compete in the DIY era?
We compete by having the quality level that all the DYI’ers are all striving for. I don’t know a lot of home studios that have $5000.00 mics or a $200,000 console…..or a $40,000 24 track analog machine. Plus, i’ve been making records for 30 years. that’s what we offer. It’s not just the gear. (ok, the gear helps – lol)
Lot’s of folks ask me “hey man, aren’t you bummed that people can do it all in their bedroom with a mac and garage band now?” and i say “no”, cause they’re not doing what i’m doing……what they ARE doing is learning that being a recording engineer is a full time freaking job and you’ll spend thousands of hours finding that out. Artists spend a few grand on some of the latest digi box and after about 6 months, they say, “damn….this is hard!!”…
What i DO like about the home recording artists is that when the come to me, they are much more knowledgeable about what it TAKES to get that killer sound…..and they understand that it takes WORK to get the good stuff……it’s not just some button on a plugin….
9. I remember a few years ago you were a judge on a local TV show which aired before American Idol which pretty much mimicked the show, how did that get put together and why did that end?
HAHA…..”gimme the mike”,,,,,,,that was so awesomely bad i laugh at it……that was the brain child of some other Fox affiliates and the one here decided to do it as well. I was sposed to be the “mean judge”…..i don’t remember how they found me, but it was really weird seeing myself on tv….lol……..and as cheesy as it was, the production aspect of it was really good……it looked awesome even tho they dressed me funny……oh, and it pretty much LAUNCHED the career of Jason Michael Carroll ……so…
10. Years later how do you feel being remembered by some of the local viewers as the local “Simon Cowell”?
The tv guys wanted me to be just like simon, although, i’d never watched one episode of AI…(still haven’t). But i had seen some clips and i told them that i wouldn’t purposely humiliate anyone, but i would do the next best thing. I’d tell the truth……and that’s just as bad sometimes….
Funny story (well, not at the time)…..i was getting into my car at a grocery store when a BIG, BRUISER of a brother walked up and said “hey, you’re that judge on the tv show”…..i mean this guys was offensive line big and strong)…..i said, yeah, and reached to shake his hand. He got right in my face, and poked me in the chest with his finger and said “look mother fucker, that was my cousin you were dissin on in the show last week, i don’t think it was very nice what you said !”…….and i mean he was PISSED…….i had to think of something fast cause this guy was going to clean my clock and no one was gonna come help me…….i stuttered and blurted out “man, i’m sorry, but it was TELEVISION!!! THEY MADE US FOLLOW A SCRIPT….THEY HAD ALL THAT STUFF WRITTEN OUT FOR US!!!!!”
He eased up a bit and said, “well it was BULLSHIT MAN, and I don’t think you oughta be saying stuff like that to those people !”" i agreed that some of the things were harsh, and he kinda let me go……….sheesh…
11. You also run M-80 management company, talk a bit about that and what you offer to artists in todays time vs what you have done in years past?
I still have M80 Management, but i don’t have any management clients….i got out of that in 2001.
12. Why do they call you the “DREAM ASSASSIN”?
I first got that name at SXSW on some panel they introduced me on, basically cause i was the only one that would sit there in front of all the aspiring artists and have the balls to tell them that some of them weren’t gonna be big stars….. I’ve been known as a str8 shooter who is very up front with the truth……it hurts people sometimes…..but for the majority of folks that really are gonna do this as a career, they appreciate it…there’ are plenty of peeps in the business that will slap you on the back and tell you that everything is just great…..that’s not me….unless it’s “great”…
13. You have been part of Raleigh’s music scene since the early 80′s as far as I know, what pulled you to this area originally?
I was managing a little band in SC called moonpie. We had been trying for a long time to get up to the raleigh area to play when we finally got a chance to play the PIER in cameron village subway. We were opening for a band called ARROGANCE, and when we pulled up to the club at 6pm to sound check, there were maybe 300-400 people ALREADY IN LINE to see them that night……it was crazy, and definitely nothing like we were used to from little towns in SC……..we played that night to a sold out show, everyone loved the band, and we got offered a small Indy record deal from Dolphin Records which was a part of the big RECORD BAR chain…….we moved to raleigh that december…..
14. You have worked with a wide range of artists ranging from metal such as Confessor & COC to Clay Aiken & Hootie & The Blowfish, do you have a different approach when doing a metal artist vs doing a project with a very commercial pop artist?
Not so much a different approach, cause my main focus is “serving the song”, rather different tools and textures…..the artist provides the “art”…..i help them pick a “canvas”, a “frame”, and where on the wall to hang it….then i pick out what kind of lighting will show it best…
15. What are some of your favorite locations & venues around the Raleigh area to see live music at?
I like just about all the venues around….i go to them all….i really miss the brewery…..
16. As a person who without question is a veteran of the scene, what advice would you give to a young kid out there who has stars in his/her eyes and wants to “be a rock star”.
It’s not as easy as it looks…..unfortunately, there is a whole generation of kids that think “BAND CAMP” is real……just like any other craft, it takes WORK…….try looking into the work part of it…You may have talent, but developing that talent is what elevates you.
17. What new bands have you guys been spinning lately, anyone out there on a local level or national acts that just blow you away… after working with music all day long do you get a chance to check out newer artists that much?
I try to stay in touch with just about every new artist that comes out and listen to at least SOME of what they are doing…..i’d be wasting money if i bought their cds cause i just do not have the time to listen to them…..i try to find about 10 hrs/ week to listen to new stuff……
18. We are seeing a lot of older bands reuniting lately and it seems that things are picking up a bit musically in respect to harder rock/metal type music, do you get that vibe and if so what do you think is the reason?
All those old bands are getting it back together cause they miss it, and they can make some money…their fan base will react when they come back and go buy a cd and go see them live…some of them SHOULDN’T come back out….lol…….or hit some freaking salad for a few months before they do……also, old bands, I got some advice……..HIGH DEFINITION CAMERAS aren’t your friends……MAKE UP!!!!
19. If you could pick a dream lineup of artists (either alive or dead) to work with in the studio who would it be?
I used to have a long list of all the big stars i’d love to record, but actually, i’d rather see new talent……sure, it’d be great to have john lennon call, or springsteen, or ozzie, or freddy mercury, or deep purple……the list could go on and on…..If paul mccartney is reading this, “PAUL, call me!! I’ll moves some stuff around”
20. This pretty much sums it up, anything else you would like to let our readers know about Osceola Studios or Dick Hodgin in general, here is your chance?
Just a big invitation to everyone out there that’s thinking about doing some recording to hit me up and come take a free tour……i think you’ll like what you see…
Thanks Dick for such an awesome interview, to contact Dick go to:
Osceola Recording Studios
1101 Capital Blvd
Raleigh, NC 27603
(919) 828-1113
http://www.osceolastudios.com
http://www.facebook.com/osceolastudios
Editor/Writer: Glen Stewart
Photos : Contributed By Dick Hodgin & Osceola Studios
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