Joe Franco, owner of Beatstreet Productions in New York City, specializes in audio post and record production work. NEW YORK, NEW YORK: As an original member of Twisted Sister, drummer Joe Franco lived the glamorous life of a rock star. But the glare of the lights and the roar of the crowd fade over time. Franco eventually wanted to write a new chapter in his musical career, one that would allow him to stay at home in New York City with his wife Cheryl and daughters Sarah and Dana now seven and four years old. Melding his stick skills with a love for computers, Joe established himself as one of the premiere drum programmers in the city by the mid-90s, with star clients, including Hall & Oates, Mariah Carey and Celine Dion on his resume. In 1995 he opened his own facility, Beatstreet Productions, in the Flat Iron section of Manhattan. Specializing in audio post and record production work, Beatstreet is a three-room facility that features three ProTools systems, a DigiDesign ProControl work surface, and outboard gear handpicked by Franco and his engineering staff. High on the list of his preferred equipment is the Daking 91570 Compressor/Limiter and 5227 Mic Pre's that Beatstreet uses on a regular basis. "I've known Geoff Daking for years", says Franco. "He was the drummer for the Blues Magoos and now he designs some amazing gear. If you don't believe me, ask him! Just kidding. Geoff's known for his tremendous commitment to quality and it shows in everything he makes." When he first hung out the Beatstreet shingle, Joe Franco's studio sported a very modest equipment list. "I had a chintzy analog console and a few ADAT decks - that was it. The first decision I made was to get some quality EQ modules in here. I looked around and decided to purchase a pair of the 5227s. Geoff came down here personally and delivered them. I loved their sound so much that I immediately bought a second pair for our B room." The audio post business often places a premium on speed - call it the 'hit it and git it' pressure that every composer and facility owner is familiar with. Franco says that his Daking equipment is an invaluable asset in quick turn around sessions. "We have Neves and a rack of APIs but the Neves -which are excellent for some applications, can get muddy, particularly if we're tracking a husky sounding voice-over talent. The combination of the Daking Mic Pre and Daking Comp/Limiter really works well in this kind of scenario. We often find ourselves tracking a lot of voice over talent in a short period, with each person saying just a couple of lines. We don't always have the luxury of setting up different mic pres and compressors for each person. The Daking compressor in particular seems to work well for everyone in a situation like this. We were also looking around very carefully for a good mix buss compressor, and brought lots of different compressors in here for a shoot out. Without question, the 91579 was the smoothest we listened to." Nick Cipriano, who has been engineering sessions at Beatstreet for the last year and a half, noted, "The Daking Mic Pre is a killer on overheads in particular," says Cipriano. "They are extremely clear on the high end and the equalization is subtle and musical. The compressors are very tight. They're also flexible; I can get a lot of different sounds out of one compressor. For example, the 91579 really tightens up a mix when I strap it across the main mix buss. I also might use it to tighten up just the snare and kick, or place it on a single instrument, a crunching guitar, let's say. It's got a quick release and is very transparent." Joe Franco has managed to create the kind of career that few musicians are able to realize. His professional time is split between producing sessions for television - including three seasons of music and audio post for the multi-Emmy award-winning PBS series 'Between the Lions' - and playing the drums live and on recordings just as he's always loved doing. He's currently in the middle of a new series for HBO Family called "I Spy" and is also in production on a new record, "Van Helsing's Curse." This project is with his old Twisted Sister partner Dee Snider, and Al Pitrelli (Megadeth, Alice Cooper), who was the guitarist Franco and Snider played with in the band Widowmaker. "We're really excited about this project. The piece is actually a horror-rock soundtrack that will be performed next October as part of the Halloween Theme Park at Universal Studios, Orlando, Florida. I'm very fortunate. I still identify myself as a rock drummer, and I get to indulge in my passion by getting behind the kit on some interesting projects while Beatstreet Productions keeps a regular flow of commercial work coming in. The balance of the two is what makes it all work for me." |
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