Bay Area musician, producer and engineer Jim Greer taught himself piano as a child and became obsessed with four-track recording once he reached his teens. In college he frequented studios with various bands and began to learn production and engineering, largely through osmosis. Following graduation he worked at buzzy San Francisco venue Paradise Lounge where he connected with producer Dan the Automator and began to develop indie outfit the Gun & Doll Show. Later he worked with artists including Macy Gray, Big Freedia and Foster the People. He now creates primarily from The Rondo Loft, his Berkeley home studio.
“I thrive on the magical feeling of the sounds,” Greer observes of production’s appeal to him. “When I was little, I never listened to lyrics. I love to get into the intricacies of music and the way it all fits together. When I work with an artist and a song cracks open into something bigger, that’s very fulfilling. The best part is the joy of working with young artists. Bringing a song to life and seeing how happy that makes them gives me joy. It’s a great, fun feeling.”
Greer hails from the Midwest. One of the qualities he feels this has bred in him is a breezy yet focused approach to his craft. “I put artists at ease in the studio,” he observes. “People tell me that I have a really relaxed vibe; I don’t make a big deal out of anything.”…