Dave Cobb

Dave Cobb (born July 9, 1974) is a record producer who is based in Nashville, Tennessee, best known for producing the work of country acts such as Sturgill Simpson, Chris Stapleton,^[1] Jamey Johnson, Shooter Jennings, Colter Wall, Zac Brown Band, Lori McKenna, Brandi Carlile, Anderson East and Jason Isbell.^[2][3][4]

Early life

Cobb was born in Savannah, Georgia,^[5] to Mary Cobb (née Floyd) and David Cobb, Sr. He went to The Cottage School in Roswell, Georgia.

Cobb said his family was very religious and was active in the Pentecostal faith (his maternal grandmother was a minister).^[6] Cobb started out playing drums and taking guitar lessons at church when he was four years old.^[6]

Career

When Cobb was first starting in music, he worked as a session player in Atlanta.^[7] He joined the band The Tender Idols, featuring Ian Webber (vocals), Danny Howes (guitar), Guy Strauss (drums) and Joe Jones (bass). They released three LPs, the second of which Dave Cobb co-produced. They signed with Emagine Records based in New York. Cobb played guitar and bass and was in the band for seven years.^[8] He was involved in the recording process, which got him interested in being in the studio, and led to him recording other bands he was friends with.^[5] The record contract was very restrictive and took a long time to get out of.^[6]

From when he was 27 years old, Cobb lived in Los Angeles, where he went after moving on from the band. He lived there from 2004 to 2011, eventually moving to Nashville in 2011.^[9]

Cobb considers Shooter Jennings family. The two have worked together for a long time, since they met in California via Cobb's manager, Andrew Brightman.^[5] In 2005, Cobb and Jennings made the record Put the "O" Back in Country, together as their first collaboration.^[8]

In 2009, from his connection to Jennings, Cobb produced Oak Ridge Boys' record The Boys Are Back,^[10] encouraging the band to record outside their catalog. They covered songs by The White Stripes, Neil Young, John Lee Hooker.^[11]

Cobb and Sturgill Simpson first met at a Billy Joe Shaver concert.^[12] They completed the record Metamodern Sounds in Country Music in four days. Cobb says he used many vintage recording techniques, avoiding the electronic approach.^[8]

The approach of recording Jason Isbell's Southeastern was an effort to chronicle an acoustic sound similar to what is found on Simon And Garfunkel's Bridge over Troubled Water, where non-traditional recording environments captured a live, warm sound.^[5][13]

Cobb met singer-songwriter Anderson East at Nashville's legendary Bluebird Cafe. The two ended up making East's record, Delilah, which was recorded at legendary FAME Studios in North Alabama's Muscle Shoals. Rodney Hall from FAME allowed the pair into the archives—in the vault they found George Jackson's song, "Find 'Em, Fool 'Em, Forget 'Em," which is now a track on Delilah.^[14] The video for "Find 'Em" is shot at FAME.^[15]

In 2013, Cobb began work producing Early Morning Shakes, the third studio album from Whiskey Myers, a Country Southern rock band from Palestine, Texas. The record was released on February 4, 2014.

Cobb is managed by Brightman Music.^[16] He runs Low Country Sound^[17] an imprint of Elektra that has a deal with Atlantic Records.^[18] The debut project for Low Country Sound was the 2015 record Delilah, by Anderson East, who is currently signed with the label.^[19]

In 2016, Cobb curated the collaborative album Southern Family. Cobb was inspired by the album White Mansions. It was released on his Low Country Sound imprint. The record, which is characterized as a concept album, is focused on themes centered on family values and the artist's experiences growing up in the South. It contains song contributions by Zac Brown, Anderson East, Jason Isbell, Shooter Jennings, Jamey Johnson, Miranda Lambert, Morgane and Chris Stapleton among others. It was released on March 18, 2016.^[20]

In July 2016, Cobb took residency of RCA Studio A on Nashville's Music Row. The studio is Adjacent to RCA Studio B which opened in 1956. The title of Chris Stapleton's 2017 release From A Room: Vol. 1 refers to the album being recorded at the studio.

Artistic approach

“Number one is the voice. That’s what people respond to the most, the singer is everything.” -Dave Cobb

Cobb has said he focuses on the performer's voice, aiming for an end product which sounds natural. Cobb often plays guitar, and occasionally drums, on the records he produces.^[5] Cobb cites Jimmy Miller (Sticky Fingers, Exile on Main Street) as an important influence in his approach to producing, as well as Glyn Johns and Brendan O'Brien.^[5] Current influences include Gabriel Roth (Daptone Records).^[21]

Personal life

Cobb lives in the Green Hills neighborhood of Nashville, Tennessee.^[9][19] He is married. He and his wife, who is from Albania, They have a daughter.^[6][8][9]

One of Cobb's paternal cousins from Georgia is the singer-songwriter Brent Cobb.^[8][22] Additionally, Cobb said he grew up with musician Butch Walker.^[6]

Cobb has talked about the long-term passion that turned into a serious hobby where he explores different types of wine, especially from the Paso Robles, California and other California vineyard areas.^[6]

Awards

• 2011: Grammy awards nominee, Jamey Johnson's The Guitar Song for Best Country Album^[19]
• 2014: Americana Music Association for Album of the Year, Jason Isbell's Southeastern^[23]
• 2014: Americana Music Association WINNER, Producer of the Year^[5]
• 2014: Grammy awards nominee, Sturgill Simpson's Metamodern Sounds in Country Music for Americana Album of the Year
• 2015: Grammy awards nominee for Producer of the Year
• 2015: Grammy awards WINNER, Chris Stapleton's Traveller for Best Country Album
• 2015: Grammy awards WINNER, Jason Isbell's Something More Than Free for Best Americana Album
• 2016: Americana Music Association WINNER, Album of the Year, Jason Isbell's Something More Than Free
• 2016: Americana Music Association WINNER, Producer of the Year
• 2016: Music Row awards, WINNER, Producer of the Year
• 2017: Country Music Awards WINNER, Chris Stapleton's From A Room: Volume 1
• 2017: Country Music Awards WINNER, Producer of the Year
• 2018: Grammy awards nominee, Brent Cobb Shine On Rainy Day for Best Americana Album
• 2018: Grammy awards WINNER, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit's The Nashville Sound for Best Americana Album
• 2018: Grammy awards WINNER, Chris Stapleton's From A Room: Vol. 1 for Best Country Album

Equipment

• Console / board: HELIOS by Dick Swettenham (Abbey Road Studios)^[6]
• Recorder: Endless Analog's CLASP (Closed Loop Analog Signal Processor)^[24][25]
• Converters: Burl Audio B80 Mothership and the B32 Vancouver^[26]

Selected discography

Chart positions

Twice in June 2017 Dave Cobb produced albums held 4 of the top 5 Billboard Country albums. The first was the week of June 8 with Chris Stapleton's From A Room: Vol. 1, Zac Brown Band Welcome Home, Chris Stapleton Traveller and Wheeler Walker Jr. 'Ol Wheeler. And again the following week with both Chris Stapleton albums, Zac Brown Band and Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit.

In August 2015, the Cobb-produced record by Jason Isbell, Something More Than Free, debuted at number 1 on Billboard Magazine's rock, folk and country record charts.^[32][33] Although he had had critical success in the Americana genre, this was the first time Isbell received such high ranking across genres.^[34][35]

References

External links

• Official website
• Dave Cobb at AllMusic