WCA #603 with Lorenzo Wolff – Building a Brooklyn Studio, Session Bass to Taylor Swift, and Working for Ms. Lauryn Hill

For episode 603, Matt talks with Lorenzo Wolff — a Grammy-winning engineer, producer, musician, and owner of Restoration Sound in Brooklyn. Lorenzo joins on a Saturday from New York to trace a path from a hip-hop-obsessed kid in Nyack, chasing the basslines on Fugees and Wyclef records, to a session bassist, to interning under engineer Scott Lehrer at Second Story Sound, to building one of Brooklyn's most community-minded studios over eleven years. Along the way his string session with violinist Bobby Hawk turned out to be a Taylor Swift record, which led to Ye's Donda, which led to his ongoing work with Ms. Lauryn Hill. They get into the two tiers of gigs (community vs. famous), funding a studio build with a patron's retainer, why he treats generosity and conflict de-escalation as business strategy, and the honesty it takes to work with visionary artists. Enjoy!

In This Episode, We Discuss:

- Growing Up in Nyack, New York, in an Integrated Music Town

- From Hip-Hop and Turntables to Hunting Down the Bass

- The Fugees, Wyclef, Jerry Wonda, and Outkast as a Way In

- Becoming a Session Bass Player to Live in Studios

- Interning at Second Story Sound Under Scott Lehrer

- Being Sent to the Library to Read the Dry Theory First

- Why He Left to Start His Own Shops and Chase Creativity

- Building a Brooklyn Studio Over Eleven Years

- Winning Over Landlords: "Your Success Is Our Success" (and Cookies)

- The Patron Who Funded a Studio by Commissioning a Musical

- Survival Economics: Production Suites That Pay the Rent

- Community as a Business Model

- The Two Tiers of Gigs: Community vs. Famous

- The Bobby Hawk String Session That Became a Taylor Swift Record

- One Credit Leading to the Next: Folklore to Donda

- Working for Ms. Lauryn Hill

- Telling the Truth in the Room With Visionary Artists

- What "He's Gonna Be Okay" Really Means at That Level

- Why High-Profile Credits Do (and Don’t) Create More Work

- Generosity and De-escalation as Studio Strategy

- Why He Struggles With Interns

Links and Show Notes:

- Restoration Sound

- Lorenzo Wolff (Instagram)

Credits:

- Guest: Lorenzo Wolff

- Host/Engineer/Producer: Matt Boudreau

- WCA Theme Music: Cliff Truesdell

- The Voice: Chuck Smith