WCA #603 with Lorenzo Wolff – Building a Brooklyn Studio, Session Bass to Taylor Swift, and Working for Ms. Lauryn Hill
Shownotes
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:Credits:- Guest: Lorenzo Wolff
- Host/Engineer/Producer: Matt Boudreau
- WCA Theme Music: Cliff Truesdell
- The Voice: Chuck Smith