# Sean Slade > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Sean_Slade > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Sean_Slade.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sean_Slade > Source revision: 1325988809 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) American record producer Sean Slade Born (1957-11-14) 14 November 1957 (age 68) Lansing, Michigan, United States Genres Alternative rock Occupations Recording engineer, record producer Years active 1978-present Musical artist **Sean Slade** (born 14 November 1957) is an American [record producer](/source/Record_producer), [engineer](/source/Audio_engineering), and [mixer](/source/Audio_mixing_(recorded_music)). On many of his productions he worked in partnership with [Paul Q. Kolderie](/source/Paul_Q._Kolderie). ## Career Slade was born in [Lansing, Michigan](/source/Lansing%2C_Michigan), United States. He graduated from [Yale University](/source/Yale_University) in 1978. Slade and Kolderie became friends at Yale, where they played in bands together. They both later relocated to [Boston](/source/Boston), where they became members of [Sex Execs](/source/Sex_Execs), a [new wave music](/source/New_wave_music) band of the early 1980s.[1] The duo had their formative experience as producers while they were in Sex Execs. Most of the group lived in a house in [Dorchester, Boston](/source/Dorchester%2C_Boston) that was wired up as a primitive studio. In a 2018 interview, Slade discussed how their career as producers got started at that house with a four-track reel-to-reel recorder they had bought in New York.[2] Other bands came over to record as well, including a local act called [Three Colors](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Three_Colors_(band)&action=edit&redlink=1), which featured saxophonist [Dana Colley](/source/Dana_Colley), later of [Morphine](/source/Morphine_(band)). As Sex Execs became more successful, they started recording in professional studios such as [Syncro Sound](/source/Syncro_Sound), which was owned by [The Cars](/source/The_Cars). As Kolderie recalled, they learned a lot from the engineers there.[3] In 1985, Slade and Kolderie co-founded [Boston](/source/Boston)'s [Fort Apache Studios](/source/Fort_Apache_Studios),[4] along with [Jim Fitting](/source/Jim_Fitting) (another friend from Yale and Sex Execs) and [Joe Harvard](/source/Joe_Harvard). The studio originated in [Roxbury](/source/Roxbury%2C_Boston), but later relocated to [Cambridge, Massachusetts](/source/Cambridge%2C_Massachusetts). "We were all a part of that [DIY](/source/DIY) kind of culture," said Slade. "The whole idea of getting someone in to design [the studio] wasn’t part of the plan. The plan was, 'Get a control room, get a playing room, get the wiring right, get a console, and then just start recording'."[1] Slade remained active as a musician in the 1980s. He played rhythm guitar and occasionally sang and wrote songs for the Boston indie band [Men & Volts](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Men_%26_Volts&action=edit&redlink=1), which also included Kolderie. Slade and Kolderie co-produced [Radiohead](/source/Radiohead)'s debut album, *[Pablo Honey](/source/Pablo_Honey)*, which was released 1993. They were pivotal in convincing [EMI Records](/source/EMI_Records) to release "[Creep](/source/Creep_(Radiohead_song))" as the band's debut [single](/source/Single_(music)) prior to the album's release. The song initially failed to achieve commercial success, but after the album release in early 1993, "Creep" was re-released and became a worldwide hit. Slade has produced and/or mixed recordings by such artists as [Hole](/source/Hole_(band)), [Warren Zevon](/source/Warren_Zevon), [Pixies](/source/Pixies_(band)), [The Lemonheads](/source/The_Lemonheads), [Juliana Hatfield](/source/Juliana_Hatfield), [Morphine](/source/Morphine_(band)), [Big Dipper](/source/Big_Dipper_(band)), [Dinosaur Jr.](/source/Dinosaur_Jr.), [HumanKind](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=HumanKind&action=edit&redlink=1), [Uncle Tupelo](/source/Uncle_Tupelo), [Tracy Bonham](/source/Tracy_Bonham), [Spacehog](/source/Spacehog), [the Mighty Mighty Bosstones](/source/The_Mighty_Mighty_Bosstones), [Suddenly, Tammy!](/source/Suddenly%2C_Tammy!), [Lou Reed](/source/Lou_Reed), [The Boo Radleys](/source/The_Boo_Radleys), [New Collisions](/source/New_Collisions), [Sebadoh](/source/Sebadoh), [Lush](/source/Lush_(band)), [the Go-Go's](/source/The_Go-Go's), [The Dictators](/source/The_Dictators), [Beth Sorrentino](/source/Beth_Sorrentino), [Weezer](/source/Weezer), [Kim Boekbinder](/source/Kim_Boekbinder), [The Dresden Dolls](/source/The_Dresden_Dolls), [Echobelly](/source/Echobelly), [Buffalo Tom](/source/Buffalo_Tom), and [Papas Fritas](/source/Papas_Fritas). He co-produced (with Kolderie) Hole's *[Live Through This](/source/Live_Through_This)*, which went [platinum](/source/Platinum) within a year of its release and spawned four [singles](/source/Single_(music)). Slade is an Associate Professor of Music Production and Engineering at the [Berklee College of Music](/source/Berklee_College_of_Music).[5] ## References 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-ConsequenceofSound_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-ConsequenceofSound_1-1) Bray, Ryan (11 July 2016). ["How Boston's Fort Apache Studios Captured the Sound of an Era"](https://consequence.net/2016/07/how-bostons-fort-apache-studio-captured-the-sound-of-an-era/). *Consequence of Sound*. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Lewis, Wyndham (27 September 2018). ["Episode 112: A Conversation with Sean Slade"](https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/brother-brother-brother/e/56451260). *Brother Brother Brother*. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Milliken, Joe (21 August 2015). ["SRO Interview With Grammy Award-Winning Producer/Engineer Paul Q. Kolderie"](https://web.archive.org/web/20190820212020/http://standing-room-only.info/article/joe-milliken/sro-interview-grammy-award-winning-producerengineer-paul-q-kolderie). *Standing Room Only*. Archived from [the original](http://standing-room-only.info/article/joe-milliken/sro-interview-grammy-award-winning-producerengineer-paul-q-kolderie) on 20 August 2019. Retrieved 26 August 2019. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** [Sean Slade biography at AllMusic Guide](http://www.allmusic.com/artist/sean-slade-mn0000314283) 1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** [Sean Slade faculty page at Berklee College website](https://college.berklee.edu/people/sean-slade) ## External links - ["A Pop Diary" (Podcast, 1 December 2009)](https://soundcloud.com/bolt-records/a-pop-diary-sean-slade): Sean Slade, producer and engineer discusses how records are made - [Sean Slade Discography](http://www.discogs.com/artist/Sean+Slade) at Discogs.com - [Sean Slade lecture](http://www.synmuse.com/sean-slade-lecture-2010.html) to the student chapter of the Audio Engineering Society of [Emerson College](/source/Emerson_College), 23 April 2010 (attendee rough transcript) Authority control databases: Artists MusicBrainz --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Sean Slade](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sean_Slade) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sean_Slade?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.