Bob Ezrin

born in 1949 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Bob Ezrin

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Bob Ezrin

Robert Alan "Bob" Ezrin (born March 25, 1949) is a Canadian music producer and keyboardist, best known for his work with Lou Reed, Alice Cooper, Kiss, Pink Floyd, and Peter Gabriel. As of 2010, Ezrin's career in music had spanned four decades and his production work continued into the 21st century, with acts such as Deftones and Thirty Seconds to Mars.[1] After co-founding interactive media company, 7th Level, in 1993, Ezrin has branched out into philanthropy and activism, with music also introduced into this realm of his life, underpinning projects such as Music Rising and Young Artists for Haiti.[2] Ezrin is also involved in education, co-founding the Nimbus School of Recording Arts in 2009.[3]

Ezrin is the winner of a Juno Award and was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in April 2004.[2]

Early life

Ezrin was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.[4]

Music and production career

As of 2012, Ezrin continues to work as a record producer, mix engineer, arranger and songwriter, in addition to being involved with a variety of other projects in digital media, live production, film, television, and theatrical production.[5][6][7]

Ezrin has worked on recordings with numerous major artists, including Alice Cooper, KISS, Pink Floyd, Lou Reed, Hanoi Rocks, Taylor Swift, Peter Gabriel, K'naan, 2Cellos, Kristin Chenoweth, Rod Stewart, Nine Inch Nails, The Jayhawks, 30 Seconds to Mars, The Darkness, Jane's Addiction, Dr. John, Nils Lofgren, Berlin, Kansas, Julian Lennon, and Deftones, among many others.[8]

Ezrin has been described by Alice Cooper as "our George Martin".[9] Following his first ever production work on an album with Love it to Death in 1971, Ezrin embarked on a long-term collaboration that, by 1973, would see the release of the number one album, Billion Dollar Babies album, a year after the success of School's Out; Cooper subsequently became established as one of the biggest acts in the world.[10] After the disbanding of Cooper's group, Ezrin continued his collaboration with Cooper, as the latter embarked upon a solo career. In 1975, Cooper released the Ezrin-produced album, Welcome To My Nightmare, and received a significant level of attention. Ezrin worked with Cooper not just as a producer, but also as a co-writer, arranger, and musician.[11]

Ezrin produced the best-selling KISS album, Destroyer, in 1976.[12] As explained by Peter Criss during an interview in the documentary, KISS: Krazy Killer (1994), Ezrin co-wrote, arranged and performed the piano accompaniment to the song Beth.[13] Ezrin proceeded to produce two other albums with the band and remains close to the band's members in the 21st century.[14]

Ezrin has worked with Pink Floyd on a number of occasions, co-producing the albums, The Wall, A Momentary Lapse of Reason, and The Division Bell. He has also co-written the songs, "The Trial", "Signs of Life", "Learning to Fly", and "Take It Back".[8]

In May 2009, Ezrin co-produced The Clearwater Concert at Madison Square Garden, celebrating the 90th birthday of musician and activist, Pete Seeger. More than 50 guest artists, including Bruce Springsteen, Dave Matthews, John Mellencamp, Ben Harper, Joan Baez, Tom Morello, Ani DiFranco, Emmylou Harris, and Kris Kristofferson performed at the event.[15] Ezrin also co-produced the PBS broadcast of the event.

Since 2010, Ezrin has co-produced Peter Gabriel's album, Scratch My Back; co-produced The House Rules, by Christian Kane; and produced singles for K'naan, the Canadian Tenors, and young pop sensation, Fefe Dobson, for her album, Joy.[16] Ezrin also reunited with Cooper, working on Cooper's last album, Welcome 2 My Nightmare, on the corresponding live show, and numerous other related projects.[17] He also mixed several projects, including Taylor Swift's Speak Now World Tour Live CD and DVD (2011), and an album by The Darkness (2012).[18]

In 2012, Ezrin remixed the KISS 1976 Double-Platinum album, Destroyer.[19] Also, he produced albums for 2Cellos and rock legends, Deep Purple.[20]

Live arena

Ezrin produced a live and television extravaganza to reopen the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, US, starring Green Day and U2.[21] He also worked on an album and live opera with L'Orchestra di Piazza Vittorio in Rome, Italy.[22]

Entrepreneurship

In 1993, Ezrin co-founded a computer software company called 7th Level,[23] which developed and published educational and entertainment CD-ROMs, including a highly popular and groundbreaking series of Monty Python games.[24]

In 1999, Ezrin cofounded Enigma Digital,[25] an innovative internet radio provider, that was eventually sold to Clear Channel; Ezrin was later appointed vice-chairman of Clear Channel Interactive.[26] Ezrin was also Chairman of Live Nation Artists Recordings in 2007 and the first half of 2008.

In 2007, Ezrin joined the Board of Advisors of Tonic, an online company that describes itself as "humanity-conscious" and socially-responsible".[27]

Education

In 2009, Ezrin, along with Garth Richardson and Kevin Williams,[28] cofounded the Nimbus School of Recording Arts in Vancouver, British Columbia (BC), Canada.[29] Ezrin stated that his goal was to provide new engineers and producers with the hands-on teaching experience that he believed was no longer available from traditional recording studios.[30]

Ezrin's educational philosophy is that modern engineers and producers need to be proficient in a range of skills[30] and that an effective education in the recording arts will also prepare a student for more general challenges in their lives and careers.[31] The school offers three programs: Advanced Music Production, Music The Business, and a Beats and Urban Music Program.[32]

Honor and recognition

Ezrin was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in April 2004[33] and the Canadian Music Industry Hall of Fame in March 2006.[34]

In 2011, Ezrin and Young Artist for Haiti won the Juno Award in Canada for "Single of the Year".[35] Also in 2011, he was awarded an "Outstanding Contribution" at the Classic Rock Magazine Awards.[36] In 2013, he was honoured with a star on Canada's Walk of Fame in Toronto.[37]

Social work

Ezrin is Vice Chairman of the Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation,[38] a national initiative that supports music in US schools by donating musical instruments to under-funded music programs. He is also an Advisory Committee member of MusiCounts, the musical education initiative of the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, that provides instruments to Canadian school music programs.[39]

He is co-founder of Music Rising, an initiative to preserve the musical culture of the Gulf coast region following the damage caused by the hurricanes and flooding of 2005.[40]

On February 18, 2010, Ezrin helped with the mobilization of the Young Artists for Haiti group. Fifty Canadian artists recorded a rendition of hip hop star K'naan's "Wavin' Flag" for the victims of the Haiti quake.[41] The song was reworked by Ezrin to include specific lyrics for Haiti, with proceeds disseminated to Free the Children, War Child Canada, and World Vision Canada. The production raised over US$2 million.[42] K'naan explained in regard to the initiation of the project: I got a call from Randy [Lennox, president] at Universal [Music Canada] and Bob Ezrin. They had this idea that they wanted to do something lasting, that actually educates young people in Canada about Haiti and not let the fatigue of the subject wash over everybody and everybody just forget Haiti."[41]

Ezrin is a member of the board of The Nashville Symphony[43] and is part of the advisory board for Music Makes Us, an initiative of the Mayor's office seeking to ensure the existence of a vibrant music education program in every Nashville public school.[44]

Ezrin is a Chairman Emeritus of the Los Angeles Mentoring Partnership and a past Trustee and Governor of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS).[45]

Film and television

In 1982, Ezrin briefly appeared as the host of Enterprise, a City-TV panel show that replaced Dr. Morton Shulman's The Schulman File; he has also been a frequent interviewee for documentary films and television.[46] Ezrin has created new theatrical, television, and live events with the @Radical.Media company, based in New York, including Jay-Z's feature film, Fade to Black.[47] In 2012, Ezrin appeared in Artifact, a documentary film about the modern music business focused on the legal battle between Thirty Seconds to Mars and record label EMI.

Public speaking

Ezrin has been a keynote speaker at numerous music, entertainment, and business conferences,[48][49][50] as well as a guest lecturer at various universities and colleges around North America.[51][52]

Personal life

Ezrin is married to Janet Ezrin.[53]

Partial discography

  • 2Cellos: In2ition (2013) producer and mixer
  • Thirty Seconds to Mars: 30 Seconds to Mars (2002)
  • Aerosmith: Get Your Wings (1974) executive producer
  • Alice Cooper
    • Love It to Death (1971) producer, co-writer, and mixer
    • Killer (1971) producer, co-writer, and mixer
    • School's Out (1972) producer, co-writer, and mixer
    • Billion Dollar Babies (1973) producer, co-writer, and mixer
    • Welcome to My Nightmare (1975) producer, co-writer, and mixer
    • Alice Cooper Goes to Hell (1976) producer, co-writer, and mixer
    • Lace and Whiskey (1977) producer, co-writer, and mixer
    • The Alice Cooper Show (1977) producer, co-writer, and mixer
    • DaDa (1983) producer, co-writer, and mixer
    • Brutal Planet (2000) executive producer
    • Dragontown (2001) executive producer
    • Old School box set (2011) project producer
    • Welcome 2 My Nightmare (2011) producer, co-writer, and mixer
  • Army of Anyone: Army of Anyone (2006) producer and mixer
  • The Babys: The Babys (1977) co-producer with Brian Christian and mixer
  • Berlin: "Count Three and Pray" (1986) producer and mixer
  • Robin Black: Instant Classic (2005) co-producer with Gggarth and mixer
  • Bonham: The Disregard of Timekeeping (1989) producer and mixer
  • The Canadian Tenors
    • "Hallelujah" (2010), from the album The Perfect Gift - producer and mixer
    • "Forever Young" (2012), from the album Lead with Your Heart producer and mixer
    • "World Stand Still" - (2012), from the album Lead with Your Heart vocal producer and mixer
  • Catherine Wheel: Adam and Eve (1997) co-producer with Gggarth
  • Christian Kane: The House Rules (2010) co-producer with Jimmie Lee Sloas and mixer
  • Tim Curry: Read My Lips (1978) producer and mixer
  • The Darkness: Hot Cakes (2012) mixer and co-producer on one song ("Every Inch of You")
  • Deftones: Saturday Night Wrist (2006) producer
  • Dr. John: Hollywood Be Thy Name (1975) producer and mixer
  • Escape From Earth: Three Seconds East (2004) producer and mixer
  • Fefe Dobson: Joy (2010) producer and mixer
  • Flo and Eddie: Flo and Eddie (1973) producer and mixer
  • Peter Gabriel
    • Peter Gabriel (I) (1977) producer and mixer
    • "That'll Do" (1998) (title track from the film, Babe A Pig In The City) producer
    • Scratch My Back (2010) co-producer with Peter Gabriel
  • Hanoi Rocks: Two Steps From The Move (1984) producer and mixer
  • Héroes del Silencio: Avalancha (1995) producer
  • Hurricane: Over the Edge (1988) co-producer with Mike Clink
  • Jane's Addiction: Strays (2003) co-producer with Brian Virtue
  • K'naan: Alone single (2013) co-writer, mixer, and co-producer with will.i.am (Black Eyed Peas))
  • Kansas: In the Spirit of Things (1988) producer and mixer
  • The Kings
    • The Kings Are Here (1980) producer and mixer
    • Amazon Beach (1981) producer and mixer
  • KISS
    • Destroyer (1976) producer and mixer
    • Music from "The Elder" (1981) producer and mixer
    • Revenge (1992) producer
    • Destroyer: Resurrected (2012) producer and mixer
  • Kristin Chenoweth: Some Lessons Learned (2011) producer, mixer, and co-writer
  • Kula Shaker: Peasants, Pigs & Astronauts (1999) producer
  • Murray McLauchlan: Storm Warning (1981) producer and mixer
  • Geoffrey Oryema: Beat the Border (1993) co-producer with Richard Blair and David Bottrill
  • Our Generation: Our Generation (1971)
  • Orchestra di Piazza Vittorio: album (2007) producer and mixer
  • Phish: Wingsuit (2014) producer
  • Soundtrack: "Babe: Pig In The City - Music From And Inspired By The Motion Picture" (1998)
  • Soundtrack: "Heavy Metal 2000" (1999)
  • Lou Reed: Berlin (1973) producer and mixer
  • Téléphone: Dure Limite (1982) producer and mixer
  • Taylor Swift: Speak Now World Tour Live (2011) mixer for both the CD and DVD
  • The Throbs: The Language of Thieves and Vagabonds (1991) co-producer with Richard Wagner and Brian Christian
  • Ursa Major: [Ursa Major] (1972) producer and mixer
  • U2 and Green Day: live recording of The Saints Are Coming (2006)
  • Villebillies: "Greatest Moment" single (2006) producer and mixer
  • Vow Wow: Mountain Top (1990) co-producer with Brian Christian, mixer, and co-writer
  • Young Artists for Haiti: "Wavin' Flag" single (2010) producer

See also

  • Music of Canada
  • Canadian Music Hall of Fame

References

  1. Rustycat (12 November 2006). Bob Ezrin: Legendary Music Producer. The Plugg Music and Entertainment Community. The Plugg Music Blog. Retrieved on 22 April 2012.
  2. 2.0 2.1 Bob Ezrin 2004. Canadian Music Hall of Fame. Canadian Music Hall of Fame (2004). Retrieved on 22 April 2012.
  3. Bob Ezrin. Welcome to the Dream. Kundrat Productions LLC (2011). Retrieved on 29 November 2012.
  4. Karen Bliss (28 November 2011). Backbeat: Bob Ezrin, Crowbar, Kardinal Offishall Honored @ Canada's SOCAN Awards. Billboard.biz. Billboard. Retrieved on 29 November 2012.
  5. Bob Ezrin Credits. allmusic. Rovi Corp. Retrieved on 31 January 2013.
  6. Bob Ezrin IMDB. Retrieved on 31 January 2013.
  7. Interview: Bob Ezrin. hit-channel.com (12 April 2012). Retrieved on 31 January 2013.
  8. 8.0 8.1 Bob Ezrin Credits. allmusic. Rovi Corp. Retrieved on 30 January 2013.
  9. Dave Sloan (21 August 2012). New Music Tuesday. Let's Not Get Carried Away. WordPress. Retrieved on 29 November 2012.
  10. Alice Cooper Biography. Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, Inc (2012). Retrieved on 29 November 2012.
  11. Russell Hall (JanuaryFebruary 2002). Bob Ezrin. Performing Songwriter. Be Heard.. Retrieved on 29 November 2012.
  12. timstar78 (1996-2012). The KissFAQ Interview: Resurrecting Destroyer With Bob Ezrin. KissFAQ.com. KissFAQ. Retrieved on 29 November 2012.
  13. Goldmine (20 November 1998). Peter Criss Interview Goldmine Magazine 11/20/98. KISS Supreme. Terje. Retrieved on 29 November 2012.
  14. Tim McPhate. The KissFAQ Interview: Resurrecting Destroyer With Bob Ezrin. Retrieved on 30 January 2012.
  15. The Clearwater concert : Pete Seeger's 90th birthday celebration from Madison Square Garden. WorldCat. OCLC (2009). Retrieved on 29 November 2012.
  16. Joy Fefe Dobson: Credits. allmusic. Rovi Corp. Retrieved on 31 November 2013.
  17. Rob Rockitt (26 May 2010). ALICE COOPER REUNITES WITH BOB EZRIN THROUGH BIGGER PICTURE. Hard Rock Hideout. WordPress.com. Retrieved on 31 January 2013.
  18. Hot Cakes The Darkness: Credits. allmusic. Rovi Corp. Retrieved on 31 November 2013.
  19. Wright, Shauna. KISS SET RELEASE DATE FOR 25TH ANNIVERSARY DESTROYER DELUXE EDITION. Ultimateclassicrock.com. Retrieved on January 11, 2012.
  20. Chris M. Junior (30 April 2012). DEEP PURPLE TEAMING UP WITH BOB EZRIN FOR NEW STUDIO ALBUM. Ultimate Classic Rock. Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved on 29 November 2012.
  21. Mike Triplett (23 September 2011). Musical performance set tone in New Orleans Saints' return to Superdome. The Times-Picayune. New Orleans Net LLC. Retrieved on 30 December 2012.
  22. A cura di pavelo (2009). Bob Ezrin produrrà l'Orchestra di Piazza Vittorio (Italian). Troublezine. Troublezine. Retrieved on 29 November 2012.
  23. Gary Fishman. 7th Level Gets Out of Games. The Computer Show. digit.com. Retrieved on 29 November 2012.
  24. Monty Python's The Meaning of Life Credits allgame. allgame. Rovi Corp. Retrieved on 31 November 2013.
  25. Karen Kaplan, Enigma Digital Acquires Two Radio Web Sites, Plans More, 1 January 2000. URL accessed on 29 November 2012.
  26. Clear Channel Internet Group (7 February 2012). Clear Channel Communications Inc. Acquires Enigma Digital. PR Newswire. PR Newswire Association LLC. Retrieved on 29 November 2012.
  27. Tonic (20 February 2012). The Perfect Ten: Tonic Announces Its Advisory Board. PR Newswire. PR Newswire Association LLC. Retrieved on 29 November 2012.
  28. Nimbus Founders. Nimbus School of Recording. Nimbus School of Recording Arts (2012). Retrieved on 29 November 2012.
  29. Canadian Company Capabilities. Industry Canada. Industry Canada (12 September 2011). Retrieved on 29 November 2012.
  30. 30.0 30.1 Scott Buchanan (2011). An Interview with Bob Ezrin. Long & McQuade Musical Instruments. Long & McQuade Limited. Retrieved on 29 November 2012.
  31. Larry LeBlanc (1998-2011). Industry Profile: Bob Ezrin. CelebrityAccess. Gen-Den Corporation. Retrieved on 29 November 2012.
  32. Programs. Nimbus School of Recording. Nimbus School of Recording Arts (2012). Retrieved on 29 November 2012.
  33. Bob Ezrin. Canadian Music Hall of Fame. Canadian Music Hall of Fame (2010). Retrieved on 29 November 2012.
  34. LEGENDARY PRODUCER Bob Ezrin Canadian Music Hall of Fame Producer & Founder of Nimbus School of Recording Arts. Canadian Urban Music Conference. Canadian Urban Music Conference (2012). Retrieved on 29 November 2012.
  35. Kei Baritugo, And the JUNO goes to... Arcade Fire, Neil Young, and Justin Bieber, 28 March 2011. URL accessed on 29 November 2012.
  36. Outstanding Contribution. Classic Rock presented by Orange. Future Publishing Limited (2011). Retrieved on 29 November 2012.
  37. Bob Ezrin. Canada's Walk of Fame. Retrieved on 2013-09-23.
  38. Monitizing Your Entertainment Community Converting Internet Viewers into Paying Customers. Digital Hollywood. New York Agenda (1518). Retrieved on 29 November 2012.
  39. Advisory Committee. Musicounts. Musicounts (2012). Retrieved on 29 November 2012.
  40. Devlin Smith (22 September 2006). Interview: Bob Ezrin, Producer, Music Rising Co-Founder. Interference. Social Knowledge ® and Interference, THE U2 Community. Retrieved on 29 November 2012.
  41. 41.0 41.1 Karen Bliss (18 April 2010). Young Artists For Haitis "Wavin Flag" Single Still No. 1 Download. Samaritan Mag. Samaritanmag.com. Retrieved on 16 December 2012.
  42. Legendary Producers Bob Ezrin and Steve Lillywhite Join Canadian Music Week 2013 as Featured Speakers. Canadian Music Fest. Canadian Music Fest (2012). Retrieved on 30 December 2012.
  43. Bob Ezrin. Nimbus School of Recording Arts. Nimbus School of Recording Arts (2012). Retrieved on 16 December 2012.
  44. Champions for Music Education. music makes us. Coalition for Music Education in Canada (2012). Retrieved on 29 November 2012.
  45. Norm McIntosh (27 April 2012). Win a guitar autographed by Bryan Adams and support Evolutionary. Rainbow Schools. Rainbow District School Board. Retrieved on 29 November 2012.
  46. Robert Ezrin IMDB. Robert Ezrin - IMDB. IMDB.com, Inc.. Retrieved on 29 November 2012.
  47. Fade to black [videorecording / Paramount Classics presents a @Radical. Media, Marcy Projects & Roc-A-Fella Records production, a Shawn Carter film ; produced by Bob Ezrin, Rich Kleiman, Justin Wilkes ; directed by Pat Paulson and Michael John Warren]. Stanford University Libraries. Stanford University (2005). Retrieved on 29 November 2012.
  48. J.Frank Hagan (15 July 2012). BOB EZRIN is Keynote Speaker at Music Matters 2012. KISS Mask Webzine/Fanzine. Google, Inc. Retrieved on 29 November 2012.
  49. Bob Ezrin GEMS Keynote. Verge Multimedia. Verge Multimedia (2012). Retrieved on 29 November 2012.
  50. Larry LeBlanc (2 December 2008). The LeBlanc Report: Canadian Music News, North Of The Border. Encore magazine. Gen-Den Corporation. Retrieved on 29 November 2012.
  51. Seminar Archive. Mike Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business, Belmont University. Retrieved on 30 December 2012.
  52. Fanshawe College The Canadian Encyclopedia. The Canadian Encyclopedia. Historica-Dominion. Retrieved on 30 December 2012.
  53. Music Producer Bob Ezrin Kisses His Wife Jan During Canada's Walk of Fame Induction. Yahoo News Canada. Retrieved on 23 March 2014.

External links

This page was last modified 21.04.2014 21:49:54

This article uses material from the article Bob Ezrin from the free encyclopedia Wikipedia and it is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.