# John Keane (record producer)

John Denison Keane (born January 21, 1959) is an American record producer based in Athens, Georgia, who has worked extensively with R.E.M., Indigo Girls and Widespread Panic. He owns and operates John Keane Studios in Athens, his hometown, which opened in 1981.
Keane began playing guitar at age 8 and developed an interest in recording music after receiving a cassette recorder on his 12th birthday. In a 2005 interview, he recalled: "Later I got another one and figured out how to overdub by bouncing tracks from one machine to the other while playing along. I'd do stuff like play both lead guitar parts to Allman Brothers songs, and layer vocal harmonies. When I got a four-track, I thought I'd died and gone to heaven."
Keane has participated in many music conference panels as an expert on subjects such as record production, home recording, and Pro Tools. These include South by Southwest in Austin, Texas; The Tape Op conference in Portland, Oregon; Athfest in Athens; and the Cutting Edge in New Orleans. He has taught a Pro Tools course for the University of Georgia's Music Business Program, and is the author of the popular Pro Tools book, The Musician's Guide to Pro Tools (McGraw-Hill). He has also created Online Pro Tools, a series of Pro Tools instructional videos.
He started in 1981 with an assortment of road-worn PA gear that belonged to Phil and the Blanks, a local band he was playing with at the time. He bought a TEAC reel-to-reel four-track tape machine which he mounted in a shopping cart and started making demos for local bands and taking them to the local college radio station for airplay.
Gradually the hobby evolved into a profession, and in 1985 Keane decided to attend The Recording Workshop in Chillicothe, Ohio. Shortly after that he bought an Amek Matchless console and an Otari 16-track tape machine and began to produce records for acts in the burgeoning Athens music scene such as the Indigo Girls, Widespread Panic, Vic Chesnutt, The Barbecue Killers and many others. His neighbor Peter Buck of R.E.M. began to bring many artists into the studio for collaboration, such as Warren Zevon, Robyn Hitchcock, Nicki Sudden, Billy Bragg, The Troggs, Richard Butler, and Nancy Griffith, to name a few. The other members or R.E.M.—Mike Mills, Michael Stipe, and Bill Berry—all brought bands into the studio to make records.
By the early 1990s, John Keane Studios had upgraded to an Otari 24-track, a Pro Tools rig and a Trident 80-B console.
His studio is still in operation today. In the early 21st century, he undertook recording projects with R.E.M., Randall Bramblett, and Widespread Panic's Dirty Side Down album, for which he received a Grammy nomination in 2011.

## Record production discography

| Project | Artist | Credit | Release Date |
| "No One Needs Help Anymore" | Polar Waves | Producer | 3/3/2017 |
| "Lil' Bear" | Ugly Cousin | Producer, Engineer, Mixing | 10/30/2015 |
| Hard Working Americans | Hard Working Americans | Mixing | 1/21/2014 |
| "Before The Feast" | Grassland String Band | Mastering | 2014 |
| The Essential Indigo Girls | Indigo Girls | Producer | 2013 |
| Wood | Widespread Panic | Mixing | 10/16/2012 |
| Subject to Change Without Notice | Jimmy Herring | Producer, Engineer, Mixing | 8/21/2012 |
| Where It Hits You | Jim White | Mastering, Mixing | 2/21/2012 |
| Apollo | Stockholm Syndrome | Producer, Engineer, Mixing | 2011 |
| That Other Mile/Light of the Night | Randall Bramblett | Remastering | 2011 |
| Live in the Classic City II | Widespread Panic | Producer, Mixing | 9/28/2010 |
| Dirty Side Down | Widespread Panic | Producer, Engineer, Mixing, Mastering | 5/25/2010 |
| Love Is a War | The Corduroy Road | Producer, Engineer | 2009 |
| Balm In Gilead | Rickie Lee Jones | Engineer | 11/3/2009 |
| Just One Drop | The Corduroy Road | Producer, Engineer | 4/16/2009 |
| Valdosta 1989 | Widespread Panic | Mastering | 2/24/2009 |
| New Day | Jimmy Landry | Engineer | 2/17/2009 |
| Bar Band Americanus | Charlie Pickett | Producer, Engineer | 10/7/2008 |
| Carbondale 2000 | Widespread Panic | Mixing | 6/10/2008 |
| Angel Songs | Tim Prince | Producer | 2007 |
| East of the Sun | Tuatara | Engineer | 7/12/2007 |
| Intermission | Robert Forster | Producer, Engineer, Mixing | 6/18/2007 |
| Chest Fever | Widespread Panic | Producer, Engineer | 1/30/2007 |
| ShadowBoxing | Blue Flashing Light | Engineer | 2006 |
| Volume 2 | Billy Bragg | Engineer | 10/17/2006 |
| Rich Someday | Randall Bramblett | Mixing | 7/11/2006 |
| Green Winter | Love Tractor | Mixing | 4/11/2006 |
| The Workhorses of the Entertainment/Recreational Industry | The Workhorses of the Entertainment/Recreational Industry | Mastering | 4/11/2006 |
| Sandbox | Michael Houser | Producer, Engineer, Mixing, Mastering, Graphic Design | 1/24/2006 |
| Dog Days | BR5-49 | Producer, Engineer, Mixing, Mastering | 1/10/2006 |
| Friendly Fire | Bill Mallonee | Mastering, Mixing | 2005 |
| Rarities | Indigo Girls | Engineer | 6/14/2005 |
| Live at Myrtle Beach | Widespread Panic | Producer, Mixing | 2/22/2005 |
| Wear N' Tear | Tishamingo | Engineer, Mixing, Mastering | 2/1/2005 |
| Mouthfeel | Magnapop | Mastering | 1/25/2005 |
| Need | James Evans | Engineer, Mixing, Mastering | 2004 |
| Jackassolantern | Widespread Panic | Producer, Mixing | 9/28/2004 |
| Dear Life | Bill Mallonee | Producer, Mastering, Mixing | 9/21/2004 |
| In the Mood | Corey Smith | Mastering | 9/15/2004 |
| Über Cobra | Widespread Panic | Producer, Mixing | 7/13/2004 |
| Holy Happy Hour | Stockholm Syndrome | Mixing | 6/29/2004 |
| Night of Joy | Widespread Panic | Producer, Mixing | 3/23/2004 |
| Ain't No Horse | Widespread Panic | Producer, Engineer, Mixing | 3/9/2004 |
| Tishamingo | Tishamingo | Producer, Engineer, Mixing | 2/17/2004 |
| Must I Paint You a Picture? The Essential Billy Bragg | Billy Bragg | Engineer | 10/28/2003 |
| Bad Day | R.E.M. | Engineer, Mixing | 10/1/2003 |
| Ball | Widespread Panic | Producer, Engineer, Mixing | 4/15/2003 |
| Defector | John Hermann | Mixing | 2/11/2003 |
| Live from the Backyard | Widespread Panic | Mixing | 2/4/2003 |
| To Understand: The Early Recordings of Matthew Sweet | Matthew Sweet | Producer | 10/1/2002 |
| Door Harp | Michael Houser | Producer, Engineer, Mixing | 9/24/2002 |
| Coast to Coast | The Cowslingers | Producer, Engineer | 7/30/2002 |
| Live in the Classic City | Widespread Panic | Producer | 6/11/2002 |
| Co-Balt | brute. | Producer, Engineer, Mixing | 4/9/2002 |
| 89/93: An Anthology | Uncle Tupelo | Producer, Engineer, Mixing | 3/19/2002 |
| Visiting Normal Town | Big Wooden Radio | Engineer, Mixing, Mastering | 9/25/2001 |
| No More Mr. Lucky | Randall Bramblett | Producer, Engineer, Mixing | 7/10/2001 |
| Don't Tell the Band | Widespread Panic | Producer, Engineer, Mixing | 6/19/2001 |
| Reveal (R.E.M. album) | R.E.M. | Engineer, Musician | 5/14/2001 |
| Imitation of Life | R.E.M. | Engineer, Mixing | 4/30/2001 |
| Set the Record Straight | ID-X | Producer, Mixing, Composer | 4/10/2001 |
| Smiling Assassin | John Hermann | Mixing, Percussion | 4/10/2001 |
| Insulation | Something 5 | Producer | 2000 |
| Another Joyous Occasion | Widespread Panic | Producer, Mixing | 6/6/2000 |
| Draggin' The Line | R.E.M. | Engineer | 10/26/1999 |
| End of Romance | Charlie Mars | Producer, Engineer, Mixing | 10/12/1999 |
| Kulanjan | Taj Mahal | Engineer | 8/3/1999 |
| 'Til the Medicine Takes | Widespread Panic | Producer, Engineer, Mixing | 7/27/1999 |
| Straight Away | John Keane | Producer | 6/15/1999 |
| Who Died & Made You King? | Doubting Thomas | Producer, Engineer | 10/26/1998 |
| Up | R.E.M. | Engineer, Mixing | 10/26/1998 |
| Let's Kill Saturday Night | Robbie Fulks | Engineer | 9/15/1998 |
| See Through Me | Randall Bramblett | Mixing, Mastering | 8/4/1998 |
| Calling | Sara Lovell | Engineer | 6/30/1998 |
| Light Fuse, Get Away | Widespread Panic | Producer, Mixing | 4/12/1998 |
| Barrel Chested | Slobberbone | Mixing | 8/12/1997 |
| Help Wanted Love Needed Caretaker | Mount Pilot | Producer, Engineer, Mixing | 8/12/1997 |
| Love Among the Ruins | 10,000 Maniacs | Producer, Engineer | 6/17/1997 |
| Fantastic Distraction | Dime Store Prophets | Producer, Engineer | 5/19/1997 |
| The Lonesome Death of Buck McCoy | The Minus 5 | Engineer | 5/5/1997 |
| More than This | 10,000 Maniacs | Producer, Engineer | 5/5/1997 |
| Picnic | Robert Earl Keen | Producer, Engineer | 4/29/1997 |
| Bombs & Butterflies | Widespread Panic | Producer, Engineer, Mixing | 2/4/1997 |
| Albino Alligator | Michael Brook | Engineer | 1/17/1997 |
| About to Choke | Vic Chesnutt | Producer, Mixing | 1996 |
| Hip | Hazel Virtue | Producer, Engineer | 1996 |
| New Adventures in Hi-Fi | R.E.M. | Engineer, Mixing | 9/9/1996 |
| E-Bow the Letter | R.E.M. | Engineer, Mixing | 8/27/1996 |
| Lay It Down (Cowboy Junkies album) | Cowboy Junkies | Producer, Engineer | 2/27/1996 |
| Blister Soul | Vigilantes of Love | Producer, Engineer | 1995 |
| Horsebreaker Star | Grant McLennan | Producer, Engineer | 1995 |
| Tornado Alley | Terry Lee Hale | Producer, Engineer, Mixing | 1995 |
| At the Hands of Our Intercessors | Buzz Hungry | Engineer | 10/30/1995 |
| Nine High a Pallet | Brute. | Producer | 9/12/1995 |
| Is the Actor Happy? | Vic Chesnutt | Producer, Mixing | 5/23/1995 |
| Private Stock | The Grapes | Producer | 3/14/1995 |
| Beautiful Light | The Fleshtones | Engineer | 1994 |
| Spillage | Mercyland | Engineer | 1994 |
| Normaltown | Catfish Jenkins | Engineer | 11/15/1994 |
| Flyer | Nanci Griffith | Engineer | 9/13/1994 |
| Ain't Life Grand | Widespread Panic | Producer, Engineer, Mixing | 9/6/1994 |
| Drunk | Vic Chesnutt | Producer, Engineer | 1993 |
| Bottle Rockets | The Bottle Rockets | Engineer | 9/18/1993 |
| Swim | Madder Rose | Engineer | 9/6/1993 |
| Happiness | Lisa Germano | Engineer | 7/27/1993 |
| the Lion Sleeps Tonight | R.E.M. | Producer, Engineer, Mixing | 2/5/1993 |
| Don't You Know | The Troggs | Engineer | 1992 |
| Killing Floor | Vigilantes of Love | Engineer | 1992 |
| Out There | Original Sins | Engineer | 1992 |
| The Survivors Parade | Ellen James Society | Engineer | 1992 |
| Automatic for the People | R.E.M. | Engineer | 10/5/1992 |
| March 16–20, 1992 | Uncle Tupelo | Engineer | 8/3/1992 |
| Kitty | Dashboard Saviors | Engineer | 7/20/1992 |
| Rites of Passage | Indigo Girls | Engineer | 5/12/1992 |
| Lefty's Deceiver | The Jody Grind | Engineer | 4/3/1992 |
| Athens Andover | The Troggs | Engineer | 3/1/1992 |
| First We Take Manhattan | R.E.M. | Engineer | 1991 |
| 8 Track Stomp | Chickasaw Mudd Puppies | Engineer | 1991 |
| A Green Little Pill | Insane Jane | Mixing | 1991 |
| Country Boy's Dream | Normaltown Flyers | Engineer | 1991 |
| Don't Try This at Home | Billy Bragg | Engineer | 9/17/1991 |
| Perspex Island | Robyn Hitchcock | Engineer | 8/6/1991 |
| Out Of Time | R.E.M. | Engineer | 3/12/1991 |
| Green Cat Island | Run Westy Run | Engineer | 1990 |
| I Belong to You | Nikki Sudden | Engineer | 1990 |
| Little | Vic Chesnutt | Engineer | 1990 |
| One Man's Trash Is Another Man's Treasure | The Jody Grind | Producer, Engineer | 1990 |
| Reluctantly We | Ellen James Society | Engineer | 1990 |
| White Dirt | Chickasaw Mudd Puppies | Producer, Engineer | 1990 |
| I Walked With A Zombie | R.E.M. | Producer, Engineer, Mixing | 1991 |
| Chain | Pylon | Engineer | 10/4/1990 |
| Nomads Indians Saints | Indigo Girls | Engineer | 9/21/1990 |
| MacDougal Blues | Kevn Kinney | Engineer, Mixing | 1/21/1990 |
| Indigo Girls | Indigo Girls | Engineer | 2/28/1989 |
| Drum | Hugo Largo | Engineer | 1988 |
| New Experience | Michelle Malone | Producer, Engineer, Mixing | 1988 |
| No Time | The Squalls | Producer, Engineer | 1988 |
| Green | R.E.M. | Mixing | 11/7/1988 |
| Space Wrangler | Widespread Panic | Producer, Engineer | 2/4/1988 |
| Strange Fire | Indigo Girls | Producer | 7/28/1986 |
| Lifes Rich Pageant | R.E.M. | Engineer | 7/28/1986 |
| Fables of the Reconstruction | R.E.M. | Mixing | 6/10/1985 |
| The Normaltown Flyers | The Normaltown Flyers | Engineer | 1981 |

## Musician discography

| Project | Artist | Credit | Release Date |
| Subject To Change without Notice | Jimmy Herring | Pedal Steel | 8/21/2012 |
| Where It Hits You | Jim White | Guitar, Pedal Steel, Vocals | 2/21/2012 |
| Apollo | Stockholm Syndrome | Guitar, Pedal Steel, Vocals | 2011 |
| Live in the Classic City II | Widespread Panic | Guitar, Pedal Steel | 9/28/2010 |
| Love Is a War | The Corduroy Road | Dobro, Guitar, Mandolin, Pedal Steel, Vocals | 2009 |
| Just One Drop | The Corduroy Road | Dobro, Guitar, Mandolin, Pedal Steel, Vocals | 4/16/2009 |
| Intermission | Robert Forster | Guitar, Bass, Keyboards | 6/18/2007 |
| Chest Fever | Widespread Panic | Guitar, Vocals | 1/30/2007 |
| Earth to Atlanta | Widespread Panic | Guitar, Pedal Steel | 11/14/2006 |
| Sandbox | Michael Houser | Bass, Guitar, Pedal Steel, Vocals, Piano | 1/24/2006 |
| Dog Days | BR5-49 | Member of Attributed Artist, Sound Effects | 1/10/2006 |
| Live at Myrtle Beach | Widespread Panic | Guitar | 2/22/2005 |
| Dear Life | Bill Mallonee | Guitar, Pedal Steel, Vocals | 9/21/2004 |
| Tishamingo | Tishamingo | Banjo, Pedal Steel | 2/17/2004 |
| Über Cobra | Widespread Panic | Pedal Steel | 7/13/2004 |
| Must I Paint You a Picture? The Essential Billy Bragg | Billy Bragg | Guest Artist, Musician | 10/28/2003 |
| Coast to Coast | The Cowslingers | Pedal Steel | 7/30/2002 |
| Door Harp | Michael Houser | Guitar, Pedal Steel, Keyboards | 9/24/2002 |
| Conscious Contact | Jerry Joseph & The Jackmormons | Keyboards, Pedal Steel, Primary Artist | 4/23/2002 |
| Co-Balt | brute. | Guitar, Pedal Steel, Vocals | 4/9/2002 |
| 89/93: An Anthology | Uncle Tupelo | Guitar, Bass, Pedal Steel | 3/19/2002 |
| Visiting Normal Town | Big Wooden Radio | Pedal Steel | 9/25/2001 |
| No More Mr. Lucky | Randall Bramblett | Guitar, Horn Arrangements, Loop Programming, Percussion, Programming, Shaker, Vocals | 7/10/2001 |
| Don't Tell the Band | Widespread Panic | Guitar, Guitar Effects, Noise, Pedal Steel | 6/19/2001 |
| Reveal (R.E.M. album) | R.E.M. | Musician | 5/14/2001 |
| Set the Record Straight | IDX | Composer | 4/10/2001 |
| Smiling Assassin | John Hermann | Percussion | 4/10/2001 |
| End of Romance | Charlie Mars | Guitar, Vocals | 10/12/1999 |
| 'Til the Medicine Takes | Widespread Panic | Banjo, Keyboards, Pedal Steel | 7/27/1999 |
| Straight Away | John Keane | Primary Artist | 6/15/1999 |
| Who Died & Made You King? | Doubting Thomas | Bass, Guitar, Organ, Percussion, Vocals | 10/26/1998 |
| Up | R.E.M. | Musician | 10/26/1998 |
| Calling | Sara Lovell | Drum Programming, Keyboards | 6/30/1998 |
| Help Wanted Love Needed Caretaker | Mount Pilot | Vocals | 8/12/1997 |
| Love Among the Ruins | 10,000 Maniacs | Guitar | 6/17/1997 |
| The Lonesome Death of Buck McCoy | The Minus 5 | Vocals | 5/5/1997 |
| Picnic | Robert Earl Keen | Vocals, Mandolin, Guitar, Pedal Steel, Bass | 4/29/1997 |
| Bombs & Butterflies | Widespread Panic | Guitar, Pedal Steel | 2/4/1997 |
| About to Choke | Vic Chesnutt | Guitar | 1996 |
| Lay It Down (Cowboy Junkies album) | Cowboy Junkies | Guitar, Pedal Steel | 2/27/1996 |
| Blister Soul | Vigilantes of Love | Guitar, 12 String Guitar, Pedal Steel, Vocals, Percussion | 1995 |
| Tornado Alley | Terry Lee Hale | Guitar, Bass, Pedal Steel | 1995 |
| Horsebreaker Star | Grant McLennan | Banjo, Bass, Guitar, Keyboards, Percussion, Vocals, Xylophone | 1995 |
| At the Hands of Our Intercessors | Buzz Hungry | Sonic Assistance | 10/30/1995 |
| Nine High a Pallet | Brute. | Pedal Steel | 9/12/1995 |
| Is the Actor Happy? | Vic Chesnutt | Guitar, 12 String Guitar, Pedal Steel | 5/23/1995 |
| Private Stock | The Grapes | Guitar, Vocals | 3/14/1995 |
| Beautiful Light | The Fleshtones | Guitar | 1994 |
| Spillage | Mercyland | Pedal Steel | 1994 |
| Normaltown | Catfish Jenkins | Guitar | 11/15/1994 |
| Flyer | Nanci Griffith | Guitar, Pedal Steel, Vocals | 9/13/1994 |
| Ain't Life Grand | Widespread Panic | Guitar, Pedal Steel, Vocals | 9/6/1994 |
| Drunk | Vic Chesnutt | Slide Guitar | 1993 |
| Bottle Rockets | The Bottle Rockets | Pedal Steel, Vocals | 9/18/1993 |
| Happiness | Lisa Germano | Guitar, Pedal Steel | 7/27/1993 |
| Killing Floor | Vigilantes of Love | Pedal Steel, Slide Guitar | 1992 |
| Lefty's Deceiver | The Jody Grind | Guitar, Pedal Steel | 1992 |
| March 16–20, 1992 | Uncle Tupelo | Banjo, Bass, Guitar, Pedal Steel | 8/3/1992 |
| Kitty | Dashboard Saviors | Pedal Steel | 7/20/1992 |
| 8 Track Stomp | Chickasaw Mudd Puppies | Bass, Guitar, Lap Steel Guitar | 1991 |
| A Green Little Pill | Insane Jane | Pedal Steel, Piano, Tambourine, Vocal Harmony | 1991 |
| Country Boy's Dream | Normaltown Flyers | Guitar, Pedal Steel, Percussion | 1991 |
| Don't Try This at Home | Billy Bragg | Bass, Guitar, Pedal Steel | 9/17/1991 |
| Out Of Time | R.E.M. | Guitar, Pedal Steel | 3/12/1991 |
| One Man's Trash Is Another Man's Treasure | The Jody Grind | Bass | 1990 |
| I Walked With A Zombie | R.E.M. | Musician | 1991 |
| MacDougal Blues | Kevn Kinney | Banjo, Bass, Guitar, Percussion, Slide Guitar | 1/21/1990 |
| Indigo Girls | Indigo Girls | Bass, Drums, Guitar, 12 String Guitar, Shaker, Slide Guitar | 2/28/1989 |
| Space Wrangler | Widespread Panic | Vocals | 2/4/1988 |
| The Normaltown Flyers | The Normaltown Flyers | Guitar, Percussion | 1981 |
| The Boy From Nowhere, Who Fell Out of the Sky | Nikki Sudden | Pedal Steel | |