But he has also found time to do a wide range of other projects this year, from college radio superstars Archers of Loaf to jazz traditionalists Squirrel Nut Zippers. He even co-produced a track on Beck's Odelay album. I got pretty well-known for that, so I've spent years and years doing something I dislike, basically. But it's a useful foundation to have. Producing takes technical know-how, a lot of psychology and most of all patience.
Some producers are very hands-on.
Others are there just to calm everybody down and feed them beers, or read the paper. Basically, I'm a friendly medium between musicians and technology. I'd rather find and present the unique strengths of the band than force some kind of grandiose 'vision' of my own. In a way, producing is not unlike therapy, in that if you do it well enough, you may put yourself out of business. And I felt like it would be really important to try and confront all of those things head-on this time.