Maybe an important aspect of the whole process is learning how to be yourself, rather than emulating someone else’s schtick.

Yeah, I’ve been through that. But you know with sounds and stuff, I’ll usually think in a really, really broad fashion about what kind of sound might work on something. Maybe I think in terms of the thing at hand: the drum. It’s almost like connecting the dots. And I sometimes arrive at a sound that I couldn’t have imagined.

So you don’t necessarily say, “I’ve got a sound in my head, how do I get it?”

Sometimes, but rarely. Usually it’s, “That guitar sounds too normal, put the amp in that trash can over there.” And then the handle on the trash can will buzz - but not enough. [laughs] So then we have to put a mic on the buzz. Maybe you do the part and it doesn’t work. I’ll tell ya, 8 times out of 10 it does. You experiment and you find something you can use somehow. And sometimes it works in a way you didn’t think it was going to. On a different part, maybe, than the one you were going for. It’s a crap shoot.

Well, on your current project you’ve been working with a hugely successful band [Pearl Jam] on an enormous record label [Epic/Sony], have you felt big expectations from them?

Just from the band. I just want to make a record that’s good for the band. So it’s really about my own expectations. And I can be pretty hard on myself. It’s a matter of working with new people in a new studio in a new town [Seattle] for a long period of time.

How long have you been at it?

I was here a month in September, it’s been 3 weeks this month [November], and it’s probably going to be 2 weeks in the new year. And I’m used to doing a record in 4 weeks, 5 maybe. Mixed, done. Usually in a situation when you have a concentrated time. And this is different - everybody in the band has other things going on. Important stuff, like benefits, and shows to do, or a record company to run. So it’s a little bit piecemeal. People coming in, one at a time, doing specific parts. They’re used to it, it’s easy for them. And it’s a new kind of music for me to be working on - which I really like. I’m getting to stretch a little bit here. But I’m also trying to bring some of my sensibilities to it. But hopefully not too much. So my concern is that I’m helping them make the record they want to make. I’m being careful about that. I’m talking with everybody. That’s a different role for me. It’s not quite as, “Let’s just throw things down.” It’s a little more considered. It involves re-doing things that someone doesn’t like a few days later. That sort of stuff.

Have you had any specific directives?

Oh no, they’re open for a lot of stuff.

Lots of experimentation?

Oh yeah, they’re ready to do another kind of record. And I think we’re getting there.

To use a metaphor, some producers’ style might be like a soup base, to which an artist adds his/her own ingredients. But some, like yours for instance, are a spicy jambalaya from the start. Is it possible that in some cases you run the risk of overwhelming the project with your recipe?

Maybe so, yeah. But I’m trying to make sure that doesn’t happen here. I don’t want to just come in and put my stamp on the record. I want it to be the band’s project where I just add a few spices to the stew. So like I said I think we’re getting there. But technically it’s difficult because I think I have a hard time doing both: producing and engineering. Although Matt Bayles, who’s engineering this, really is great. But I can’t help [doing some of the engineering], I’ve been at it for too long. Sometimes I get so caught up in the sounds, say the snare drum, that I miss a verse, how the lyrics went. It’s hard to split my focus. So the mix of this will be at the Sound Factory, and that’s where I think I’ll really be able to lighten up and fly a little bit. Because I’ll be in familiar surroundings and I won’t have to think about any of the technical aspects of the process.

Let’s talk a little about gear. So what’s your relationship with the analog and digital mediums, respectively?

I’ve heard both sound good, and both sound bad. And it depends on the budget. Most people I work with aren’t like Pearl Jam or Sheryl Crow. They’re on smaller budgets and it’s cheaper to do analogue, that’s changing I know. Maybe not if someone owns [their own] Pro Tools and as far as editing goes, I love cutting tape. I come from the day when that was the way you worked and I love it. So I guess analog takes precedence.

Are you tracking on tape with Pearl Jam?

Yup. But they’ve got the new Pro Tools system set up. There are about 2 songs where I’ve spread the drums out all over the place - a compressed track, a SansAmp track, a room track, and then all the separate [close mic] tracks. And I’m keeping that way for now. And that’s taken up a lot of tracks. But some other things, like percussion and vocals, will probably go to Pro Tools directly. And then I’ll find a track to dump it to on the 24-track later. We have both going. I save everything to Pro Tools.

Anything new and strange you’ve used in making this record?

Well, I love the new Moog pedals. I’ve got those. The phaser is actually very cool. It’s actually like a little filter box. I’ve always wanted a phaser that you could actually stop. You get a filtering that you, like, in the throe of its phase modulation you can just stop and keep in that place. Very cool.

And how have you been using that?

On guitar and there’s a couple of drum things I’m going to use it on. And probably a vocal or two. Oh and here’s something for your readers. I’ve had this for years, but I’ve only used it once or twice in 10 years where it stuck. It’s a Ludwig Phase 2 synthesizer, made in the ‘70s. It’s a big box with a pedal that switches on like a wah-wah. It’s got all these settings - one that’s called “vowel,” one that’s called “parallel, I don’t know what else. Anyway, Mike McCready has really taken to this box and he’s probably gotten the best sounds I’ve heard out of it. Ludwig for crying out loud. It’s really a low-fi, bad, bad box and it’s looming large on the project. [laughs]