Joel Thomas Wanasek is an American record producer and owner of JTW Recording in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Wanasek started recording in 2002, initially as a self-taught producer, but by January 2006, he was able to quit his job and professionally dedicate to his recording business.
Primarily working with rock and metal bands, Wanasek has worked with numerous bands such as Blessthefall, Machine Head, Attila, Miss May I and Monuments, amongst others.
Career and education
Wanasek started playing violin at the age of 10, and guitar at the age of 12. He was inspired to practice by Randy Rhoads, forming a band called Crystal Reign which lasted for a number of years. He earned a Bachelor of Business Administration at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
He created the now defunct instructional guitar web site InsaneGuitar.com, before forming his band Dark Shift in 2000, where he played lead guitar. They signed to AJA Records, but disbanded before releasing an album. Joel worked on Dark Shift's debut album "The Assault" which was released in June 2003. The band would then open up for Gigantour in Milwaukee, which featured Megadeth, Dream Theater, Symphony X, among others.
In his producing career, he has worked with labels such as Fueled by Ramen, Virgin Music, Century Media Records, No Sleep Records, Fearless Records, Nuclear Blast Records, among others. In 2016, the song "Is There Anybody Out There?" by Machine Head charted at #36 on Billboard's Hot Mainstream Rock, which he co-produced. In 2018, Wanasek mixed and mastered Miyavi's "Samurai Sessions Vol.2", with the opening song, "Dancing With My Fingers", topping the iTunes Japanese charts.
He uses Steinberg Cubase as his digital audio workstation.
Entrepreneurship Unstoppable Recording Machine URM Academy is an online audio school created by Wanasek, Joey Sturgis and Eyal Levi, which describes itself as "the world's best online music school for rock & metal producers". Through its program Nail The Mix, the platform offers monthly mixing sessions with professionally-recorded songs and livestream commentary from the producer who originally mixed them. The program has featured bands such as Lamb of God, Asking Alexandria, The Devil Wears Prada, Chelsea Grin, Born of Osiris, A Day to Remember, Opeth, Neck Deep, Papa Roach, Meshuggah, Periphery, Gojira, etc. and producers such as Andrew Wade, Tue Madsen, Devin Townsend, Logan Mader, Jens Bogren, Kane Churko, Machine, among others. Nail the Mix won two "2 Commas Club Awards" from ClickFunnels for "entrepreneurs who have used ClickFunnels to grow their business to the 7-figure mark". The platform also offers a podcast, Q&As, lessons ("Fast Track") and, as part of its Enhanced subscription, "Mix Rescue", where students submit their own mixes to be critiqued and cleaned-up during a live broadcast.
Drumforge Drumforge is a music software company founded by Joel Wanasek, Joey Sturgis and Joe Wohlitz that provides drum sample libraries and audio plug-ins. The company has released libraries by Taylor Larson, Luke Holland, Daniel Bergstrand, Matt Greiner and others.
Riffhard
Riffhard is an online guitar school created by Monuments guitarist John Browne, in partnership with URM Academy, and co-owned by Eyal Levi and Joel Wanasek, mainly dedicated to rhythm guitar.
Other projects
Wanasek has also developed plug-ins in collaboration with Joey Sturgis Tones (JST), namely "Bus Glue Joel Wanasek", a series of bus compressors.
He has also participated in the Joey Sturgis Forums Podcast, along with Sturgis and Levi, which was said to "cover a range of music industry topics such as marketing, touring, mixing and producing"
Production discography
Studio albums
2010s
Album Released Artist Credit Label ChartPhronesis Monuments mixing, mastering Century Media Heatseeker Albums - #6Trinity ChuggaBoom mastering Arbors Arctic Sleep engineer, mixing, mastering The Church Within Passage Of Gaia Arctic Sleep producer, recording, mixing, mastering Dripfeed Samurai Sessions Vol.2 Miyavi mixing, mastering Virgin Media Billboard Japan - #9Samurai Sessions Vol.3 -Worlds Collide- Miyavi mixing Virgin Media Billboard Japan - #27Catharsis Machine Head post-production Nuclear Blast US Billboard 200 - #65Electrogram Vinyl Theatre producer, mixing, mastering Fueled By Ramen Heatseeker Albums - #35PWNZ CHALLENGER! producer All Is Vanity Christina Grimmie mastering March Of Rome Bases Loaded mastering Home Is What You Make It Bases Loaded mastering Are You Out There? Rilian mixing, mastering Kenobi Blood Money Part 1 Dope mastering Steamhammer Billboard 200 - #27To Those Left Behind Blessthefall mixing assistant Fearless Billboard 200 - #23Future Golden Age Fallstar mastering Rat Family An Achor To The Abyss: Chapter One A Hero Within mastering Navarasam (An Ennead) Thaikkudam Bridge mastering Satyam Audios Viceversa Unarmed For Victory mixing, mastering Red Cord Movement Inhale Exhale mastering Red Cord Change the World From The Eyes Of Servants mixing, mastering Red Cord The Fire Inside Righteous Vendetta composer The Vitality Theory Rosaline producer, engineer, programming, orchestration Good Fight Broken Mirrors Mercy Screams mixing, mastering Good Fight This Is Our Rise First Decree producer, mixing, mastering We Are One The Bloodline producer, mixing, mastering, vocal engineer Another Century Passage The Chosen mixing Red Cord Making the Man Stranger Than Fate mixing, mastering Red Cord Inheritors Serianna engineer, producer Bullet Tooth Hope for Now Silent Screams mixing assistant Artery Exotype Exotype mixing Rise Heatseeker Albums - #27Departure Ocellus producer, mixing, mastering California Cauliflower Ian and the Dream mastering Bad Dreams and Melodies Southbound Fearing strings, synthesizer, programming Red Cord Babylon Milosny engineer, mastering Red Cord 30 Minutes or Less Action Madison! producer, mixing, mastering Red Cord Killers & Thieves Embers in Ashes producer
2000s
Album Released Artist Credit Label ChartStories From The Book Of Metal Zephaniah producer Gaining Ground Dark Shift mixing Dark Shift, LLC The Deepest Rise Dichotic mixing, mastering Psycho Drive Studios Kiss Of The Thorn A Tortured Soul recording, mixing, mastering Eyes Like Snow Living The Dream Rictus Grin recording
Works "The Ultimate Guide to Becoming a Guitar Virtuoso" - 2005
References
Notes
External links
Allmusic — Production Credits