Nashville-based music producer, Fred Mollin, has been on a few round trips over the years both geographically and in terms of production genre. Yet, music has always been a key element in his life.
We recently met with Fred for a chat about making music and how he uses his LYD 48 and 18S in his own studio, which you can read much more about by following the link in the sidebar to the right. This article is not about gear, but about Fred's long career in making and producing music for records and film for almost five decades.
As you might imagine, successes were part of the ride, as was stressful moments with the back against the wall. And Fred was happy to share both sides with us. So, let's get started...
In 1969, the 16-year old Fred dropped out of school to pursue a career in music. At the time, a record deal was at the top of the wish list, but despite living in the New York area, this was just not as easy as he had hoped for it to be. But the dream remained and after a few years of part-time jobs and knocking doors, Fred’s older brother who had moved to Toronto, Canada, invited him to visit, which turned out to be a life-changing event.
“I went to Toronto in 1971 and basically never left. I found a girlfriend, had college gigs and eventually also landed a record deal there,” Fred says. “Then in ’74, I met singer and songwriter Dan Hill at a double gig. We talked and at some point, he asked me if I’d be interested in producing a demo that he was about to record.”
That was one of Fred’s early experiences as a producer, but it was also a milestone in the sense that it was during this session he met fellow producer Matt McCauley, and together they produced a series of Dan Hill albums, including one in 1977 that would become a big hit in the US and the rest of the world.
Following this hit, Fred and Matt relocated to LA for a few years, but around 1981, Fred decided to move back to Toronto to raise a family, which also turned out to send him on a whole new path.