Chris Steinmetz (born 1966) is a record producer and engineer living in Chicago. He is president of
Stonecutter Records.
Biography
Early life
Chris Steinmetz was born in 1966 to Kenneth and Virginia Steinmetz in Barrington, Illinois. He began playing guitar at age 12 and played in bands throughout high school. It was during this time that Steinmetz first became interested in audio engineering. While playing a show one night, he was struck by the lower quality of his band's sound compared to the headliners. Despite his newfound interest in audio, Steinmetz entered the University of Utah majoring in biomedical engineering upon graduating high school. However, the call to music proved too strong and a year later Steinmetz dropped out and moved to
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
to pursue a career in the recording industry.
Recording career
Steinmetz career in LA took off quickly as he spent his first three sessions working with
Paul Simon,
John Denver, and
David Lee Roth
David Lee Roth (born October 10, 1954) is an American rock singer. Best known for his wild, energetic stage persona, he was the original lead vocalist of the hard rock band Van Halen across three stints, from 1974 to 1985, in 1996 and again fro ...
. Within a year, engineer
Michael Wagener
Michael Wagener (born 25 April 1949) is a German former music producer, mixer, and engineer from Hamburg, best known for his work with many top glam metal and heavy metal bands in the late 1980s. He is particularly renowned for his multi-amping an ...
took notice of Steinmetz and hired him to engineer many classic 80s hard rock albums for his label. During his time in LA, Steinmetz also did freelance work for many other bands as well as for some feature films.
In 1996, Steinmetz moved back to his native Chicago to be closer to family. He began freelancing at Chicago Recording Company, Chicago Trax, and
Terry Fryer Music. Provided with access to Chicago's growing rap music scene, Steinmetz' normal clientele began to shift from hard rock to hip hop. Between 2004 and 2006 six alone, he received credits on albums by
Kanye West
Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer.
Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...
,
Twista
Carl Terrell Mitchell (born November 27, 1973), better known by his stage name Twista (formerly Tung Twista), is an American rapper and record producer. He is best known for his chopper style of rapping and for once holding the title of fastes ...
,
Lil Jon
Jonathan H. Smith (born January 17, 1971) better known by his stage name Lil Jon, is an American rapper, producer and former frontman of the rap group Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz. He was instrumental in the emergence of the hip hop subgenre cr ...
,
Usher,
E-dub, and
Jin with all six going platinum or gold. During this time, Steinmetz also helped to pioneer the field of music mixing in
5.1.
Stonecutter Records
Chris Steinmetz created his own label,
Stonecutter Records, in 2006 out of the desire to "advance
rtiststo the next level in their careers and get them the exposure they deserve."
[ Interview with music producer Chris Steinmetz] The label's first project, ''
Acoustic Chicago'', is a compilation of 13 Chicago artists and features their music in an acoustic format to highlight songwriting ability.
Stonecutter Recording Studios
In 2012, Steinmetz opened Stonecutter Recording Studios. Located in the south loop of Chicago, it is a recording facility providing recording, mixing, mastering, marketing and production.
Partial discography
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Steinmetz, Chris
1966 births
Living people