Paul Moak (born July 8, 1979) is an American producer,

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

, mixer, and multi-instrumentalist currently residing in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

Biography

Paul Greer Moak, III was born in

Jackson, MS Jackson, officially the City of Jackson, is the capital of and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city is also one of two county seats of Hinds County, along with Raymond. The city had a population of 153,701 at the ...

on July 8, 1979. He learned music at a young age and began touring and recording with

artists An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse refers to a practitioner in the visual arts only. However, the ...

soon after, primarily as a

session guitarist Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a ...

but performing on other instruments as well.Discogs.com
''Album credits for Paul Moak as a session musician.''
2002–present. Over the years, Paul began to transition to the roles of producer,

, and mixer.AlbumCredits.com
''AlbumCredits.com Page for Paul Moak''
2002–present. He moved to Nashville, TN in 1998, where he had his first private studio. In early 2004, Paul opened "The Smoakstack" in Nashville with Will Sayles, a 1,760 square-foot recording facility consisting of three tracking rooms and a control room, as well as a lounge, kitchen, and bathroom. The studio used

Pro Tools Pro Tools is a digital audio workstation (DAW) developed and released by Avid Technology (formerly Digidesign) for Microsoft Windows and macOS. It is used for music creation and production, sound for picture (sound design, audio post-productio ...

HD 7, with twenty-four inputs/outputs and API/Neve sidecars. Outboard gear consisted of Telefunken, Altec, Neve, dbx and

Ampex Ampex is an American electronics company founded in 1944 by Alexander M. Poniatoff as a spin-off of Dalmo-Victor. The name AMPEX is a portmanteau, created by its founder, which stands for Alexander M. Poniatoff Excellence.AbramsoThe History ...

equipment. In 2009, Paul moved his studio to the former Platinum Labs facility in Nashville, re-opening it under the name, "The Smoakstack". Paul has produced, engineered, performed on, and written songs that have been featured on TV shows such as ''

One Tree Hill One Tree Hill may refer to: * "One Tree Hill" (song), a 1987 song by U2 referencing One Tree Hill, New Zealand volcanic peak * ''One Tree Hill'' (TV series), a 2003–2012 American drama series named for the U2 song ** ''One Tree Hill'' (soundtr ...

'',''One Tree Hill'' Music
''Season 7, Episode 5 – "Your Cheatin' Heart"''
Original Air Date – December 10, 2009. ''

Private Practice Private practice may refer to: *Private sector practice **Practice of law In its most general sense, the practice of law involves giving legal advice to clients, drafting legal documents for clients, and representing clients in legal negotiati ...

'',''Private Practice'' – Music Lounge – ABC.com
''Episode 401: "Take Two"''
. Original Air Date – September 23, 2010. and ''

Pretty Little Liars ''Pretty Little Liars'' is an American mystery teen drama television series based on the novel series of the same name written by Sara Shepard. Developed by I. Marlene King, the series was broadcast on Freeform between June 8, 2010, and June ...

''.''Pretty Little Liars'' – ABC Family Sound Booth
''Episode 121: "Monsters in the End"''
Original Air Date – 3/14/11. Some of Paul's

credits Credit refers to any form of deferred payment, the granting of a loan and the creation of debt. Credit may also refer to: Places * Credit, Arkansas, a ghost town * Credit River, a river in Ontario, Canada * Credit River (Minnesota), a river in ...

include

Mat Kearney Mathew William Kearney (; born December 1, 1978) is an American musician born in Eugene, Oregon, and based in Nashville, Tennessee. So far, he has a total of five top 20 hits on the Adult Top 40 Chart. ''Just Kids'' was released on February 24 ...

Third Day Third Day was a Christian rock band formed in Marietta, Georgia during the 1990s. The band was founded by lead singer Mac Powell, guitarist Mark Lee (both of whom were the only constant members) and Billy Wilkins. Drummer David Carr was the ...

The Blind Boys of Alabama The Blind Boys of Alabama, also billed as The Five Blind Boys of Alabama, and Clarence Fountain and the Blind Boys of Alabama, is an American gospel group. The group was founded in 1939 in Talladega, Alabama, and has featured a changing roster ...

Martha Wainwright Martha Wainwright (born May 8, 1976) is a Canadian-American singer-songwriter, musician, and actress. She has released seven critically-acclaimed studio albums. Wainwright is the daughter of musicians Kate McGarrigle and Loudon Wainwright III a ...

, Monroe/Dabbs,

Lovedrug Lovedrug is an American alternative/indie rock band formed in Alliance, Ohio, United States, in 2002 by singer/guitarist Michael Shepard. History Lovedrug released their first EP, the ''Lovedrug'' EP, with the follow-up EP, the ''Rocknroll'' ...

Jennifer Knapp Jennifer Lynn Knapp (born April 12, 1974) is an American-Australian folk rock, and contemporary Christian musician. She is best known for her first single "Undo Me" from her debut album, ''Kansas'' (1998), and the song "A Little More" from her ...

Matthew Mayfield Matthew Mayfield is an American singer and songwriter from Birmingham, Alabama. Originally the lead singer in the group Moses Mayfield, which disbanded in 2008, Mayfield has moved on to a solo career. He announced the release of his debut EP, ...

and

Griffin House Griffin House may refer to: People *Griffin House (musician), American musician Places ;in Canada * Griffin House (Ancaster), a 19th-century house and museum, site along the Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was a network of clan ...

. On October 19, 2010,

multi-platinum Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

recording artists

(Provident/Sony) released their tenth studio album, ''

Move Move may refer to: People *Daniil Move (born 1985), a Russian auto racing driver Brands and enterprises * Move (company), an online real estate company * Move (electronics store), a defunct Australian electronics retailer * Daihatsu Move Gov ...

'', which Paul produced. This album debuted at No 9 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and No. 3 on Billboard's Rock Albums chart, marking Paul's highest-charting production work to date.Billboard.com. "''Move'' – Third Day (Album Info)" As of August 31, 2011, ''Move'' had sold more than 250,000 physical copies. Paul earned his first GRAMMY nomination at the

54th Annual GRAMMY Awards The 54th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 12, 2012, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles being broadcast on CBS honoring the best in music for the recording year beginning October 1, 2010 through September 30, 2011. LL Cool J hosted t ...

for his work producing, engineering, and co-mixing Leeland's album, ''

The Great Awakening ''The Great Awakening'' is the fourth studio album from the Christian rock band Leeland, released on September 20, 2011. ''The Great Awakening'' received a nomination to the 54th Grammy Awards for Best Contemporary Christian Music Album The ...

'', which was released on September 20, 2011.

The Smoakstack

Relocating his studio to the Berry Hill area of Nashville in 2009, Moak re-opened The Smoakstack at the former Platinum Labs facility, a 3,000 square-foot recording facility designed by recording engineer and studio designer

Chris Huston Christopher John Huston (born 25 June 1943) is a British born record engineer, record producer and guitarist. Huston arrived in Wallasey, near Liverpool, toward the end of World War II from an orphanage in North Wales. As a teenager he began studi ...

. The control room monitoring was designed and tuned by Carl Tatz using his Phantom Focus System. The Smoakstack comprises a live room ( with ceilings), Control Room (), four isolation booths and a piano room. The console used is an SSL 4056G+ with Ultimation and Total Recall, with recording capabilities via Pro Tools 8 HD3 40 Input/56 Output, UAD-2 Quad card with all UAD Plug-ins, MCI JH24 16-track machine, Alesis Masterlink, and Tascam CDR.

Selected discography

House of Heroes House of Heroes is an American alternative rock band from Columbus, Ohio. They have released six albums: ''What You Want Is Now'' (2003), ''House of Heroes'' (2005), ''The End Is Not the End'' (2008), ''Suburba'' (2010), ''Cold Hard Want'' (20 ...

– "

Cold Hard Want ''Cold Hard Want'' is the fifth full-length album by alternative rock band House of Heroes. It was released on Gotee Records on July 10, 2012. House of Heroes entered Smoakstack Studios on December 12, 2011 in order to record ''Cold Hard Want''. ...

" (

Gotee Records Gotee Records is a record label founded by Christian hip hop performer Toby McKeehan (known professionally as ''TobyMac''), Todd Collins, and Joey Elwood. The label began as a production company. At the time of the label's founding, McKeehan wa ...

) *

– ''Letting Go'' (Greylin Records) *

– ''Wild Blood'' (Independent) *

– '' Nothing Left to Lose'' (Sony) *

Seabird Seabirds (also known as marine birds) are birds that are adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same enviro ...

– ''Rocks into Rivers'' (EMI CMG); ''The Silent Night EP'' (EMI CMG) *

– ''

'' (Provident/Sony) *

Relient K Relient K is an American rock band formed in 1998 in Canton, Ohio, by Matt Thiessen, Matt Hoopes, and Brian Pittman Board Message during the band members' third year in high school and their time at Malone University. The band is named after ...

– ''

Collapsible Lung ''Collapsible Lung'' is the seventh studio album by American rock band Relient K. To date, it is their only album not to be produced or co-produced by Mark Lee Townsend. Background and production In May 2012, the group posted that they were wor ...

'' (

Mono vs Stereo Mono vs Stereo is an independent record label based in Franklin, Tennessee. It was founded in 2003 as an imprint of Gotee Records. While Gotee signs mostly rap, hip-hop, and pop-rock artists, Mono vs Stereo leaned more towards indie music. Hi ...

) *

Green River Ordinance A Green River Ordinance is a common United States city ordinance prohibiting door-to-door solicitation. Under such an ordinance, it is illegal for any business to sell their items door-to-door without express prior permission from the household. ...

– '' Fifteen'' (Residence Music)

References

External links

*
Razor & Tie Songwriter Page

Dicogs.com Page

AllMusic.com Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moak, Paul Record producers from Mississippi American audio engineers Living people 1979 births