It’s funny to me that New York is the largest and most dense city in America and every time I’m here I invariably wind up spending most of my time within a mile radius of the Morgan L stop. I’m sure this is like someone saying they only hang out in Wicker Park. Just funny 2 meee

Receiving my first project inquiry via the quote builder on the new CMS website feels… so good

Chicago Mastering Service has a new website! Features a partial discography of records mastered here, a quote building for, and a FAQ! Check it out! Designed by Jake McKelvie, all photos by Derrick Alexander. www.chicagomasteringservice.com

Little update of what I've been up to this summer and fall! Record round-up of some really cool records that came out last week. Here u go

Stuck plays Friday at Color Club with Bursting, Chicago IL, September 19th 2025 AD

Hey I got contributions on this playlist! One for @manekadevin69.bsky.social (mastering) and one for Lawn (recording)! Both are great! Music rocks

Here's the sitting president of the United States endorsing ethnic cleansing in Gaza.

when you die, no one will remember how much money you made, how many hours you worked, how much time you spent in the gym…. they will remember whether or not your music sounded loud on Spotify

In case you hadn't heard, Bob and Carrie Weston have moved to Portugal—which means that Chicago Mastering Service, one of the most sophisticated such studios in the city, has a new owner! I interviewed Greg Obis (@guypidgeotto.bsky.social) about his new role. chicagoreader.com/music/chicag...

Chicagoan of Note 🎵 I spoke with Philip Montoro for @chicagoreader.com about my new position as Owner / Operator at Chicago Mastering Service, and all things audio. If you don't know what it is that I do, this is a great place to start!

More of this would be awesome. There are other less evil/less crappy sounding places to stream music.

i'm rarely telling y'all to stop doing x or y bc of corporate entanglements but you cannot be using spotify in 2025 considering every stream is going toward a future full of AI-powered drone strikes

SCOOP: Details about Saturday’s “No Kings” protest are under watch by domestic intelligence centers, where analysts regularly distribute speculative threat assessments among federal, state, and local agencies, according to an internal alert obtained by WIRED. UNPAYWALLED:

BIGGEST NEWS: You are looking at the newest owner of Chicago Mastering Service! Excited to continue to deliver the high level of service and S-tier quality masters that have made CMS a staple in the greater music community. I feel immeasurably lucky to be here. Excited to share more soon. Thanks! ♥️

Tremendous honor to be supporting The Jesus Lizard at The Metro this fall 🙇🏻

greg is great, as is this newsletter name

Introducing my new free monthly substack Live, Laugh, LUFS! Read my passing thoughts and fancies about mastering, mixing, and all things audio. Read my latest tips, tricks, and stunts. Get the lowdown on what I've been up to lately. Subscribe! Thanks!

Playing Empty Bottle tonight with Edging and Luggage see u there?

Laughing maniacally alone in my kitchen as I prep a batch of overnight oats will deliver my screaming body almost 50g of protein per serving

New Facing tune! Mixed by me and mastered by @guypidgeotto.bsky.social social.tunecore.com/linkShare?li...

All my friends are living a DINK lifestyle (“double income, no kids”) and I am too (“dude isolated, no kash”)

egg punk??? in this economy???

Last night I was talking to a punisher at the merch table. He was young and very high. He said”yeah man, I love music… it’s trippy how like, if you tried to listen to all of it, you couldn’t get through it all in a day, you know?” And I was like “yeah man that is trippy!”

deleted last post for big correction because I shouldn't do math while having not fully woken up yet... I mastered around 155 hours of music last year lol

lmao

Been mastering some real good records lately, good work y’all keep it up

People need to seek out new music organically via their community by seeing Stuck with Edging and Luggage at Empty Bottle on February 28th

New Dutch Interior out 3/21! Mastered by Greg. My first for Fat Possum Records. Mixed by Phil Ek. Really great record, keep your eyes on this band.

Just realized the spreadsheet I had been using for my lifting program was calculating off kilograms, not pounds. I’m so mad.

Fantastic album, listen if you know what's good for you

I think Sekiro is my lowest ranking souls game. The prosthetic weapons are more trouble than their worth. I miss the RPG elements. The sword fighting gets samey after a while. It’s still a good game, it’s just like listening to my least favorite Fugazi album.

Look no further

Sekiro will really introduce a new game mechanic that involves careful timing and dexterity in the second phase of a boss fight. Fuck this game.

What’s it gonna take for you to stop using Spotify as listener or artist? The hidden obscurity continues to be unearthed by talented music journalists like @lizpelly.bsky.social, the hidden insidiousness is going on full display, what will be the straw that breaks your camel’s back?

Pull up bar doesn’t work with any of the door frames of my new apartment, need to move out

sure, spotify has lower payouts for artists, is full of algorithmic slop, and is generally pretty evil but what gets lost is that compared to its competitors like apple music and tidal, it sounds bad

Very wild year for mastering! Got to work on some amazing records. Deep thanks to everyone who worked with me on them. Forever grateful to do what I do. Got some exciting things on the horizon for next year too, stay tuned :)

I got 3 mastering entries on here! (MJ Lenderman, Wishy, Wild Pink)

“Wristwatch” by MJ Lenderman clocking in at #8 here, mastered by yours truly at Chicago Mastering Service. Also “Life Is” by Jessica Pratt is #4, which I didn’t work on, but did mix it live across North America all summer and fall! All well deserved, music is magical pitchfork.com/features/lis...

Y’all ever just eat some pasta that cures your depression?

Thank to Greg @guypidgeotto.bsky.social for such great work mastering our new mini-album. Once we get through Advent and the 12 days of Christmas, look out for our new single, Emperors of Pain. Anniversary of the failure of the attempted coup in the US on 6 January 2021 or Epiphany.

I haven't seen one of these for audio engineers yet so I made one:

Chicago music scene should have a draft

Reaching a point in my artistic tenure with Stuck that I’m realizing I’ve been writing variations on the same 2-3 song over and over again, and that I’m fine with that and actually think it’s a good thing.

For NYT Opinion, I wrote about the unbearable wackness of the music catalog sales boom and why working musicians need to be more fairly compensated (gift link) www.nytimes.com/2024/03/18/o...

Do I invite my therapist to the next stuck show (March 23rd at Schubas w/ Cruel & Cel Ray)?

Doing my entire European tour in Bloodborne cosplay. Please send recommendations for cathedrals to have my ass beaten in.