Page 73 - The Westerner Magazine Halloween 2018

THE HITS, interest in the record business. We’ve all
read about recording artists and hit authors,
but how often do you get to hear the
THE thoughts of a true creative—the man, or
woman, sitting in the recording booth
directing those hit records you hear on the
MISSES radio? This is your chance. Meet John

Florez—I saw several great videos from
John on YouTube before we approached him
AND THE for this interview. You can find those videos

here. John has recorded with some of the
great acts of our time. From the Hues
RECORD Corporation through to the legendary

Johnny Mathis. Let’s find out how those

BUSINESS gold records were made from a man who
knows…

So tell me, how did you get your start?
AN INTERVIEW WITH I, as a senior at Arizona State University,

HIT RECORD produced local acts in my spare time. I was a
communications major. But I had more fun
PRODUCER JOHN in the studio. What had happened is that my

FLOREZ band kicked me out on one tune. They asked
me to sit it out in the control room. That was
a lightbulb moment because as soon as I sat
down in the control room, I knew that was
where I wanted to be. The second they
kicked me out of the studio and put me next
to the engineer in the control room – that
was the moment of truth.

I had produced a local artist who went to
RCA New York to present his record to Don
Burkhimer, who was head of A&R [Artists
and Repetoire] for RCA on the East Coast.
When he came back, I asked the artist if he
had a deal. He said, “No... but he wants to
talk to you. He wants to know who the

This interview should prove to be young guy is who is making this stuff!”
fascinating for any of you who have an So, they obviously liked what they heard?