Brad Madix
A native of San Francisco, Brad played keyboards in High School and had a PA that he “rented out to other bands occasionally.” Deciding on an interest in recording, he went to the Berklee College of Music in Boston to major in Music Production and Engineering, and played out his spare time in a band. “Banditt, we were called… two ‘t’s… how 80s!” he laughs. “I also worked in a little recording studio – it did teach me that the studio can be a very boring place.”
One night, events transpired that would set the scene for Brad’s career. “Banditt was a covers band, but we were going to try to write and record some originals and send them off in hope of a record contract. We borrowed some recording gear from a sound company called Scorpio Sound, and packed it all in a truck to drive up to New Hampshire for a week-long gig at some bar there. We were going to record in the day, and gig at night, and see what happened. I parked the truck around the corner from the apartment and locked it up. When I got up in the morning… well, it was gone. All of my gear, all of the sound gear… everything. Gone.”
The moment came to explain what had happened. Gary King, who ran Scorpio Sound, was more than fair. “He offered to let me work it off, so I started doing shows for his sound company for cheap or even free. I think I did two shows actually unpaid, but after a month or so, he started sending me out on things and paying me. I was making more money doing that than playing in the band. And it was way more fun than working in the studio.”
Having “kicked around in the clubs and college circuit for a while,” Brad landed some bigger gigs, notably assisting Robert Scovill on Def Leppard’s ‘Hysteria’ tour in 1987-88. “That’s when I started stealing his tricks,” he says. Brad met with Howard Ungerleider when both were working for Queensrÿche, and he first joined the Rush crew on the ‘Presto’ tour, back in support of Robert Scovill. “Part of my job was to mix the opening act, a band called Mr Big,” he explains. While the main act was on, Brad used his time wisely. “I learned a lot of my technique from watching Robert,” he says. “I had never mixed a big tour to that point and watching Robert was very instructive.” With his new-found knowledge, Brad went off to mix the live sound for Queensrÿche, before being called back at the end of the ‘Roll The Bones’ tour to take over from Robert. “He had a scheduling conflict, so I came in and took over for about the last six weeks or so,” says Brad. “All I did was, continue to run the show as Robert had set it up.”
This was the last he would see of Rush for some time. Brad’s experience helped him to develop as a mixing engineer, ultimately leading to taking FOH roles for Def Leppard, Bruce Hornsby and Marilyn Manson. When Robert was once again unavailable for Rush, for the ‘Vapor Trails’ tour, Brad’s name was in the frame. “I suppose I must have made a good impression,” he says. Brad brought his hard rock experiences to bear, appealing to fans and crew alike. “I think the thing I added was a somewhat more ‘in-your-face’ sound, maybe a harder edge,” he says. Fellow crew member Tony Geranios concurs. “Brad is one of the most amazing sound guys the band’s ever had, he’s made the band sound like a rock band again,” says Tony. “A fan came up to me, said they’d never heard the band sound better.”
Despite acknowledging the prestige attached to mixing Rush, Brad is typically understated about his role. “Not only is the band particular about their sound, so are the fans,” he says. “Also, within the industry, they are regarded as a good sounding band. As it happens, they are great players, so making them sound good isn’t the hardest thing in the world!”