My story.

Michael D Clute

Over two dozen number-one singles, nearly 100 Top-40 singles, 25 gold and platinum albums, 24 Grammy nominations and a Grammy win. That is the short version. The longer one starts the way it does for a lot of producers: playing in the band.

For me that meant twelve years singing and playing bass in rock bands touring the Midwest and Canada, reaching what I laughingly call “Rock Star” status in North Dakota, where I grew up. Eventually I built my own recording studio in Fargo, which is definitely one way to learn what works in music recording.

After moving to Nashville in 1985 I started making my name in engineering and production, working as an assistant at Bullet Studios and later at Bennett House Studios with contemporary Christian artists like Michael W. Smith, Amy Grant, Petra and Sandi Patty. Then I met Poco, who asked me to join them on tour as their front-of-house mixer. I went on to handle live mixing, road managing and merchandise chores for Kathy Mattea and Michael Johnson too.

In 1988, along with Tim DuBois, Van Stephenson, Monty Powell and Dave Robbins, I opened Midtown Tone & Volume right on Music Row. It was meant to be a 16-track demo room, but as my clients pushed me to the top of the Nashville charts, the modest demo studio grew into a cutting-edge one.

That is where my passion for technology comes in. Testing and reviewing products for pro-audio companies kept me on top of the latest trends, and led to a few firsts: the first country album recorded entirely on digital hard-disk recorders (Diamond Rio, on a Fairlight MFX 48-track), the first album mixed entirely on a digital console (Diamond Rio, on an AT&T digital console), and the first Canadian album on hard-disk recorders (Duane Steele, on an Otari RADAR 24-track).

Honors

Diamond Rio

They became one of country music's biggest bands!

Diamond Rio has sold over 12 million albums, earning three platinum and five gold records, and won the Country Music Association's Vocal Group of the Year award four times, as well as two Academy of Country Music Awards in the top Vocal Group category and 14 Grammy nominations.

When they debuted in 1991 with “Meet in the Middle,” Diamond Rio became the first group in the history of country music to have a debut single reach number one. They went on to place 32 more singles on the Billboard chart.

I am forever grateful for the chance to work with this band. They even call me the “seventh member,” just to make me feel good!

Midtown Studios Nashville

The studio began as a way to do demos for Warner/Chappell Publishing. My partners when we started were Monty Powell, Van Stephenson, Dave Robbins and Tim DuBois (not a bad gang to hang with!). This little group connected me directly to Restless Heart, Diamond Rio, BlackHawk, Exile, Arista Records and most of the success I would have for another 30 years.

It also enabled me to pioneer many recording technologies, such as digital hard-disk recording, digital mixing, microphone design and audio software.

The list of albums recorded at Midtown, not only by me but by others, includes Diamond Rio, BlackHawk, Keith Urban, ZZ Top, Exile, Michelle Wright, Alabama, Steve Wariner, Vince Gill, The Delevantes, Hank Williams Jr., LeAnn Rimes, Shania Twain, Faith Hill, Aerosmith, Brooks & Dunn, Willie Nelson, Alan Jackson, Lee Roy Parnell, Trace Adkins, WhiteHeart, Pam Tillis and on and on!

North Dakota's Newest Grammy Winner

I have always been proud of my Tolna, N.D., roots. Since that February 13 I can also claim a spot on a much more exclusive list: North Dakotans who have won a Grammy. Mine was for producing and engineering Diamond Rio's “The Reason,” named Best Southern, Country, or Bluegrass Gospel Album. That list includes the late, great Peggy Lee, blues artist Jonny Lang, and Greg Nelson, another Nashville producer, born in Bismarck.

Winning a Grammy is a nice ego boost. But you kind of think, “Am I done now?” I guess the thing is to get another one.

The win came after 24 nominations, and I wasn't even in the room. I found out watching the webcast at home. My advice has stayed the same since: it's about doing the work, and always find a band where you are the worst player.

HPUMC Dallas TX

The fourth largest Methodist church in the US, with about 5,000 in attendance weekly. The whole facility has five worship centers on the main campus and two more satellite campuses off site. It's really an amazing church and a whole lot more: a day school for children, a great special-needs department, and a wonderful outreach program including a “Carpenters for Christ” mission that has already completed over 300 homes.

I was part of the contemporary service called “Cornerstone,” an incredible place with great folks in the tech area and “rock star” pastors, led by Rev. Paul Rasmussen, an inspirational motivator.

It is a great facility: a Yamaha CL5 at front of house and Nuage in the broadcast studio, five-camera production of the service with a state-of-the-art video studio, and a lighting system built on a grandMA2 console with a three-projector system. Lab Gruppen amplifiers, fed from BSS London BLU with Dante cards, drive a left/right hang of Clair Brothers i208 line arrays and five of their dual 18s.

A great place for both the mind and body! The future is vast in terms of online content and production of live music and worship of all forms.