The player at right features songs from several records Rob Seals produced in various genres, as well as tracks from his own self-produced 2004 record wishlisting..
The credits key: P=Producer, E=Engineer, M=Mixer, W=Writer, CW=Co-Writer.
Rob played various instruments on each of these tracks and was fortunate to enlist the talents brilliant players like Sean Hurley (bass), Ryan Brown (drums), Billy Hawn (drums/perc), Beth Balmer (strings). For a list of session musicians Rob uses, see the bio.
Influences
As a songwriter...
Paul Simon
Adam Duritz
Glen Phillips
Peter Gabriel
Bono/U2
Shawn Colvin
Josh Rouse
Bob Zimmerman
James Taylor
Stuart Adamson
David Wilcox
Snuzz
Ben Folds
As a guitar player...
Alex Lifeson
Michael Hedges
Mark Knopfler
John Leventhal
Duke Levine
William Ackerman
Sonny Landreth
Chris Whitley
Shawn Colvin
Neal Schon
As a producer...
Ben Wisch
Daniel Lanois
Malcom Burn
Jon Brion
Joe Henry
Roger Moutenot
Pierre Marchand
Rob Seals began writing songs at age 10 for his imaginary band Lightning. He played "lead trumpet," and his two best friends played "rhythm trumpet." Think Tower of Power meets Romper Room. Fortunately no recordings exist. Currently a full-time singer/songwriter and producer based in Los Angeles, California, Rob writes and performs songs that set intimate lyrical concerns against strong pop-rock grooves. Listeners have described his literate, catchy sound as Paul Simon meets Dave Matthews. Rob finds singing while playing guitar easier than singing while playing trumpet.
Born and raised in Chattanooga, TN with an architect father and a social worker mother, Rob grew up in a household that championed creativity and modeled service. A former high school English teacher and track coach with an M.F.A. in poetry writing, twice a year Seals visits schools and colleges coast to coast as Artist in Residence working to empower students with a profound sense of their unique creativity and teach them skills to access that creativity. He teaches songwriting each summer at the Seth Riggs Summer Vocal Program in Los Angeles and works privately as songwriting coach to a select number of recording artists and aspiring artists alike.
Rob brings this background as teacher and motivator, a lifetime of directed daydreaming, and a lifelong love of music to his work as producer. Rob helps refine artists' songwriting and arrangements while drawing upon a talented call list of friends to bring the songs to life in the studio: Sean Hurley (Vertical Horizon), Ryan Brown (Jesse McCartney), Jeff Coffin (Bela Fleck), Billy Hawn (Charlotte Martin), Sheldon Gomberg (Ryan Adams), Brandon Bush (Train), Billy Hawn (Charlotte Martin), Craig MacIntyre (Josh Groban), David Henry (Josh Rouse), Derek Jones (Nickel Creek), Beth Balmer (Tyler Hilton), Dale Baker (Sixpence), Kat Bode (eastmountainsouth), Ed Toth (Doobie Brothers), Justin Rosolino (Matt Wertz), legedary pedal steel whiz Greg Liesz (Dixie Chicks, kd lang...), and others.
Rob is honored to have written or produced tracks for and with talented indie artists as diverse and original as Allie Moss (Ingrid Michaelson), Claire Holley (Yep Roc Records), MC Lars (Nettwerk Management), Lucy Hale (American Idol Junior Winner), Steven Jackson, Dave Potts, and Jon Rajewski, to name a few. Projects Rob has co-written, produced, and mixed have appeared on television shows like ABC's Men in Trees, E!'s Keeping Up with the Kardashians, and MTV's The Real World; feature films like 2008's All Roads Lead Home, documentaries like Dave Matthews Band: Plugging the Gap, and on national radio programming like NPR. Projects, songs, or artists Rob has produced have been nominated for or won Los Angeles Music Awards every full year he has lived in the city.
When he's not making music for and with other artists, Rob manages to squeeze out a solo record roughly every summer Olympics. In 2004 Rob released wishlisting, a collection of power-pop and acoustic soundscapes that explore loves alternately celebratory and solitary moments. The single "A Good Day" earned Best College Rock Song Nomination in the 2006 Just Plain Folks Music Awards. Rob feels fortunate to have used some of his talented friends on the project, and the supporting cast of players reads like a college radio super-group. Seals produced, engineered, and mixed the record WQFS 90.9 FM Guilford College Radio hails as a beautifully polished gem.
Rob's debut solo CD, A Revolution of One, was named Male Singer/Songwriter Album of the Year 2001 by Just Plain Folks and earned him the North Carolina Arts Council Songwriters and Composers Fellowship for 2002. The song "A Few Repairs" aired nationally on NPR's Car Talk
Hey...this came from a DJ,,,,,check it out,,,Hey Brittney
Your Song Bright Eyes has made the top 40 by goin straight in at Number 20. It's a really good song and proves you have a lot of popularity. Keep it going and get your fans to vote. full details on how to vote are on our front page http://www.aiiradio.net
Congratulations and the best of luck in the AiiRadio top 40.
Love the picture Rob! Haha! Let's talk soon...hope all is good in LA..heard it's 100 degrees...there was a thunder storm here yesterday so I am jealous! :)
Rob Seals! How have you been? Sorry I feel off the radar for a bit there, but wanted to let you know I miss y'all and hope you are doing great. Good things!
great to find you on gearslutz rob! i love that site and have learned a heap from it. still recording with my 1680- no upgrade yet. how did you hook up with ron J? i found his music and love it- i didn't know you had a hand in that. he is really talented. "stay" is a beautiful song. keep up the good work, pal.
Congrats on being such a fine songwriter and producer, it is always exciting to collaborate with other artists. So glad to have Brittney Elizabeth on the compilation, people love her track, lots of great feedback on As One Take Care Pam
hey Rob! it's been a while - I hope you're doing great! i think you and "the ashbear" should come up to SF for our big show at Cafe Du Nord on Sat, Apr 5. for real, we got a whole new sound going on.... stay in touch! valerie
I love this new picture. It makes me smile to know you are doing it!! I still listen to Seals & Butler now and then.....hmmmm does that make me OLD? Well, at least, being 30 probably means that I would be better at knocking down hurtles, and I don’t mean that metaphorically HeHeHe
Hey Rob! Super Excited to work tomorrow at 11! Also, if you are not up to anything tomorrow night, I have a set at Room 5 starting at 8:00 PM. Anywho.. .. see you tomorrow!
