Don Hunerberg (or Don Hünerberg) is an American

audio engineer An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproduc ...

and

music producer A record producer or music producer is a music creating project's overall supervisor whose responsibilities can involve a range of creative and technical leadership roles. Typically the job involves hands-on oversight of recording sessions; ensu ...

from

New York City, New York New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on New York Harbor, one of the world's largest natural harb ...

. He is known for his influential work in the

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

and

avant-garde In the arts and literature, the term ''avant-garde'' ( meaning or ) identifies an experimental genre or work of art, and the artist who created it, which usually is aesthetically innovative, whilst initially being ideologically unacceptable ...

music scenes, contributing to the early sound of seminal punk bands such as Blondie,

Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band formed in the New York City neighborhood Forest Hills, Queens in 1974. Known for helping establish the punk movement in the United States and elsewhere, the Ramones are often recognized as one of th ...

, ESG,

Richard Hell Richard Lester Meyers (born October 2, 1949), better known by his stage name Richard Hell, is an American singer, songwriter, bass guitarist and writer. Hell was in several important early punk rock bands, including Neon Boys, Television (band), ...

Sonic Youth Sonic Youth were an American rock band formed in New York City in 1981. Founding members Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar), Thurston Moore (lead guitar, vocals) and Lee Ranaldo (rhythm guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of ...

as well as collaborating with avant-garde artists like

Glenn Branca Glenn Branca (October 6, 1948 – May 13, 2018) was an American avant-garde music, avant-garde composer, guitarist, and luthier. Known for his use of volume, scordatura, alternative guitar tunings, minimal music, repetition, drone (music), dronin ...

and

John Zorn John Zorn (born September 2, 1953) is an American composer, conducting, conductor, saxophonist, arrangement, arranger and record producer, producer who "deliberately resists category". His Avant-garde music, avant-garde and experimental music, ex ...

Career

Hunerberg began his career as a recording engineer at Plaza Sound Studios from September 1976 to June 1980, where he worked on early punk recordings. He later became the chief engineer at

Radio City Music Hall Radio City Music Hall (also known as Radio City) is an entertainment venue and Theater (structure), theater at 1260 Sixth Avenue (Manhattan), Avenue of the Americas, within Rockefeller Center, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York C ...

Studio from 1980 to 1989, during which he worked on audio for Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade broadcasts alongside

Milton Delugg Milton Delugg (December 2, 1918 – April 6, 2015) was an American musician, composer and arranger. Early years Milton Delugg was born in Los Angeles, California. He said, "There aren't any Deluggs. It's not a real name." He believed the family' ...

. Since 1989, Hunerberg has worked as a freelance music recording producer. Hunerberg's engineering work includes collaborations with some of the most iconic punk bands, such as Blondie and the Ramones, helping to shape the fast-paced, gritty sound that defined the genre. He has also worked at notable studios like

Electric Lady Studios Electric Lady Studios is a recording studio in Greenwich Village, New York City. It was commissioned by rock musician Jimi Hendrix in 1968 and designed by architect John Storyk and audio engineer Eddie Kramer. It was completed by 1970. Hendrix ...

and Platinum Island. In addition to his contributions to punk rock, Hunerberg has worked on numerous remix projects and expanded his career into avant-garde and experimental music, collaborating with artists like Glenn Branca and John Zorn. His own band is IMA (Intense Molecular Activity)

Collaborations

* Blondie—engineering on '' Blondie'' *

—engineering on ''

'' *

—engineering on '' Blank Generation'' *

—engineering on ''

'' * ESG—engineering on '' Come Away with ESG'' *

—engineering on '' Lesson No. 1'' *

—recording/mixing on '' Spillane''

Legacy

Don Hunerberg’s work continues to be recognized for its impact on both mainstream and underground music. He was the recording engineer for Liquid Liquid's song "Cavern" on the

Optimo (EP) ''Optimo'' is the third EP by American dance-punk band Liquid Liquid. It was released through 99 Records in 1983, becoming the band's final release until the 1997 compilation album ''Liquid Liquid''. The EP includes Liquid Liquid's best-known son ...

which was later sampled on White Lines (Don't Do It) and later embroiled in legal controversy. His ability to capture the intensity of punk rock while also working with avant-garde compositions has earned him a reputation as a versatile and innovative engineer.

References

External links

Don Hünerberg discography at Discogs

Don Hunerberg credits at AllMusic

Don Hunerberg credits at IMDb

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hunerberg, Don Living people Year of birth missing (living people)