Steve McNeil in the control room of Mambo Sound & Recording. Photo by Sander Roscoe Wolff.
The National Association of Music Merchandisers [NAMM] hosts the largest convention to be held at the Anaheim Convention Center. Companies and individuals from all over the world converge to share new products, new technologies, and to connect with retailers and music professionals. Long Beach has always been well-represented at the NAMM Show, and this is the first installment in a series that looks at local people who are participating.
Steve McNeil is inexorably intertwined with the history of music in Long Beach. In the early ’80s, he founded Mambo Sound, a small recording studio in Belmont Shore. Over the years, he’s tracked Sublime, No Doubt, and Falling Idols, whose members went on to such bands as The Vandals, Slightly Stoopid, and Pennywise. His was the go-to studio for many record labels, including Caroline, Sub Pop, and SST Records.
Outside the studio, he is an in-demand live sound engineer. Back in the day, he worked at all the big rock venues, including The Foothill, Bogart’s, The Roxy, the Palladium, the Whiskey, Gazarri’s, and many larger venues. He’s also mixed many live in-studio performances for KROQ, including sets by Pennywise, Coldplay, New Found Glory, Keane, Fun, and Silversun Pickups, and has provided live sound, lights, and staging for huge festivals around the Southland.
In addition to his live sound and studio work, he also runs Mac West Group, a wholesale manufacture’s representative for a number of high end sound equipment manufacturers. He’s also part of The Life and Times of MDC, a band that’s currently recording their first album.
In this video interview, Steve speaks about how he got started, what he’s done, and what he’s doing now.
To learn more about Mambo Sound & Recording, visit MamboSoundAndRecording.com.
To learn more about Mac West Group, visit MacWestGroup.com.