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Integrator on Working for Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson plays Jenga with Brad Sundberg, owner of BSUN Media Systems.
Electronic House CE Pro's sister publication, is looking for celebrity installations and themed home theaters to profile online and in print. Electronic House goes to more… View this discussion thread.
There are celebrities, and then there was Michael Jackson.
When Brad Sundberg, owner of BSUN Media Systems, mentioned his work on Jackson’s infamous Neverland Valley Ranch during his CE Pro of the Week profile, questions came to mind:
What was Michael Jackson like as a client?
What was he like away from the cameras?
Sundberg, who says he worked with the famous performer on countless personal and professional projects over 18 years, wrote about his experiences in a long essay in a BSUN e-newsletter sent a year after Jackson’s June 2009 death. Following are some excerpts:
On meeting Jackson …
Michael was working on Captain EO for Disneyland and Epcot Center. He was fresh off the Victory Tour, the Thriller album, his dominance of MTV, and he was back in the studio. I wish I could remember our first meeting, but it was likely just passing each other in the hallway. He was always warm, yet shy. Over time we would chat now and then, but it took time to build the trust.
On Jackson’s nickname for Brad Sundberg …
Early in 1986 the team moved into Westlake Studio D in Hollywood to record the Bad album, and welcomed me in. I worked other sessions during the day, but at night I was invited to sit in and learn. Eventually I worked my way up to technical director for the team, and the trust was solidified. It was during this time that Michael nicknamed me "Really Really Brad," a twist on the chorus, "Bad, Bad, Really, Really Bad." Check the album credits, it’s there.
On what Jackson was like … Not for a moment do I pretend to have been a close friend of his, or a confidant. Rather I worked for him and with him, and considered it an honor.
He was a consummate professional. If his vocals were scheduled for a noon downbeat, he was there at 10 am, with his vocal coach Seth, singing scales. Yes, scales. I would set up the mic, check the equipment, make coffee, and all the while he would sing scales for two hours.
He typically drove himself to the studio alone. For a while he drove a big Ford Bronco with dents and scrapes on it. He was not a great driver. More than once he called into the studio to say he would be late after being in a fender bender.
He was intensely curious about "normal life." He asked me about Christmas once, and couldn't understand how kids could wait until Christmas morning to open the gifts. You see, he was raised Jehovah's Witness, so Christmas was not celebrated in the Jackson family.
On working in-studio with Jackson …
A "typical" MJ album would take between 10 and 16 months in the studio. His budget allowed for as many as 100 songs to be recorded for any given project. Some would be discarded early on, while others were fine tuned. Musicians would be brought in to add their textures and ideas, but in the center of it all was Michael.
The team was remarkably small given the scope of the projects. Each project was slightly different, but typically there were less then eight of us working day to day, from the first day until the project was mastered. No entourage. No Elephant Man bones. No groupies. No drugs. Just music. And food.
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20 Comments (displayed in order by date/time)
Hey Dom,
We all feel ya bro but this is not the place. What you are doing is commendable but we need to keep this about the integrator and his time working with the king.
With respect sir, I feel a little differently. It’s a difficult subject I know, but this is precisely why those who have peviously not been reached - need to be reached.
I think it is entirely possible for intelligent people to read an insightful, light piece like this - ‘and’ take in some information that has been deliberately suppressed for far too long.
But I do appreciate your considered tone and hope you can understand mine.
Be well.
I do understand where you are coming from and I had to deal with the sight of many of those you are referring to since the trials were held one block from my shop. I don’t think it matters what the subject is anymore. There will always be a right and a left. Society has accepted and approved people making judgment based on propaganda. I just dont want to see the thread get out of hand in the wrong direction.
I agree with you that many people, on both sides, with regard to Mr Jackson, can sometimes express their opinions in extremely uncivil ways.
However, I don’t run in a pack. I am simply an individual who happens to feel very strongly that a terrible injustice was dealt to Jackson for a very long time, and that the consequences of that affect three young people who will have much to bear as they mature.
I think it’s more than permissible to put up a link that spells out the issues that still affect Michael’s children better than I ever could - and then let people reach their own conclusions.
In a way, this echoes the sentiments expressed by Mr Sundberg in this article.
I believe helping to provide people with access to qualitative information is a valid and non-invasive way to honor Michael Jackson.
Again, I hope you understand.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/charles-thomson/one-of-the-most-shameful_b_610258.html
This is a link to an article that discusses some of the issues I have raised above - for those who may wish to understand why so many are up in arms about the way Michael Jackson was treated.