Zac Cataldo
Zac Cataldo was raised on The Beatles and Barry Manilow although he has forgiven his parents for the latter. At fourteen he formed Straight Edge, a ten-piece Boston rock band (that’s 4 girl backup singers and a cello) and played local clubs like the Rat and the Channel (gone but not forgotten). As the Singer/Songwriter/Guitarist, Zac figured out how to keep beer bottle throwing to a minimum. As the band’s Babysitter/Manager he learned the ins and outs of the local music scene, and could be seen pawning tickets in Kenmore Square to a show (back then you paid to play). To put himself through college, Zac worked as a mobile and radio DJ, in the days when you needed a van to lug around your “record collection”.
Truthfully, Zac started playing in a band when he was thirteen that recorded in his Math teacher’s 8-track basement studio. Although he’d like to forget about most of the music, it was this eye-opening experience that sparked his interest to become a sound engineer. At 15, Zac began interning at Boston’s 24 track studios like Newbury Sound and Pyramid, working with producers like Drew Townson and WBCN’s Lisa Traxler. Zac was highly sought after and worked with 80’s bands like The Next, Bang, and Anastasia Screamed because he would gladly run off to the corner store for coffee and guitar strings (or dirty magazines for a certain bassist who will go nameless).
In the early 90’s, Zac relocated to L.A. (why – he still can’t tell you) and returned with memories of egocentric music executives, corporate power lunches, and earthquakes. Upon his return in the mid 90’s, Zac started Night Train Studios, a digital recording studio, when digital was still a bad word. Today, Night Train Studios is a busy place where musicians from heavy metal act Silencio to jazz diva Barbara Dolan go to record with Zac at the helm.
Zac's credits include: music placed on A&E Network's "Storage Wars" & "Dog the Bounty Hunter", Discovery Network "Stalked: Someone is Watching", the voice and music behind Disney's "High School Musical" and "The Suite Life of Zack & Cody" book series and the acclaimed audio books "Who Were The Beatles", "Who Was William Shakespeare" & "Who Was Claude Monet". The music for "The Zack Files" by Dan Greenberg audio book series and the Newbery Award winning book "The Midwife's Apprentice" by Karen Cushman. The music for the book "Baby" by Patricia MacLachlan and the Scholastic book series "Rainbow Magic" by Daisy Meadows. The music & voice for the audio book "Stone Fox" by John Reynolds Gardiner.
Zac has Produced the Barbara Dolan Group, Baza, Have At It, Marmalading, Jason Fickel, Francesca Reggio & Blue Shift, Paul V, Stilburnin', Slap That Cat, The Lascivious Trio, Ashley Jordan, Wastleand Within, Fever, Workin' Stiffs, The Pass, Montgomery Clift, Insigniya, The Cranks, Ramble On, Patrick McKenna, Ben Cesare, Shaun Merrill, Deep C, Scott Dockendorff, Booty Vortex, Sunshine Riot, The Heat Moon, Acoustic Curve, Meet The Day, Too Many Drivers, Steve LaBonte, Victoria Dehesa, Mirichle, Katie Sullivan, RTP Racer, The Dij, Sidpa Bardo, Chiemi, Dread Rocks, Phylo Ray, Leslie Hitelman, Depths of Underground, P.J. Shapiro, Lisa Locke, Logan Piercey, Errata, Gardy Gonzalez, The Zac Mac Band, Sounder, Offensive Jill, Interfere, Aontaigh, 3rd Man Factor, Two Tire Fire, Good Night Sheffield, Run 4 Cover, Levity, Red Box Panic, Jason Baron, Jeff Wolfsberg, Paul Hamilton, Operation Guillotine, Pop Gun, Forget the Former, Trusting Fate, Brendan Asquith, just to name a few.
Truthfully, Zac started playing in a band when he was thirteen that recorded in his Math teacher’s 8-track basement studio. Although he’d like to forget about most of the music, it was this eye-opening experience that sparked his interest to become a sound engineer. At 15, Zac began interning at Boston’s 24 track studios like Newbury Sound and Pyramid, working with producers like Drew Townson and WBCN’s Lisa Traxler. Zac was highly sought after and worked with 80’s bands like The Next, Bang, and Anastasia Screamed because he would gladly run off to the corner store for coffee and guitar strings (or dirty magazines for a certain bassist who will go nameless).
In the early 90’s, Zac relocated to L.A. (why – he still can’t tell you) and returned with memories of egocentric music executives, corporate power lunches, and earthquakes. Upon his return in the mid 90’s, Zac started Night Train Studios, a digital recording studio, when digital was still a bad word. Today, Night Train Studios is a busy place where musicians from heavy metal act Silencio to jazz diva Barbara Dolan go to record with Zac at the helm.
Zac's credits include: music placed on A&E Network's "Storage Wars" & "Dog the Bounty Hunter", Discovery Network "Stalked: Someone is Watching", the voice and music behind Disney's "High School Musical" and "The Suite Life of Zack & Cody" book series and the acclaimed audio books "Who Were The Beatles", "Who Was William Shakespeare" & "Who Was Claude Monet". The music for "The Zack Files" by Dan Greenberg audio book series and the Newbery Award winning book "The Midwife's Apprentice" by Karen Cushman. The music for the book "Baby" by Patricia MacLachlan and the Scholastic book series "Rainbow Magic" by Daisy Meadows. The music & voice for the audio book "Stone Fox" by John Reynolds Gardiner.
Zac has Produced the Barbara Dolan Group, Baza, Have At It, Marmalading, Jason Fickel, Francesca Reggio & Blue Shift, Paul V, Stilburnin', Slap That Cat, The Lascivious Trio, Ashley Jordan, Wastleand Within, Fever, Workin' Stiffs, The Pass, Montgomery Clift, Insigniya, The Cranks, Ramble On, Patrick McKenna, Ben Cesare, Shaun Merrill, Deep C, Scott Dockendorff, Booty Vortex, Sunshine Riot, The Heat Moon, Acoustic Curve, Meet The Day, Too Many Drivers, Steve LaBonte, Victoria Dehesa, Mirichle, Katie Sullivan, RTP Racer, The Dij, Sidpa Bardo, Chiemi, Dread Rocks, Phylo Ray, Leslie Hitelman, Depths of Underground, P.J. Shapiro, Lisa Locke, Logan Piercey, Errata, Gardy Gonzalez, The Zac Mac Band, Sounder, Offensive Jill, Interfere, Aontaigh, 3rd Man Factor, Two Tire Fire, Good Night Sheffield, Run 4 Cover, Levity, Red Box Panic, Jason Baron, Jeff Wolfsberg, Paul Hamilton, Operation Guillotine, Pop Gun, Forget the Former, Trusting Fate, Brendan Asquith, just to name a few.
