Native Nevadan Chris Fogel finds happiness and success in sound.
MASTER MIXER
By Forrest Hartman
RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL

A trip to the restroom changed Chris Fogel's life. A decade ago, the young Reed High School grad was at odds. His Reno nightclub had closed, he was unhappy delivering pizzas, and he had no idea where his life was going.
"I went to this party and went into the bathroom and on the back of the toilet was a brochure for this recording school," he said. "A month later, I loaded up the truck and drove down to Orlando and did it."

Today, at age 32, Fogel has a Grammy nomination under his belt, and he's built a solid reputation mixing music on hit albums and movies. His credits include the recent blockbuster "Charlie's Angels" and the new Sandra Bullock film "Miss Congeniality." He also mixed Alanis Morissette's huge "Jagged Little Pill" and "Former Infatuation Junkie" albums and received his Grammy nod for work on Robbie Robertson's "Contact From the Underworld of Redboy."

With homes in Los Angeles and New York, Fogel travels between coasts, depending on the project. It's the ultimate "local-boy-makes-good" story, and it all began in Sparks.

"Mom started me playing cello when I was in 5th grade and I hated it so I dropped it," Fogel said. "When I got to Sparks Middle School, I took up the trumpet and I played the trumpet all through my years at Reed High."

Mom, Illyssa Fogel, now lives in the Los Angeles area, but some folks may remember her days as a local deputy district attorney and deputy attorney general.

"The family has been here since 1961," Fogel said.

He made his mark on the local music scene by introducing the first underground, teen nightclubs to northern Nevada.

"What we were doing was importing music from San Francisco, basically. I'd drive there three or four times a week . . . and spend everything I made at the club on records," he said. "The first time Depeche Mode was ever played in Reno was by us."
Though The Underground, on Fourth Street, and Red Square, on E. Grove Street, would draw as many as 1,400 kids on busy summer nights, the rest of the year wasn't so prosperous. The clubs eventually closed, but while spinning discs there, Fogel had added another chapter to his resume and learned to appreciate electronic gear.

Fogel's first job out of sound school was working at Los Angeles' famed Westlake Studios. While there he developed a relationship with Morissette producer Glen Ballard.

This association would pave the way for his successes with the singer and help him develop the reputation needed for a freelance career.

Today, Fogel tells stories about the who's who of the music world, having worked with Aerosmith, Sheryl Crow, Aaliyah, Nine Inch Nails and Bon Jovi.
"The highlight, I would have to say, was U2," said Fogel, explaining that it thrilled him to meet the musicians whose records he played during his Reno club days.

After years of album success, composer Ed Shearmur gave Fogel the opportunity to mix a film score, and it was a whole new challenge.

"What I basically do is take all of the musical elements of a picture and mix them in a surround-sound format," Fogel said. "When we're in the studio, we have the rough picture and dialogue, so we know what's going on."

Shearmur and Fogel worked together on "Cruel Intentions," "Blue Streak," "Charlie's Angels," "Miss Congeniality" and the yet-to-be-released "Things You Can Tell Just By Looking At Her."

Though he enjoys the creativity that album work allows, Fogel said he's intrigued by film because it's new to him. He especially appreciates the fact that film work is deadline driven. While albums can take more than a year to piece together, Fogel said motion pictures are immediate.

"Charlie's Angels was 20-hour days," he said.

Of course, this can present disadvantages.

"Your ears close up after about six hours," Fogel said. "And you have to make critical decisions at 4 or 5 o'clock in the morning."

But don't expect him to cave under the pressure. From the moment he saw that advertisement on the back of the toilet, Fogel knew sound work was his destiny. And he's confident he has what it takes to keep breaking new ground.

"Loving what I do," he says, "is the most important thing."

Caption: LOCAL BOY MAKES GOOD: Chris Fogel has been nominated for a Grammy for his work on Robbie Robertson's album.