In today’s Local Spins feature, Josh Kaufman, owner of Grand Rapids’ Local Legend Recording, looks back to performing and songwriting for inspiration. See which albums have impacted him most.
In the Control Room: Josh Kaufman at Local Legend Recording. (Photo/John Sinkevics)
EDITOR’S NOTE: All artists and studio producers can trace their inspiration to key recordings that influenced their careers. Today, Local Spins’ Ross Boissoneau showcases the albums that inspired Grand Rapids studio owner Josh Kaufman. Scroll down for a Spotify playlist of his picks.
Josh Kaufman is a legend.
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Well, make that “has” a legend: He’s the owner of Grand Rapids’ Local Legend Recording, where he records, mixes, engineers, produces and generally oversees recordings from “the other side of the glass,” as he puts it.
His interest in music started early. “My grandma used to tell the story of how as a child I was taken by music. I went to the symphony when I was 5 and was enraptured by the sound,” he says, though he thinks that the more the story was told, the younger he got.
In the Top 3: Cameron Blake at Local Legend Recording. (Photo/Chelsea Whitaker)
He started playing music as a kid in Grand Rapids: jazz band, marching band, symphony band in school. He helped lead music at his church and joined friends in a rock band. Along the way, he grew obsessed with songwriting and recording. After graduating from Forest Hills Central, he moved to Minneapolis to attend the Institute of Production and Recording.
“I liked the process of making music,” Kaufman says. “I fell in love with the creative process.”
He connected with Brian Setzer through a professor at IPR. “I loved Brian Setzer in high school, the Stray Cats.” He spent four years on the road with Setzer and the Brian Setzer Orchestra, working as a personal assistant, then tour manager.
Kaufman than was hired to work at Surf Dog, Setzer’s label, as part of the management team. Among other projects, he got to work with Eric Clapton and on Glen Campbell’s final album before moving back home.
He’s been back in Grand Rapids for a decade. “It’s bigger than I remembered,” he says with a laugh. He worked for years with Peter Fox at Stone House Recording, and when Fox left the area, Kaufman found a building on the city’s West Side, renovated it and started Local Legend Recording. The facility provides a variety of services, including recording, mixing, mastering, video production and photo shoots.
1. Bob Curnow’s LA Big Band, “Minuano (Six Eight): The Music of Pat Metheny & Lyle Mays” (1994) – The first and longest-lasting for me. The is a song from Bob Curnow’s LA big band doing an album of Pat Metheny (“The Music of Pat Metheny and Lyle Mays”). I played it as a 15-year-old in high school jazz band, playing second trombone. We had really good players at Forest Hills Central. Our lead trumpet is (now) a New York player. They were good players, guys I grew up with. It shows how genius Pat Metheny was. It’s something I come back to – a piece with dynamics, emotion without words. It’s a grounding piece for me. The album is great, it sounds amazing. I put this on for my kids and they go, “Wow.”
Listen: “Minuano”
2. Elliot Smith, “Either/Or” (2015) – From a kid with a four-track (recorder) who did songwriting, this was pure inspiration and what’s coming out of someone recording at home. It’s ramshackle, noisy, there are mistakes, his voice is sour. I love his songwriting. For a lot of people in songwriting, it’s seminal. It’s the purity of songwriting and DIY, interesting chord progressions and weaving a simple tale. (As we are) creeping to a convergence of technology and art, it’s nice to know you can go back. I find these two very similar to me, but I know they’re not. I don’t care about genre or ability as long as the core of inspiration is there. If you foster and water the inspiration, it will bear fruit.
Listen: “Say Yes”
3. Cameron Blake, “Saffron” (2025) – His new album was produced here. My most proud (recording) to be a part of. It’s free jazz, wild energy, it’s got a point of view. It’s got a who’s who of musicians playing around the area. It’s a challenging record. It’s a shocker of a record. It’s beautiful, tender, then shocking. It’s got a heavy message.
Listen: “Callas”
Currently Loving?: This is where I’ll lose the interest of your readers (laughs). I’m not a guy that digs into new stuff. I listen to a lot of audio books.
ALBUMS THAT CHANGED THE WORLD: Josh Kaufman’s Playlist on Spotify
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