Mike Konopka

Mike Konopka is currently the President of ThunderTone Audio, a company specializing in audio production, acoustical design, and engineering. He provides his audio services on a freelance basis for Metro Mobile, where he has engineered many remote recordings and live broadcasts for clients such as WXRT, WFMT, JB-TV, WNUA, and Network Chicago.

Mike's Metro Mobile credits include: The Rolling Stones, The Pretenders, Ringo Starr, Lyle Lovett, Amee Mann, Neil Finn, Blues Traveler, Wilco, Brian May, Dave Matthews, The Patti Smith Group, Dave Brubek, and many more. For a more comprehensive discography, please visit http://www.mikekonopka.com.

Mike also spent three years touring and working in the studio for Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame Inductees Ray Davies and The Kinks. He has recorded and mixed Ray's most recent release, "The Storyteller," and also remixed many Kinks classics for the Castle "Kinks Singles Collection." He also was involved with restoration and remastering work for fifteen Kinks reissues from the group's Arista and RCA releases, including the critically acclaimed "Muswell Hillbillies."

He was the founder, Vice-president and Chief Engineer of Seagrape Recording Studios, Inc., a state-of-the-art audio production facility in Chicago, Illinois. From 1983 to 1993, he produced and engineered many major record label releases, including work for MCA, EMI, Capitol, Profile, Virgin and numerous independent record labels. In 1992, Michael charted two Billboard Magazine #1 hits, Mr. Fingers' "Closer" and the UK group Desiya's "Comin' On Strong."

From 1989 to 1994, Mike had also been the Sound Designer for the Second City Theater, The Second City Etc., and The Second City Northwest, creating sound design for over 25 revues, including the Jeff Award winning "America Lite" and "We Made A Mesopotamia, Now You Clean It Up."

Mike has been a voting member of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS) since 1986, and served as a member of the NARAS Best Engineered Recording Craft Committee.

Michael was a monthly columnist for the Engineering and Recording Society's (EARS) newsletter, "The Eardrum," and has frequently been interviewed and quoted in the audio journals, Mix Magazine, Recording Engineer and Producer, as well as the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times daily newspapers.

From 1980 to 1984, he taught, both privately and in the Chicago Public Schools, guitar, flute and Suzuki violin. Michael founded, recorded and performed with Synphonic recording artists "Pentwater" from 1973 to 1978.