This time around, Semisonic decided to return to their d.i.y. ("do it yourself") roots, and record their new album in Minneapolis with no producer but themselves. The result, as you know, is "All About Chemistry."

The songs, the playing, and the arrangements: these are all the work of the band. But if the sound of the album has captivated you, if you've fallen in love with the cd's unique mixture of digital sleekness and vacuum-tube retro, then give some credit to Brad Kern, Semisonic's longtime live sound engineer and the man who committed most of the tracks of "All About Chemistry" to hard drive and tape.

"Live and studio engineering are completely different skills," Dan Wilson said recently. "But we all knew from his live mixes that Brad has golden ears, and I knew he could record the band just as well as he mixes us in concert because the guy can't stand to do anything halfway."

Another reason Kern was tapped for the job instead of a more seasoned studio engineer was that he and Semisonic have the easy musical communication that comes from several years of intense collaboration."If we're in the studio with Brad and I say, 'Can we make that guitar warmer sounding' or 'How about an 80's snare drum,' he can make that happen on the first try because he already knows what I mean by 'warmth' in the guitar, he already knows what kind of 80's drum I'm talking about," says Wilson. This direct access to shared ideas allowed the band to spend their time shaping their musical ideas rather than explaining them to an outside engineer.

MCA, Semisonic's label, had understandable doubts about the band's desire to go with Kern to record the album. After all, he had never recorded a major label album before. So early on the band agreed to try some tracks with several renowned engineer/producers including Neal Avron, Mark Endert, John Fields and Chuck Zwicky. Each of these had worked on dozens, if not scores, of studio albums and brought undeniable brilliance to the tracks they worked on. But after these sessions, between the fall of 1999 and February of 2000, the band returned to their idea of doing it all "in-house."

Brad's history with the band goes back even further than the very first shows of Pleasure (Semisonic's original name). Dan and John's previous band, Trip Shakespeare, had just recorded 'Lulu' and was looking for a new soundman with which to tour. Searching near and far for the right person, they discovered a very young Brad working for a sound company in Kansas City. He was added to the team and has been with the band ever since. Eventually he even decided to join the guys in Minneapolis and leave Kansas City, although you don't have to spend much time with Brad to discover the great affection he still feels for his hometown.

Semisonic does not feel too guilty about taking him from home, however, as Brad has worked with numerous other fine Minneapolis musicians, including The Hang Ups, The Tropicals and The Delilahs. He also met his wife, Autumn, here in the Twin Cities so we think it's been a good marriage for everyone!

You'll get a chance to experience the other facet of Kern's engineering abilities on the upcoming Semisonic tour -- he'll be mixing the band's live performances, as he has since the beginning.