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04 / THE PEOPLE WHO MADE US

IN THE STUDIO & BEYOND

The people
who made us.

A band is never just four people.

These are the producers, engineers, writers, mixers and partners whose names run through our story. Some met us in the studio. Others met us on the road. Each became part of what Windsor Drive could be.

The first record

Robbie Seay

Producer / Meet the Tide

We made Meet the Tide with Robbie in Ecclesia’s in-house studio in Houston. That put our first recording chapter right in Montrose, the neighborhood where we were living and beginning to find our place as a band.

Beyond our records

Robbie is the Houston singer, guitarist and principal songwriter behind Robbie Seay Band. His music grew alongside the community at Ecclesia, connecting alternative rock songwriting with the shared experience of worship. His catalog includes Give Yourself Away, “Song of Hope (Heaven Come Down)” and “Beautiful, Scandalous Night.”

His band made its Sparrow Records debut with Better Days in 2005, then worked with producer Tedd T. on Give Yourself Away in 2007. The later Psalms project grew into a fourteen-song album in 2015, with guest vocals from Lindsey Kidd and Aimee Norris.

More about Robbie Seay

The first record

David Howard

Engineering & co-production / Meet the Tide

David engineered and co-produced half of Meet the Tide. Alongside Robbie Seay’s production, his work was part of the sound of our first release and the songs we took out on the road.

The next step

Stephen Short

Producer / Bridges & Under the Weather · Management

Stephen produced Bridges at Sonic Ranch outside El Paso and returned to produce Under the Weather, engineered by Marty Cheyka at Whitehouse Studios. He was also part of our management through Ping Pong Music, connecting two of our records with the team around the band.

Beyond our records

Stephen’s career stretched from London’s Trident Studios to the development of independent American bands. A former colleague remembers him as Trident’s chief engineer in the early 1980s; his recording work there included Spandau Ballet’s “To Cut a Long Story Short.”

Stephen also moved into studio ownership, joining the group that acquired Trident in the early 1980s. His later work in America included Augustana and the artist-development team at Ping Pong Music. By the time we recorded Bridges, he had spent decades working with artists on both sides of the Atlantic.

More about Stephen Short

Our hometown sound

Marty Cheyka

Engineer / Under the Weather · Live sound

Marty engineered Under the Weather at Whitehouse Studios in the Wausau area, with Stephen Short producing. His place in our story reaches well beyond those sessions: from about 2008 onward, he ran live sound for every one of our Wausau-area shows. He was part of both the record we made at home and the way people heard us there.

Beyond our records

Marty is a Wausau musician, guitarist and sound engineer behind Whitehouse Productions, whose work spans recording and live events. His engineering work connects him with artists across the Northwoods music community.

Among his other recording credits, he produced, engineered and mixed Kelly Jackson’s “Wake Up,” and played on the recording. For us, his name belongs beside Whitehouse Studios in the album credits—and beside the hometown stages that kept bringing us back.

More about Marty Cheyka

A bigger pop sound

John Fields

Production & co-writing / Wanderlust

Working with John on Wanderlust opened a different set of possibilities for the band. The sessions took our piano-led sound toward synths, vocoders and a stronger pop pulse; “Wish Me Well” carries his production and co-writing credit.

Beyond our records

John is a producer, engineer, mixer and multi-instrumentalist with a catalog spanning alternative rock and major pop records. He produced and recorded Switchfoot’s The Beautiful Letdown, including “Meant to Live” and “Dare You to Move,” as well as the Jonas Brothers’ self-titled breakthrough and A Little Bit Longer.

His work also includes Demi Lovato’s Here We Go Again, Miley Cyrus’s “7 Things,” and additional production on Jimmy Eat World’s Chase This Light.

More about John Fields

Another songwriting voice

Bleu

Production & co-writing / Wanderlust

Bleu was part of the writing and production team for Wanderlust in Los Angeles. Alongside John Fields, he joined us at a point when we wanted to take more chances with the songs and reach beyond the sound of our earlier EPs.

Beyond our records

Bleu—William James McAuley III—is a songwriter, producer and recording artist whose career moves between his own power-pop records, collaborations and film music. A former Columbia Records artist, he contributed “Somebody Else” to the Spider-Man soundtrack and has had songs released by Demi Lovato, Selena Gomez, the Jonas Brothers and Big Freedia.

He also wrote or produced the songs for Disney’s Legend of the NeverBeast, including a duet with KT Tunstall. Alongside his artist collaborations, he teaches songwriting and music production through Berklee Online.

More about Bleu

From the road to the studio

Eric Arjes

Producer / Young One

Eric’s part in our story began as the singer of Camera Can’t Lie, long before we made a record together. After two national tours with his band, we reunited with him to record Young One at Sound Emporium in Nashville.

Beyond our records

Originally from Minnesota, Eric was the frontman and guitarist of Camera Can’t Lie before building a career in Nashville as a songwriter, producer and engineer. His credits include Tim McGraw, Colbie Caillat, Kane Brown, Matchbox Twenty, Eli Young Band and The Band CAMINO.

His work reaches beyond records into television, film and national advertising, including music for The Walking Dead, Teen Wolf and major brands. For us, the connection predates that résumé: Eric was a tourmate first, and the producer of Young One years later.

More about Eric Arjes

The final mix

Jeff Braun

Mixing / Young One

Jeff mixed Young One, completing the record we had made with Eric in Nashville. His contribution sits at the final stage of those songs becoming an album, and we’re proud to have his name on it.

Beyond our records

Jeff is a Nashville mixing engineer whose work spans country, pop and alternative music. A Grammy-nominated, multi-platinum mixer, his credits include Jason Aldean, Kane Brown, Florida Georgia Line, Elle King, The Band CAMINO and Ben Rector. His catalog includes numerous No. 1 records.

He and Eric Arjes have also continued collaborating on mixes across Nashville projects. Their ongoing partnership reaches across country and pop, bringing Jeff’s mixing work together with Eric’s production and engineering experience.

More about Jeff Braun

THE TEAM BEHIND THE BAND

Beyond the recording room.

Manbir Sodhia

Ping Pong Music / Co-management

Manbir worked alongside Stephen Short at Ping Pong Music and is credited in management on Bridges. His work with independent musicians extended beyond our band: Fight the Quiet also named both Manbir and Stephen among the people who supported its early career. For us, he belongs to the management chapter surrounding the record and our growth as a touring band.

More about Manbir Sodhia

Fata Booking

National booking

Founded by Eva Alexiou-Reo in 1996, Philadelphia-based FATA developed as a boutique booking agency and management company rooted in independent rock. Its history includes work with Jimmy Eat World, Hot Water Music, Flogging Molly, Mae, The Blood Brothers and Pretty Girls Make Graves. FATA was part of the team behind our national touring years, when reaching listeners meant building a route from one room to the next.

More about Fata Booking

Nick Ferrara

Serling Rooks & Ferrara / Counsel

Nick brought experience from both record labels and entertainment law. After Fordham Law School, he joined Atlantic Records’ A&R staff in 1989, then co-founded Serling Rooks & Ferrara in 1992—the firm connected with our band. He later moved his practice to Nashville and co-founded Ferrara & Pisarek, continuing a career at the intersection of artists, recordings and the music business.

More about Nick Ferrara

THE EVERYDAY KIND OF SUPPORT

Coffee. Clothes. A place to sleep.

Not every contribution appeared in the liner notes. Clothing partners—including the brand we remember as Live to Love—Starbucks, hotel partners and others supported our tours with clothes, coffee and free stays. Those practical gestures were part of how we kept moving from one city to the next.