After talking with former Citizen King manager Jeff Castelaz, who has built a successful music empire in Los Angeles, it made perfect sense to catch up with former C.K. keyboardist Dave Cooley, now a producer in L.A., who is still represented by Castelaz.

It's tempting to describe Cooley as the musical brains behind Citizen King. After all, his time tickling the ivories with Wild Kingdom prepped him to become a major part not only of conceptualizing C.K., but also making the band's infectious mix of funk, soul and rock a reality. However, anyone who witnessed the band's development knows that Citizen King was that rare breed: a band of not only accomplished, dedicated musicians, but of passionate music fans with wide-open ears and a scrappy ability to fold anything into the groove.

Although these days Cooley isn't out front as a performer like former bandmate Matt "Mount" Sims, he has continued to be essential in creating music in his role as a producer, songwriter, mixer and mastering engineer at Los Angeles' Echo Park Studio.

His resume includes work with Queens of the Stone Age, Smash Mouth, Silversun Pickups, J Dilla, Good Charlotte and a few dozen other rock and hip-hop artists.

We asked him about he made the transition from the microphone to the mixing board -- and from Milwaukeean to L.A. resident -- as well as what's he's up to these days.

OMC: When did you move out to L.A. for good? Had C.K. already split by then?

DC: I moved out to L.A. in late 2000, and yeah, Citizen King was broken up by that point. It was a weird, really disappointing time for me but I realized that I was starting over and I'd find my way through it. We were in the process of dismantling our recording studio and I had just returned from a trip to Barcelona with Recycled Future.

At that point, I really never had considered L.A. as being home, but that's where all of my business connections were in music and I had an opportunity to work on a record there. The hardest part was that I was still really good friends with almost all of my old bandmates, and it was hard to move away from them and family.

OMC: Were you working right away when you got out there?

DC: I was staying in a crazy hotel in the Hollywood Hills with a giant sushi restaurant overlooking the city. Very surreal, like a Jim Jarmusch movie or something. At the time I was assisting producer Eric Valentine (who had worked with Citizen King, Smash Mouth and Third Eye Blind) on some different projects, including Queens of the Stone Age, Good Charlotte and others.

Eric's an amazing cat. I learned a lot from him about how to inspire and capture the best recordings. I also had a lot of annoying "hey Spike, why'd you set the 2254 compressor that way?" questions -- technical questions -- and he was very patient and willing to share his knowledge.

OMC: Had you already started doing some production and studio work with other bands during the CK era?

DC: I had worked with Paul Cebar in 2000, and we worked on some material that ended up on his "Bottle of Dream" record (which has yet to be released, -ed.). He had this material that had sort of an updated Folkways Records vibe; field recordings mixed with low-fidelity sampling. I helped him with the low-fidelity part, and brought an outside perspective to stir things up a bit; to help bring a ruggedness to the music.

OMC: Do you still write and play at all or is all your time and creativity expressing itself in producing, mixing and mastering?

DC: This is a really good question because it acknowledges the artistry in producing and mixing. I still work creatively on songwriting with the bands, but I don't fully write material for them per se. With certain artists, like Mickey Avalon, I do all the music: creating beats, playing bass, guitar, keys, etc. and then mix the project as I go.

But I really feel like producing is the most creative for me, because I have to find new ways to pull the best out of the artist. Some people need shaking up, some people need to look at their music through a new lens, some people just need to take a break. But finding the core issue for them is key. Really, my biggest goal is to help them sound more like themselves, and then get out of the way. It sounds easy, but it's not. Music is an emotional endeavor and you have to stay sensitive to that. It's something I've learned over the years.

OMC: What are some of the projects you're working on at the moment?

DC: One thing that I love about L.A. is I get to work on both underground hip-hop and rock. Only a few producers have been able to nail both: Rick Rubin, Michael Beinhorn. But I love the challenge of genre hopping; I think that's where a lot of the fresh ideas and perspectives live. It's also one of the only ways to make kids pause their video games and go "huh? why'd that sound like that?"

Right now I'm finishing up a mix and master on a posthumous record entitled "The Shining" by Detroit area producer James Yancey, AKA J Dilla. He passed earlier this year due to a rare illness. He was one of the most talented people I've ever had the pleasure of working with. He had done music for A Tribe Called Quest, Busta Rhymes, Common, etc. and yet he didn't really live in the spotlight too much while he was alive.

Of course, now that he passed at the young age of 32, a lot of people are re-discovering his life's work. He was a true "yoda"-like guy; it was absolutely amazing to watch how little energy he wasted in the studio. And believe me, this is not faint praise. His music, to me, reaches the most sublime levels of what hip-hop can potentially be. If you get the chance, check out his discography at http://www.stonesthow.com.

Also, Mickey Avalon is an L.A.-based rapper who is about to do really well for himself. He's the world's first self-destructive rapper in the vein of Iggy Pop. The craziest part, is that like Iggy, he walks the tightrope of self-awareness. He does it for artistic reasons, but you'd never know it. The audience is always going, "Is he really that f***ed up?" I mean, a self-proclaimed heroin-addled male prostitute rapper? Now that is truly weirdness that I think America is ready to hear about. I would describe him as Lenny Bruce meets Slick Rick (and) then throw in an IQ of about 150. He's talking to every major label now and we'll be working together on his album. I've been involved from the beginning with him both conceptually and in execution.

OMC: You've worked on a lot of projects over the years, but do you have a favorite? One that sticks in your mind as having been really satisfying for you?

DC: Yes. Actually I was just thinking about this the other day when I realized that my most recent project, Silversun Pickups on Dangerbird Records, has also been my most musically and personally rewarding project yet. For those who haven't heard of them, they are an L.A.-based rock band with a ton of integrity. A lot of it has to do with the band just being the voice of their generation, which everyone will soon know. Imagine the diffuse emotional content of a band like Slowdive mixed with parts that are as heavy as Blue Cheer (or) Smashing Pumpkins. And they were just equally great to work with on the interpersonal level; truly a happy band family, which can be pretty rare. I felt like they took what I gave them in terms of direction and ran very, very far with it. It's amazing to look back on your musical goals for a project and realize that the group far surpassed them during the recording.

OMC: Do you get back to Milwaukee at all?

DC: About three times a year. I really can't stand to be away for very long.

OMC: Any music coming out of Milwaukee that's caught your ear recently?

DC: Juiceboxxx. That kid is crazy. I've never seen someone take off an audience member's shirt, wipe off his sweat with it, and throw it back in the guy's face after he was done. Truly disgusting.

Angelo, the singer/ trumpet player at Angelo's. He definitely caught my ear. Also the whole Minus After crew, Malcolm (DJ Old Man Malcolm, Cooley's former Citizen King bandmate) and those guys. Twisted, deeply angular hip-hop. New Sense (with former C.K. guitarist Kristian Riley and drummer DJ Brooks) is about ready to bust out as well, fusing indie rock with amazing songwriting. And I love how Milwaukee's music always has that extra quirk thrown in.

It's an essential ingredient to any successful group out of Milwaukee: the Femmes, Arrested Development, Die Kreuzen. I guess winter isolation brings out the crazies.

OMC: What advice do you have for young musicians here looking to make a

career in the business? Do they need to leave?

DC: Well, sad but true, there's not a lot of music business in Milwaukee. If you're the practical type and want to make a living by being involved with music, move to L.A . My dear friend and manager (and former C.K. manager) Jeff Castelaz is the perfect example of someone who has found his niche here. Ten years ago I would suggest NYC, but now I would feel like I was sending Milwaukee youth off to the firing line. It's hard enough to get a foothold in a diminishing industry in Los Angeles, much less New York.

Now, if you want to get into a lot of trouble, have a lot of fun, shock people, live the rock and roll life, start a band. Or maybe a couple of bands. You can always work another job to support what you love to do -- you never know, it might not be forever.

Dave Cooley's Web site is davecooley.com.