Lynn Allen, Circle Seven, Harmonica Slim, The Pena Brothers, Mercury Landslide, Nun The Wyzer, Einstein's Sister, Douglas and Tucker, Tripmaster Monkey. The list of performers Tom Tatman has recorded in his Cedar Falls, Iowa-based Catamount Studios reads like a Who's Who of area musicians.

And that's only a partial listing that doesn't even begin to tally the scores of regional and national acts Tatman has worked with over the last 20 years.

"I can't say enough about him," enthuses Kerry Tucker about Tatman, who recorded and mixed parts of Tucker's band Einstein's Sister's critically-acclaimed album "Learning Curves" at Catamount.

"As a producer, he doesn't beat you over the head, like 'I'm right and you're wrong'," said Tucker, who recalls horrific experiences with other producers who "totally ignored any input from me. Tom has a way of understanding musicians and he generally has the better of ideas."

Citing an example of Tatman's technique, Tucker says, "There was a track on 'Learning Curves' were I had four guitars on the intro. When Tom played me back the mix, there was only one guitar. His idea was to keep it small so that when the drums come in, the sound gets big. I was offended at first and it took me a few plays to get used to it but now I'm glad he did that."

"I have an affinity for that style of music," explains Tatman about his role in working with Tucker and his pop power band. "Over the years, I've had my eyes opened by so many kinds of music. It's such a cliche but there are really only two types of music: good and bad."

Tatman's interest in recording and producing evolved out of his own background as a guitarist in a regional band called Headstone. After three years, Tatman moved from being a player in a band to management. With the help of partner Rick Bisbey, he built an 8-track recording studio - initially for recording Headstone's material. He soon realized that he liked recording bands better than managing them. As a result, that 8-track studio became Catamount Recording in 1979.

As a producer, Tatman is a firm believer in making a performer feel at home in the recording studio, an environment that can seem alien, cold, and sterile. He abhors the standard industry practice of splitting up and isolating band members for sound separation, preferring everybody play together in one room.

"Most people practice and perform together in one place and that's what they're used to," he said. "When you're in a studio to record the definitive version of your music, why should you suddenly be in a disorienting situation that can be detrimental to your creativity?"

Tatman defines at least part of his role in the studio as "being a diplomat. "I try to keep the vibe in the room upbeat. That enables the band to relax and do their best. The better the performance, the greater the recording."

Over the years, Catamount Recording has turned down lucrative offers to produce commercial and radio jingles, including a spot for the Iowa Lotto. Despite the financial remunerations such work might guarantee, Tatman isn't interested.

"Doing albums for bands and doing jingles are incompatible for me," he said. "An ad agency takes four months to decide what to do, then demand their jingle in four days. Our studio is booked four months in advance for bands and throwing jingle work in the middle of an album is too distracting."

Asked which of his clients he's enjoyed working with the most, Tatman laughs.

"That would have to be Bill Peiffer of Lynn Allen," he said. He's a natural comedian and I really enjoy his music."

The Pena Brothers also rate a favorable mention from Tatman. The group recently completed its second album, "I Wanna Go Back" and recorded with local blues artist Harmonica Slim on what amounted to a live and off-the cuff studio session.

"That's where I really got to see the Pena Brothers in their element," said Tatman, who was impressed by the band's flexibility spontaneity. "They didn't know what songs they were going to do. Whatever Harmonica Slim felt like doing, they winged it and really delivered."

Having logged 20 years behind the mixing console recording a plethora of bands and musical styles, Tatman still remains enthusiastic about his work at Catamount. Even if the style of music he's recording on a particular session isn't exactly to his taste, he can still find something positive about it.

"I find myself drawn into whatever genre I'm working with," he said. "I'm fortunate in that everybody I work with is really good. If someone isn't a total believer in their own product, chances they can find somewhere less expensive to record.

I'm probably one of the luckiest people around," he says, adding, "I've gotten to work with some of the best players around.