Dr Dre's Dream Team Dr. Dre is quick to give his Dream Team credit. “I don’t have a main instrument. I feel my brain is my instrument. In my opinion, I’m not really that good of a musician. That’s why I hire the best musicians around. Like Camara Kambon, he’s one of the keyboard players, and Mike and Scott. Everybody just adds their part to the soup and it comes together.” Here are the vital statistics: LARRY CHATMAN Title: Production Manager Birthplace: Chicago, IL Nickname: Uncle Years on the Job: 10 Job Description: In charge of organizing Dre’s recording, movie, video, and tour activities. Chatman makes it happen! “Dre comes up with the ideas and I’ve got to put it all together. Basically, he makes one call to me and I do the rest.” MAURICO IRAGORRI Title: Engineer Birthplace: Los Angeles, CA Nickname: Veto Time on the job: 7 months Job Description: “Dre wants me to make his stuff sound as clean and clear as possible. I always EQ the tape. We put a lot of bottom on kicks, even snares, and get it set so, when it comes back, it already sounds EQ’d. [Dre] expects me to make the session run smoothly — have everything set up and ready to go when he walks in. “The other thing he depends on me for is to know everything we’ve done and where it’s cataloged on DAT. If he plays a beat that we did for Mary J. Blige, I have to know which one he’s talking about and play it for him right there. Of course, I know where it’s at because I recorded it.” MIKE ELIZONDO Title: Track Writer/Bass/Co-Producer Birthplace: Los Angeles, CA Nickname: Bomba Years on the Job: 5 Job Description: “Dre, Scott, and myself will show up at the studio and just start vibing. Dre will have some beats going and I’ll start with a guitar riff or a bass line — we start jamming. Once an idea sounds good, the skeleton of it, Dre will ask Veto to start rolling the DAT. While Dre and the artist are writing the lyrics, we’ll be laying the track down on two-inch. That’s the beginning stage of it. “On Snoop’s The Last Meal record [2000, Priority], it was just Dre and I goofing around. I started off with the guitar riff and he’d have the drums and there would be something there that would spark an idea. Then we would start building on top of that. My big thing is — in any situation — to just try and latch on and find a role and do that. With Dre, it began with being his musician, then it led to doing co-writes on some things, then the Snoop record, with some co-production.” SCOTT STORCH Title: Keys/Songwriter/Co-Producer Birthplace: Long Island, NY Years on the Job: 2 Job Description: “There’s no one particular formula. I get cracking on a couple of beats with Mike and Mel-Man — we try to come up with the best music collectively. But, typically, Dre will come in with a beat idea and then we all play around it.”