Career highlights?

[HookedOnHardware]

Hello fellow slutz and slutettez.

Please share your career highlights as a professional engineer/producer/studio owner!

Mine? Let's keep it simple for now:
Making a living as a studio owner/engineer was the first and 'biggest'.

I'm sure some of you have great stories to tell!

Let's share shall we?

[Oldschoolwax]

Highest light was near the peak of the live room at Jan Hammer's place, the ladder was really wobbly too, I was on the part you're not supposed to stand on! Haven't gone that high on a lader since... and that was 87/88 I think

[Drumsound]

The first mix I did when I opened my studio comes to mind.

[Led]

My first royalty check....you never forget your first.
I'll also add the first time I heard a song I wrote on radio. It debuted on high rotation. We sat at my place and played a game where we had to down a shot everytime it came on. Best hangover I've ever had.

[HookedOnHardware]

We got some good ones so far. Anyone else!?

[RCM - Ronan]

I have been so insanely lucky in my career that I have tons of highlights, but looking at the arc of the last 20 years, its is still such a highlight that I get to wake up and make records everyday. Despite all the horrible sides of the music business, its still amazing to me that I get to wake up and make records everyday.

One of the big ones for me was when I was in England mixing an album for King Crimson. It was a live album for their collectors series. The King Crimson album "Discipline" is one of my favorite albums of all time. In the 90s I was mixing this live album of the band recorded in 1981 and I was wrestling to get everything sounding good and all the instruments working together etc, and I remember pushing back my chair and listening to the mix and realizing that I was mixing the tracks from one of my favorite records of all time, recorded by the band that recorded that album the same year they recorded Discipline. I was mixing a 1981 recording of King Crimson playing Thela Hun Ginjeet!!!! I felt like the luckiest guy in the world.

[HookedOnHardware]

Originally Posted by rcm

I have been so insanely lucky in my career that I have tons of highlights, but looking at the arc of the last 20 years, its is still such a highlight that I get to wake up and make records everyday. Despite all the horrible sides of the music business, its still amazing to me that I get to wake up and make records everyday.

One of the big ones for me was when I was in England mixing an album for King Crimson. It was a live album for their collectors series. The King Crimson album "Discipline" is one of my favorite albums of all time. In the 90s I was mixing this live album of the band recorded in 1981 and I was wrestling to get everything sounding good and all the instruments working together etc, and I remember pushing back my chair and listening to the mix and realizing that I was mixing the tracks from one of my favorite records of all time, recorded by the band that recorded that album the same year they recorded Discipline. I was mixing a 1981 recording of King Crimson playing Thela Hun Ginjeet!!!! I felt like the luckiest guy in the world.

Awesome!
I don't actually know who King Crimson is but it sounds like a great experience. Now off to Google to find out who it/they is/are .

[ThatSoundsWHAMMY]

Hmmm, seeing a guy attack a beer-keg with a broomstick was pretty awesome.

[RawBeanZen]

The day I dropped out of college (gulp!) in the early 90's and committed fully to music production.

Never looked back.

(Does that count as a highlight?!)

[RawBeanZen]

Originally Posted by rcm

Its still amazing to me that I get to wake up and make records everyday.

I relate to this in a big way. How fortunate we are.

[HookedOnHardware]

Originally Posted by RawBeanZen

The day I dropped out of college (gulp!) in the early 90's and committed fully to music production.

Never looked back.

(Does that count as a highlight?!)

Sounds like a highlight to me

[James Meeker]

Career highlights?

Hrm... probably the best was seeing an album I mastered get to #3 on the German Alternative Charts. Faderhead's FH3.

Assisting on the Rob Lewis track that was on the Freaky Friday soundtrack because he had hired Babyface's backing band as session musicians... Jesus those cats could play!

Recording Boys Like Girls for Alternative Press.

Recorded a bunch of interviews for AP Magazine... met a lot of cool people, lot of national bands. UnderOath were especially cool actually.

Produced a theme song for an Mtv show that never aired, Suburban Virgin. Maybe it'll air one day.... sigh.

Did some mix work for a collaboration project for John LeCompt, ex-Evanessence.

Hanging out with Kirk Yano, who produced all the Public Enemy records.

[Kim Bjäle]

When my father said that he thaught the vocals of my bands first EP (off wich I sang) sounded excellent.

But also when Michael Blair (Tom Waits, Elvis Costello and more) and Nils Landgren especially asked for me and my micing technique for a project... I felt abit special cause I love Tom

[James Meeker]

Originally Posted by HookedOnHardware

Awesome!
I don't actually know who King Crimson is but it sounds like a great experience. Now off to Google to find out who it/they is/are .

You don't know who KC are?

[HookedOnHardware]

Originally Posted by James Meeker

You don't know who KC are?

I just listened to some stuff and it does sound familiar. However, there are a lot of groups/songs I recognize but can't name.

[brill bedroom]

easy: recording at Abbey Road. It was only one day, but it couldn't have been any more special unless Ringo wandered in.

[jval]

watching john fields produce/engineer the jonas brothers' record when I assisted at a bigger studio.
meeting / watching jimmy douglass while he was at that same studio for a week.
seeing a song i produced / played on / mixed aired on national TV.

not studio related but music-wise... playing in front of 3,000 people last fall while I was still in a band.

[betamatt]

Hmmm still young so my "highlights" are pretty mundane, but, I will say the first time I got to record a really talented group of musicians, when I had started to not suck so hard as an engineer, was inspiring. I hadn't heard any of the music before they came in, set everything up, got sounds on everything, and then as I was getting one last thing ready heard them start to run the first song and get their headphone mixes. And I was like "holy crap! they can play! it sounds like a record!" They tracked the whole record, vocals and all, live to tape, over two days. There are some things now about those sounds that I'd be a little embarassed about today, but that first time where it actually came together when I hit record; where I wasn't let down by my skills or the musicians, was a huge confidence builder. "Yeah, I can actually do this"

[HookedOnHardware]

Originally Posted by betamatt

Hmmm still young so my "highlights" are pretty mundane, but, I will say the first time I got to record a really talented group of musicians, when I had started to not suck so hard as an engineer, was inspiring. I hadn't heard any of the music before they came in, set everything up, got sounds on everything, and then as I was getting one last thing ready heard them start to run the first song and get their headphone mixes. And I was like "holy crap! they can play! it sounds like a record!" They tracked the whole record, vocals and all, live to tape, over two days. There are some things now about those sounds that I'd be a little embarassed about today, but that first time where it actually came together when I hit record; where I wasn't let down by my skills or the musicians, was a huge confidence builder. "Yeah, I can actually do this"

Ah yes, magical moments

[gainreduction]

Having a 20 piece string section playing on my songs on my project was a fantastic feeling and a day I´ll never forget. All these people making this wonderful noise - for me !

Being partly responsible of breaking a debut artist internationally was a good feeling too.

All the "firsts". First deal, first royalty statement, first gold seller etc... all good.

And that one time back in the adat-days when I went abroad to mix a project I had produced. The artists were a girl duo and I had a bag full of adat tapes labeled with the girls names. I will never forget standing there at the airport, explaining to the customs officer that it was digitally multitracked music, not porn videos. Yeah right...

[gorillainthemix]

Originally Posted by Led

My first royalty check....you never forget your first

Amen.

[HookedOnHardware]

Originally Posted by gainreduction

Having a 20 piece string section playing on my songs on my project was a fantastic feeling and a day I´ll never forget. All these people making this wonderful noise - for me !

Being partly responsible of breaking a debut artist internationally was a good feeling too.

All the "firsts". First deal, first royalty statement, first gold seller etc... all good.

And that one time back in the adat-days when I went abroad to mix a project I had produced. The artists were a girl duo and I had a bag full of adat tapes labeled with the girls names. I will never forget standing there at the airport, explaining to the customs officer that it was digitally multitracked music, not porn videos. Yeah right...

Haha awesome!

Recording a large string section is still something on my list. Be it for my own stuff or for a client. Soon... soon!

[narcoman]

working with Iggy Pop.

My first day in Abbey Road on my first soundtrack all those years ago.

Doing what i though was a poopy song only to see it go top ten 6 months later. Realised i didn't know it all and started thinking a little more about what i do.... revelations count !!

the day i realised i wasn't broke any more

working with suicide - legends.....

working with grandmaster flash.

...oh and working with Sean Callery.... fantastic sessions....

[HookedOnHardware]

Originally Posted by narcoman

working with Iggy Pop.

My first day in Abbey Road on my first soundtrack all those years ago.

Doing what i though was a poopy song only to see it go top ten 6 months later. Realised i didn't know it all and started thinking a little more about what i do.... revelations count !!

the day i realised i wasn't broke any more

working with suicide - legends.....

working with grandmaster flash.

...oh and working with Sean Callery.... fantastic sessions....

Your complete resume must be amazing. Damn you
(Then again, I'm still quite early in my career. The sky is the limit!)

Btw, your avatar. Is that in your studio? It's got something to it.

[gorillainthemix]

Originally Posted by HookedOnHardware

Your complete resume must be amazing. Damn you
(Then again, I'm still quite early in my career. The sky is the limit!)

Btw, your avatar. Is that in your studio? It's got something to it.

lol, I think so too...It looks like it could be from an old Rene Magritte painting.

[narcoman]

Originally Posted by HookedOnHardware

Your complete resume must be amazing. Damn you
(Then again, I'm still quite early in my career. The sky is the limit!)

Btw, your avatar. Is that in your studio? It's got something to it.

the avatar is a room i stayed in in Baker, CA a few years ago. It was the worst motel ever....... nice people... but just disgusting. I took the photo to remind me of how seedy the place was - but it came out real cool !!

resume : variable. Done some amazing things.... done some very mundane ones too....

[janek 68]

my birthday , of course

[HookedOnHardware]

Originally Posted by janek 68

my birthday , of course

If that's all.. you might want to work a bit harder..

[Steffmo]

Lets see...a few...

Playing on the Rolling Stones "Metamorphasis" rekkid with Andrew Oldham is one. What was really a highlight was just hearing all the banter in the studio on the tapes, which they let run all the time. Woulda been nicer if my name was on therecord but...

I worked for most of a year with Sly Stone. Much of which was total waste of time aside from making some money. But when he was on it, like the day he started singing "Family Affair", he taught me what star power level of talent sounds like. Kinda kills me that huge guy with amazing talent like Sly is the humblest person on the planet.....then you have these knuckleheads show up at sessions with big attitudes that can't find 1.

Recording the truly unbelievable Blues Brother's Horns with Blue Lou Marini, Al Rubin, Birch Johnson, and on one occassion the amazing Ronnie cuber on bari. One of those records, with Eddie King, won a Handy Award. A nice highlight.

My sister, Christine Ohlman's new CD has a duet with Dion Dimucci (Runaround Sue, The Wanderer, Abraham Martin and John.) There is just something so special when an iconic artist is on YOUR studio monitors.

I have a couple of gold and platinums, but to be honest they tend to be for music that doesn't move me nearly so much as some of the great gospel performances that have happened in my place over the years.

But as several have pointed out, the REAL highlight is when you realize that you are making a living recording music. The fact that I can get up in the morning and stumble across my parking lot with a cup of coffee into a RECORDING STUDIO is really the only highlight and blessing that I will really ever need.

[janek 68]

Originally Posted by HookedOnHardware

If that's all.. you might want to work a bit harder..

I`m very happy that i can work as an songwriter and engineer -it`s enough for me...and I`m trying to remember all my ups and downs , btw my highlights aren`t as blinding as my older big friends from Gearslutz cause i`m living in Poland which isn`t too important in music industry...but it`s very interesting to read others real stories really....