How did u get into the music biz?

silver_shake · 3rd April 2004

Hey all, i was wondering if you guys could share your experiences on how you came into the music buisiness as producers, mixers, or engineers. Did you guys attend school? Or just work your way up by interning at a studio?
Was there a particular occurence wich opened doors for your career?
Could any of the experienced here give tips/advice/insight for emerging producers, enginners, and mixers?

Thanks a million!

Dan Kennedy · 3rd April 2004

I was working for a guy, Frank Van Alstine, building fancy assed hifi gear.

A dude came in to the shop, asked if I'd be interested in finishing a mixer project they'd started that the designer had bailed on. I said yes.

That was about 1977.

Built the mixer, did the whole roadie gig,
got older, built studios, you know, like that.

Been cleaning up after folks since, and occasionally coming up with something new.

PlugHead · 3rd April 2004

Well,

From my experience, I started as a musician, tinkered with basement recording as a kid - radio shack mics/cassette recorder, 1/2 track RtoR, and overdubbing, etc, then went to school for a music performance degree. I finished an undergrad, played professionally for a few years, and played on albums. Did a slew of those, then got the bug to go back experimenting with recording. Got an 8 track (R to R) and had a live sound board to mix thru, with the best mics being a couple of 57's/58's/421's, and made some kickin tunes sound like ass... Then as the doors started opening in digital, took the plunge to learn a new way of recording. Figured that instead of spending 20 grand on an album again, I could throw that at gear, and be able to make my own albums, and own the gear - what a dream that was! Almost 7 years later, I'm still throwing money at this bottomless pit, and wonder if the results are getting any better (even tho i know they are

). It took awhile to realize that gear is a small part of the equation, yet knowledge and experience count for more than I'd ever considered. I've gained new respect for AE's who are good at what they do, and know how to squeeze the best out of both the talent at one end, to the recorded tracks going to tape/HD: it's all in the chops, and tho we all get better at it, one thing's for sure - if you ever think you're work sounds the best it can, you're setting your sights too low...

PS - listening and (re)reading what some of the extreme talent pool contributes to internet BB's has made me a better AE - the wealth of knowledge here is unsurpassed, and a large portion of these people give up their secrets readily, and are helpful beyond belief! I'm awed and fascinated at the same time - Motown legends like Bob Ohlsson, to current heavies like Michael Wagener/John Paterno, to many anonymous, but extremely successful AE's are all over the net: the times are right for all of us to be as good as we can, and yet keep humble to the fact that we are all students in this area of ever constant change: embrace that, and you can expect to be challenged the rest of your life...

YMMV, greatly

smoothmoniker · 3rd April 2004

Crack who*re and State Senator were already taken, so i opted for keyboardist with a travelling rock and roll freak show.

If Crack who*re ever opens up though, I'm jumping ship.

TNALUV1 · 5th April 2004

Sounds corny, but when I was a little tyke my mom used to sing along to the Beatles and Paul Simon and stuff and it made me feel great. I wanted to be able to make other people feel that way...........

So I spent a few years in a Blue Bird School bus with some crazy catz playing all over the country. It was durring this time that I noticed the sound guys and studio guys always made more money than me!! So I went to school to study recording as well as composing. Now I get to do both and it's a great life to have...

Still poor though!!....

This is a hard row to hoe so you've got to do it cause you LOVE it..........

Meriphew · 5th April 2004

When I was a kid, a schoolmate/nieghbor of mine's older brother's band was being managed by Alice Cooper at the time. We would borrow some of their equipment from time to time, and we thought we could be better than them, so we started a band.

dntknowsht · 5th April 2004

[QUOTE]Originally posted by DigiBlows

Deleted by moderator

Somebody needs a nap.

MASSIVE Master · 5th April 2004

Band -> studio -> recording sucked -> learned how to make them better -> got into mastering -> gave up the recording for the most part and now just do mastering (and other projects once in a while, of course).

jpaudio · 5th April 2004

Studied audio recording under a very cool professor for 2 years at a local college... interned at a mid-level studio for 6 months, did the whole intern thang, put up with a lot of shit and just as I realized it was a dead-end situation, was offered an interview at a top-level residential studio... got the gig, spent 3 years as the sole assistant/engineer/janitor/groundskeeper on staff, then got the bug to do my own thing. Been doing that for about 3-4 years now, had a brief stint with a distribution company that left a bad taste in my mouth to say the least.

I don't like the idea of working underneath anyone in this business... obviously you've gotta learn before you can do your own thing, but just about anyone I've met who's made a successful career for themself has done it on their own, freelancing or owning their own room. There aren't many fair employers in the music/recording industry, that's for damn sure. I'd say the majority are out for themselves, and most will take advantage in every possible way. But everyone has gotta pay their dues. It's realizing when to grab the ball and run with it that can be a life changing decision.

Steve Smith · 5th April 2004

Digi Blows.... after doing a allmusic search for you, I can see why you are so quick to diss on others....

troll.

Auxillary · 5th April 2004

14 years of piano lessons, music college and lots of gear lust.

I was born into music, that's all I can think of. One of the first pictures of me out of the hospital as a baby I was wrapped in a blanket with guitars on it (nurse did it

) and started playing piano at 2 on my own accord. Cousin taught me drums after begging him everyday for a few months (im talking LONG days of begging)... I was around 4 then... Just kept at it ever since.

I am incredibly curious too. So much so Ive too many scars to count for my curiosity. Which lead me into a technical profession realted to music. Very curious, always wanting to know how things are done, why they're done and how I can do them better. Which is why I like gearslutz, so many people here with the same mindset.

heinz · 5th April 2004

I got into the music biz because I wanted to recklessly blow thousands of dollars into the sh*tter. I wanted to ass-kiss despicable blow-monkeys incapable of creative thought in the desperate hopes of playing on some stinky stage in some f*cked time slot backing up some hopelessly incompetent band who happened to kiss ass a little better. I wanted to experience cement-headed bouncers who shamelessly rip at least half your door money and throw the rest of the passes in a nearby trashcan. Always find it amazing when a club with 150 of your closest friends ends up to be a 50-pass payment from jabba the f*cked.

More important, I really wanted to hole up with 3 clueless idiots in a practice room for weeks bashing away at 2 sets worth of mediocre tinnitus-inducing non-melodic crap while stroking each other all the way, "man dude you rock". Of course not realizing that at least 2 of the 3 never developed brain cells that would lead to any sort of non-infant thinking, or taking responsibility for anything other than scoring the next bag.

Then I wanted to take those hard-fought sonic gems into a flea-bitten basement studio where bizzaro-Beavis tracks your crap into DAW hell and "mixes" yer killer demo. And I really wanted to send poorly-rendered copies of this audio tragedy to every stupid f*cking mook in the biz in some drug-induced haze where the reality is that they listen to unsolicited submissions.

Truly I then wanted to take that stinkin pile of crap on the road in a cheap rusty smells-like-dogs Ryder van, bouncing the frozen potholes all the way to Craptastic Iowa to play in some nasty college club dishing out the rock to a bunch of drunk children.

So I did that. Over and Over and Over again. Which lead to the happiest day of my life, getting out of the biz.

jpaudio · 5th April 2004

Heinz gets my vote for funniest post ever, hands down

djui5 · 5th April 2004

That was hillarious heinz.

I got into this biz because I've always been a computer geek and an electronics freak. I used to install car audio systems ( got a trophy at a show) and have always been a fan of music. Then one day I realized it all ties together and went to college to become an AE.

Knastratt · 5th April 2004

Excuse me. How do I get OUT of the music industry?

Wiggy Neve Slut · 5th April 2004

BY ACCIDENT!!!! now im looking for the button for the ejector seat!

Wiggy

Dave Martin · 5th April 2004

Quote:

Originally posted by Knastratt
Excuse me. How do I get OUT of the music industry?

Marry Whitney Houston or Bobby Brown - it seems to have worked for Bobby Brown and Whitney Houston...

kevinc · 5th April 2004

kevinc · 5th April 2004

Personally my music started when I was 10 when I saved up for my first guitar. About a year later my Dad saw how much I was playing and bought me a Tascam Porta 01 and a drum machine from my guitar teachers recommendation.
Those sat around for a couple of years till I caught the bug somehow and started recording every cheesy song I`d written to that point with crappy drum machine parts and lots of guitar solos.
I upgraded to a better tape deck and pemanantly borrowed a peavey console and 2 enormous stacks of P.A. speakers that I mixed through. Yeah!!

A couple years later I bought a Tascam 8 track and a Ramsa analog console. This was the beginning of my funk/reggae stage so i had to get the hang of bouncing 20 - 30 or so tracks onto the damn thing which really got my ears tuned into levels and panning.

Some time after that I fell in love with the guitar center catalog and started buying all sorts of crap I thought would be better that turned out to be worse like an Alesis mixer and ADAts.(worst buy ever!) I also got a Joe Meek SC3 (still can`t get the damn thing sounding good) and a Blueberry and a 414.

Very soon after that I found GM and Roger Nichols forum and realized everything I had was crap and finally started buying decent pres a PSX100 and a load of other stuff. Once I found Gearslutz it was all over (again) and I started selling off stuff (again) and now I think I`ve finally got some things I wont end selling for the next 5 years or so.

During this time I`ve played in about 20 different bands of varying musical levels and helped record some cds which went nowhere.
I still play a lot of music and I`m finally starting to pull in some $ from the other people I`m recording.
I hope in a year or so I`ll be at this fulltime and can finally justify the rediculous amounts of $ I`ve been spending on this over the years instead of cars and houses.

Jules · 5th April 2004

A newbie Digiblows has been slinging mud, so I deleted his posts & membership. I've edited references to all his post out. Lets not resurect the issue...!

Carry on!

djui5 · 5th April 2004

You're the man Jules...

Bob Olhsson · 6th April 2004

Quote:

Originally posted by Knastratt
Excuse me. How do I get OUT of the music industry?

That's what I've been asking since 1972!

Cape · 6th April 2004

So how do you get out once your knee deep in gear?

Hi fi store??......................................................................................................................... or a bar on a beach in the Bahamas, with a live band playing every nite running through some choice selection of pre's and mic's you didn't sell!!

3rd April 2004	#1
silver_shake Gear interested Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 15 Thread Starter	How did u get into the music biz? Hey all, i was wondering if you guys could share your experiences on how you came into the music buisiness as producers, mixers, or engineers. Did you guys attend school? Or just work your way up by interning at a studio? Was there a particular occurence wich opened doors for your career? Could any of the experienced here give tips/advice/insight for emerging producers, enginners, and mixers? Thanks a million!

3rd April 2004	#3
PlugHead Lives for gear Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: steeltown Posts: 3,411	Well, From my experience, I started as a musician, tinkered with basement recording as a kid - radio shack mics/cassette recorder, 1/2 track RtoR, and overdubbing, etc, then went to school for a music performance degree. I finished an undergrad, played professionally for a few years, and played on albums. Did a slew of those, then got the bug to go back experimenting with recording. Got an 8 track (R to R) and had a live sound board to mix thru, with the best mics being a couple of 57's/58's/421's, and made some kickin tunes sound like ass... Then as the doors started opening in digital, took the plunge to learn a new way of recording. Figured that instead of spending 20 grand on an album again, I could throw that at gear, and be able to make my own albums, and own the gear - what a dream that was! Almost 7 years later, I'm still throwing money at this bottomless pit, and wonder if the results are getting any better (even tho i know they are ). It took awhile to realize that gear is a small part of the equation, yet knowledge and experience count for more than I'd ever considered. I've gained new respect for AE's who are good at what they do, and know how to squeeze the best out of both the talent at one end, to the recorded tracks going to tape/HD: it's all in the chops, and tho we all get better at it, one thing's for sure - if you ever think you're work sounds the best it can, you're setting your sights too low... PS - listening and (re)reading what some of the extreme talent pool contributes to internet BB's has made me a better AE - the wealth of knowledge here is unsurpassed, and a large portion of these people give up their secrets readily, and are helpful beyond belief! I'm awed and fascinated at the same time - Motown legends like Bob Ohlsson, to current heavies like Michael Wagener/John Paterno, to many anonymous, but extremely successful AE's are all over the net: the times are right for all of us to be as good as we can, and yet keep humble to the fact that we are all students in this area of ever constant change: embrace that, and you can expect to be challenged the rest of your life... YMMV, greatly __________________ Jay PlugHead Productions http://www.plugheadproductions.com

3rd April 2004	#4
smoothmoniker Gear addict Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 440	Crack whore and State Senator were already taken, so i opted for keyboardist with a travelling rock and roll freak show. If Crack whore ever opens up though, I'm jumping ship. __________________ metricusers.com - the Metric Halo Users Forum

5th April 2004	#6
Meriphew Lives for gear Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Seattle USA Posts: 2,874	When I was a kid, a schoolmate/nieghbor of mine's older brother's band was being managed by Alice Cooper at the time. We would borrow some of their equipment from time to time, and we thought we could be better than them, so we started a band. __________________ *MyspaceMeriphew**

5th April 2004	#8
MASSIVE Master Lives for gear Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Chicago (Schaumburg / Hoffman Est.) IL Posts: 2,632	Band -> studio -> recording sucked -> learned how to make them better -> got into mastering -> gave up the recording for the most part and now just do mastering (and other projects once in a while, of course). __________________ John Scrip - Massive Mastering, LLC - www.massivemastering.com Spoon-feed a newb some answer and he'll mix for a day - Get him to think about it and figure it out for himself and he'll mix for a lifetime --- JS

3rd April 2004	#2
Dan Kennedy Gear addict Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Inver Grove MN Posts: 482	I was working for a guy, Frank Van Alstine, building fancy assed hifi gear. A dude came in to the shop, asked if I'd be interested in finishing a mixer project they'd started that the designer had bailed on. I said yes. That was about 1977. Built the mixer, did the whole roadie gig, got older, built studios, you know, like that. Been cleaning up after folks since, and occasionally coming up with something new.

5th April 2004	#5
TNALUV1 Gear interested Join Date: Jan 2004 Posts: 10	Sounds corny, but when I was a little tyke my mom used to sing along to the Beatles and Paul Simon and stuff and it made me feel great. I wanted to be able to make other people feel that way........... So I spent a few years in a Blue Bird School bus with some crazy catz playing all over the country. It was durring this time that I noticed the sound guys and studio guys always made more money than me!! So I went to school to study recording as well as composing. Now I get to do both and it's a great life to have... Still poor though!!.... This is a hard row to hoe so you've got to do it cause you LOVE it..........

5th April 2004	#7
dntknowsht Lives for gear Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: H.B. Ca. Posts: 1,341	[QUOTE]Originally posted by DigiBlows Deleted by moderator Somebody needs a nap.

5th April 2004	#9
jpaudio Lives for gear Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: NJ Posts: 646	Studied audio recording under a very cool professor for 2 years at a local college... interned at a mid-level studio for 6 months, did the whole intern thang, put up with a lot of shit and just as I realized it was a dead-end situation, was offered an interview at a top-level residential studio... got the gig, spent 3 years as the sole assistant/engineer/janitor/groundskeeper on staff, then got the bug to do my own thing. Been doing that for about 3-4 years now, had a brief stint with a distribution company that left a bad taste in my mouth to say the least. I don't like the idea of working underneath anyone in this business... obviously you've gotta learn before you can do your own thing, but just about anyone I've met who's made a successful career for themself has done it on their own, freelancing or owning their own room. There aren't many fair employers in the music/recording industry, that's for damn sure. I'd say the majority are out for themselves, and most will take advantage in every possible way. But everyone has gotta pay their dues. It's realizing when to grab the ball and run with it that can be a life changing decision. __________________ -- J.P. Sheganoski Recording/Mixing engineer www.RisusProductions.com

5th April 2004	#10
Steve Smith Lives for gear Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 1,384	Digi Blows.... after doing a allmusic search for you, I can see why you are so quick to diss on others.... troll. __________________ Steve Smith - Unorignal, yet commonplace.

5th April 2004	#11
Auxillary Gear maniac Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: St Pete Posts: 152	14 years of piano lessons, music college and lots of gear lust. I was born into music, that's all I can think of. One of the first pictures of me out of the hospital as a baby I was wrapped in a blanket with guitars on it (nurse did it ) and started playing piano at 2 on my own accord. Cousin taught me drums after begging him everyday for a few months (im talking LONG days of begging)... I was around 4 then... Just kept at it ever since. I am incredibly curious too. So much so Ive too many scars to count for my curiosity. Which lead me into a technical profession realted to music. Very curious, always wanting to know how things are done, why they're done and how I can do them better. Which is why I like gearslutz, so many people here with the same mindset. __________________ the city has sex with itself i suppose as the concrete collides, the scenery grows

5th April 2004	#12
heinz Lives for gear Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: chicago Posts: 1,025	I got into the music biz because I wanted to recklessly blow thousands of dollars into the shtter. I wanted to ass-kiss despicable blow-monkeys incapable of creative thought in the desperate hopes of playing on some stinky stage in some fcked time slot backing up some hopelessly incompetent band who happened to kiss ass a little better. I wanted to experience cement-headed bouncers who shamelessly rip at least half your door money and throw the rest of the passes in a nearby trashcan. Always find it amazing when a club with 150 of your closest friends ends up to be a 50-pass payment from jabba the fcked. More important, I really wanted to hole up with 3 clueless idiots in a practice room for weeks bashing away at 2 sets worth of mediocre tinnitus-inducing non-melodic crap while stroking each other all the way, "man dude you rock". Of course not realizing that at least 2 of the 3 never developed brain cells that would lead to any sort of non-infant thinking, or taking responsibility for anything other than scoring the next bag. Then I wanted to take those hard-fought sonic gems into a flea-bitten basement studio where bizzaro-Beavis tracks your crap into DAW hell and "mixes" yer killer demo. And I really wanted to send poorly-rendered copies of this audio tragedy to every stupid fcking mook in the biz in some drug-induced haze where the reality is that they listen to unsolicited submissions. Truly I then wanted to take that stinkin pile of crap on the road in a cheap rusty smells-like-dogs Ryder van, bouncing the frozen potholes all the way to Craptastic Iowa to play in some nasty college club dishing out the rock to a bunch of drunk children. So I did that. Over and Over and Over again. Which lead to the happiest day of my life, getting out of the biz.

5th April 2004	#14
djui5 Lives for gear Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Phoenix Posts: 6,661	That was hillarious heinz. I got into this biz because I've always been a computer geek and an electronics freak. I used to install car audio systems ( got a trophy at a show) and have always been a fan of music. Then one day I realized it all ties together and went to college to become an AE. __________________ _________________ "What is a crossfire hurricane & why wasn't I born in one?" Randy Wright

5th April 2004	#15
Knastratt Lives for gear Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Karlstad, Sweden Posts: 785	Excuse me. How do I get OUT of the music industry?

5th April 2004	#16
Wiggy Neve Slut Lives for gear Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: London, UK Posts: 2,194	BY ACCIDENT!!!! now im looking for the button for the ejector seat! Wiggy

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5th April 2004	#20
Jules Gearslutz.com admin Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: A Yank in London, UK Posts: 17,356 1 Review written	A newbie Digiblows has been slinging mud, so I deleted his posts & membership. I've edited references to all his post out. Lets not resurect the issue...! Carry on! __________________ Jules Add your reviews to the new reviews area! Gearslutz on Facebook Follow my GS picks on Twitter

6th April 2004	#23
Cape Gear maniac Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: London Posts: 191	So how do you get out once your knee deep in gear? Hi fi store??......................................................................................................................... or a bar on a beach in the Bahamas, with a live band playing every nite running through some choice selection of pre's and mic's you didn't sell!!