I’ve been getting a few comments on my youtube channel thanking me for reminding folks to have fun. Everything has gotten serious and monetized and only valued by income generating or why bother.
Nobody would argue against earning more money especially if they were earning it from something they LOOOOVE to do. But as has been the case from the beginning with me and writing songs and recording: I have always done it, and have always loved it, and will do it forever. I hope I’ll do it in my next life too.
I am a painter. I paint with sound. I have loved the solitary nature of it, and the collaboration. I have been encouraged, and disappointed with the whole process millions of times. It doesn’t matter. I keep coming back for more. I feel like I can’t get enough of it. If anything I am more in love with it now than I ever have been because I am able to dive in with real gear.
I know it isn’t necessary to be hybrid or use outboard gear when I already have tons of plugins. I know a mixer isn’t for everybody but for now I am thrilled to have one again. I have not had the headaches of working in a commercial studio having tape malfunctions. I have owned a half inch 8 track, Tascam 38; a quarter inch, TEAC 2340, 4 tk; and now a, 1 inch Tascam MS-16, 16 tk. Totally unnecessary, but fun as hell to look at and play with. I have thousands of hours of memories from the first two decks, and found myself craving for a tape deck again. Especially when my DAW would crash. So it doesn’t matter how I work. I am painting for me.
Which brings me to another point. Along the painting analogy. I always knew from a very young age that I was writing way too many songs to pay for studio time. I also loved playing with the gear. So it always made sense to me to push the buttons and play with the microphones. If I needed to say, “paint a tree”, I didn’t have to explain what kind of tree to a recording engineer. I could just paint it. I didn’t fancy a go-between-person. I was more hands on direct in my needs and interests in recording. Not because I wanted to work in a studio. I thought I did. I interned at a few places that wouldn’t teach me much till I ran hundreds of errands, (Blue Jay Recording, and others) I worked at WellSpring Sound for a short time. I considered even starting a studio. But it was short lived. I have a production studio. I have the luxury of choosing projects I want to work on with others or for others when I am hired to do so. I wanted to learn to be a professional engineer because my work would sound better and a big dream would come true: to be better at all of this; because it is deep, and wondrous, and exciting. even more exciting to me than live performance. Writing & recording has always been my favorite part of being a musician.
I love digital, how clean it is, how fast, sharing files, releasing music, instant recall, automation… so much more. Amazing. I have always loved technology. I feel like it it has finally caught up to my needs. We can all release music asap. Fabulous.
So now having been recruited to teach in Berklee’s MP&E department (Music Production & Engineering) it’s super exciting to share all of this. I shared the whole process even in guitar lessons but it’s even more targeted, valued and necessary in MP&E.
I am deeply grateful to every engineer that has ever answered my questions. I have read books. I have been mostly self taught. I love that in the past twenty years info has become a sharable, accessible thing. I love all the info on the internet. I am delighted. Now more than ever it is so cool to be us.
Don’t question your passions. Don’t limit your desires. Do explore, and create wildly. Enjoy painting with sound because it is fun, and what we do.