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Issue #99 - Page 2

Weekly Newsletter

by L. Swift and Jeff McQ

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Mentor News

MENTOR NEWS

    
RC apprentice Tim Barry and mentor Doug Wallace at Studio 128

RC apprentice Tim Barry and mentor Doug Wallace at Studio 128

RRFC: What can an apprentice do in his off time to impress you when he or she gets back in the studio?   Doug: It’s funny, It seems like they never really go anywhere…I constantly get emails, I constantly get quick little texts here and there, things that they’ve heard or things that have inspired them, things that they’ve run into during their own either performances or recording or setting something up or at somebody else’s studio, and something that reminded them of myself or a lesson that we had talked about, or whatever the experience is. So they never really go anywhere….I’m impressed with the fact that they don’t punch out, you know what I mean? They’re always on the clock, they’re always moving, they’re always learning, they always got the ear on something, and they’re always willing to share it. I get a text at 2:30 in the morning, just something that happened to whoever, or, “Here, check out this link. How do I get my drums to sound like this,” or “What do you hear in that?” It’s kind of cool. It’s definitely impressive to me.   RRFC: What sorts of mistakes do you see being made by a younger generation of budding engineers as far as etiquette that you would like to see improve?   Doug: I see people, especially younger kids, they flounder on how to actually communicate…It’s your job as an engineer, it’s your job as the person in control of the actual project or this whole steamship or train moving forward, to keep things going clearly and cleanly and just as we spoke about during the preproduction meeting, because nobody else is going to keep that sight line in place. When you’re dealing with artists, there’s a lot of creativeness that goes on that can actually steer you in different directions, and my job as an engineer, as a producing engineer, is you need to keep a hand on that and keep reminding them of the vision that we spoke about. If it’s changed, that’s fine, but let everybody know that the change is happening. It’s my job to say, “You’re kind of steering away from what we had talked about, and if that’s what you want to do its fine, but I need to let you that this is kind of off course, and it’s going to cost you more money.” So as somebody who doesn’t talk to anybody and basically texts everybody and talks to everybody through Facebook and Snapchat, those skills that you usually develop through just talking to people through life are not as inherent as they once were.   RRFC: What was it about the format of learning with the Recording Connection that made you want to be a mentor?   Doug: The fact that there is a mentorship program, meaning that these kids don’t have to travel across the country in our case, to reap the benefits of acquiring some practical knowledge…The fact that you guys at Recording Connection, take kids and place them in working studios where people are actually doing something hands-on, and they can get some one-on-one information and time, is probably the final package for me.   RRFC: What do you think makes the program a valuable asset not only to the apprentice but also to you as the mentor?   Doug: It keeps me grounded in basics, because when you do this type of work every day, just like anything else, you start taking shortcuts, and you got these templates built, and so forth, and you really start forgetting the basics. So every time a new student comes through, you have to kind of put yourself into check and realize, “Okay, I’m kind of missing a couple things here. I forgot to do some gain staging, which I really should be doing instead of spending so much time in post-production. If I just game stage it right from the get-go, I wouldn’t be messing around with this mix now.” Things like that help you keep things in check, because there is a certain flow of doing things, although there’s no right or wrong to any of this, but there are certain guidelines you want to follow that kind of works with your work flow…I have a younger aspiring hip-hop artist who knows the values of knowing the production side of things, up to a 45-year-old who has been around music his whole life and has made CD’s and just really wants to know what the engineer is doing to get the end result. He wants to be part of that. So it really keeps me grounded.    
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Whether your musical interests are in rock, country, hip-hop, beat making, electronic music production or live audio engineering, the Recording Connection can tailor your apprenticeship to help you achieve your goals!

Genres! Genres!

The Recording Connection partners with mentors all over the world who specialize in every genre imaginable. Just tell us your genre of choice, and we will pair you with the right mentor for you!

    



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Apprentices in Action

APPRENTICES IN ACTION

 

Here’s what some RRFC Apprentices
have been up to!

   
Kassandra Rousseau

Kassandra Rousseau

Film Connection apprentice Kassandra Rousseau (Charlotte, NC) is getting filmmaking knowhow on the set of Façade with mentor Wes Cobb.   
Rashad Mayo

Rashad Mayo

Recording Connection apprentice Rashad Mayo (Richmond, VA) is having a great time learning in the studio with mentor Kelly Jones. Rashad has been learning on his own for the past 3 years and is looking forward to elevating his game big time. Make it happen, Rashad!   

READY TO GET STARTED?
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The CASA can get you learning one-on-one
from an award-winning chef in a real restaurant!

  
Martin Gilligan

Martin Gilligan

“I went to the culinary institute of America in Hyde Park but learned just as much during my externship at the Four Seasons Hotel in Newport Beach.   “As an executive chef I used to throw away resumes from kids dumb enough to blow 65k to attend The Art Institute and Le Cordon Bleu because they had no experience and prima donna attitudes. Cooking in the trenches of a real cutting edge kitchen is the only way to go.   “Students’ lack of experience, in fact zero experience after graduation and accumulated debt are what’s wrong with the culinary school system of today. Le Cordon Bleu charges 65k for 2 years of playing house! Conventional culinary school’s training is for suckers. Culinary schools are for profit and proud of it!”   Martin Gilligan CEC, MCFE, American Culinary Federation’s ‘Chef of the Year 2005’ Los Angeles, CA
 

WANT TO LEARN MORE? CLICK HERE TO APPLY!

 



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