Alexandria Perryman – Audio Engineer for the Astronauts

Alexandria Perryman is a live broadcast engineer and Emmy winner working at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, where one of her jobs is to run audio for the astronauts on the International Space Station. Every “Mission” is different for her. One day she might be working a spacewalk, making sure the astronauts have a clear connection to mission control the next she might be mixing audio for a video that’s going up on the NASA YouTube channel.

Lately, she’s been working to provide Skype links between astronauts and students. The effort is part of NASA’s “Year of Education on Station” – a program where ISS crew members and teacher Ricky Arnold Skypes in via satellite and performs real-time experiments for kids in classrooms around the country.

Alexandria discovered audio when she was in her high school’s marching band and was put in charge of the on-field sound mixer. This is where she started to fall in love with the idea of live audio mixing. She always had a passion for music and sound and as she got older she became intrigued by how music and sound are created. She remembers seeing Blue Man Group perform when she was in elementary school and being in awe with how they used everyday items to create music. Alexandria would enroll at Full Sail University and study audio engineering and graduate in 2015 with an Associates Degree of Science.

She got her start in audio volunteering at her church, mixing their online broadcast and working part-time as an AV Tech. Early on she learned how important troubleshooting quickly is and learned how to work in fast-paced and high-stress situations. She says “I made many mistakes in those early gigs but I was in an environment where if I could troubleshoot my mistakes quickly then it was not harmful to my career.”

She has been at NASA working as an Audio Engineer and Chief Engineer and Producer of Podcast for the last 2 ½ years. Alexandria says there is no typical day at NASA.

“The workday starts for me an hour before my first show which sometimes could be at 3 am. Then there is the podcast that I produce weekly and studio shoots. It is common for me to go day by day.” Staying focused and organized is difficult Alexandria says “I may have a live event then an hour later I am recording a podcast, two different mindsets. Staying focused on the task I am doing at that time is super important.”

Some of Alexandria’s job duties are coordinating Skype signals in space and she is proud that during her time at NASA her team has never lost a Skype signal in space. Mission Planning and Operations works with her team to find optimal windows between satellites and schedule sessions accordingly.

Alexandria also works on archiving and preserving audio for the historical record and the U.S. National Archives. The crew of the ISS rotates every six months and NASA will use this audio for training new crew members and for reference on repeat problems. Alexandria with other engineers monitors the day to day operation recordings and are often the first line of communication between station and NASA. She often works with the astronauts before missions, she is the one mic-ing them up for interviews and trains them on using the audio equipment.

In addition to all of her official duties, Alexandria also serves as the producer of NASA’s official podcast Houston We Have a Podcast. The podcast talks with and interviews astronauts, scientists, and engineers working on furthering space exploration.

Alexandria says she loves that her job allows her to be part of something bigger than herself, but is not a fan of how politics come into play with what she does as a creative. She is awaiting NASA’s return to the moon and hopes to be able to mix the audio. Her long term goals are to mix audio for the Grammys.

On Challenging Projects

One challenge that sticks out the most was the Space X Demo-1 mission. It was challenging because it was the first time we ever merged our NASA shows with SpaceX. Learning how to coordinate a show between multiple locations and have it flow easily was definitely difficult. The audio setup was new and extremely complicated but as a team, we managed to put out great shows for that mission. It’s also the same mission I won my first Emmy for.

On Failure

For me looking back the biggest failure, I had happened in college. I had become lazy with class and my grades quickly fell, to the point that I was put on academic probation. That was a big wake up call for me, because if I had failed another class I would have failed out of college. In the next couple of months, I kicked it in gear and studied more, went to my instructors during office hours for extra help, and surrounded myself with positive people. I learned from that experience to never slack off and always do my best. Most importantly I learned that even when the odds are against me that I can overcome anything as long as I never stop trying.

What if any obstacles or barriers have you faced?

I have been fortunate to not have faced many obstacles or barriers in my career. The only thing that was an obstacle was having such an age gap between my coworkers and them being able to trust that I’m mentally capable of the job regardless of my age.

How have you dealt with them?

Earning trust takes time especially in this industry. I was able to do it by constantly giving them my best work and attitude and showing up in big situations.

Advice you have for other women and young women who wish to enter the field?

Don’t be afraid to make mistakes, that’s the only way you can really learn. Some of the biggest mistakes in my career offered me the most valuable lessons.

What is your favorite day off activity?

While I work in live television and not the music industry, I still love creating music in my free time as a way to express my emotions.

Must have skills?

Must be able and willing to be teachable at any level. Also for anything-audio understanding signal flow is key.

Favorite gear?

My favorite gear would have to be my Zoom F8N recorder, it’s perfect for in the fieldwork.

Check out Alexandria on The SoundGirls Podcast

More Profiles on The Five Percent – Profiles of Women in Audio

Handling Trauma – COVID-19 Webinar

SoundGirls Presents Handling Trauma Caused By COVID-19 Webinar

June 22 at 3:30 -5:00 PM EST

This Webinar will be recorded and streamed on Facebook Live. We encourage you to register for this and submit questions you have.

Register Here

The social, mental, and cultural impact of going through a global pandemic is also causing a psychological trauma pandemic. The stress and fear that have come from this pandemic, along with the global loss and isolation required to combat this are the perfect ingredients for psychological trauma and even Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

When the dust settles from this crisis, almost everyone will be impacted and many in the Live Event Industry are experiencing trauma due to the loss of employment, income, and loss of doing a job we love.

The good news is that there are a lot of therapists out there who are trained in trauma who can help.

Kaprece Stallings, MS is a Registered Mental Health Counselor and will be joining SoundGirls to offer tips, advice, and how to navigate through the trauma our industry is experiencing.

Kaprece Stallings, MS is a Registered Mental Health Counselor (psychotherapist), IMH 17304, in the state of Florida. She has a Master’s Degree in Professional Counseling and a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Palm Beach Atlantic University. She is a member of the American Counseling Association. Kaprece She specializes in trauma-informed therapy. She has worked with adults, teens, and children with physical, emotional, and sexual abuse issues along with first-responders with PTSD issues. She also has experience working with adults and teens with depression, anxiety, substance abuse, self-esteem issues, broken relationships, and spiritual issues. Kaprece is certified in Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART) and trained in Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR), and Trust-Based Relational Interventions (TBRI). She is also certified to assess temperament/personality through the Arno Profile System.

Making the Transition from Wedges to In-Ear Monitors

When you work in live sound, at some point you will find yourself in a similar position to me: mixing monitors in mid-to-large sized venues. You will begin encountering bands that have their own front-of-house engineers but no monitor engineer and manage in-ear monitors in many forms, ranging from tour-ready packages to a hodgepodge of cheap receivers to crappy gaming headphones used with an adapter (yes, that happened). And you will need to adapt your mixing style to the monitor combination of the day. This strange territory in the transition between mixing wedges and mixing IEMs can be tricky to navigate, so I thought I would share a few of the strategies I’ve developed.

Manage expectations. This might be the most important. Chat with the band while you’re setting up – introduce yourself, point out the monitor location, and try to get a feel for mix needs. After testing mix connections with pink noise I like to make an announcement restating my name and explaining that I’ll do my best to get them what they need as quickly as possible. If it’s a rushed soundcheck, I’ll explain that I’ll focus on levels and basic EQ first, to get through the line check quickly, and make higher-level tweaks as they check songs.

Use headphones. Relying on headphones or using a cheap pair of IEMs as your cue mix makes your listening experience much closer to that of the artists on stage. Headphones are especially useful with bands that are only on IEMs, since in this case listening to anything in the cue wedge may affect the mix you’re building onstage.

Ask questions. Don’t be afraid to ask for information you need or double-check things you aren’t sure of. Asking the musicians where they want something in their mix – ears, wedges, side fills – or if they have panning preferences is also useful, as some bands have a template they prefer their mixes to follow. I also like to confirm that everyone has what they need of a certain channel before moving on during soundcheck.

Set vocals first. This includes talkbacks! Ideally, you can set the talkback and vocals at a healthy level and bring the rest of the mix up around that. Keeping the levels at a comfortable volume matters even more now, with the mix going directly into someone’s ears. And from a practical standpoint, setting vocals first is a must so that you can communicate effectively with the band. Don’t forget to put a little of both talkbacks into the side fills so that you can communicate with front-of-house easily.

Watch your levels. Sound going directly to your ears is a much different experience than sound coming at you from a nearby speaker, so be extremely careful when setting and adjusting mix levels (especially if you do not have headphones or your own IEMS available for use). Whenever I adjust the levels of an IEM mix, I take care to go much slower and be extra aware of what dB level I am at.

Befriend front-of-house (if there is one). It’s important to have a good working relationship with the front-of-house engineer. Make sure it is clear who will lead soundcheck, when you’re ready to move on within the soundcheck, etc. Generally, a touring engineer will also be able to give you some tips about the monitor mixes and the general preferences of the artist.

Find a Side Hustle

The weeks may be dragging, the weeks may be absolutely flying by. Everything is the same yet everything is different. For everyone! One day it’s all fun and games, others it can seem too overwhelming to stay on top of anything. My plan every weekend for the past few weeks (months) has been to do email outreach for my podcast but life easily finds a way to get in the way!

I find that keeping a diary/agenda, as well as a daily journal and reminders on my phone calendar really makes a difference. Taking each week, one week at a time is also a good way to get through a to-do list that has always seemed never-ending and provides no motivational pull whatsoever. I have also planned to read two books a month, which I am top of at the moment by literally putting in calendar reminders to read! It is so easy to watch TV or be on my phone instead, but I am trying my best to read even just a little bit every night. In general, doing one tiny thing a day that leads towards making something out of your potential side hustle can make a difference.

On another note, I have become obsessed with a songwriting podcast called ‘And The Writer Is…’. It had been on my list for so long due to the Instagram shout-out from Alice Levine at BBC Radio 1, but it has been well worth the wait! I am currently still bingeing the 2017 episodes and have decided that songwriting will be my new venture. My Dad is an unexpected poet, perhaps I can make a move into songwriting? It is a fascinating industry, there is so much to know and learn and I feel like it is such an undercover movement that you wouldn’t know about it unless you were in it.

My plan is to first binge this podcast, then get writing, one song a day is what they recommend, then start on the cold call email reach outs and then see what happens! I will keep you updated. Who knows what could happen.

Best of luck to all your side hustles. Keep going, stay invested, and always try out new ideas! Creativity is the future.

SoundGirls Online Mentoring

Mentoring the Next Generation of Women in Audio.

How it Works:

SoundGirls Members are invited to sign-up for online mentoring and will be grouped with six to eight SoundGirls for two online sessions with a mentor. Mentors volunteering their time are professionals working in audio in a wider range of fields from Recording Arts, Live Sound, Post-Production Audio, Audio Manufacturing, and more.

Mentees will be grouped on a first-come basis. This is an on-going program and most mentors are willing to provide a few sessions throughout 2021.

If you would like to volunteer to be a mentor please email us at soundgirls@soundgirls.org

Apply Here

Mentees should prepare for their mentoring sessions by answering these questions.

Is there a situation you are currently facing (or have in the past) in your internship, job, school, etc that you would like advice on?
What challenges do you face that you feel are impacting your professional development? Perhaps your mentor may have advice.

List of Mentors

Recording/Studio/Mastering Mentors

Kerry Pompeo is a NYC based recording engineer and music producer, who describes her role in the studio as “being the liaison between artist and machine.” Since 2004, Kerry has been harnessing audio for studio, stage, and screen with a diverse array of artists & genres.

As chief engineer for Concord Music’s NYC studio, she provided recording, mixing, and writing sessions for label projects- including Elvis Costello, Jacob Collier, Michael Stipe, Esperanza Spaulding, Jazzmeia Horn, Teddy Sinclair, Injury Reserve, and Oynx Collective. She also works with independent artists who seek her out for her unique approach and creative studio techniques. Recently, Kerry stepped into the world of public art & systems design, creating an immersive sound experience with high-resolution playback in City Hall Park for “Out of Thin Air,” curated by More Art & The City of New York. An audio professional committed to honing her craft and pushing the industry forward, there are many exciting projects to listen out for coming from Kerry Pompeo. more info/music can be found on my site: www.kerrypompeo.com or linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kerrypompeo/

Audrey Martinovich: In 2012, Audrey started her professional recording career at Audio for the Arts, a Wisconsin-based recording studio specializing in acoustic music. She quickly became a trusted engineer for artists and companies in the Midwest and beyond. From recording live stand-up albums for Comedy Central to recording concerts on a stage floating in the middle of a lake for Reebok, Audrey has done a bit of everything. Intrigued by unusual acoustic environments, she especially loves recording musicians anywhere from silos to cavernous basements. Now, Audrey is part owner of Audio for the Arts and is one of the chief engineers.

In 2017, she became the first woman to contribute to Pro Tools Expert, with articles focusing on tips for recording live performances and acoustic instruments. In 2018, Audrey was a finalist to receive the award for Breakthrough Studio Engineer from Pro Sound Europe. She has given public talks and been on panels at Between the Waves Music Conferences, Empowering Women in Audio Clinics, and E Women’s Network. Audrey is a member of SoundGirls and AES and is a Warm Audio Artist

Mary Mazurek is a GRAMMY-nominated recording engineer. Her nomination was awarded by the Recording Academy in 2018 in the category of Best Engineered Album, Classical. She is also a broadcaster, and radio producer. Her work is regularly featured on WFMT Radio and WFMT.com. She is also a sought after educator and speaker who enjoys contributing in the classroom and on panels and committees within her industry and beyond. She serves as a role model and advocate for women in the recording industry, which presently is less than 5% of women. Additionally, she loves sharing her sonic insights across disciplines.

Virginia Haladyna is a musician, songwriter, performer, and freelance recording engineer based out of Austin, Texas. Upon graduating from The Recording Conservatory of Austin, she went on to intern and work out of the world-class Orb Recording Studios. She has recorded three full-length albums, EPs, and multiple singles for local Austin bands. As well as recording other artists, Virginia records and mixes her band Happy, Hollow. She’s assisted sessions alongside established musicians, producers, and engineers the last five years and plans to continue honing her craft for many more.

Piper Payne is a mastering engineer based out of Oakland, CA and Nashville, TN, where she works on albums for independent artists and major labels. In Spring of 2019 Piper joined the famed Infrasonic Mastering team, merging her successful studio, Neato Mastering, with the Nashville based company, owned by Pete Lyman.

Piper is a Trustee of the Recording Academy (GRAMMYs) and she serves on the P&E Wing Steering Committee and the Advisory Council. She is a Governor of the Audio Engineering Society and she is the Co-Founder and Co-Chair of the AES’s Diversity & Inclusion Committee as well as an active member of Women’s Audio Mission and she serves on the Board of SoundGirls.

In addition, Piper is the keeper of Vinyl Quality Control and a consultant for vinyl record pressing plants and is opening her own manufacturing plant in Nashville in Spring 2020. She is an audio professor and guest lectures often about mastering and recording.   Piper began her career with a BFA in Audio from The University of Michigan, continuing her graduate education in Audio at the University of Stavanger in Norway.

Piper has a diverse background in musical styles. As a drummer, she knows that the best outcome of every project is that it has to feel good. As an engineer, Piper is focused on technical quality and correctness. But, at the end of the day, mastering is about format conversion and quality control so the project gets just what it needs.

Piper has mastered a wide variety of music including nationally renowned artists Third Eye Blind, The Go-Go’s, Madame Gandhi, Geographer, The Steven Universe Soundtrack composers Aivi and Steven, Basement, Hundredth, Elettrodomestico (Jane Wiedlin/Go-Go’s), Blithe, ANIIML, Shamir, Betsy, Between You & Me, and Fritz Montana as well as many Bay Area greats. See her discography at infrasonicsound.com/piper

Angie Dickinson Mickle started her recording career in 1983 as an assistant engineer at Pierce Arrow Recorders in Evanston Illinois after studying Sound Engineering at Columbia College Chicago under legendary engineer Malcolm Chisholm. Angie worked as an announcer at several radio stations before starting Avocado Productions in 1986. The company was moved to a new studio in Colorado in 2002 where it continues today. Over the years, through Avocado Productions, Angie has offered audio services from Music Production and tracking, Audio Transfer and Restoration (specializing in Wire Recordings), Studio and Location recording, and more recently as a Stage Tech and Live FOH engineer for Naropa University, Colorado Chautauqua Auditorium. She has consulted for several churches and is a guest artist at The Denver School of the Arts. Angie is a member of the Association for Recorded Sound Collections and SoundGirls. She was named among the 10 Best Engineers in Denver by publication, Westword.

Anna Frick is a mastering engineer and the restoration center manager at Airshow Mastering in Boulder, Colorado. Her work encompasses studio albums, live recordings, reissues, and compilations across an array of formats, old and new, and a wide variety of genres and styles, from bluegrass and folk-influenced acts to rock and New Age projects. Legends like Ralph Stanley and Doc Watson, exciting contemporaries such as Billy Strings and GRAMMY-nominated Wood & Wire, and important blues and jazz archival recordings (such as the GRAMMY-winning Rise & Fall of Paramount Records Volumes 1 &2) have all benefited from her uncanny ear and deft touch. She balances her strong instincts and intuition with her technical experience and each client’s goals to finesse every project she tackles. Anna holds a degree in Music Industry Studies from the University of Colorado at Denver. She is a graduate of the International Bluegrass Music Association’s Leadership Bluegrass program, Vice Chair of the Colorado AES Chapter, board governor of the Recording Academy – San Francisco Chapter, and chapter head for Colorado’s branch of SoundGirls.org.

Vanessa Silberman is an international touring singer, guitarist, and songwriter from Brooklyn, NY (via Los Angeles, CA). She is also a record producer, engineer, an independent A&R and runs an artist development Label called A Diamond Heart Production. Widely known for having a very strong DIY ethic and wearing many different hats in the music business —Vanessa has worked for heavy hitters in the music business such as Producer / Songwriter Dr.Luke as well as for many companies and places ranging from the Foo Fighter’s Studio 606 to Epitaph Records.

Jenn D’Eugenio is the sales and marketing manager at Furnace Record Pressing and vinyl enthusiast for over 20 years. She is the founder and curator of ‘Women In Vinyl’; and is dedicated to the art and creation of vinyl.

Her background spans that of designing textiles for Fortune 500 fashion companies to career advising for one of the top art colleges in the country; however, Jenn’s passion for vinyl has lead her to a career in helping to manufacture the physical product for bands, and both major to independent record labels. In launching Women in Vinyl a site, online community, and future non-profit she hopes to empower women working in the vinyl industry and to help young women who may be interested in this career path achieve their goals.

Post-Production

Kelly Kramarik is a post-production audio mixer for Starz, a Lionsgate Company. In her free time, she also works as a recording engineer, production sound mixer, and podcast editor. Mentoring on post-production for film and television, I can also do production sound mixing and podcast editing.

Veronica Toledo is currently the Assistant Music & Sound Editor at Pixar Animation Studios. She formerly interned at both Fantasy Recording Studios and Women’s Audio Mission. She has been involved as a production sound assistant for projects including “Toy Story 4”, “Onward”, and “Soul”. Veronica holds a BA in Economics from Mills College and is the co-chair for the Bay Area Chapter of Soundgirls.

Theatre Sound Production

Becca Stoll is a theatrical audio engineer. She specializes in mixing musicals and is especially passionate about mixing new works. Current gig: Head of Audio on Rock of Ages (Off-Broadway at New World Stages). New York: Two’s A Crowd (59E59), A Strange Loop (Playwrights Horizons), Antigone in Ferguson (St. Ann’s Church); We Are The Tigers (Theatre 80). Tours: Million Dollar Quartet (A2). Selected Regional: The Donkey Show (OBERON), Caucasian Chalk Circle (A2, Yale Rep), 3 seasons as Production Audio Engineer for the Goodspeed Opera House. Education: Carnegie Mellon School of Drama, NHSI “Theatre Cherubs”. Member: TSDCA, USITT, SoundGirls.

Heather Augustine is an audio engineer currently touring around the US with Broadway-style shows. She graduated from Penn State University with a BFA in Theatrical Design and Technology, with an emphasis on Sound Design, and has been on the road for the past 8 years. During her touring career she worked on a variety of shows including Billy Elliot, Dirty Dancing, Phantom of the Opera, Les Misérables, and Miss Saigon. Currently she is the A1 for the first national tour of Mean Girls.

Elisabeth Weidner is a freelance Sound Designer/Composer and Audio/Video Technician based on the Central Coast of California. She holds a degree in Commercial Music from Florida State University and has been working professionally in the live sound industry for over 15 years.

Prior to being a full time freelancer, she served as Sound Director/Resident Sound Designer/Composer for PCPA-Pacific Conservatory Theatre from 2009-2019. While in residency, she also served as Faculty for PCPA’s Technical Theatre Conservatory. Elisabeth sits on the USITT Sound Commission jury for Current Practices and Research in Sound paper/article submissions and is a proud member of ASCAP and the TSDCA. www.elisabethanneweidner.com

Read Elisabeth’s Blog

Live Sound

Samantha Potter is an audio engineer and an editorial director for ProSoundWeb, Live Sound Magazine, and Church Sound. A self-described renaissance woman, Samantha studies a broad range of audio topics to stay informed and well versatile. With eight years of experience in pro audio, Samantha has held a multitude of jobs but is currently pursuing education expansion and journalistic accuracy in the field. Her favorite position is at front of house, but she doesn’t shy away from monitor world or even producing.

Read Samantha’s Blog

Lisa Affenzeller is an independent FOH sound engineer with over ten years of experience in the live music industry, based in Hamburg; Germany, and touring all around the globe. She is a seasoned production manager and is specialized in the hard rock & metal music genre. She is well versed with a variety of mixing consoles, digital plugins & analogue outboard, stage micing, and PA setups.

Maxime Brunet is a freelance FOH engineer & tour manager. She has toured intentionally with artists such as Wolf Parade & Operators, amongst others. She has also worked as both a monitor engineer & FOH engineer in venues both in Ottawa & Toronto.

What mentoring will cover: Maxime can mentor in French & English. She will mentor on live sound, how to use different consoles (would have to be over offline editor for now, but I can do Avid, Yamaha, Behringer..). Can mentor on being a tour manager (North America and Europe). Mixing FOH. Mixing monitors, putting a band on in-ears, and teaching an intro to live sound class & how to set up a workshop.

Read Maxx’s Blog

Daniela Seggewiss: Dani currently works as a freelance monitor engineer for the bands The Sweet and Opeth. Her year fills up quickly between the two groups. She fills in the gaps with festivals and local gigs in Leeds.

In the end, it all comes down to the ability to make it happen, which in my opinion is one of the main characteristics of the live sound / live concert industry. There is no second chance. We have the one chance to get it right so if something goes wrong we look around and use whatever we can find around us to make it happen!

Erica D’Angelo: Erica began her musical career as a professional clarinet player, graduating with a Bachelor of Music (Performance) from the University of South Australia. She spent the early years teaching and playing with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra. After traveling to work in London during her 20s, she discovered she had a passion for electronic music and music production. Embarking upon a new career, she completed a Diploma of Audio Engineering at the SAE and gained valuable experience working in live music, studio recording, and film recording.

Returning to Australia in 1997 and based in Sydney, her career continued to grow in the field of live sound, particularly large scale event production. A pinnacle in her career was the position of Audio Director for the Team Welcoming Ceremonies, as part of the Sydney Olympic Games Organising Committee.

Erica moved to Melbourne in 2003 to pursue her own music production goals, working under the name of Mind’s Eye Entertainment. She continued working freelance in technical production, with events such as the Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremony, Adelaide International Arts Festival, the Deaf Olympic Games Opening Ceremony, AFL Grand Finals, Melbourne Fashion Week, and the Logies.

Joining Haileybury in 2011 to teach the Certificate III in Sound Production, she continues to utilise her skills and experience in large scale events by being part of the production team that delivers the Tattoo, musical, and multiple concerts over the academic year.

Barbara Adams is an audio engineer and educator with twenty-five years of experience in the music industry. She specializes in live sound and production management. Her strong and varied experience also includes recording engineer, stage management, and artist management.

Barbara is Lecturer Professor at Rowan University teaching Sound Reinforcement and Audio Recording in their Music Industry Program. She also is the booking manager for Rowan Music Group, the program’s record label, and artist management services. By night she is busy engineer and production manager at The Locks at Sona, Philadelphia’s premier listening room. She occasionally works as a freelance Engineer/System Tech for several production companies and does freelance work mixing FOH for regional bands touring the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.

As the Soundgirls Philadelphia chapter president, she is always looking for ways to help mentor and guide new engineers in the field of live sound and bring together the Philadelphia community of SoundGirls. And as if this wasn’t enough, she is the mom to a very busy pre-teen son who enjoys helping mom at gigs if he isn’t playing hockey, playing music, or in school.

Grace Royse is a 17-year concert audio engineer and veteran of the touring music industry with a concentration in production management. Her experiences span thousands of festivals, tours, and live broadcasted performances worldwide, including the US Open, Good Morning America, Ellen, LA & NYC Pride, and the Super bowl. “I’ve been on both sides of the event experience; touring with headlining A-level artists globally, as well as hosting artists as the on-site Production Lead at world-renowned festivals. Understanding the needs of both gives me an exceptional operational vantage point.” Grace credits her network of top-performing colleagues, along with a strong sense of purpose, for making every successful event possible.

Michelle Sabochick Pettinato: Michelle’s mixing experience includes everything from the tiniest clubs to the world’s largest stadiums, TV shows from the Grammy’s to Billboard Music Awards, from SNL to Jimmy Kimmel and others, as well as National and International festivals including Coachella, SXSW, Japan’s Summersonic, The UK’s Download, Germany’s Wacken.

Along with appearing as a panelist for industry events including the Pro Production and AES conferences, Michelle has been a guest lecturer and speaker at Full Sail and Capital University. She was inducted into the Full Sail Hall of Fame in 2015 and appeared as the Keynote Speaker for Capital University’s Creative Arts Weekend in 2018.

Michelle is the Creator/Owner of MixingMusicLive.com an online course for live sound and mixing. She is offering mentoring in Live Sound and Mixing, Life on tour including touring etiquette, how to prepare for your first tour, how to balance work/life and the business of being an independent/freelance engineer, career development, and anything related to making a living as a touring sound engineer. If you are considering a career in this industry there are some specific questions you need to ask yourself and you need to make sure you have realistic expectations.

Karrie Keyes – Monitor Engineer for Pearl Jam and Eddie Vedder for 30 years. Instrumental in building Rat Sound Systems from a system in a van to an international touring company (20 years). Working in Live Sound since 1986. Co-Founder and Executive Director of SoundGirls

Christina Moon has been working in audio for over twenty years. Primarily known as a touring monitor engineer but has had her hands in a little bit of everything in order to get my foot in the door. Some artists I’ve worked for include Sleater Kinney, Beach House, LCD Soundsystem, Yeah Yeah Yeah’s, Death Cab For Cutie and Interpol.

Luana Moreno has been a Sound Engineer for over 10 years. She has worked with all aspects of audio, from recording independent bands to major events. She is most experienced in Live Sound, but also did quite a lot of Recording, Mixing, Mastering and Sound for Film. Originally from Brazil, she is a founding member of the collective of Women in Audio from Brazil (https://www.facebook.com/MulheresDoAudio/). Luana moved to Australia to pursue higher education in 2017 and started a SoundGirls chapter in Melbourne. Now based in Adelaide, she’s recently been part of Adelaide Fringe and works at the Adelaide Convention Center, as well as at her own home studio.

Gabi Lima is an audio engineer, producer, songwriter, musician, singer, and candy eater. She is based in São Paulo, Brasil

What mentoring will cover: how to be a good assistant and get called back for more sessions, signal flow, signal flow, signal flow, intro to live sound

Mary Broadbent is a Tour Manager, Production Manager, and Guitar-Backline Tech who’s been in the music touring industry for 16+ years. She’s tour managed for artists such as The Mowglis, The Staves, Loote, Wrabel, Plain White T’s, and production managed/stage-managed the festival Girlschool and She Rocks Awards 2018 & 2020. In 2015 she added Guitar-Backline teching to her skillset working for Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, The Mowglis, The Staves, Plain White T’s, and Tegan and Sara. She serves as a TM/PM mainly but pulls double duty Tour Managing & Teching when tours require it. She finished off 2019 Tour Managing for Clairo on her Immunity Tour in the US & Europe and started off 2020 Guitar Teching for Against Me! when the industry was put on pause by Covid-19. She lives in Los Angeles and is using this ‘ pause ‘ in the touring world to take a Mixing Live Sound Course and advancing her on-going guitar lessons.

Beckie Campbell: Beckie is the successful owner of B4Media Production LLC. As a business owner of a growing production company, she manages crews, trains employees, and books festivals all over the United States. She freelances as an A1 for several corporate organizations such as the City of Orlando and PennellChing Development. As a PM, Monitor, and FOH Engineer her expertise is in audio, but she has also taught at Audio Visual Technologies/Sports Broadcasting, and several other courses around Florida for various companies and schools. As an accomplished Production Manager, FOH, and Monitor engineer she has helped train and grow crews for several theaters, live events, and houses of worship. All while touring as a FOH Engineer for major acts.

Beckie is passionate about live events and making sure the next generation learns the proper way to make an event excellent. In her leisure time she can be found cooking, relaxing at the beach with an ice-cold beverage, watching a live performance, or kayaking. She loves to hang with her nieces and nephews and teach them fun crafts, the difference between stage left and stage right, and how to make goofy faces.

Gil Eva Craig is an independent Audio Engineer and Music Producer working in professional audio for the last 18 years. Gil got her start as a recording engineer in 1996 and still owns and operates her own mixing and production studio.

Claudia Englehart – Claudia has been a professional live-sound engineer for 38 years. In 1982 she began her career working in the historic San Francisco jazz club Keystone Korner. In 1983 she moved to New York City and continued mixing live sound in clubs such as CBGB’s, The Bitter End, and S.O.B.’s, and then in 1985 began touring full time as a front of house engineer. Since 1989 Claudia has been working full time as sound engineer and tour manager for guitarist Bill Frisell.

She has recorded two live albums for Frisell, “East/West” and “Bill Frisell Live”. She has also mixed and recorded just about all of his live concerts over the past 30 years, which has resulted in a “Live Download Series”, concert recordings available for download on Frisell’s website.

When not on tour with Frisell, Claudia has toured extensively with many other renowned artists including Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Laurie Anderson, Lou Reed, Ron Carter, Michael Brecker, Grover Washington Jr., Dave Holland, John Scofield, Charles Lloyd, Lee Konitz, Marianne Faithfull, Rosanne Cash, Ryuichi Sakamoto, David Sylvian, Medeski Martin & Wood, John Zorn, The Kronos Quartet, Don Cherry, Cecil Taylor, Eddie Palmieri, Willie Colon, and many others.’

Tana Douglas: Throughout the music industry, Tana Douglas is acknowledged as rock’n’roll’s first female roadie. Her journey started in 1973 in Australia within a year she was working for AC/DC, first doing backline then F.O.H. Sound for the band. She then moved to lighting working for a Major Australian Promoter and completed in quick succession several tours with International acts such as: Santana, Suzi Quatro, Neil Diamond, David Essex, and Leo Sayer and Status Quo all before she turned 18. After getting her Father to sign her passport so she could travel Internationally she ventured to London to start 3 years with Status Quo running their lighting rig. She then brought that rig to TASCO a major Production company in London that until that time had only supplied Sound for tours. A relationship developed there that would last several years and include working for such artists as Status Quo, The WHO, Ozzy Osbourne, Whitesnake, The Police, Elton John, Iggy Pop, and Johnny Halliday the French megastar.

Her relationship continued with TASCO enabling her to transfer to USA after they opened a Los Angeles division. After becoming a resident of the USA she broadened her working relationships to also include both Delicate Productions and Light & Sound Designs. The tours that followed were Elton John, INXS, Men at Work, before being once again called back to Paris to manage the largest lighting rig ever built for a 7-month residency for her old friend Johnny Halliday, for Light & Sound Design (LSD).

After successfully completing that task it was time for a change. Los Angeles had offered Tana new passions and she gradually left lighting, stage/production to focus her skills on logistics which meant if a tour had to be somewhere, she was the person to make sure it happened – for everyone including Lenny Kravitz, Pearl Jam, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Luther Vandross, Ice-T, and Ice Cube to name a few. Tana’s career spanned 30+ years and has seen her work alongside some of rock’s biggest names and personalities. As the music industry grew to become a worldwide cultural phenomenon, she was there, in the thick of it, a girl.

Tana and her unique position in the music industry have been included in several other people’s books – most recently a chapter in Stuart Coupe’s book, Roadies, which confirmed her as the first female roadie. But now it’s time for Tana to tell her story, in her own words. Her Memoir is being published through HarperCollins Australia and tells of the joys and struggles faced as a girl out on the road on her own in the wild and woolly days that created this industry of music. It is due to be released in April 2020.

Tana currently resides in Los Angeles, California. Due to COVID 19 Tana’s book, LOUD has been held back from release by her publisher with a tentative release

Lisa Fahrenberger: I would be interested in helping newbies of any age and supporting them. I’m happy to work with non-binary, trans- and cis women. Living in Auckland, New Zealand. With almost 20 years of experience, I’ve seen a lot and held a variety of positions. Currently, I trying to establish myself as a monitor engineer, as well as pushing for more large-scale RF coordination. I can mentor for live audio, general signal flow, fault finding, problem-solving, patch, many standard consoles, concerts, festivals, corporate, theater, warehouse roles – and radio frequency management.

Rebekah Lee McGee experienced in live sound reinforcement. I tech a D&B V rig here in Atlanta, I do repairs for multiple venues, rode around with a band for the past six years or so mixing. I also have lots of experience in the studio doing pre-pro, tracking, and post for music as well as film industries. I also have a handful of IMDb credits for my location audio work for film.

Lighting Design

Jenny Bass began her career as a lighting technician in Seattle after receiving her BA in Technical Theatre from Guildhall. She then started touring with PRG for artists such as Madonna, Scorpions, and Nicki Minaj. She then worked her way up to a programmer, lighting director, and Lighting Designer. The Artists that she designed, directed and programmed for include Lea Michele, Avalanches, Earth Wind and Fire, Mary Mack, Rae Sremmurd, and Tinashe, among others.

Before this she toured as a technician. She received her MBA and started working as a technical director for a startup. From there she worked as a production manager at the Music Center. Some of the companies she worked with as a production manager include Alvin Alley, Circa, and the Royal Opera House. Her most recent role was as a technical designer at PRG.

Tiffany Keys comes from an unconventional background of musical theater and dance to entertainment’s technical industry, Tiffany has developed a unique set of skills and views that she draws upon to give her a fresh outlook on lighting.

In 2014 Tiffany started Key Lighting, Inc., establishing herself as a lighting director and programming for television, film, live concerts, and corporate events. Navigating through an industry that is predominately men she is now leading her field as one of the most sought out programmers, lighting some of the world’s biggest stages. Please visit Key Lighting’s website to see the latest projects: www.KeyLightingInc.com

Lauren Sego is a lighting designer and programmer based in Los Angeles. During her years at California Institute of the Arts, she worked in film and television, programming, and operating for various shows with heavy involvement in E-Sports streams. After graduating in 2016, she began her career as a touring lighting designer and programmer and has worked with artists such as Janelle Monáe, Jidenna, Jennifer Hudson, Ingrid Michaelson, Tegan and Sara, and Mat Kearney.

Career Development

Sarah Martinico was born in St. Pete, Florida where she grew up as a multi-instrumentalist and songwriter. She went on to study at Berklee College of Music and graduated with a Bachelors in Music Production and Engineering. She started her professional career in Los Angeles in marketing at BMG where she founded and created the first-ever royalty-bearing stems for sale from a major publisher’s catalogue via Avid Pro Tools. She went on to work for Native Instruments developing sound packages and marketing content with clients. She then opened her own company in 2019 called SL Music & Marketing. She has worked for numerous Grammy-winning producers, songwriters, and artists from the pop, urban and Latin worlds in marketing, branding, music publishing, partnerships, management, and consulting.

Spanish Speaking Mentors

Ximena Montenegro

Mentoring area: Live Sound

Nationality: Chile

Sound technician and audio engineer, for more than 15 years he has been dedicated to sound reinforcement, either as a technical assistant for FOH, monitors of different companies. He has mixed for various artists such as: Marisela, Lucero, Erick barrios, Denise Rosenthal, among others, she has participated in festivals such as Viña del Mar.

Técnico de sonido e ingeniera de audio, por mas de 15 años se ha dedicado ado al refuerzo sonoro, ya sea como asistente técnico para sala, monitores de diferentes empresas. Ha mezclado para diversos artistas como : Marisela, Lucero, Erick barrios, Denise Rosenthal, entre otros ademas ha participado activamente en festivales como Viña del Mar.

Roberta Siviero

Mentoring area: Live Sound

Nationality : Brazilian

Roberta Sivero Brazilian, it’s been like 20 years that I work in live sound (I started in sound companies, nowadays I dedicate myself to mix more), but I also have experience in TV, theater and sound studio (including audiovisual post-production) because in Brazil we have to do a little bit of everything.

Robertta Severo brasileña, hace como que 20 años que trabajo en sonido en vivo (empecé en compañias de sonido, actualmente me dedico a mezclar mas), pero también tengo experiencia en TV, teatro y estudio de sonido (incluida la postproducción en audiovisuales) porque aquí tuvo que hacer un poco de todo.

En 2012, comenzamos un grupo de mujeres sonidistas en São Paulo (donde vivo hace casi 15 años), lo que ha hecho una gran diferencia y nos ayudó a estar más visibles en la industria.

Claudia Nader

Mentoring area: Sound pre-production.

Nationality : Mexican

Clau Nader

Mentoring area: Sound Postproduction, Sound Design, Location Sound, Psychoacoustics

Nationality : Mexican

Clau Nader is an audio engineer specialised in binaural and immersive sound design for film, TV, audio-visual media, advertising and sonic art installations. Her work in film has been featured in numerous festivals in Europe, the USA, and Latin America. Clau is currently working as a Graduate Teaching Assistant and Social Media Content Producer and is a current PhD researcher at the Department of Theatre, Film, Television and Interactive Media of the University of York, in the UK. Her research, funded by CONACyT and the AES Educational Foundation, explores sound formats found in ASMR-inducing media and their use as potential psychosocial interventions for mental health and wellbeing in adolescents.

Clau Nader es una ingeniera de audio especializada en diseño sonoro binaural e inmersivo para cine, TV, medios audio-visuales, publicidad e instalaciones de arte sonoro. Su trabajo en cine ha sido parte de numerosos festivales en Europa, EUA y Latinoamérica. Actualmente, Clau trabaja como Profesora Adjunta y Productora de Contenido para redes sociales y realiza una investigación doctoral en el Departamento de Teatro, Cine, Television y Medios Interactivos de la Universidad de York, en el Reino Unido. Sus investigación, patrocinada por CONACyT y la AES Educational Foundation, explora formatos de sonido en medios inductores de ASMR y su uso como posible intervención psicosocial para la salud mental y bienestar en adolescentes.

Cristina Abaroa

Mentoring Area: PRODUCER | MANAGER | ENTREPRENEURSINGER-SONGWRITER | ARRANGER | COMPOSER

Link for more information about Cristina : https://www.dropbox.com/sh/b4mf4zv7eiggb7f/AAA4wkAMWZfJ0MwZ15-c8raCa?dl=0

Nationality : Mexican

Born in Mexico Cristina Abaroa began her career in Los Angeles, California in ‘91 participating with the renowned producers Juan Carlos Calderón, Humberto Gatica, Draco Rosa, Armando Manzanero, Rafael Pérez Botija, etc. She has participated in countless productions with some artist like: Ringo Starr, Lady Gaga, Luis Miguel, Celine Dion, Enrique Iglesias, Ricky Martin, Luz Casal, Maná, Thalía, Barry Manilow, Ricardo Arjona, Mijares, Cristian Castro, Alejandro Fernández, Armando Manzanero , Ofelia Medina, Los Tigres del Norte, Guadalupe Pineda, Marco Antonio Solís and Lupita D’Alessio among others. Awarded with the Berklee Alumni Achievement Award 2018 and graduated with Magna Cum Laude honors at Berklee College of Music. Cristina Abaroa is founder and CEO of Moon Moosic.

Nacida en México Cristina Abaroa inició su carrera en Los Ángeles, California en el año ‘91 participando con los reconocidos productores Juan Carlos Calderón, Humberto Gatica, Draco Rosa, Armando Manzanero, Rafael Pérez Botija, etc

Ha participado en innumerables producciones de artistas: Ringo Starr, Lady Gaga, Luis Miguel, Celine Dion, Enrique Iglesias, Ricky Martin, Luz Casal, Maná, Thalía, Barry Manilow, Ricardo Arjona, Mijares, Cristian Castro, Alejandro Fernández, Armando Manzanero, Ofelia Medina, Los Tigres del Norte, Guadalupe Pineda, Marco Antonio Solís y Lupita D’Alessio entre otros.

Premiada con el Berklee Alumni Achievement Award 2018 y graduada con honores Magna Cum Laude en Berklee College of Music. Cristina Abaroa es fundadora y CEO de Moon Moosic.

Salomé Limon

Mentoring Area: Studio Mixing

Nationality : Spain

Producer and sound engineer, president of PIAudio (Iberoamerican Association of Audio Producers and Engineers), and an active member of the Grammy Academy, the Latin Grammy Academy, and the CPI (Circle of Producers and Engineers) of the Latin Grammy.

She began her career in Madrid in 2004. Her first project was Andrés Calamaro’s album “El Cantante”. He has also worked with artists such as Paco de Lucía, Anoushka Shankar, Chick Corea, John Legend, Vampire Weekend, Enrique and Estrella Morente, among many others.

Winner of 4 Latin Grammys and nominated for Best Sound Engineer 5 years in a row by the Latin Grammy Academy.

Today Salomé continues her career as a producer, engineer, and composer while collaborating as a speaker and teacher, sharing her knowledge through various talks and masterclasses at Berklee College of Music, Maxsine School in China, IE University, Fest Portugal, etc.

Productora e ingeniera de sonido, presidenta de PIAudio (Asociación Iberoamericana de Productoras e Ingenieras de Audio) y miembro activo de la Grammy Academy, la Latin Grammy Academy y del CPI (Circulo de Productores e Ingenieros) de los Latin Grammy.

Comenzó su carrera en el Madrid en 2004. Su primer proyecto fue el disco de Andrés Calamaro “ El cantante”. También ha trabajado con artistas de la talla de Paco de Lucía, Anoushka Shankar, Chick Corea, John Legend, Vampire Weekend, Enrique y Estrella Morente, entre otros muchos.

Ganadora de 4 Latin Grammys y nominada como mejor ingeniero de sonido 5 años consecutivos por la Academia de los Latin Grammy.

A día de hoy Salomé continúa su carrera como productora, ingeniera y compositora a la vez que colabora como ponente y profesora compartiendo sus conocimientos a través de diversas charlas y masterclass en Berklee College of Music, Maxsine School en China, IE University, Fest Portugal, etc.

Carolina Antón

Mentoring Area: Live Sound Mixing & System optimization

Nationality : Mexican

Carolina Anton. Sound Engineer – FOH / Mon & Sound system engineer, with more than fifteen years of experience, has collaborated with distinguished artists and productions in more than twenty tours nationally and internationally; She has mixed for artists like Kool & The Gang, Gloria Gaynor, Natalia Lafourcade, Mon Laferte and Leon Larregui and working with some sound companies like 2hands production Services and Eighth Day Sound.

Carolina, is currently mixing in immersive sound formats. She is the co-founder of the company 3BH, which develops technological integration projects for post-production and music studios in Mexico and Latin America, and from 2016 began to represent the organization SoundGirls in Mexico, supporting women to become professional in the industry of live shows.

Carolina Anton Ingeniera de Sonido – Sistemas/FOH y Mon con más de quince años de experiencia, ha colaborado con artistas y producciones distinguidos en más de veinte tours a nivel nacional e internacional; Ha mezclado para artistas como Kool & The Gang, Gloria Gaynor, Natalia Lafourcade, Mon Laferte y Leon Larregui, ademas trabaja para compañías como 2hands production services y Eight Day Sound. Actualmente se encuentra realizando mezclas en formatos de sonido inmersivo.

Carolina es cofundadora de la empresa 3BH, que desarrolla proyectos de integración tecnológica para estudios de post-producción y música en México y Latinoamérica y a partir del 2016 comenzó a representar a la organización Soundgirls.org en México, apoyando a las mujeres a profesionalizarse en la industria del espectáculo.

Gabriella Galán

Mentoring Area: Sound reinforcement design

Nationality : Mexican

Gabriella Galán: She completed academic audio studies as a Telecommunications Engineer with a specialty in audio and video at the Polytechnic University of Madrid. She has been involved in professional audio for the past 12 years with a special emphasis on sound reinforcement design. She has participated in various sound reinforcement designs for the most important venues in various countries, such as theaters, churches, live shows, special events, sports venues, to name a few.

Gabriella Galán realizó estudios académicos de audio como Ingeniera en telecomunicaciones con la especialidad de audio y video en la Universidad Politécnica de Madrid. Ha estado involucrada en el audio profesional dentro de los últimos 12 años con un énfasis especial en el diseño de refuerzo sonoro. ella Ha participado en diversos diseños de refuerzo sonoro de los recintos más importantes de diversos países, tales como teatros, iglesias, shows en vivo, eventos especiales, recintos deportivos, por mencionar algunos.

Proof in Music

Anyone Who Says They Can’t Find Women to Work With Hasn’t Bothered Looking

Proof in Music a project of Jess Fenton a music producer, mix and recording engineer, launches today. A year and a half in the making, Proof in Music is another important platform to increase the visibility of women who are paving their own career paths behind the boards. The first season of 12 episodes shines a spotlight on women audio, mastering, mix engineers, and producers.

Jess says “there’s a lingering perception that women don’t do this kind of work or aren’t interested or that there’s so few of us – that’s simply not true. This series is proof that not only are there a ton of women paving their own career paths behind the boards, but they are all over the country and all at various stages in their careers.” Each episode features interviews, in-studio demonstrations, approach to their jobs, favorite production techniques, share their philosophies, and production choices. Jess says “It’s very technically-driven.”

Jess Fenton and Vira Byramji

The first season features

Ainjel Emme – Los Angeles – Music Producer
Lilian Blair – Seattle – Audio Engineer
Kia Shavon – Brooklyn – Mix Engineer
Raelynn Janicke – Nashville – Mastering Engineer
Hunjiya – Miami – Music Producer
Ashley and Amy of Crosspick Studios – Austin – Audio Engineers
Vira Byramji – New York City – Mix Engineer
Rebekah Wineman – New York City – Mastering Engineer
J’Nae Morrae – Washington DC – Music Producer
Lauren Evans – Memphis – Audio Engineer
Mackenzie Spear – Nashville – Mix Engineer
Anna Frick – Boulder – Mastering Engineer

Jess and Kia Shavon

Jess would like to point out how easy it was to find women to feature. “ I used The EQUAL Directory, posted to the SoundGirls Facebook group, searched hashtags on Instragram, and received so many referrals from other women in the business. Anyone who says they can’t find women to work with hasn’t bothered looking.” SoundGirls would like to thank Jess for utilizing our resources and hiring SoundGirls to work on this project and of course a huge congratulations to Jess.

Jess Fenton Interview

In just five short years Jess has made a huge impact in the audio world for women and herself. She works as a freelance mix and recording engineer and producer. She also records and edits podcasts, voice-overs, and audio advertisements. SoundGirls would like to thank Jess for this interview.

When did you discover audio as a career path?

Honestly, I didn’t know it was a career path that a woman could take. I spent a lot of time in recording studios as a teenager and throughout college (played in a bunch of bands), throughout all those visits I only came across one woman working in the studios. However, about five years ago, when my corporate 9-5 job was eliminated, I decided to turn my audio/music hobby into a full-time job.

How did you get interested in audio?

When I was 15, my guitar teacher suggested I get a 4-track to start recording at home. Somehow she knew I was going to love it. So I turned around and taught guitar for $5 a lesson for an entire year to save up to buy one. I’ve been hooked ever since.

Did music and audio interest you while you were growing up?

My mom is a guitar player and artist, she raised four musicians! So music was always present in the house. After she caught me sneaking her pristine 1970’s Yamaha acoustic guitar to teach myself chords, she gave me my first acoustic. After I bought my Fostex 4-track as a teen, it all came together, my love for music production was born.

Did you attend a University/College/Trade School

Yes, Virginia Commonwealth University and studied business. I graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree.

How did you get your start?

Craigslist. I put out an ad to mix songs for free so I could build my portfolio. I lucked out with an amazing female rapper who was so excited to work with a female mix engineer, she ended up hiring me to mix several of her songs. Building that portfolio plus a ton of networking helped jumpstart my freelancing in music and audio.

How did your early internships or jobs help build a foundation for where you are now?

Working in the corporate 9-5 world taught me how to navigate bullshit. After I left the 9-5 sector, I applied for a lot of internships but was rejected by all of them, mostly because I was an “older” woman not seeking college credit. I wasn’t what they wanted.

I did manage to land an informal “internship” though. When I lived in Berkeley CA, I contacted a bunch of smaller, local studios to see if I could sit on sessions, help, learn, etc. One (out of 6) said yes and let me re-rack their whole control room. I learned that instead of waiting for an opportunity to come to me, I needed to go out and create it. And that concept is very much a part of my everyday foundation.

What did you learn interning or on your early gigs?

When I re-racked the control room at the Berkeley studio, it was the first time I put my hands on the real deal, actual gear – UA1176 compressors, Neve preamps, Pultec EQs, and so much more. That moment was huge for me. The art of the signal chain suddenly made sense. Recording clicked.

Did you have a mentor or someone that really helped you?

I didn’t. Although I feel like I have 13 mentors after filming the Proof In Music series.

Career Now:

What is a typical day like?

I usually start my day recording or mixing a podcast. Then I move on to music projects, which could be composing original music for a podcast, or tracking guitars for a local artist I’m working with. Some days I’ll record, voice and edit audio ads (which is the most amusing gig!) Once the client work is done, I allow myself to work on something personal – for a long time it was the Proof videos.

How do you stay organized and focused?

I have a notebook for every client/project. That keeps it pretty organized. It’s easy for me to stay focused because I love what I do. However, when I lose motivation, I take a break and watch an episode of Gilmore Girls to reset my brain.

What do you enjoy the most about your job?

I love taking ideas, raw audio, sounds, voices, and turning them into a complete, polished, finished product. Every product is different so it never gets boring.

What do you like least?

When clients don’t want to invest in the absolute best audio quality. That kills me.

What is your favorite day off activity?

Baking! I love to bake bread, pizza dough, cinnamon rolls, dinner rolls…and more!

What are your long term goals

To continue working for myself. I’d like to continue the Proof series for as long as I can.

What if any obstacles or barriers have you faced?

It’s always an obstacle when people don’t believe that I’m the audio engineer in the room. Always have to work hard to overcome that initial perception and gain the trust of the client/guest/artists team.

How have you dealt with them?

I just stay professional, stay firm. I don’t let them see me sweat.

The advice you have for women and young women who wish to enter the field?

Create your own opportunities. Don’t wait for anyone, just go do what you want to do. If you find the path you took isn’t what you thought it was, don’t dwell on it, just go take another path. And never hesitate to ask for help.

Must have skills?

Thick skin.

Favorite gear?

I really love my Moog Subphatty right now along with my WA73+EQ preamp.

The SoundGirls Podcast – Jess Fenton: Proof in Music, Fostex 4 TRK, and Coffee

Find More Profiles on The Five Percent

Profiles of Women in Audio

Post-Production Mid-Pandemic – Boom Box Post

We recently received a request to write a post on how we’ve been dealing with the global pandemic. While I am a bit worried our audience may be exhausted by COVID-19 coverage, I think it’s important to share our experience at this time with one another. With that in mind, I hope this post brings some information your way about work from home workflows as well as our unique perspective as a boutique post-production studio dealing with the crisis. I’m also hoping it may spark some new conversation about how we are all working in a creative, collaborative field while isolated from one another. So let’s dive in!

Since starting the studio, Kate and I have tried to have as many editors work in-house as possible. We love having our team interacting with one another every day. Great for creativity, tough in this crisis. We had a challenge on our hands sending everyone home.

When it became very apparent that the COVID-19 crisis was getting serious (around mid-March) Kate and I started to formulate a plan to transform Boom Box Post into a remote studio over multiple phases; each phase triggered by differing levels of danger. Preparing for the worst (full stay at home orders) just in case. Oh what a simpler time!

CREATING A REMOTE STUDIO

Phase 1 – Sending our Editors HOME

I started by visiting every editor to audit what kind of equipment each had at home. Results ranged for fully able to work from home to having no gear at all. With this information, I was able to create an individual checklist for each staff member, down to the cables, of what they would be taking home from the studio.

At this point we decided to send all non-client-facing staff home for their own safety. It was a bit chaotic loading up cars with gear but everyone was in remarkably good spirits.

Phase 2 – Sending Our Client-Facing Staff HOME

Very quickly it became obvious that our clients were no longer going to be able to come by the studio for in-person reviews. In the span of 24 hours, we heard from all the major studios that staff would either be sent home or isolated to only their corporate workspaces. It was at this point we decided to send Brad Meyer, Lead Sound Editor and Tess Fournier, Supervising Sound Editor home as well. We also worked out a VPN remote control system for media management and were able to send Sam Busekrus our Assistant Editor/Office Manager home.

Phase 3 – Everybody Goes Home

On March 19th, California issued the “Safer at Home” order and it was time to send home the last holdouts (myself included). Having been over a decade since I worked from home, I needed to set up shop from scratch. My kids moved together into one room, my son’s former bedroom becoming my home studio. I packed up every piece of gear into my car, even a desk, and chair! The studio was officially empty as of Friday, March 20th.

After almost six years of building Boom Box Post from the ground up, this is something completely different.

Re-Recording mixer Jacob Cook and I still go in about once a week to mix alone on our stage. I have to be honest, going into an empty studio that was so vibrant only a month prior is very odd. With each room stripped of all gear, devoid of our amazing staff, it’s a shell of what it once was. Will we be able to bounce back just a quickly as we sent everyone home? For sure! But for now, it’s still very sad for me.

TECHNICAL SOLUTIONS

Getting everyone working at home was a challenge but even more importantly, we needed solutions that would work well for our clients. After all, we needed to show we could continue to do great work with client direction even in this new setting. After extensive testing, here are some of the strategies and tools we settled on. Note: we are in no way paid to endorse any products.

SyncSketch

The big hero of the pandemic for us has been the remote review platform SyncSketch. With this web-based program, we are able to upload client videos which can then be reviewed either individually or in sync as a team, leaving timecode specific notes tagged with the reviewer’s name. Once complete, notes can be downloaded as a PDF with thumbnails of the shots being referenced. It’s as simple as watching back a Quicktime but without the mess of typing out timecode and organizing them into an email thread. This alternative to attempting ‘live’ reviews over a video conferencing solution has proven to be the most effective since the quality and playback remain rock solid. All it requires is rendering our mixes to quicktime and setting up review timelines and deadlines with our clients. We have used SyncSketch for spotting and previewing sessions, ADR calling and final mix reviews. Best of all, SyncSketch employs the highest level of security, so clients know their data is safe. After introducing SyncSketch to our clients, a number of them implemented it internally for their own production use.

UPS Battery Backups

In the early days of the California “Safer at Home” declaration, I didn’t know what kind of access we would have to the office. Our server is the heart of our business, all media coming and going from this central location. I ran out to Best Buy and bought the two largest battery back up units in stock. Advertised as giving us about two full hours of power backup, I figured this could buy us some time in a power outage for this critical part of our infrastructure.

ETHERNET CABLE

Building CAT-5 cable is a very specific skill. Lucky for me, I wired multiple houses in college with ethernet (it was the early 2ooo’s and rental homes in Bloomington, Indiana weren’t coming pre-wired back then). As it turns out, home wifi isn’t necessarily going to cut it when our editors need the ability to download very large files in short time frames. I spent quite some time on the floor of my office creating very long custom cables (the biggest was 40 feet!) so that our team could wire up directly to their routers.

Zoom Conferencing

Zoom seems to have gotten the lock on conferencing for this crisis. And it’s no wonder why. In my testing, it’s clearly the most stable. When a session has required ‘face to face’ interaction, we’ve turned to Zoom.

Security

While we have the majority of our staff in the office, we did already have a few editors working from home. This proved very beneficial as we had already put in place stringent remote work security protocols which we simply had to apply to our new work from home staff.

In the midst of all our work from home prep, I was so proud of our team’s resilience that I tweeted about it. This caught the attention of Teresa Morrow, co-host of the Tonebenders podcast. They reached out to ask if we could participate in a roundtable discussion on how we were handling the crisis. You can listen to Kate and I recount our experience in detail in this surprisingly fun (given the subject matter) conversation.

COVID-19 has stretched the very idea of adversity in business for us. That said, I’m doing my best to focus on the positive here. Who knows what kind of efficiency changes will come out of this crisis? I’ve been keeping a running list of post-COVID to-dos, a lot of which are going to be improvements. I try very hard to be grateful, but I think this change of pace has still shown me how much we have in this studio and this incredibly talented team of sound pros. It’s easy to get caught up in the day to day operations and lose sight of the amazing work happening around us. I know that when we return to the office, things are going to be quite different. It’s my hope that I’ll appreciate our shared creativity even more once Boom Box Post is under one roof again.

Stay safe out there.

JEFF SHIFFMAN, CO-OWNER OF BOOM BOX POST

Post-Production Mid-Pandemic Part 2: Staying Connected

A couple of weeks ago, Jeff wrote a great post about our journey from an in-studio editorial and mix facility to an entirely work-from-home team with remote client services. He talked about all of the challenges of quickly pivoting our entire business model in the face of COVID, which was no small order. You can also hear more about that time if you listen to the Tonebenders COVID & the Sound Community Round Table that we took part of. They caught us mid-transition, and we were tired, overwhelmed, but so appreciative of our team’s ability to rise to any challenge.

But, now we’ve all moved on to a whole different phase of the pandemic: one where we’re fairly settled into our new normal and just waiting to see how long we stay here.

Our Business During COVID-19

We, at Boom Box Post, are among the lucky ones. Because we work in animation and our clients aren’t on set, our entire Los Angeles client-base was able to transition very quickly to work-from-home, thus keeping our operations alive and well. That is far from the case for our live-action counterparts. But, that doesn’t mean that we haven’t also seen changes in the amount and type of work that has come through our now-virtual door.

Unlike live-action, animation is often done overseas and then shipped back to an LA-based production company. A number of our television series are animated in China, India, Israel, and other countries that have undergone various degrees of government-mandated quarantines. Some of these companies were able to set up part of their staff to work effectively from home. But in most cases, workers do have the means to work from home, and schedules were delayed for as long as those closures persisted. In this way, our business is being greatly affected not just by US legislation, but by health concerns and political action across the world.

Additionally, on our series, all dialogue is recorded in a voice-over booth here in LA. With Safer at Home in place, currently, all sessions have been canceled. Some productions were able to quickly gear up to get all of their talent recording effectively at home–a very tall order considering that some of that talent consists of child actors who are not as tech-savvy as an adult professional voice actor. But others are making do with sub-par home recordings done in whatever fashion is possible, considering them scratch, and planning to record the real lines when we are all allowed back in the studio again (whenever that may be). Some series are mixing with scratch in place and planning to punch in at a later date. Others are holding off on mixing all together until all materials are available to avoid confusion in the post-COVID aftermath.

Whatever each crew has decided, none of it is simple, and none of it is consistent from series to series. So while we have been able to adapt amazingly well and continue our business in a way that few are lucky enough to do, it has been a struggle to keep up with all of the different needs, demands, and concerns depending on each unique client situation.

Great Things that Have Happened

On the upside, some amazing things have happened. Number one, I’m typing this blog post while sitting in my backyard, sipping iced tea, on a beautiful Los Angeles day. So really, how could I possibly complain about this? We’ve all had more time with family lately (um…. for better or worse. You know what I mean, fellow parents!!!). I haven’t eaten this many home-cooked meals for at least ten years. Maybe twenty, if we’re honest.

And we’ve proven yet again that we, at Boom Box Post, have the best staff in the biz. We have not received one single complaint through this whole transition–even a good-natured gripe during one of our Zoom Tipsy Tuesdays! So while I’m sure that everyone is tired of learning all this new technology (I feel like my head will explode if I’m asked to figure out one more remote playback solution or video conferencing platform), I think we’ve also learned so much in a very short time that will benefit our workflow in the future.

How We Are Staying Connected

Meet Roger, Tess’s new pup!

It’s hard to feel like we’re all part of a cohesive team while working in isolation. So, we’ve been trying hard to continue our usual team-building and social engagements. But, we’ve had to get creative in order to keep things fun!

We’re still organizing virtual team lunches from time to time when we watch each other slurp spaghetti and spoon leftover chili into our mouths while oohing and ahhing over how cute everyone’s cats and dogs are. I have to admit, the pets are a great addition.

We started a #recipes channel on Slack so we can share easy recipes that require few or very easily modified ingredient lists since grocery shopping can be hit or miss these days.

We goaded Tess into adopting a dog. The pressure was real. But she’s going to be an awesome dog mom, and I think we can all agree that those dog walks are clutch right now.

And, we’re still doing our Lunch & Learns and Tipsy Tuesdays via Zoom! They’re incredibly chaotic, but it’s cool to see everyone in their natural habitat. And it always reminds me how much I miss having a big, vibrant, talented team surrounding me all day.

Tips from Our Team in a Time of Turmoil

: Tim

: Jacob

: Brad

: Tess

: Sam

: Greg

: Natalia

: Kirsty

Because, as I mentioned, our team has been so amazing about not saying a peep about how COVID is affecting them, I decided to reach out to ask what their experience has been so far and if they have any tips on how to stay sane during this tough time. Here’s what they had to say!

What do you miss the most about the office?

Tim: I feel like everyone is going to say the thing they miss most about the office are the people. Which is true, I do miss seeing everyone’s face every day. But I think what I miss the most is our server. At-home internet just isn’t it and I miss being able to download large sessions in 2 seconds. I also miss the act of actually going into the office. My commute always turns into a karaoke session…

Jacob: I miss seeing my coworkers and eating lunch with them. I miss hearing about what is happening in all my friends’ lives and taking a relaxing break with them during the day.

Brad: I miss my full 5.1 rig. I currently only have the capabilities for stereo. However, I’m no stranger to cutting shows that get mixed in 5.1 in stereo, so it hasn’t been too hard to adapt.

Tess: I miss seeing everyone every day and catching up! Both coworkers and clients.

Sam: I would just say being around the whole team. Working at home can get lonely and boring not having others to talk to. I would say being able to socialize and going to other people’s rooms for a question or for whatever reason makes the time go by a lot faster. Another aspect is that it’s a change of scenery. Working from home is just the same thing over and over again. I hardly even know what day of the week it is anymore.

For you, what’s the best part of working from home?

Kirsty: For me, the best part of WFH is I don’t need to deal with traffic anymore. It’s great that there are only 20 feet from my working desk to my couch. But I also miss being able to communicate with people in the office. Now we have to type in Slack. I’d love to congratulate people in person for their promotion or pet adoption.

Natalia: Being able to have home-cooked meals! I like to cook so that’s a good thing about working from home, also I’m fostering so I get to spend much more time with the dog!

Tim: I adopted a cat a few months ago, so it’s been nice to spend all day with her. She is almost always on my lap or by my feet while I work. It’s also nice to be able to keep an eye on her and tell her to STOP SCRATCHING THE COUCH!

Tess: Honestly, not a huge fan of working from home. But I’m glad we’re all being safe!

Jacob: It is awesome to lose my commute. While I enjoy listening to my podcasts on the way to work, I enjoy using the extra time to cook breakfast and tidy up the house before I start working in the morning, not to mention the extra time with my wife after work.

Brad: Having my wife as a coworker!

Sam: There are a few major pros of working from home that I love. The first one being that I get to be around my dog all day so he does keep me somewhat entertained. The second one is not having to drive to work. Everyone knows LA traffic sucks so not having to deal with that is amazing. One other bonus is being able to wake up later. All I have to do is walk from my bed to the computer!

Do you have any hot WFH tips?

Natalia: Be organized, especially if you have different work projects going on. And also, have a dedicated space for work and don’t bring it into your personal space of the house. You need to create boundaries between work and downtime within the same home. Also, set a strict schedule for when to work, pretty much keep the same schedule as if you were going into the studio. If not, you’ll end up losing track of time that way. But also, don’t forget to stand up and take breaks from time to time!

Tim: I have made multiple quarantine playlists. Jamming out while I work helps keep my mind off the fact that I haven’t left the house in weeks. So if you’re someone who can focus while listening to music, I definitely recommend putting on some tunes!

Jacob: I like to set hourly benchmarks for myself when editing sound effects. I sort of did that before WFH, but I find it to be extra important now that I have all the distractions of my home close at hand. This way I always know where I am and where I should be in my work, and I’m never surprised if I am running behind at the end of the day.

Tess: Best WFH tip I have is to keep your regular schedule! I’ve found that to be tricky, but if I drift out for a day I’m much less productive than when I’m strict about my schedule.

Brad: Be conscious of the work time/home time divide. When there’s no clear cut end to your workday and you don’t have to leave work to go home, it’s hard to know when to stop for the day, which can lead to fatigue on your ears, eyes, and mind.

Sam: I think the most important thing for me is taking breaks away from the computer to not lose sanity. Exercising on my lunch break and going outside for a few minutes at a time throughout the day really does help me personally.

Do you want to share any fun internet time-wasters to brighten everyone’s day?

Greg: I play sudoku, solitaire, Tripeaks solitaire, and wordscapes. For websites, addictinggames.com is a classic for a multitude of quickplay games, mix.com is the updated version of stumbleupon. It’s now a browser add-on that you can just click the button and it takes you to a random page of your selected interests. Everything from games to photography, science and technology articles, comedic/satiric articles, etc. etc.

Also there’s this classic for a good throwback game every once in a while https://gold-miner-games.com/classic-gold-miner.htm

Tim: My friends and I have been playing skribbl.io over Facetime a lot. It’s basically Pictionary without the teams. I don’t like to share my wins.

Kate: If you’re having a hard time with the utter silence of working from home, you can use this office noise generator! Move the sliders to make just the right mix of chatty colleagues, aggressive typer next door, room tone, and that solidly 90’s printer technology that can screech louder than any banshee.

Jacob: I love the Youtube Channel Kittisaurus. Watching the cats get up to shenanigans is always a good laugh.

Part One of this Blog was written by JEFF SHIFFMAN, CO-OWNER OF BOOM BOX POST

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Post-Production Mid-Pandemic Part 2: Staying Connected

Our Business During COVID-19

Great Things that Have Happened

How We Are Staying Connected

Tips from Our Team in a Time of Turmoil

What do you miss the most about the office?

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