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Vanessa Silberman – Producer, Recording Engineer, Label Owner and Artist

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Vanessa and Benjamin Balcom. Minbal in Chicago

What is your specialty in music production?

I’m a good producer and at leading the ship or taking charge when needed but also that answer depends on the project because I wear a lot of hats. These hats can include co-writing &/or pre-production,  A&R, engineering, producing or mix engineer. Sometimes I’ll do everything for a project, in this day in age, I think all these ‘specialty hats’ are necessary & important to know.

It’s more important to me than to just be an expert at one. But if I can’t do a great job alone at something I’ll definitely bring in ‘specialty’ help with bigger things depending on the project. For example: setting up / getting drum sounds before recording I might bring in another engineer because there needs to be a lot of focus & attention on that so you make the best recording you can.

Ideally if you have a good budget you can fill all these specialty jobs with experts but more than often that is not the case with most projects these days, unless you’re dealing only with big budget projects. I make it point that I can do all of it if needed. Having done and knowing all these jobs gives you an accurate view of things and being a good assistant is one of the most important.

Are you independent or do you work for a company?

I am independent & also do work under my artist development label A Diamond Heart Production.

Give us a little background on what led you to working in music production?

I always wanted to be a producer and especially loved reading the credits in record art when I was younger. I started by first recording downloads of songs using a microphone and a tape recorder in the 90’s when the Internet first started. You could download rare songs through websites that record companies didn’t know about yet (through dial-up that would take about 12 to 24 hours) I’d then play them back through a speaker & record them through my tape player.

After that I moved onto to recording my own music through cassettes tapes and then later used a 4 track. Early on with my band Diamonds Under Fire I worked with some great producers, mixers & engineers but was never quite able to get the right sound that I wanted, and it was hard for me to verbalize that. Overtime I learned how to describe what I wanted and started self producing or collaborating.

I also came to the realization the first few years of being in a band that I had to learn how to do this myself (because there’s this particular sound I’m hearing that I have to achieve & I need to be able to communicate it). So I became pretty interested in the technical aspect and I taught myself (through trying things or researching) how to record over time until I got opportunities to learn from other recording people.

I always wanted to produce and record other bands as well as do A&R (as much as music) but was told by many that I had to pick one thing. I think doing one thing is not conducive to music in this day and age. I always jumped at any learning opportunities and took on several internships. For me internships turned into jobs and those jobs turned into more jobs. The journey ended where I wanted to be in production and continues to grow. You just have to stick to something if you really want to do it.

How did you get your start?

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Photo Credit – Todd Ingalls

I worked in the music business doing various jobs since about 2002 and established my band then. In 2006, I was in between touring, jobs and really wanted to learn more about recording. I went to recording school for about three days and dropped out. I said to myself that I could get a job at a studio. I just felt like the best experience I was going to get was actually from just doing it or being around it.

I got a job at a small studio called Wyman about a month later and worked there for a couple years. It was a small operation and I was doing everything from running websites, art and marketing, to marketing and scouting bands. I was able to assist and of course did food-coffee run. I learned to wear many hats and gained a lot of skills.

After Wyman, I worked at Conway Recording Studio as the front of house, greeting people and answering phone mainly. I thought I’d take a slight demotion for the opportunity to learn things at a big studio with the hopes that I might learn more of the recording process. While at Conway I met Dr. Luke, he offered me a job as his assistant / runner. I worked for him for about 2 1/2 years and learned a lot! He really opened my mind to hip hop & pop production which I love!

About couple years later, I got a very amazing opportunity at a great private studio where a Producer Engineer John Lousteau took me under his wing. John and I were recording some of my bands songs, he knew I had been meeting with different producers and A&Rs for jobs and he asked if I wanted to help him. I became the In-house assistant engineer at Studio 606. He really taught me everything about working on consoles and patching, to understand analog recording, signal flow and routing in big rooms & on large consoles etc. The studio manager and all the artists and bands who recorded there were very supportive and cool to me. I never ever was treated differently of felt disrespected because I was woman.

In 2012, I started recording non-stop and simultaneously booking shows and playing music. I started developing bands and from there started my own artist development label. I do everything from Production, Recording, Indie A&R, Art and booking.

I am so grateful and thankful to all the people who have given me opportunities. I feel very blessed to have had some of the experiences I have.

What are your long term goals?

To Continue building A Diamond Heart. Keep growing it with more recordings and producing more bands. Maybe A Diamond Heart studio or mobile studio.  To continue building A Diamond Heart. Keep growing it with more recordings and producing more bands. I’d love to do some recording projects and partner up with studios and labels in Asia and Europe. Ultimately I really just want to continue to help the world through music & reach as many people as possible. If I inspire one girl  to become a recording engineer I would be so happy!

What are your current projects?

I went to South Africa last year and worked on a collaboration producing and label project with Bop Recording Studio and their old label Tshukudu. I found a Motswako hip hop group there in Mafikeng called Hashone and recorded a single with (we are currently finishing mixing it). I can’t wait until people can hear it! That project is pretty close to my heart.

I have been working with a pop duo Bria & Crissy and we have been collaborating with a Atlanta producer Jon Nguyen. I am also really excited for this young punk rock Chicago band The Magnifers. I produced, recorded and mixed their new EP that’ll be coming out in the near future.

What if any obstacles or barriers have you faced?

I think choices mostly. This career path is like no other, so ‘risky’, unknown, with no guarantee…it’s so particular. If I wanted to do it and really make an impact I knew I would have to make very hard sacrifices. Choices on how and what I spend my time doing or even risking it all to do what your heart says. It can be so hard, but my love of music and the chance for changing the world and people in a positive way. Music saved me growing up. Bands changed my life. So whether I am producing, recording, helping another band or playing a song as an artist myself it doesn’t matter, it’s a vehicle that speaks to people in great volumes. Music helps people and changes the world. I made the right choice.

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

Go for it and don’t be afraid! Take risks and try stuff that is completely different. My advice in general is that music is the thing that connects us whether young or old. Take the time to make whatever you are working on the best it can be, while staying on deadline. Race or gender doesn’t determine skill. I worked around men for years and still do but sexism never ever really affected me. I have been supported and encouraged by all men I have worked with. I have toured the US (3 times this year) and have run into at least 15 female sound engineers. We’re out there.

Must have skills?

When you are producing or engineering make sure the artist is as comfortable as possible, so they can be completely open and give their best performance. Don’t try and change people but instead embrace what they do and who they are. Learn a few business skills.  It will  help! Trust me

Favorite gear?

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Vanessa at Minbal

Been using RE20’s on a lot of vocals. But if there’s time I’ll test out a few really different vocal mics to see what fits best on someone’s vocals. 1176 on vocals. Love Neumann mics! Satellite Amps, Epiphones and C414.  Any weird old or really nice vintage mics often are cool on vocals.

 

A Little Dab’ll Do Ya… Bringing a Corporate Mindset to the Music World

Despite the fact that we are in a creative business, I have found that a little dash of “corporate” goes a long way.

My mother is an MBA, and a wiz in the corporate world. While I was growing up, she would come home from one networking event or another and would tell me about the discussion topic of the night, who she met, etc. When I was older, she took me along with her to a couple of these events. It is from these experiences that I picked up a few techniques that have served me surprisingly well as a youngin’ coming up in this industry.

The first of which is the use of LinkedIn. You’d be surprised how useful this social media platform has been! It’s fairly simple: you create a profile, post some pictures, fill in your resume, and voila! LinkedIn profile. A lot of the older industry corporate bigwigs are on this platform (which you can find by searching the company they work for), and you now have immediate access to them. Start looking for groups and conversations that they’re creating or commenting on, and start participating in the discussions. The more you talk, the more views your profile will receive, and the more connections you will gain. I myself have connected and chatted with studio owners and assistants, other musicians, and radio DJs. Also found on the site are interesting and fascinating articles regarding the state of various aspects of the music industry, from the SoundCloud changes to the debate on whether record labels are still relevant. Lots of interesting perspectives, and a wealth of knowledge and connections, all at your fingertips.

Secondly, prepare for and learn how to network, and always be in “networking mode.” I always keep a stock of business cards on hand, whether it’s in my wallet, a cardholder, or just my pocket. You never know who you’re going to meet in your day-to-day life! As soon as you do exchange cards with someone, keep in mind that this whole industry is based on connection, so be sure to follow up with them via either email or phone as soon as possible. And definitely FOLLOW UP! It’s a rare thing for people to keep in contact, let alone show up, and just the initiative of sending off that little thank you note for meeting with you says wonders.

The bottom line is this: CONNECTION. Keep meeting with, and talking to, as many people as you can, and build relationships. Every time you meet with someone, don’t necessarily expect to come out of it with a new job or opportunity. Hope to come out of it with a new friendship, mentorship, or connection. Ask them about their life, their career moves, what benefitted them, what didn’t, etc. People love to talk about themselves, and 9 times out of 10 they’ll be happy to answer and help you out.

If you’d like to go more in-depth in your reading about networking tips, I have found this article to be extremely helpful: 20 Tips on Networking in Music Industry  

 

 

Preparing for the Start of the School Year – Staff Training

As the start of the school year approaches there are many things that need to happen before the first events take place at UWL. Checking racks and carts to make sure everything is working. Installing fresh projector lamps where needed, and finishing up the last of the cable repairs to name a few. The overall goal is to be prepared for the busy season, which is virtually the entire semester.

Working for the school many of my staff members leave for the summer and won’t touch a soundboard until they are back in the fall. Just like in elementary school with such a long summer break many items are forgotten and time has to be spent relearning the skills and procedures, and then start building on the new ones. In preparation, student employees are asked to come to campus a week early for 40 hours of staff training before classes and events start on opening weekend.

This week is vital to getting the team back into the tech regime as well as setting the tone for the entire season. This is the one and only week for the entire year when the pressure of events are off and time is more flexible to address issues and try new things. I find this week to be one of our most important as it sets the tone for the year as well as gets everyone back up to speed, making the year easier for me. I take full advantage of this week, and carefully pick and choose what we will do, to make the best of our time.

Here are the topics we will be covering and why.

Technology

We spend a lot of time on technology; it’s what we do, and what our clients need the most assistance with. I make sure we always spend time on our primary audio systems as well as the lighting systems. We work toward advancing the existing skills by doing drills and exercises that will push the staff’s limits. Substantial time is spent on any equipment pieces that are new.

This year the technology training is going to complete via solo activities. This is purposely designed due to having a fairly new staff and needing those students to gain independence. Seven different stations designed for each person to refresh and improve their skills. The goal is to get everyone to their next level in time for our new building. The stations this year focus on mixing, LED light, faster setups, house lighting, troubleshooting, and more.

Emergencies

We work through our emergency procedures twice a year, but fall is where we get really in-depth. We combine the 3 teams that are most likely to need to react in an emergency and work together to make sure everyone knows their role and responsibilities. We cover medical situations, building safety, fire, inclement weather, and active shooter situations. These students also receive AED/CPR training from a certified instructor as well as basic first aid.

Teamwork

Teamwork is important to me; I think it is vital to be able to work together to create a successful event. We spend time developing how we work together by doing different exercises to see how people react and open dialogue about strengths and weaknesses. I usually ask for someone else within my office to lead this training so an outside perspective can offer advice to increase the team’s cohesiveness. Then throughout training, we build on these activates that expand on teamwork as well as offer some fun and competitiveness.

Communication

stageI’ve talked about the importance of communication before and it will always remain a forefront topic during our training. There is a great deal of communication that takes place in the learning and planning modes. The importance of good communications increases during an event. The emphasis is on different types of communication and how good communication can improve the success of the team. Each year we try to raise the bar on how the team uses communications to work together. An example of this is if the team struggled to work through conflict communication in the last year, we’ll spend time on that. Other topics could include leadership communication, directional communication, or even body language.

Customer Service

Customer Service in production technology is a whole lot different than customer service in say retail or restaurants. The customer isn’t always right and sometimes we just have to say no to some of their desires. Here we work to empower the staff to be able to help as necessary, offer advice for logistics, the best use of the venue and technology. It’s important that we develop the skills to communicate clearly with the customer, and address issues in a friendly manner. We work through how to tell a customer they can’t do something due to safety concerns or time constraints, or equipment possibilities, solving problems in a way that works for all parties involved.

Team planning

staffFinally, we spend time team planning or visioning. Usually, over a meal, we talk about what the team looks like now and what they would like to look like in the future. We talk about what procedures are working and which aren’t. Overall, we come up with a vision for the group that includes improvements through the year that makes the team better by continuing to learn, grow, and change as needed. Vision is important to me. When the team is involved in creating the vision and goals for the year, they will be more engaged in putting forth the effort that is needed to reach those achievements.

To conclude, preparation is important for the start of the year. Training, communication, and planning gives us the foundation to come together as a well-performing team. It’s not a one-time thing; the opportunity to improve and learn is continual. Next year we will be in a new building with hundreds of updates, new demands, and a new outlook on how we work as a unit and a team. While my focus for the moment is on training the staff for this year, my subconscious is already working to anticipate what will need to be done to prepare for the next year, when we move into a new facility. There will be more space, more technology, shifting customer expectations, and more deliverables expected from the team. One thing I feel confident about is that we will continue to work with the core concepts of technology, teamwork, communication, customer service, and team planning.

PS: more on the new building to come soon!

 

Relocation Adventures

I recently took a huge risk. I took everything I had, packed as much as I could into my little white Volkswagen Beetle, and drove across three states from California to Texas. I had no job prospects, small savings (most of which went to fixing up my car), and no one with me except for Siri on my GPS. I did it because I knew that I couldn’t afford San Francisco, I didn’t want to be in Los Angeles or New York, and because I was eager to be a part of a music community again. As of the broadcast date of this blog, I will have been in Austin for three weeks, have been networking my tushy off, and have found a day job.

For me, this is the way I prefer to do things when it comes to relocation. I find somewhere I want to go, and then jump in headfirst. There’s nothing like fear as a motivator, and if you’re not willing to risk everything, then what’s the point, right?

Since so many of us will most likely relocate at least once or twice in our lives, I thought I’d share my process for moving to a new town.Relocating-for-Job

Step 1: Find a Place.

    There are several ways this can happen. You may get a job offer in a new town, or like me, you may just want to go somewhere new where the music is happening. Or hell, even just throw a dart on a map!

Step 2: Budget.

    If you’re not moving for a job offer, once you determine where you want to move, figure out how much your monthly expenses are going to be (rent, utilities, groceries, monthly record collection updates and gear buying, etc.), then start saving up enough for at least 4-6 months of “rainy weather” in that location. Now, this is just what I prefer (I like having a decent nest egg to start with, plus, if something like massive car repairs come up on the road, you have enough to cover it), but usually, 2-3 months of a nest egg is just fine.

Step 3: Reach Out.

    The super-cool advantage to being a part of SoundGirls… They’re EVERYWHERE! Reach out on the Facebook page, let them know where you’re going, and connect with some new friends! If you’re on LinkedIn, reach out on there, too! You never know who you’re gonna meet.

Step 4: Find a Place to Live.

    Go on Craigslist, Zillow, local listing websites, or reach out to friends and family you may have in the area. A lot of the time, larger cities will have a Facebook group dedicated to finding roommates or people to sublet.

Step 5: Breathe.

    In, out… It’s going to be great, it’s going to be fantastic, and if it’s not… well, nothing’s forever (repeat steps 1-3).

Step 6: Go.

    You’re gonna kill it.

Good Foundations – Part One

As a new monitor engineer, it can feel intimidating when the band turns up in front of you for the first time. Here’s a bunch of people who probably all know each other, who might be considerably older than you, and who all seem super-chilled and confident. And here’s you, about to play a major part in how they experience their gig, probably not knowing any of them and maybe feeling a little nervous. I’ve worked with a lot of different musicians in my 20+ years in the business, and in that time I’ve refined an ‘order of proceedings’ that has never let me down. Like so many things in live production, it mostly boils down to preparation, common sense and being methodical, and I’d like to share it with you in this two-part post.

This month we’ll look at the foundations you need to lay BEFORE you set eyes on your musos, and next month I’ll talk about how to proceed once you’re all in a room together and it’s time to make some noise. If you’re new to live work this should give you a good guide to getting started – and if you’ve been around the block a few times, I hope you’ll still find something of use here!

Step 1 – Get in Touch

So you’ve got a new gig – congratulations! Whilst it might be weeks or even months away, the work begins now – you need to get in touch with the people who can tell you the details. Depending on the scale of the show, that’s either the production manager, tour manager, PA company project manager, musical director or a member of the band. Good things to ask at this stage are the ‘W-H’ questions – who, what, where, when, how.

– Where do you need to be and when?

– Do you get to spec what gear you’d like, or are you using in-house?

– Where’s the gear coming from?

– How much prep / programming time is there, if any?

– How many people are in the band?

– What inputs are there?

– Do the band want in-ears, wedges, or a combination?

– Who’s mixing front of house?

And so on. Talking to the FOH engineer is a great idea at this stage – if they’re already working with the band, you can get most of the information you need about the stage set-up from them. If they’re new too, you can put your heads together and figure it out as a team. You need to think about what gear you want to use, and having one or two alternatives is a good idea – for example, I’ll always prefer a Digico, but a Yamaha PM5D is my second choice because you can get them anywhere in the world and they’re pretty much bomb-proof. And whilst I’d LIKE an SD7, I have to be sensible about budgets for artists with less money to spend – will an SD8, 9 or 10 do the job instead? For mics, I have my preferences but I’ll usually defer to the FOH engineer unless I feel strongly about something, because they have to cope with a far less controlled environment than I do.

Step 2 – Collate your info

When you have answers to your questions, start to get your paperwork together. It’s the dullest part of any gig, but being professional means being organised, and I promise you’ll thank yourself for it later! So make an input/output list if one doesn’t already exist, likewise a stage plot and spec (especially if you’re going places where you’re using local equipment) – Word and Excel are your friends. If you’re not sure what that all looks like, here are some examples: 

Example AUDIO RIDER – July 2016

Soundgirls example patch 2016

Soundgirls Stage plot example 2016

Be very clear and use the simplest, least ‘wordy’ language you can, especially if you’re going overseas. Think about little things like batteries – how many do you need per show? What about console software versions, which version will you be running? Don’t be shy about spec’ing things that might seem obvious, like comms and shout systems – the best gig in the world will fall over if you can’t communicate, and assumption is the mother of all f*** ups!

If there’s not much prep time, it’s a good idea to make yourself a template session file for your desk using the relevant offline editing software. Even if you just label and patch your inputs and outputs, punch in high pass filters, and set up some basic reverbs, it’s all-time saved on the day.

Step 3 – Share your info

Send your paperwork to the relevant people – FOH engineers, supply companies, production managers, house engineers (if you’re doing festivals for example). You need to know if there’s anything that can’t be supplied, any problems – it’s better to know now than find out later. Send that session file to the supply company or house engineer so they can load it up and linecheck the system. Print out a couple of copies of all the paperwork and have your session on a USB key. Get your toolkit together – if I’m doing a fly-gig where I can’t have my whole kit, I take a mini-kit with things I know I’ll need – black and white electrical tape, Sharpies, scissors, a Leatherman, RF scanner, multimeter, my in-ears, wipes and so on. If you’re prepping your gear, label everything to within an inch of its life – the simpler you can make things to set up, the quicker it will be – and labelling is priceless when things go wrong and you need to fault-find in a hurry.

Once you’ve done all that, you’re in good shape to load in and make some noise! Next month I’ll talk you through how I run things for soundchecking and getting the band’s mixes dialled in. Happy gigging!

A Teaching Guide to Monitors

This month we welcome a new Omani team member to our department. With only a few weeks left until the beginning of the season, we are focusing on desk training. In particular, programming for monitor engineering. This article can be used as a tried and tested teaching aid for those new to monitors.

We usually use our Digico SC9 or our Venue SC48 for monitors. This step-by-step guide can be used for any desk.

1. Get a copy of the rider. Check all the stage plans are clear and that you have enough information about who needs what mix and where. It is best to clear up any ambiguity at this stage so that your programming can be as ready as possible for when the band arrives. At the opera house, we always have a senior member of the department in charge of a show who is in communication with the visiting band. This can be an extremely difficult job as quite often English isn’t the first language of the visitors. We also have at least two members of the department assigned to the stage.

2. Use a template or set up a new show file to save your work to! Sounds obvious but during the season quick load-ins and outs can often mean that files are not saved accurately. We aim to back everything up to a USB stick too. Sometimes we may need to access files after a company has departed so this is important! Good practice is also crucial to our teaching objectives for the Omanisation programme.

3. If necessary ensure that the desk is set up in the correct configuration for inputs and outputs. Both our desks can be changed during programming but it is good to think these things through before you start. Using the stage plan and rider information, label all the inputs. Don’t forget the talk-back mic and FX returns. Check your gain structure and that all EQ’s are flat and compressors and gates are switched off. It is worth doing this now rather than trying to troubleshoot later.

4. Now label all the auxes. We like to add an extra two or three auxes for effects. Depending on the desk you will also need your own monitor aux – (cue).

5. Patching next. Depending on your set up check your desk patch. We have an optocore system so the desk is fed by madi. This should be nice and straightforward!

6. Now go back to your auxes. Referring to your rider you can feed a few inputs to mix auxes in preparation. For example, the drummer will probably want some kick in his sub. Less is best at this point.

7. Set up your FX auxes. We go for a couple of different reverbs. In most cases, the internal effects in the desks are quite ample. Sometimes bands ask for specific effects units. The set up is exactly the same procedure.

8. Use the FX return channels that you labeled on your inputs earlier. Remember not to send the FX back to itself (awful, awful feedback… just don’t do it).

9. Check and save!

Other things to consider:

– Digico (and other desks) have an iPad app so that you can control the desk remotely. This is useful after the soundcheck. You can walk around and make adjustments as the band are playing.

– In conjunction with this, consider having the monitor mix on a wireless belt-pack so that as you walk around you can solo mixes and actually hear what the musicians are hearing. This is especially useful to us when there is a language barrier! Up can surprisingly often be misconstrued as down!

– You might also want to insert a graphic EQ over each aux send. This will give you a bit of fine control if needed.

On the Go With Jessica Berg

Music has played a prominent role throughout Jessica Berg’s life. From an early age, she was often singing solos in choir and performing with her cousin’s bar band near the family cabin in northern Minnesota. At age 14, Jessica began playing guitar and writing songs with her best friend, one of which they recorded for a class project, and this began Jessica’s fascination with the world of audio technology.

In high school, she would often hang out at a friend’s recording studio, and another friend gave her a Tascam four-track cassette recorder. During her senior year, Jessica began performing at open mic nights and was featured as a solo artist on a local radio station’s weekly program, “MN Homegrown.” For Jessica’s high school graduation gift, her dad brought her to a studio in the mountains of Colorado to record a three-song demo. Soon after that, she joined a band and began performing around the Minneapolis-St. Paul area both as a solo artist and in bands, all the while practicing and learning the art of four-track recording.Jess Performing Early 2000s (Minneapolis, MN)

In 2002, Jessica decided to pursue her passion for audio and enrolled at The Institute of Production and Recording in Minneapolis, MN. Within her first year, she was offered a live sound gig working with Le Cirque Rouge Burlesque Cabaret Troupe. Jessica says, “Working with this group was the best way to cut my teeth in live sound. It was a theater-type crew, who rarely stuck to the script, and I was often working on crap gear that I had to make sound good. Sometimes I even ran lights. Everyone got paid off the door. It was awesome.” Working with the cabaret troupe led to another live sound gig working with Cuban jazz group Charanga Tropical. Both clients had shows regionally, so Jessica had the opportunity to work in a variety of situations with two very colorful and talented groups.

While still in audio school, Jessica began interning at A440 Studios, one of the last large studios operating in town and negotiated a paid assistant engineering gig for regional rock band Skywynd’s “Escape Plan” album. “The lead engineer had a young child at home so that he would leave every night around 5 or 6 and I’d take over. We were tracking to 2” tape and transferring into ProTools. I was in heaven,” she says.

Jessica also interned with legendary promoter Sue McLean, and would get paid work as a runner on her shows. Around this time, she also began running sound at The Dakota, one of the top 100 jazz clubs in the world. Jessica remained on the house audio crew until she moved to Los Angeles in late 2013. “It’s an international listening room – Meyer had tuned it, it was intimate, and many shows were so attentive you could hear a pin drop,” she says. “I’ll always love that room.”

Not long after graduating from audio school, Jessica would become the dub room engineer at a top voiceover studio, Voiceworks (now Audio Ruckus.) Since the studio operated nine to five weekdays, the owner offered up the keys, and Jessica would bring in her clients in during off-hours. She was also on the call list with the Local 13 IATSE stagehand union for a year or so.

In 2006, she became the full-time Concert & Events Coordinator for the Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board, running four outdoor venues with over 220 shows between Memorial Day and Labor Day, including large community festivals and other park events throughout the year. Jessica says, “I walked into a 122-year-old tradition that had been a bit neglected, and I was determined to help nurture and fix it. Gear was broken, figurative duct tape left everywhere, people were unhappy. I was given a file box with a stack of papers and a bag of keys, a Motorola phone, an office in a historical building, and told to ‘go’ – so I did.” Over the next three years, Jessica helped raised support from within the Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board, built a strong team of seasonal sound engineers, worked with local community groups to purchase new audio gear and introduced the concept of allowing Music in the Parks sponsorships to the organization’s Board of Commissioners.

During this time, Jessica also served as a board member of the Jackie Lee Robinson Foundation, who was one of the original founders of IPR, and in cooperation with the Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board and other professional audio companies, helped to start the Ideawerks recording studio educational program in the parks. The program is free for youths aged 12-17. After her third season of running the Music in the Parks, Jessica decided to move on. Today, the Minneapolis Music in the Parks program has never been stronger and brings joy to thousands of people every summer.

During her time in Minnesota, Jessica received certification in Festival and Event Management through the University of Minnesota Tourism Department and was introduced to the Head of Production for the WeFest and the 10K Lakes festivals in Detroit Lakes, MN. The WeFest is the largest camping and country music festival in the nation. Jessica would start out working as a stagehand and work her way up to the Backstage Production Assistant. She was in charge of backstage production parking and would run sound for the VIP area near the backstage area, post- main stage show. Jessica has continues to work these festivals and says “We are like a big family, and I have learned what it takes to run a huge, multi-act, multi-day show. It reminds me why I got into the business in the first place – I love that crew.”

Jessica would go on to work for IPR as an Academic Coordinator and become a founding member of the Twin Cities Mobile Jazz Project non-profit organization, bringing jazz music and education to youth into underserved communities throughout the local region. She would also return to school and receive a BS in Media Business. She never stops learning and seizes the opportunities presented to her.

As a graduation gift, one of Jessica’s closest friends in Los Angeles bought her a one-way plane ticket and offered her a place to live. “I knew I wanted to spread my wings and get out on the road more. I loved what I was doing in Minneapolis and the people I worked with, but it is the biggest small town you could ever be from. I figured I’d give it hell for two years and see what kind of magic I could stir up,” she says. So after breaking the news to her jobs and making sure they weren’t left high and dry, then releasing an album/love letter to her Minnesota life, giving away her furniture, and shipping a couple of pallets of boxes via Amtrak, Jessica flew to Los Angeles on Halloween in 2013. “It was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made,” she says. “As many wise mentors have shared – in this industry, if you either have a job or a place to live, you gotta make that leap.”

Soon after landing in Los Angeles, Jessica discovered SoundGirls while searching the term “sound girl” on the Internet. It was too much of a coincidence that she had started her website soundgirlproductions.com a year earlier, in honor of the endearing nickname given to her by fellow Dakota crew. Not only that, but Jessica had been involved with a few different “women in music” groups in Minneapolis, and she feels none had emphasized live sound in the way that SoundGirls.Org does. “I felt like I found my tribe,”

Quadron Tour 2015

Quadron Tour 2014

Jessica would check out the site almost daily and one day, a job post flew by on my Facebook feed. It read – “TM/FOH needed ASAP…” and included an email address. I responded right away and two hours later I was in a meeting at the Avalon in Hollywood, where an upcoming concert was in pre-production.

The woman hiring for the TM/FOH position brought me on as her PA for the Avalon show to see how we would work together. When the Avalon concert was over she said, “OK you’re hired, we’ve got a lot of stuff to do!” I was on the road as TM/FOH with Quadron less than a week later, opening for Mayer Hawthorne. It was a dream come true.”

That one gig has led to the next two-plus years of mostly touring work for Jessica, and the woman who originally hired her became a mentor. When she got back from the Quadron tour, Jessica worked as a Project Manager at Biz 3 (a publicity company) for about six months, while running sound at a couple of local LA clubs and doing one-offs working with her mentor.  Jessica applied and got on the call list with a stagehand company, which has led to a variety of different gigs throughout Southern California when she is off the road.

Dr. John

Dr. John

In late 2014, Jessica was offered a gig to be Dr. John’s tour manager during his US/UK Winter 2015 run. In the interim, Jessica accepted the gig of TM for Waka Flocka Flame. These two tours took up most of 2015, minus a six-week stint running monitors and working on the audio crew at the Maui Arts and Cultural Center.

After returning from Dr. John’s tour, Jessica knew she wanted to reconnect with the SoundGirls community and signed up for the group’s SSL Live Training at Rat Sound.  She is excited to be volunteering with a growing organization and community that is achieving its mission – to help empower the next generation of women in audio, expanding opportunities for girls and women in the audio and music production fields, and sharing resources and knowledge through cooperation, collaboration, and diversity. Jessica shares, “SoundGirls is truly a haven for women in our field. I feel so fortunate to have found our community. The supportive vibes and being able to relate to each other is huge. It also led to my first paid touring gig out of Los Angeles, which has led to pretty much all the other gigs I’ve had since I left Minneapolis!”

Saint Motel Tour Crew

Saint Motel Tour Crew

As of late, Jessica is continuing her professional adventures in the freelance TM/FOH/MON world, mainly as TM with Phoebe Ryan. She also works on audio crews with a few production companies when home in the Los Angeles area. While her career is a primary focus, Jessica said that this year she’d like to pick up her guitar a bit more, sing a little louder in the car, remember to take five-minute dance parties when needed, and help our SoundGirls.Org community continue to grow and evolve on a global scale.

What do you like best about touring?

Time and space seem to shift, and there’s a lot of magic that happens in that flow.  The key is to not resist it.  Touring reminds me to live in the moment and make ‘em count.  What I like best about touring is that I get to work on my feet, literally and figuratively – tapping into all my life skills, knowledge and intuition to help make some really cool stuff happen in the moment.  I’ve also met some amazing people while working on the road, and I’ve been fortunate to have worked alongside some incredibly talented industry professionals along the way.  As an engineer and musician, for me personally, there are no other jobs that allow for such an exercise of the heart and mind quite like the ones in the touring industry.  There is always something new to learn.

What do you like least?

Being on tour can feel like living in a bubble.  It’s important to stay connected to loved ones while on the road and take time for self-care.  Post-tour depression is a real thing.

What is your favorite day off activity?

TMs don’t really get days off.  I usually enjoy my off days playing catch-up on life and work, finding some healthy food, maybe get a mani/pedi, and taking a walk in some nature if I’m lucky.  Sleep!

What are your long-term goals?

Health, happiness and love 🙂  To keep learning and evolving.  To master the SD5 and do a stadium tour.  To help make a difference every day, no matter how big or small.    

What if any obstacles or barriers have you faced?

I’ve definitely felt the challenge of having to prove my worth as an engineer and tour manager – which, being highly competitive fields, felt more like an educational lesson than any kind of obstacle.  Either I was learning or I was teaching someone else.  I dug in, took initiative, asked questions, got up in there with the rest of ‘em, pulled my weight, sweat, smiled, and kept a positive attitude throughout.  Was it easy?  Hell no.  But it has absolutely been worth it.  The uncertainty of a sustainable career in the beginning of my journey was an obstacle of sorts as well, since everyone needs to eat and have a place to sleep at night.  

How have you dealt with them?

I eat obstacles for breakfast.  We wouldn’t be worth our salt as engineers if we didn’t.  Every day on the job we are faced with creative problem-solving situations and asked to find the solution.  Whatever perceived barriers or obstacles I’ve faced, I simply try to not put too much energy into the problem and instead focus on the solution.  In the beginning of my career I worked whatever jobs necessary to survive and kept a low overhead, so that I could work with good people and take advantage of industry opportunities to further my skills.  Perseverance, connecting with my network of supporters, and my belief in myself carried me through the tough days.  Same goes for tour managers.   

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

Do it!  It’s a life-long adventure.  Prepare to be in it for the long haul.  Be patient with yourself and ask lots of questions.  There are a significant amount of men in the industry who are supportive of women working in the field – don’t let the haters ruin it for all the good ones out there.  Embrace your gifts and talents and everything unique that you bring to the table.  Remember that women scientifically have better hearing than men.  You’ll have to passionately pursue your education, whether formally or in the real world because nobody is just going to hand it over.  Stay hungry.  Keep an open mind and explore all the possibilities.

Must have skills?

Must have skills include: a positive attitude, showing up on time, perseverance, having a solid understanding of signal flow, training your ear to hear different frequencies, time management, ability to take charge when needed, ability to troubleshoot technical issues, and/or find resources, remaining calm under pressure, and being able to maintain a professional demeanor.  I think working in the service industry is the best way to prepare for working in the field, as you learn almost all of these skills but especially how to work with different kinds of people.  Learn how to solder.

Favorite gear?

I’m admittedly not a gearhead, but I do love working on a large-format analog console.  Don’t get me wrong – flying around on a digital console has its own particular merits and brand of swagger.  However, having everything all laid out in front of me has a definite charm and feels like I’m working from a different place in my brain.  My other favorite gear would have to include the SM57 and SM58 microphones – because if you can’t do a show using only these microphones then, well, I don’t even know.  Sometimes that’s all you got to work with.  I love em for their strength and reliability.  An xlr sniffer/sender cable tester will become one of your best friends.  My favorite tour manager gear is my portable printer, hands down.        

 

Changing the Dread of the Annual Review

As a manager of 12 student staff members, it is part of my responsibility to conduct annual or semester reviews.  I see the value in reviews as it is an opportunity to connect with staff, have a one-on-one conversation without racing the clock to cover the event needs, and to talk about anything that may need to be further addressed.   However, I personally hate reviews.  I hate that it can be such a formal process where there always seems to be a buildup of anxiety before the meeting, and then in my case (when I have my own review) I have to fill out a form rating and justifying myself before I speak with my supervisor.  Reviews can be really nerve-racking and sometimes some of the information shared comes as a surprise.

When I first started as a manager I followed the standard review process I had experienced.  Send off the “rate yourself” form and schedule a meeting with the employee than go through the form myself and rate them. Let the anxiety build until the meeting occurs, discuss the differences in ratings, tell them what to fix, and call it a day.  Doesn’t sound too helpful, does it?  All someone really gets out of that is what I think differently from them (usually) about their work and then we go on about our business.  I also feel as though 80% of the time new information is shared at these meetings, which I also don’t like.

I think a review should be a time to touch base, continue conversations uninterrupted from the standard workday, have two-way communication about plans and ideas, further address issues (if needed), and best of all grant raises if you can. I think reviews should be positive and oriented toward improvements than negative with reprimands and surprise information. As a result, I decided to take a new approach with my staff members.  I threw out the “rate yourself” form, stopped asking if they thought they meet expectations or exceed them, and address issues as they occur instead of once a year or semester.

Instead, I decided to change the anxiety-filled meeting into a conversation about goals and planning. This way, I gain knowledge of where they are in achieving the goals they have set, provide my 2 cents on where I think they are, continue a conversation about something that hasn’t gone well, and – if I can afford it – offer a raise.  

As a side note, I include continuing the conversation about something that hasn’t gone well in the past, as I never want a negative topic to be a surprise.  If I see something an employee needs to change I tell them right then (if time permits), otherwise sometime that day. I never wait too long or let it be a surprise later on. That doesn’t do anyone any justice. Waiting 6 months to tell someone that they did something they shouldn’t only give them more time to continue the mistake and for it to become the norm.

I always start my review meetings touching base with the staff member, asking them how they are doing, what’s stressing them out most right now in life and/or at work, and opening the door so the employees can talk to me about anything they want to first. Then we move into goals. We will discuss progress on the goals they set for the semester reviewing their progress and discussing if the expectations have been met both by me and the employee. Then we move forward with setting new goals. Usually, I have staff members set three goals. I have found that three goals in a semester seem to be achievable and we can cover a wide range of enhancements within those three.  I strive for each staff member to have one skill-based goal (communication, leadership, etc.) one technology-based goal (mic placement, board techniques, etc.), and then one in any area they desire to improve.

We determine these goals together so we both can see developments where needed, but so we can also make sure the goals are achievable and lay the groundwork to do so.  We talk right then about how they plan to reach those goals and what I can do to help them.  It is also an opportunity to make a recurring issue a goal for improvement so everyone is on the same page.

Our next conversation is about raises. If I am allowed, I give raises based on their performance and their achievements of these goals. If I can’t give a raise we have a conversation of why so they know why no raise was given. I try to not keep everything a secret; secrets don’t help create a team environment.  

Finally, I open the floor to them. I ask them if they have anything else they would like to discuss or anything they want to bring to my attention or feel that I should change. Communication is a two-way street so for all of us to be a great team together. I believe that my employees should feel like they can talk to me about or ask me to change anything. Having open conversation helps to create a positive work environment and also allows for me to be transparent about what I am working with or up against. I can learn as much from them as they can from me so keeping communication open helps me improve and develop my management skills as well.

Overall, my philosophy with my employees is that I’m a stepping-stone to whatever they desire next from their careers.  My goal is to create an employee that is prepared, educated, and qualified for their next job. Now, their next job always means they leave the operation as I can only hire students so they always move forward, but I don’t think my philosophy would change if I worked somewhere where employees had indefinite terms. However, I would adjust my orientation of the next job being within the company instead of elsewhere. My point is this: change your review tactics if you are a manager in order to make it about goal setting and moving forward instead of each staff member’s personal Yelp review from someone who didn’t even ask the server for more ranch before bashing the company online).

Interview with Producer Sound Engineer Juno Black

Does continuing your education within audio guarantee your success? Of course, not, nothing is guaranteed. Will continuing in higher education give you some type of lead way? I’d like to think so. I was taught audio by my father at a young age. As I grew into this passion, I taught myself and continued to grow with the technology. I learned a lot of lessons through experience, failing, and trying different things.

Nothing is better than experience, that’s part of the reason I choose to attend Media Tech Institute when I relocated to Houston, TX. Media Tech provided an atmosphere not only where I could learn. But I could also apply what I’ve learned up until enrollment and actually get my hands dirty on industry-standard, state-of-the-art gear. Yes, I know many schools offer similar products and experiences, but Media Tech was the best option for me and my buck at the time. The facilities extended the opportunity to work with multiple DAW’s and analog consoles. After taking a tour of the school I knew right then it was the place I wanted to continue persisting in my passion.

Many times we hear the topics of continuing education and being well rounded. I’ve written an article on being a lifelong student myself. Everyone learns differently and at their own pace, which is fine. Because you’ll never know where you’ll end up with that knowledge. No matter what, it will take hard work, having the right knowledge, and utilizing that knowledge. Then you can harness different learning curves to help you climb up the ladder.

Juno Black 2I took some time out to chat with Juno Black. A woman who has been active in music, video, and film since 1996. Juno has expertise in production, engineering, live sound, and more. Juno was born and raised in Colombia and studied and majored in music performance at Universidad Javeriana.

She didn’t stop there. Juno went on to study computer science and then found herself at the Art Institute of New England to pursue music production and engineering. A prime example of gaining proper knowledge to start along a road to a career you desire. She continues to experience different opportunities and has invested in the growth of her own career from the beginning, which leads me right into my first question.

What’s your point of view on higher education within the audio world?   

When I first started there was only a handful of learning programs. Now there are many more options and curriculums, everything is much more, specialized. I feel a structured program can make it easier. It gives you a head start, but it is the experience and practice that is going to get you wherever you want to be.

Do you think the degrees you have earned played a major part in your growth within the industry?

Honesty, I feel the quality of your work and attitude is what creates growth. Having a degree helps in certain fields. But at the end of the day, we are problem solvers and people pay to make issues go away.

How have you managed to keep up with the rapid pace of technology?

It’s challenging. Reading trade magazines, going to conferences, and being a part of organizations like AES and Infocomm are vital.

Your career has been very diverse thus far. How have you built such a strong portfolio within so many different aspects of audio?

I have always been a curious person, I wanted to learn and feel how different aspects of the music industry felt to me. It was hard for me to decide what I was most comfortable doing as a job, so I kept saying yes to projects that presented an opportunity to do something new.

Leading to your current position at Media Tech Institute. – Austin, TX campus. Why did you go into education and what courses are you currently teaching?

I wanted to help people achieve a level of proficiency focusing on what is important. I was running into people in the field that graduated a program and didn’t know basic concepts. I remembered even though I had gone to school the most important lessons I learned in practice. Now I am teaching audio 101 and 401 live sound.

Have you always wanted to teach? What are some pros & cons?

I had been thinking about teaching for a while. It’s really rewarding, but it’s hard to maintain focus with so many career choices in the industry today. I also miss traveling sometimes. It’s funny because part of teaching’s advantages is being steady in one place.

What advice would you give to anyone looking to climb the ladder and reach greater opportunities in audio?

Observe and learn from people that are in the position you want to be in. Pay attention and be present. Learn the science and concepts behind the gear, however, is best for you. Gear is a tool like a hammer. The objective is to nail it. Regardless of what kind of hammer or how it’s built you need to nail it. Network, anticipate problems, take care of all gear, and keep clean organized cable boxes. In that order.

There are a million different ways to obtain the information you need

Sign up for Commercial Integrator Magazine or Live Sound Magazine. Each platform has something unique to offer and each subscription keeps you informed on the latest trends and technology being used in the industry.

Attend trade shows it’s a form of hands-on experience with all the training courses and demos of new gear being offered. Another reason to attend trade shows is the networking opportunities. You get to talk one on one with influencers, recruiters, and representatives from manufactures all over the world, which can lead to endless opportunities for career growth. As an engineer, producer, musician, and more. Juno utilized similar pieces of the puzzle to build her professional success.

Stay up to date on the latest technology. Sometimes it seems like once you learn one digital console the next generation is being released.

Attitude is a key factor that plays into your success, as Juno stated. Many of us have horror stories of working with an engineer or producer that may be difficult to get along with. Being able to work well with others and learning to communicate with one another will be strong assets to have when working on any production team. Word of mouth is just a powerful as social media, if not stronger. You want to have good working relationships not only for future references but for recurring work opportunities. You want your name as wells as your work to carry a good representation.

Juno Black is a woman I’ve followed in the industry. Seeing her work in many ways has inspired me. Being able to ask a few questions and tell a piece of her story has been an honor. We can create our dream job by capitalizing on opportunities, being present in every moment, and having the knowledge along with the experience to back everything up. Let knowledge and experience carry you to wherever you want to be. Having a balance between the two will come over time, follow your passion, and don’t be afraid to try new things. You don’t necessarily have to have a certification or a degree. But you must know how to obtain the knowledge you need to get the job done. You can get in touch with Juno by visiting her website Junoblack.com

Media Tech is a year-long program where you obtain an audio engineering certification. Audio 101 is the first step in the process, it covers the basics of audio and 401/live sound is the last course in the curriculum. With this opportunity, Juno is placed in a very strong position to create change and set every student up for success in the program. When I was enrolled in Media Tech my 101 teacher was my 401 teacher as well. I was able to build a relationship with my instructor. I knew his skill set and his experience which pushed me to ask questions and soak up everything I possibly could. He became more than just an instructor, he became a mentor to me.

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