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The Importance of Saying Yes

It is so important to stay open to new opportunities while building a career in audio. Saying yes will often lead to one of two realizations: this opportunity is right for me; I want to continue to do more of this work! Or, this is wrong for me; I now know what to avoid. Both are valuable lessons for shaping an ideal career. Working in music is a lifelong journey – undoubtedly it will be full of unexpected and unpredictable twists and turns, so finding joy in both outcomes has to become an important practice.

Landing a dream job does not happen overnight, and if it did, my guess is that it probably would not be that rewarding. One of the best pieces of advice I ever received after I graduated college was that during your early career it is often more important to learn about what you do not want to be doing rather than worrying about doing precisely what you want. As someone who recently transitioned into full-time freelance, I am always trying to strike a balance between doing what I am passionate and excited about, and doing what makes practical sense, which sometimes means taking on gigs that are less than ideal.

I have accepted a lot of gigs that have turned out to be not quite right for me. It can be an unfortunate part of the process of figuring things out but is also highly valuable. I can say with certainty that the reason I am now doing what I am doing is due to a series of saying yes to opportunities that have come my way. This has allowed me to narrow my scope and better understand the type of work I do not want to do, behaviors I will not accept, and how to be most efficient when dealing with new clients and projects.

Occasionally I will get asked to help out running FOH on a show or festival around town, and even though live sound is not a career path I want to explore, I always say yes. It would be really easy to peg myself as only a studio engineer and say no, but something positive always comes out of it. For one, I get to listen to music and likely see some friends. It is also a really easy and genuine way to meet people and talk about what I enjoy doing in the audio realm. From picking up a few gigs like this around town, I have been able to join bands and start recording projects, just because I was present and doing my job.

When I worked at Welcome to 1979 all of the opportunities that arose for me came from me being open to new challenges and saying yes to things. When I was hired as an intern, I was asked to work in the office part-time, which was not something I was interested in pursuing long-term. I was clear that I wanted to be an engineer, but I said yes because I wanted to learn something new, diversify my skill set, and become a valuable member of the team. Later on, I became an assistant, and after about a year of doing that I was asked to learn how to do vinyl mastering, and then, be the studio manager. I said yes to every opportunity because I was trusting in the process of figuring out my path. I was also trusting in the fact that my bosses probably saw something in me that I did not see in myself at the time. Through this process, I grew tremendously as an individual, gained critical technical skills, and walked away with a better understanding of what I wanted to pursue.

I would love to get to the point where I can be extremely selective about which gigs to take on and only work with my favorite artists. I hope I am on my way to that point, but I think it’s a long process of saying yes and staying open to opportunities, even ones I don’t feel ready for. My imposter syndrome can be extreme, but I have found that trusting in the timing of life helps me value myself and understand my worth. Either way, I know I will learn something in the process regardless of the outcome. The fun part is not knowing where one “yes” might lead!

 

Head of Sound for the First Time

Saying out loud that I no longer need a babysitter and that my skills do not need to be watched or checked over was a scary thing. But it was time and it the bravest and most worthwhile thing that I’ve done during my career.

That’s basically how I got the head of sound and FOH position for the largest music festival in Lithuania. The festival took place over four days, but the production team was working on it for over a month. During that time I’ve faced a bunch of outside and inner demons. I learned a lot about myself and got to know more about others.

I am the only SoundGirl in Lithuania that freelances for festivals and massive productions at the moment. To be honest, it is tough, but possible with the right attitude. Furthermore, here in Lithuania, all production roles are a little bit mixed up. While my role was FOH engineer, I was also performing job duties that typically a tour director, stage manager or production manager usually do.

After the news became public that I would be the head of sound for the festival, a weird thing happened. I never felt watched through magnifying glass that much in my life. Nobody got in my way, but I knew that a lot of people were waiting or hoping for me to screw up, and that became an extra motivation to kick ass. It was essential for me to become known in the local market as a sound engineer again as I had spent the last year in the United States honing my skills.

Technical side

Location scouting was fun. There is a weight limit in venues on every rigging point, and the number is so low that it is impossible to hang a sound system on one rigging point. It was a pain in the arse to explain exactly where I wanted the system to hang, and the riggers weren’t happy because it was a lot of extra work for them to rig the system. Sometimes I question why people choose certain professions if they are so unhappy when they are asked to do their job. After lengthy discussions, I got the system where I wanted it.

The weekend of the festival there were a lot of tours and other events, and it became an issue in securing the equipment for the festival.  We used a Meyer Sound Leopard four tops and three subs per side, UPJ’s for side fills, UMP’s for front fills, and 2x UPA’s for delays serving VIP lounge. Tuning the PA is not my strongest skillset, so I asked for help on that. For FOH I had Midas PRO2 which crashed on the last day of the second to the final performance. And PRO1 for monitors.

Dealing with performers

There were 25 performances during the festival, so that is 25 riders to review, 25 acts to work with and explain how the festival runs, making sure they understand that there were volume restrictions and that the performance could not be longer than x minutes. Then put it all together and communicate it to the production team.

Try to imagine doing that with no authority and when one-third of 25 conversations with performers start with a question ‘wait… who are you…?’. I was expecting this because for most of my career I was ‘Dovile who works with…’ at the best, and at the worst, a girl who works with…’. But I did it, and it was exhausting as hell.

My team

The people that worked with I have known since day one of my careers as a sound engineer. We have had good and bad times along the way. During the early days, they were curious about me because having a woman on the team was unusual, but they were friendly and shared their knowledge with me. When my skills improved and I was able to do the same work as they did I was put under pressure to work harder and sometimes I was given tasks that they knew I would not be able to figure out. All to say that I should be doing something else instead of being a sound engineer. Five years later and I’m still here.

If I try to describe relationships between us this time, the best description would be ‘cold as fuck’ or try to imagine a couple that just broke up and both behave as stubborn bitches too cool to have a mature conversation. Can you imagine working for four days with people that you know only saying ‘good morning’ and ‘see you tomorrow,’ not having a single joke in four days and on the intercom having only ‘input 13 – guitar’, ‘thank you’ type of conversations. That’s a bummer. Nonetheless, they did an incredible job on stage. No mistakes at all, every changeover went well, and every performance started right on time. Every one of my requests, from FOH position like ‘could you move that mic closer to a double bass,’ was fulfilled and not questioned. As long as the primary goal for all of us is to make the festival great is the priority. I don’t care about all the dramas and any of their feelings about having a woman on top of everything. We can be friends or not. Doesn’t matter.

Photo Credit Dainius Cepla

Off-topic related to a topic. We had six women volunteer to work the festival. For the most part, they were completing random tasks, but there were times when they were helping technical departments, setting up something, or being a runner for me. Some of them said that they want to work in sound for live shows and when I asked have they tried to contact local rental companies for an internship; I was shocked about what they said. The first and the only question that rental companies asked them was if they can lift and carry 50 kilos  (110pounds)!!!! That was the only reason why they were rejected by every single rental company. What the f**k…. I promise I’ll do better research on that.

In conclusion, today everything to me seems as it was an easy and fun ride through all the obstacles. It wasn’t. It took me four days to mentally leave the festival after it was over. Starting with riggers and their ‘no we can’t hang anything here,’ rental companies ‘nah, we don’t have gear,’ performers and their management ‘why are you asking for our rider, you should know our band, we’re famous…’ And the team ‘..’ I don’t even have an ironic sentence for that. LOL. I have done a lot of hard work to make the festival sound good, and the feeling when everything is running smoothly because of you is the best satisfaction ever. I didn’t know what I was about to do when I said that I could deal with everything that takes to be head of sound for a festival. I took a risk and had proved to myself that ‘Hell yeah, I’m pretty good at what I am doing and what others think doesn’t matter.

I wish every SoundGirl has enough support to be brave and feel invincible to stand for herself as well as face and deal with challenges slightly higher than the skills acquired at the moment.

Dovile Bindokaite is currently based and working as a freelance sound engineer in Lithuania. She has an MA degree of sound engineering and started working in sound in 2012. Since 2014, she has worked in various positions in live sound including FOH, monitor engineer, sound engineer for broadcasting, RF coordinator, backline tech, stage tech, stage manager. For the past year, she was part of an audio team at Schubert Systems Group (USA). She has experience working in theatre as a sound designer and recording studios as a recording engineer.

 

Recording a Four Piece Band Part 1

Last month I wrote about the importance of being an artist with a knowledge of what’s going on Behind the Board. This month I am starting a three-month themed blog about the process of recording a four-piece band.

For the first blog, I will be sharing how to pick out mics for (my favorite thing to capture) drums, the second blog will be all about guitars/bass, and the third will be about getting the icing on the cake during a vocal session.

Drums. The base of every song.

The very instrument that I may go as far as to say- determines the vibe of your song. For that very reason, I recommend getting your drums feeling good first. How do you do that you say? There isn’t a “correct” way of doing anything in recording. It’s a creative endeavor. There are NO right or wrong answers. So let me be clear, I am by no means telling you HOW to mic drums. I’m just going through the steps I have taken to get good drum sounds in the past. Of course, over time you will find your own ways to get tones you like as well.

The first step is pre-production. So, let’s assume you have already heard a demo of what you’re client is recording. This way you know how to create a plan of attack for the drum sound in the song. After that, your second step is organization. I always print out a mic sheet with columns for wall inputs, mics, preamps, EQ/compression, and Pro-Tools inputs.

Organization is always crucial when recording, but I would have to say MOST important when recording drums. There are (most of the time) several mics on the kit, some of which may require phantom (48v), some may not. Either way, you don’t want to accidentally send phantom to a microphone that doesn’t need it (aka, ribbons). Now when it comes to picking out mics, you can get VERY creative, so to avoid writing a three-page blog- I’m just going to go over a pretty simple setup, basically my “go-to” for good drums tones.

 

Instrument Mic Wall Input Pre-amp Compressor Eq Pro-Tools Input
Kick In D112 1 API 1 DBX 1
Kick Out Fet47 2 API 2 2
Snare T Sm57 3 API 3 Chandler Little Devil 3
Snare B Km84 4 API 4 4
Rack Tom V421 5 Vintech 1 5
Floor Tom V421 6 Vintech 2 6
H.H SM7B 7 TubeTech 1 7
O.H Hat Coles 8 Gamma 1 (shadow hills) 8
O.H Ride Coles 9 Gamma 2 (shadow hills) 9
Room L Royer 121 10 UA 610 Distressor 10
Room R Royer 121 11 UA 610 Distressor 11

 

I’m going to go through this mic sheet, and explain why I picked what for each part of the kit:

Kick in: I almost always use a D112. It’s a dynamic microphone that (depending on where you place it) can give you a nice punchy sound on the high end for your kick drum tone

Kick out: I chose a Fet 47. I did this because I’ve found if you place it a few inches back from the kick, it will pick up an excellent fat tone of the drum that fills out the bottom end of the kick very well

Snare top: I’m using an SM57 because this microphone is good at focusing on precisely what it is directed at- the snare. I don’t want to pick up too much of the cymbals that are around this mic, so any kind of dynamic microphone is almost always a good choice. Some people use crash guards. I recommend messing around with one, so you can see the difference it makes in how your snare sounds, and the overall effect it takes on the sound of the kit. The snare top is the only piece of the kit I used an outboard EQ on. I used the Little Devil EQ because I always, ALWAYS want to have a great fundamental and crack on the snare from the very beginning of recording the drums.

Snare Bottom:  I like to keep it simple with an SM57

Toms: I am fortunate enough to work out of a studio that has a vintage 421. On this mic sheet, I chose to use the vintage 421s on the rack and the floor, because in a perfect world- that’s what I would do! I chose the Vintechs for the toms because I want them to have a nice, clean tone. I’m not looking to add any color to the toms during tracking

High-hat: I am using an SM7B with the filter off. I chose this mic because I want a nice crisp tone for the high-hat. I am running this through the TubeTech, so that crisp tone is smoothed out by the tubes in this preamp

Overheads: I chose to use Coles. I love the Coles. They have this beautiful, dark sound to them that tends to smooth everything out in the BEST way. I ran these mics through the Shadow Hills to continue getting a warm tone for the overall image of the kit

Rooms: I chose the Royer 121. These are fantastic ribbon microphones. Like the Coles, they can also be a tad dark, but as a room mic on a drum kit- it’s quite lovely.

The bullet points you just read were mostly about why I picked each mic. These next bullet points will be about placement for these mics.

Kick in: I aim the kick mic inside the sound hole (if there is one), and go about halfway inside of the drum

Kick out: I mentioned previously I like to put the kick out a couple of inches away from the kick, so I can get that nice fat kick tone I am looking for to fill the bottom end

Snare top/snare bottom: when mic-ing a snare, you have to use your ears to find the correct placement. I can’t tell you exactly what to do because it’ll always be different for that very reason. What I can say is when you find that perfect spot, make sure you have good phase between your two snare mics after you’ve finished picking their positions

Toms: basically what I said about positioning the snare mics.

High-hat: I usually position this mic a couple of inches away from the center of the bell. The middle of from where the bell starts and the edge of the cymbal is a good spot

Overheads: Overheads aren’t as tricky as they may seem! The trick with overheads is finding good phase. What I do to get good phase is first I place the mics. I place the left mic above the snare and point it down at the snare. Now with the other mic, I just aim it a little past the drummers ride cymbal and point it down. Once the mics are roughly placed, I like to grab a mic cable, place one end on the middle of the snare, stretch it to the middle of one mic and then to the other. This is to check and see if they are both equal distances from the snare drum (because, phase).

Rooms: Room mics are where you can get creative. Sometimes I do a mono room; sometimes I’ll do a stereo room. In this case, I chose to do a stereo pair for the room. I like to place my room mics relatively high and a hefty few feet back from the kit

Like I said before, all of this is just my version of the basics of mic-ing a kit. There are no right or wrong ways. You don’t always have to have good phase. You don’t always have to use a dynamic mic on the snare. If it sounds good, hey- IT SOUNDS GOOD. Always trust your ear. Follow where your creativity flows. With that being said, I hope you enjoyed this month’s blog post. I had fun writing it. Feel free to use this mic setup or something similar next time you are recording drums, and if you want to send me your results- please do.

 

 

Delia Derbyshire – In Profile

Coventry is a city in the middle of England, known for the legend of Lady Godiva, the WWII blitz, and for many years it was an industrial boomtown and subsequently a ‘concrete jungle.’  It is my hometown, a place that has given us a diverse selection of musical greats over the years spanning from Ray King, The Specials, and Hazel O’Connor to The Primitives, and The Enemy.  Coventry was also the home of electronic composer Delia Derbyshire. Although I’ve had the pleasure of meeting, interviewing and performing in front of a number of this city’s musical giants, regrettably I never had the chance to meet Delia before her untimely passing in 2001.

Delia was a musical pioneer, a unique lady with a sharp sense of humour, humility, and an unbridled passion for creating.  The story of her contribution to the world has not taken up space as prominently as it should but is still quietly there nonetheless.  I’d like to turn up the volume and tell you a little about her life and work, and why she is an iconic woman in music, who in my opinion possessed all of the ‘cool points’.

Early life

Fifty years before I would come to exist and first set foot in my childhood home, the place of Delia’s childhood home lay just five streets away.  While I’m proud of where I come from, it is not a fancy area – it is one of honest, working-class roots. It’s still the kind of place today where earning the opportunity to study at Cambridge is an esteemed accomplishment only achieved by an exceptional minority.  Delia Derbyshire was exceptional: she graduated from Cambridge University with a degree in music and mathematics at a time when it was the most prestigious location for studying mathematics, and when only 1 in 10 students were women.

Upon graduating, Delia approached Decca Records for work in 1959 only to be told they didn’t employ women in the recording studio.  Heading to the BBC shortly after that in 1960, they were firm that they did not employ composers however Delia was hired as a studio assistant.  She cheekily referred to this as ‘infiltrating the system to do music.’ Later that year, she joined the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, a role that was traditionally only short-term, the reasoning of which was rumoured to prevent the onset of madness.  The Workshop provided sound design and music for a vast amount of TV and radio and was located in the mysterious room number 13, found at the end of a long corridor in Maida Vale studios.

The Radiophonic Workshop Years

Delia remained at the Radiophonic Workshop from 1960-73 and created her most iconic pieces in that time both freelance and for the BBC, the most well-known work being Derbyshire’s original Doctor Who arrangement.  The theme was commissioned in 1963 and had an amicable story relayed in Spinal Tap-like fashion by Derbyshire’s contemporaries of the time: composer Ron Grainer had given Delia not a full musical score but a scribbled idea on a sheet of the manuscript with vague directions that she interpreted perfectly.  His stunned reaction upon hearing the finished piece was to ask “Did I write that?!” to which Delia replied, “Most of it.” The original intention had been to hire and record a French band performing the piece on glass rims, however, the BBC budget was too tight, hence Delia was brought in.

It is worth noting that this period was before the synthesiser, and it may be useful to reflect on how incomprehensible it can be in our digitized lives to understand how Delia made electronic music in the mid-1960s.   She worked heavily with a Wobbulator (portmanteau of wobble and oscillator), which was a sine-wave oscillator that could be frequency modulated and is also called a ‘sweep generator.’ Delia made the sounds she used both painstakingly and organically by inventing, manipulating and shifting samples that she often created from scratch, and this was all captured on reels of tape.  For the Doctor Who theme, Delia used three layers and three tape machines at once for the final recording. Each note in the piece had to be individually cut and placed onto the tape reel. It is no wonder that all who knew her concurred that Delia was undoubtedly a perfectionist.

Whilst the Doctor Who theme has become her most famously known work; it came with its difficulties.  The BBC had a longstanding policy of anonymity for the staff in the Radiophonic Workshop, and even when composer Ron Grainer wished to split the writing percentages and give Derbyshire credit, the corporation refused.  Other creatives Delia had composed for made similarly fruitless acknowledgment requests. Years later, the BBC subsequently changed their rules on anonymity but declined to do it retrospectively. Delia got nothing for Doctor Who. Interestingly, the source of annoyance with the theme for Derbyshire was the number of times new producers at the BBC wanted to revamp it over the years. She was very vocal about her views and disapproved of all ‘tarted up’ versions other than Peter Howell’s.

The Swinging Sixties

Aside from her BBC work, the 60s were a most fruitful time for Delia’s solo creations, and she also collaborated in several electronic band projects including ‘White Noise’ and ‘Unit Delta Plus.’  These works blurred the pre-existing lines of genre and broke many moulds in their experimental nature. Delia and her peers were highly influential and pivotal in shaping the music scene at this time: her ‘Unit Delta Plus’ bandmate Peter Zinovieff had a studio in Putney where Delia would often work which was known as EMS – Electronic Music Studios, and this was equipped with Zinovieff’s pioneering VCS3 synthesiser. Derbyshire believed in the generosity of knowledge and wanted to share her techniques and new discoveries with others. Some of the most quintessentially 1960s stories and sounds resulted from her remarkable contribution by the end of the decade.

Delia was approached by Paul McCartney who requested she arrange a backing track for “Yesterday,” and he soon came in person to listen to some of her work at EMS.  Shrouded in secrecy, Delia was then involved in the somewhat fabled electronic Beatles piece “Carnival of Light,” a legendary experimental track, which was played once and is now impossible to find.  In a rare interview, she comically recalled “I did a film soundtrack for Yoko Ono. While she slept on my floor”, and the occasion when Brian Jones visited the Radiophonic Workshop and played with hand-tuned oscillators “as though he could play it as a musical instrument!”  Delia was also responsible for bundling Pink Floyd into a taxi to EMS after the band visited her at the workshop to introduce them to Peter Zinovieff and his famous VCS3 – see “Dark Side of the Moon” for the outcome of that.

Creative process

 

Delia’s methods for composing are thought-provoking to me: she looked at music very mathematically and often assigned ideas to pitch and frequency with a meaning in mind, her starting point always being the Greek harmonic series.  Being classically trained to a professional level pianist as a young woman meant that Delia’s music theory provided a solid knowledge of the rules in order to break them, her written notes highlighting this quirky combination with the use of graphic scores and colloquial musical and technical directions.  She believed the way we perceive sound should have dominance over any theory or mathematical working. Delia herself cited childhood experiences as the earliest influences on her interest in electronic sounds, notably the ‘air raid’ and ‘all clear’ sirens she had become accustomed to hearing as a young girl during World War II that had piqued her interest in sound waves.  I find it fascinating how such a combination of experiences can be a catalyst for such innovation and creation.

After the Workshop

Delia left the BBC in 1973 and is quoted as saying, “The world went out of tune with itself,” which is quite a heavy statement.  She felt electronic music, and the common usage of synthesisers had changed music for the worse – it wasn’t organic enough as she always wanted to physically get inside equipment.  It’s hard to know if her statement was borne from a reluctance to embrace the changing times and methods of making music, or perhaps how this had affected her role at the BBC, whom she openly blasted for being “ran by accountants” and “expecting her to compromise her integrity.”

Personally, I fear there may have been a sadness in Delia at this point, as she turned her back on working in music after leaving the BBC, taking on various non-musical jobs.  She wrote lots privately, however never recorded, released or collaborated in the same way as she had in the 60s. Delia described herself as a utopian who believed freedom of creativity was more important than getting work, and I believe her. Perhaps the many years of blatant sexism, lack of credit, and working long through the night after everyone else had left were no longer sustainable if, in addition, her creative process was now being micromanaged.

Thankfully, by the mid-90s, Delia felt music was returning to it’s “pure” state and during the last years of her life Pete Kember a.k.a. Sonic Boom made contact with her by searching the Coventry phone book, eventually putting Delia in touch with the current generation of musicians she had inspired.  He even persuaded her to collaborate, and she is credited as adviser/co-producer on two EAR albums, as well as co-writer with Kember on the track ‘Synchrondipity Machine’. Delia and Kember thought very highly of one another, and shortly before her death, she said “working with people like Sonic Boom on pure electronic music has re-invigorated me.  Now without the constraints of doing ‘applied music,’ my mind can fly free and pick up where I left off.” It is bittersweet that the collaboration came so close to the time of her passing after all the silent years she’d endured.

Delia’s legacy

Her partner Clive discovered Delia’s back catalogue of tapes spanning her career after her death.  The collection had been kept in the attic, stored neatly in cereal boxes, although time had not been kind to the labels that had once documented almost 300 reels of tape. A project to restore and archive the collection was undertaken by Mark Ayres, Dr. David Butler, and Brian Hodgson, and the complete collection now resides at The John Rylands Library at The University of Manchester and can be viewed by anyone upon appointment.  The last work in the archive is a cue for an unmade film from 1980, donated by filmmaker Elizabeth Kosmian. Delia’s fascinating graphic scores and workings are also included as well as digitised sonic versions of her archived works.

Delia’s legacy lives on physically in The University of Manchester archive, and their associated organisation entitled “Delia Derbyshire Day” (DD Day) which offers events and activities promoting the art of British electronic music and history via the archive and works of Delia Derbyshire.  For an interactive and family-friendly experience, Delia has a charming permanent spot of residence at The Coventry Music Museum. Online, there is wikidelia.net, delia-derbyshire.org, deliaderbyshireday.com, and of course, the many music download and streaming platforms on which Delia is still a presence.

Delia was a complex woman, one with oodles of personality and a sense of humour that shone through in the few rare interviews she did. Her friends and colleagues unanimously described her as an incredible planner, intelligent, analytical, fiery, and an eccentric genius. An enigma.  She remembered, “Directors who came to see me work used to say ‘you must be an ardent feminist’ – I think I was a post-feminist before feminism was invented!  I did rebel. I did a lot of things I was told not to do.”

Delia Derbyshire lived a fascinating life, and I wish I could have met her, to learn and understand more about her work and her mind.  I’d be interested to uncover her thoughts on the 5% of women currently working in audio in 2019 and compare notes on the things that have changed so much, and the things that haven’t changed nearly enough. One thing’s for sure – if we ever discover the secrets to make time travel via Tardis possible, you’ll know where and when to find me.

 

How to produce a Tri-Lingual Radio Show

When deciding to create my student radio show, I knew it would be different from the majority of others. I wanted to do a one-hour evening show, with a range of music genres and for it to be presented in a mixture of English, French, and Spanish. Thus, Sobremesa was born.

The technique I used to plan my show was introduced to me by Chris Sawyer (BBC Radio 1 producer) at the Student Radio Association conference (SRACon) in 2015. Chris explained that using a pie chart image to prepare a radio show is a simple and effective technique. It splits the show into separate timings and allows you to appropriately plan an adequate number of songs and features. You can divide the pie chart into as many different sections as necessary.

For example, a standard one-hour show would consist of the news being played on the hour, followed by an ident specific to my show. I would then play an energetic, well-known song to lift listeners’ moods. I would introduce myself and the topics to be covered and some of the artists to be played, followed by some international music. Various idents and promos would be played throughout the show, advertising the station and other programs. I had many features, including one called ‘Concertation’ in which I would discuss in French a live concert I had seen and rate it out of 10. The chats and features were organised into segments of 20 minutes in English, 20 minutes in French and 20 minutes in Spanish. This was adapted depending on guests and my general confidence for a specific language on the day! There would be a handover and a news bulletin at the end of the show.

I would plan the playlist the day before my live show. Checking lyrics for profanity and offensive language, especially in languages other than English was key. Song length variations also had to be meticulously noted to be able to have enough time for a hand-over at the end of the show. Often when switching between languages and genres of music, seamless transitions can seem impossible. It is also challenging to contribute to the consistency of a radio station when the shows are so different. However, I think this adds diversity and interest when there are many shows with different themes. For example, a Tuesday evening on XpressionFM went from a country music show to a language-based program, to the Tuesday Night Sports panel. This considerable variation certainly made for an exciting Tuesday evening on Exeter’s student radio.

I mixed up my languages many times on air, forgetting a word in one language, therefore trying to say it in another. I found that explaining my faults, laughing off errors and reiterating that I am not bilingual made the show welcoming, friendly and encouraged others to practice their language skills. I learnt how to change and adapt conversations based on the language level and experience of guests.

Planning ahead was incredibly important. You can’t make up content for a radio show on the spot, or you can, but it’s much harder! This format tested my language skills, and one of the reasons I chose to produce and present a multi-lingual show was to practice speaking French and Spanish in a more fun and exciting way. Lots of students at Exeter study languages, therefore it is appealing to listeners, and I love discovering new music in languages I both do and don’t speak

I tried to find new music each week, asking friends for recommendations, talking with international students, using YouTube and researching soundtracks from European TV shows. I also played music from Spotify playlists and new album releases. The genres ranged from old school classics to throwbacks, to feel-good music and I alternated between male and female artists. This was not a huge focus, but a general rule followed at the BBC is to alternate voices and sounds. If I ever found myself playing four boybands in a row…I knew I needed to change it up

 

WHERE ELSE TO FIND ME:

 

Bitch Boss vs Boss Bitch

Bitch Boss

The first time I was responsible for a big project, I messed up. Big time. I was tired and working two full-time jobs. The crew were volunteers; it was film school. I was a graduate supporting the production as a producer, production manager, catering, transportation, landlord, and a million other things. There was a lot of pressure to make it work. I completely lost it with the cast & crew one day when the mother of a child actor found a fresh roach (not the bug common to Florida) on set. Things were very tense after that, and no one had a positive experience on that shoot. I learned the hard way how to handle situations on set, but the damage was done.

Being called a bitch is hard. I’ve been called that name many times by my mother, by crew members, by supervisors, students, boyfriends, etc. Notable versions include: “stupid white bitch” and “low key bitch,” the latter is still a joke at work. It’s a default (read: lazy) response when a woman behaves in a way that makes someone else uncomfortable.

Self-reflection has led me to better understand my reactions and behavior. Was I making the other person uncomfortable purposefully? Was that comment snarky or rude? Yes, that person might have been a raging dick, but does that mean I need to match that behavior to make a point? The answer is no. Sometimes we lose our cool, I have been there, I will probably be there again. I’m a redhead; I’m feisty, I’m not nice. Does that make me a good supervisor? Absolutely not. We all need to be held accountable for our behavior, especially on the job. We are all pieces of a puzzle; we work together to make a bigger picture. There is not a situation where it is acceptable to be demeaning, patronizing, or harmful to another person. That’s not who we are, and it’s not what we would allow others to behave toward us.

“All people should be treated equitably and respectfully, regardless of their various identities. No matter how acclaimed, revered, or supported one’s art or one’s level of authority is, no one is above being held accountable.” -We Have Voice Collective 

Boss Bitch

I look up to women who take no shit with grace. Confidence and respect are key. A Boss Bitch is confident, respectful, and assertive. This is the crucial difference between bitch boss and boss bitch: respecting others. We do not need to put others down to reach our ambitions. Remember there is a difference between being nice and being respectful. I’m not suggesting that we need to be nice to not be called names. Respect and positivity are the paths to success, empowering yourself and those around you. Easier said than done. This is my personal struggle every day, the choice to use my voice for positivity, to have a goal to be better. As an educator, I strive to be a role model for my students, to show them rather than just tell them what’s right or wrong.

Some people find confident, independent women intimidating. Good. Often women in male-dominated industries have to work harder to get to the same place as their counterparts. Many of my friends are Boss Bitches. They worked hard in their education and career, and they have confidence that I envy.  Their career satisfaction is based on their achievements, not the perception of others.

“Bitch is a derogatory term; we shouldn’t use it at all.” Of course, it is, of course, it is inappropriate. I’m not suggesting that it is acceptable to refer to anyone in such a way. Bullies who patronize and demean others are out there; we may be guilty of it ourselves at times. Feelings of positivity and community are not often part of our industry, as we always seem to be competing against each other. This is detrimental to us as workers, as teammates, and as humans. It’s our responsibility as role models, leaders, educators, to be the better person. To demonstrate how we expect others to behave on the job. We can be tough, knowledgeable, experienced, snarky, and still be great leaders.

“It appears that where #BitchBoss is clearly an indication of frustration #BossBitch is a term of endearment. Isn’t language fun?

It’s like racquetball! For your mouth!” – Chris Traeger, Parks and Recreation

 

Interview with Engineer & Producer Missy Thangs

Missy Thangs is an engineer, producer, songwriter, and keyboardist based in Raleigh, North Carolina. Thangs is currently a house engineer and producer at The Fidelitorium, an amazing and unique studio (complete with guest house!) located in Kernersville, NC, about 90 miles west of Raleigh. Throughout her career, Missy has had the opportunity to work with bands like The Avett Brothers, Ex Hex, Ian McLagan (Small Faces), The Tills, Las Rosas, and Skemäta. Thangs has been a prominent member of the Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill (aka The Triangle) music community since the early 2000s, having performed with The Love Language, Toddlers, No One Mind, and Birds of Avalon. Missy has helped shape the sound coming out of the region not only through her songwriting and musicianship abilities but also from the sound she has crafted in production roles.

What first opened you up to the idea of becoming a recording engineer?

I grew up around pop music; my dad is a pop music freak. He had thousands of CDs and records and was way into MTV when it first came out. There was always music on, and my dad’s happiness was sort of funneled through music, so it was such a part of growing up. He was my informer. He was playing everything from Weird Al Yankovic, to DEVO, to Bowie, to Melissa Etheridge — non-discriminating. If it was a good song, had a good melody, and sounded good, he was all about it, and I think I got a lot of that from him.

I think on a real deep psychological level I’m trying to recreate that feeling. Hearing and making sounds that are exciting and make you feel really good. Often those sounds are big and colorful or raw; those are the things that stand out in my memory. So, it wasn’t listening to music from the perspective of how it was recorded; it was more the way music made me feel that got me into the recording aspect of it.

I hadn’t considered recording as a career until I was in college. I was studying meteorology and French at UNC Asheville and looking for something more. I came across the Recording Arts Program, and I remember looking at the course catalog and feeling like it resonated with me. I was like, “What have I been doing?” I want to be in music, and I want to record music, and so I just jumped into that program.

What was your program like at school at that time? Were you learning ProTools at all?

The program was really small; I was the only woman in my graduating class of 25. We started out on an old Tascam 24-track tape machine and an ADAT machine; then we got the first ProTools in maybe 2000 or 2001, which was the start of working on DAWs for me. As soon as we got ProTools, I was like, “Great!” I didn’t use tape or ADAT at all after that. I instantly felt familiar with and comfortable on the computer.

At that point, had you recorded at all as a musician in the studio, or did you just dive in once you started school?

No, it wasn’t until after I was in the program that I started meeting a lot of other musicians. I started playing in a band called Piedmont Charisma, and that was when I had my first recording experience as a musician. We recorded at a super small space in downtown Asheville. It wasn’t around for very much longer after we recorded there. This was before Echo Mountain was in town and there wasn’t much in terms of recording studios. In school we went to a CD processing plant, we got to visit Bob Moog before he passed away, and we went to a voice-over recording studio, but I hadn’t seen a real sexy recording environment ever, and I was like, “What am I going to do?”

It makes sense that you decided to pursue music for a while if you didn’t quite have the resources to jump into something immediately.

That’s right. I was self-taught in recording up until college, and I didn’t have a really strong relationship with any of my professors, so I was kind of on my own, trying to figure out how to get good sounds and how to run a session. I had some friends and colleagues I had made along the way to bounce ideas off of, but I wish I had sought a mentor or someone to talk to. The idea never really crossed my mind.

You moved to the Triangle after school and gradually started playing in more and more bands, and as your career took off, you had the opportunity to record in bigger studios. Was there anything that you took away from your time as a musician in the studio at that time that you think about now when you’re engineering?

Definitely. My abilities to empathize with how the musicians feel and how to anticipate their needs are tuned in, and I think that is everything. For example, I can understand the feeling of having a bad headphone mix, an inner-band conflict, or not being able to get the right take. My past experiences inform the way I handle all those things.

I think it’s so important to be a recording engineer and also be on the other side of the glass. Sometimes you forget what it’s like to get that nervous feeling while in the band; everyone’s staring at you from the other room, waiting for you to get the right take. It’s a good reminder of how to be while you’re leading a session and how to treat the people you’re working with.

Making a record with people is such a vulnerable experience. It’s so essential for the vibe to be dialed in and everyone to be as close to the same page as possible.

Yeah, everything about this job is about people and vibe. When you are working with a group of people or one artist you are constantly picking up cues on their mood and working with that information and trying to get the best out of them. That’s so much of our job! From bringing people a cup of tea or telling everybody to take a break. There’s a lot going on behind the scenes, but the musicians don’t need to know that; it’s not what they’re there for.

You work with a lot of bands at the Fidelitorium doing live-tracking sessions, do you think this is due to your experience of the music you listened to growing up or the bands you’ve played in, is it the nature of the studio, or a combination?

The community that I live in and play in is so intermingled. Everyone is in everyone else’s bands and supports each other, and a lot of people in this community are just here playing music because it’s our lives and it’s what we want to do. My network has sort of facilitated my sound in a way. A lot of people that I’m working with I know personally, and we’ve only got three days, and it’s a five-piece band, and they have a small budget, so we have to make it work. What’s happened as a result of it is that I’ve sort of cultivated this sound for fast-moving sessions. It’s like; you’ve got to track live because we don’t have time to do it any other way!

Then again, the studio does play into that because The Fidelitorium has a large, wonderful sounding room and you can get easily full band in there. There are also a ton of opportunities for isolation so you can get everybody in the space comfortably. It allows me to work quickly when I need to.

What’s happening to me is that my friends, or friends of friends, are hearing a record I did and are reaching out and saying, “Hey I like what you did with this band, we want that sound.” And the way I got that sound was with a quick turnaround live-tracking session. I’ve dabbled in lots of different genres and recording styles, but that’s sort of what I’m doing right now.

It seems like work has been consistently finding you then, which is a positive thing! Do you ever find yourself having to look for work or grow your network in that way? What is that process like for you?

I’m pretty shy; it’s really a lot of word of mouth. There have been one or two bands that I’ve gone up to and been like, “I want to record your band!” But, word of mouth is really everything. A lot of my clients come to me because they’ve heard really great things about other friends’ experiences, and their friends come to me and take a chance with me. It’s really humbling, and a lot of times I can’t believe it. I’ve been really lucky so far, at some point I think I’m going to have to step out of my comfort zone and figure out how to reach new people!

You are now a house engineer at the Fidelitorium, owned by musician and engineer Mitch Easter (REM, Game Theory, Let’s Active). Are you alone a lot in the studio or do you have opportunities where you’re learning directly from Mitch?     

Mitch has been my one true mentor. He took me in when I was really down on the industry and taught me what he knows and let me go. I go to him often with questions, and he usually Mr. Miyagi’s me, but every once in a while he offers me some direct advice. I want him to tell me all his deepest mixing secrets, but he’s like, “Who cares? Do your thing!”

I like that idea a lot. I read another article with you where you mention something along the lines of, “the bolder the color, the bolder stroke, the better… there’s no rule in the book.” Can you talk about how this philosophy informs your approach in the studio?

I’m always game for chance or making decisions based on how I feel, versus what’s technically correct. I try not to overthink things, and I’m not afraid to mess up. I think that’s the foundation of where I sit. Being fearless. I want to turn a head. I want people to hear the music from these bands I’m working with and be like “WHAT is that?!” And I think part of that is making bold sounds and being dangerous. It’s not always easy to do, but that’s what I’m striving for.

What should we be paying attention to that you’ve just finished working on? What are your goals for the year?

Well, my main goal for this year is to get back into the studio after having a baby!

A pretty big deal, haha.

I’ve got a lot of cool projects on the horizon! There’s a really talented woman named Reese McHenry I’ve been working with; her record will be out in April. I’ve also been working with this band called Pie Face Girls for a few years that are getting ready to return to the studio to finish a record. And another band I’m going to be recording in May. I’m really excited about – just stay tuned for that, haha.

I’ve worked with many groups with all guys over the years, and I’m finally working with more and more women, and I love it; it’s a nice change of pace. I love everybody I’ve worked with, and I try not to think about it either way, but I have noticed this year that I’m working with more women in the studio and it’s been a really good corner to turn!

What advice do you have for any new or up-and-coming engineers?

Get out there, play in bands, go to shows, and immerse yourself in your musical community! Collect as much gear as you can. Get inside of getting sounds, being experimental, and not being afraid to mess up. Hit up your friends and start asking to record people. I feel like that’s basic knowledge, but it’s an important reminder!

Connect with Missy:

 

Making a Case For Audio School

Why I Think It’s a Good Idea.

It’s the time of year for application deadlines and acceptance letters. I have noticed a lot of discussions lately about whether it is worthwhile to enroll in school for audio engineering.

Institutionalized education can be a great way for many people to learn and while there are many audio schools to choose from, it can be overwhelming to figure out which one may be right for you. These are my unendorsed opinions on why I think you can benefit from an education in audio engineering.

Schools tend to publish their graduate job percentages as a tool to gain prospective students’ interest.  Follow some easy tips that may help you to look beyond those numbers and find out what a good audio school can really offer you.

Facilities:

A good audio school can help connect students with current and widely used technology. They will offer hands-on training in the most common DAWs (digital audio workstations) and other software, mixing consoles, outboard gear, microphones – you name it. Look for a school that provides use of and education in the most current versions of these tools.

Curriculum:

It could be argued that you can learn the same, if not more, from independent sources than simply from attending post secondary school. If you consider yourself highly motivated there is a plethora of information available online for learning new skills, refresher courses and tools to advance beyond ‘beginner’. However, what a good audio program can provide is a curriculum specifically designed to help you understand both the technical and the professional intricacies of a career in audio.  Some programs may be more specific than others (ie: music production vs. audio post) and If you are unsure of where exactly your interests lie within the audio industry, look for a program that offers a broad curriculum. Gaining knowledge over many subjects will help you find the one that you are most passionate about.

Internships:

Internships are arguably the best way for a less experienced person to find their way into the industry. Most of the time, these internships are unpaid, though recently there has been legislation put in place to oppose unpaid internships. One workaround for businesses to utilize unpaid internships is if they are part of an educational curriculum. Therefore, finding a school that requires an internship as a part of their program may help a student get that foot in the door. Of course, there are some businesses that will offer an internship regardless of education and there are some that will even offer paid internships. Also, a program that requires a co-op or internship will often have aides in place to help support the student, prepare their resumes and even help them find and apply for a work placement so consider that to be a great bonus!

Staff:

The program professors have been selectively picked by the institution for their expertise and experience. Most often, those professors are still active in the industry outside of teaching. Opening a window to the industry is definitely a perk for students in audio school. Your professors will be able to share the most useful information to ensure student success after school. They may also offer connections to their own industry contacts, which can prove to be highly valuable when you are entering the workforce.

Networking:

Apart from your professors, there is another group of people who you will be able to add to your network connections:  your classmates! Making strong connections with your classmates is great while in school, but even more amazing when they become your peers in the industry. There is no telling what benefits will come from these relationships.

Not all schools are created equal. I hope this information gives you the tools to begin your search for the right audio program. There are many resources on the Soundgirls website to help you on this journey as well – whether you decide on institutionalized education or not.

School is not for everyone. Some people are successful at learning on their own, some are not financially able to afford post-secondary education. There are many successful folks in the industry without a degree or diploma in audio. Knowledge is key to working in the industry but so is your drive and attitude. If you want to succeed, be a good person, have a good work ethic and never stop learning

 

Knowing your Limitations

As we are still at the beginning of the new year, it is now we should look at those new year’s resolutions that we made, our dreams that we want to become real and the goals we would like to achieve.

It is the time to evaluate what we need to get on with, to achieve our dreams and our goals. It is time to take a good hard look at yourself and your knowledge, time management, and work-life to see what can be improved.

Knowing your limitations is a good start for example; what is limiting your chances to achieve your goals? What does it take to get from point A to point B?

What do you lack to get to where you want to be?

Say you want to become the most celebrated pianist in the world, what does it take to get there? Take a look at your practising routine, are you putting in enough hours to become the greatest pianist in the world? Are you utilising your own time in the best way possible to be the most effective when practising? Are you already the greatest pianist in the world but no one knows it? Well perhaps then less time needs to be spent in front of the piano and more time in front of people networking.

This applies to any industry; if we want to improve we need to face the hard fact that we have limitations and flaws. We will always have weaknesses but that does not mean that we can not work on them and improve.

Give yourself some honest and constructive feedback, but do not talk down to yourself. Do not be upset with yourself because you are not getting something straight away. It is hard to admit your weaknesses to yourself, but we have to do it if we want to improve.

Do you know where point B is?

It is easier to follow a route if you know your destination. It is easy to get sidetracked if you do not have a north star to guide you and to keep you motivated. Want to work on a big festival stage? Absolutely, but maybe that big festival is point C.

So you start working at your local one-day festival. You can not get to point C if you have not been going through point A and B first.

The ability to achieve something is only limited by a lack of knowledge. You need to study to improve your understanding, but then you need to put that study into practice.

There is only so much you can learn in a safe and comfortable environment. You have to put yourself outside your comfort zone to improve and to learn from real life experiences. It is so important to be able to work under pressure and to find opportunities to fine-tune your skills.

As well as knowing your limitations, you will need to learn and respect your strengths. For some, not acknowledging your strengths is a weakness. You have got to be confident in your knowledge, you have to tell yourself ‘You know what, this is what I am good at’ and use that to your advantage and balance it out with your weaknesses.

If you struggle to see your weaknesses and strengths then ask a good friend; what are my strengths? In what areas do I need to improve? Be open to feedback from others as they see you in a different light than you do. Being open to critique can be incredibly difficult for some, but it will help you to be able to improve your skills.

Now is the perfect time to sit down and write it all down. Aim high but be realistic, some goals might not happen this year, but that does not mean it will not happen in the future. However, getting to know your limitations will put you on the right path towards your dreams and goals.

 

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