Week 1: You had me at... - Posted on 2017-06-17 by Jim Battles

First mentoring session with Dave Chale at Dead Bird Studios. Very laid back personality, but sharp with his knowledge of tech. I thought the age and generational difference between us might be an issue, because, let's face it, I'm an old fart. Not so much. This is the second studio I interviewed with before starting instruction. The first one didn't offer the hands-on factor that this school stakes its reputation on. While chatting with Dave he told how he was explaining to someone what he did. The person asked, "what kid of beats do you produce?" to which he replied, "I record music."

You had me at I record music. I think we'll get along fine.

The studio itself is not flashy or super-corporate. It has a down-and-dirty vibe. I think that will serve well as I believe this will be a "let's find a way to make this work" kind of experience. They are in a process of building a new control room. This should be fun to watch over the course of this summer, and get some ideas for future riggings of my own. 

We went over some basic signal flow and board functions. He also introduced me to the stable of microphones in the equipment closet. Lots of model names and numbers that have nowhere to stick in my mind at the moment. Experience will give them a place to plug in. Brain overload when he started showing me ProTools. Definitely a lot to process and learn before I could ask him some more intelligent questions.