IARadio was launched in 2006 and it is presently broadcast throughout the school and on our IARecords website. Station Manager David Tardy noted that, “We only play student, alumni, and faculty tracks and mixes.” This exclusive programming creates a special opportunity for students who want to DJ, to have their own shows where they play music of their choice and apply the audio engineering skills they’re learning at IAR. The experience allows students to be as creative as they like, conducting interviews, creating podcasts for new IAR events, plugging bands and artists and websites, and voicing opinions on industry issues.
IAR’s newest radio show is titled BIG BOMB SAKE. Created by IAR student Pat Paolangeli, the concept is to broadcast a different style of music during each show. Pat is focusing on the production of BIG BOMB SAKE rather than becoming a radio voice. “It’s just me figuring out how to put a radio show together and using ProTools. Hopefully it will bring a little new flavor to IARadio.” Pat is always looking for new student music to play so, if you have material you would like to submit to the show, contact him or David, or try to catch them in the IARadio production booth near the 4th floor student lounge.
David wants to challenge students to use applications they’re learning in classes, such as ProTools, to edit the ‘um’s and ‘ah’s out of an interview to make the broadcast crisp and professional.
If you would like to have a show on IARadio, contact David in the 4th floor production booth.
The Museum of Sound Recording (MOSR), located in New York City, is a one-of-a-kind organization whose purpose is to spread, inform, teach, and expand the world of audio recording and the role of the audio engineer. MOSR is closely linked to IAR through the key role played there by IAR instructor Dan Gaydos.
MOSR had a booth at the 123rd Audio Engineering Society Show last October at the Javits Center. The AES show is a robust annual exhibition for audio experts and is the setting for many activities, manufacturer booths, seminars, and networking opportunities. MOSR’s booth, in particular, was a special experience for IAR students. In it were vintage and historical audio equipment, and IAR students conducted recording sessions using the classic gear. The booth was created to have fun with audio, demonstrate the fundamentals of recording, and teach visitors where today’s latest and greatest gear originated. IAR students manned the booth, spoke with attendees about the pieces of equipment and the Museum, and had the opportunity to get hands-on experience with instruments as well as record using processes from decades ago.
IAR students provided logistical support at the MOSR booth including set-up, refurbishing and prepping the gear, and tear-down. The experience gave the students the chance to develop a variety of necessary communication and technological skills at the largest audio convention of industry professionals. Dan Gaydos oversaw the student involvement and said, “The students got extremely involved with promoting the Museum, walking the show floor, and networking and making contacts in the industry.”
Before students left for the Thanksgiving holiday break, they received a cornucopia of interesting information covering the subject of New York City’s Broadway theatre industry. IAR faculty member Chris Neuner delivered a presentation that not only gave students a basic understanding of the Broadway environment but also an in-depth look at the business behind it. Chris used his own experiences and original musicals as the example the students analyzed from beginning to end. The first production he detailed was small and started in his hometown in Wisconsin. He brought the students through the history of the play as it was optioned by theatrical producers in New York City. He remarked that, “It’s a for-profit business that rarely profits, and the production is in debt until years after the doors open. Because of this, creating a production and raising the necessary finances becomes one of the most challenging tasks.”
Chris’s second example was a musical satire titled Infertility, The Musical That’s Hard to Conceive. Unlike the first play, this production ultimately was mounted off-Broadway. Chris discussed the intricacies of fund raising, publicity and reviews, representation with a lawyer, a producer, and a general manager, and working with organized labor. He also expressed the need to look at it as a business as well as a work of art. Every production on- or off-Broadway is a ‘company’ or business, and each requires a mapped-out financial plan of cost, profit, and liability. Each also requires a production schedule to take it from the infant stage through release and then hopefully touring and licensing to film. Chris provided a realistic view of behind-the-set activities on productions which people from around the globe come to the Big Apple to enjoy.
The “Mixtape Awards” company was started in 1995 by Orpheous “Justo” Faison to distribute annual awards recognizing the accomplishments of popular DJs and artists in Hip Hop. Recently, The Mixtape Awards also started monthly panel discussions, which are open and free for the public, on music-related topics. The first such panel was held at New York University, and the second was at IAR on November 14th, the subject of which was “Can the Music Industry Survive without the DJ?” IAR and the Mixtape Awards are partnering to have regular panel discussions at IAR, with the next one scheduled for January 2008.
The panelists for the November 14th event were Dru Ha from Cornerstone Promotions and Duck Down Records, Nigil Mack from Motown Universal Records and Sugar Water Recordings, and DJ Jaunito and DJ Chela. The moderator posed a number of relevant questions, provoking dialogue and debate among the featured guests and the audience. Those attending had the opportunity to hear opinions and learn from successful businessmen as well as active professional DJs on issues such as the Internet’s effect on the DJ, the relationships between the DJ and both the label and the consumer, and the historical progression of the DJ. The night was highly informative for aspiring artists and DJs as well as music lovers in the audience. A surprise guest arrived during the event, legendary DJ S&S, who transfixed the audience and panel with a wealth of information from his experiences as well as advice for emerging DJs. He commented on the influence and power the DJ holds in terms of music and its distribution in the community and in the radio and club environments, “Sell it on the streets and in the clubs, and radio will follow; then you can say, ‘I broke that.’” IAR was pleased to host the first of several Mixtape Awards discussion panels to be held at the school for students and the public.
On the first of November, 2007, IAR held its Audio For Picture (AFP) Awards Festival, open to students in their last quarter at IAR, when they have the Audio Post Production class. Entrants selected a segment of video and took out the original audio. They then had to replace the audio with original work including music, sound FX, foley, and dialog. Participating students collaborated on projects and worked as teams to add character voices and share ideas. Final submissions were judged, screened, and awarded at the event. Pizza, popcorn, and beverages greeted the spectators as they entered the room. Every seat was filled, and every bit of standing room was taken, with students and faculty spilling out into the hallway.
The projects were classified into three areas, based on length: Short Format, Medium Format, and Long Format. The video segments the students chose were incredibly diverse and ranged from popular current movies such as 300 and Blood Diamond to unexpected movies such as Big Trouble in Little China and Kung Fu Hustle. Also used were the animated movie Street Fighter, a Sony Playstation television commercial, and a parody of the A-Team television show with IAR instructors in the lead roles.
The entertaining event was a perfect ‘send-off’ to those students who had just graduated IAR the day prior. Staff member Nell Gwynn, who hosts the AFP events, announced the winners and remarked, “In the single year we’ve been hosting this event, the quality has skyrocketed.”
Click here to see the list of winners.
Jason Wexler, a 2004 IAR graduate, is a Promotions Assistant at New York City’s radio station 103.5KTU. The adult contemporary station KTU and its sister stations Z100 and Power 105.1, owned by Clear Channel Communications, provide Jason with the exciting task of hosting and DJing radio events all over the Tri-State area. These include contests, parties at local live music venues, live remote broadcasts, and many other events. Because of his education at IAR, Jason was able to tackle activities confidently and successfully, such as live remote broadcasts, speaking live on radio, and creating spot breaks. His performance impressed KTU, and local venues now request his presence at KTU events.
Prior to attending IAR, Jason was actively producing his own music and started his own production company, E&J Music, but grew frustrated with his limited understanding of the necessary software and hardware. He wanted to produce on a professional level which sparked him to enroll at IAR.
Jason’s experience and education at IAR has greatly helped him in his career. Recalling his first few days at IAR, he said, “At first I dreaded carrying around that tool kit with me on the PATH train. I thought the school was all about making beats and engineering, but I was also learning how to actually make the equipment I’m using today in the studios!” When it was time for graduation, IAR’s Career Placement department helped him secure a position at Atlantic Records and at KTU, where he is today. He made positive impressions in both positions and created a network of friends and colleagues, assisting his efforts to promote his music to up-and-coming artists at E&J.
On Thursday, October 25th, 2007 three recent IAR graduates participated in an Alumni Panel discussion with current students. The focus of the discussion was to provide current students with insight and advice from past students who currently work in the music industry. The three graduates were: Kate Dohaney, Music Producer at Siblings Music (featured in October 2007 TRACKS), Sean Carolan, Editor at Project 35 Film Productions, and Shawn O’Connor, Music Instructor at Charlie Choo Choo and Talent Sprouts.
The night’s discussion was led by Georgia Dobson, who teaches the Industry Practicum (IP) course and also works in IAR’s Graduate Placement office. IP is for students nearing graduation and covers building an audio resume, techniques of job search, and tips for successful interviewing and on-the-job success.
Each panelist has taken a different career path since IAR, and the experiences they have had demonstrate both the diverse opportunities that exist after school as well as the need for students to be open-minded about career focus. As Shawn O’Connor put it, “As a student at IAR, all I wanted to do was live sound and I never thought I’d be teaching music to elementary school students. But I love it and, at the same time, I’m still looking into work in live sound.”
The majority of the students attending the event were approaching graduation and had many questions about what to expect and how to prepare for internships. Each panel member received his/her first position through IAR’s career services department and all of them stressed the need to be active and use the school’s resources. They talked about how to conduct oneself in an interview and on the job. Sean Carolan told the students that he took his first internship knowing full well that he would be unpaid and that it would be temporary but that the in-depth experience and the high-profile clientele and industry exposure were valuable and worthwhile. Because of that first internship and the skills and experience he developed, he was hired at his current employer as a professional audio and video editor. The students received the benefit of wisdom and recommendations from graduates who, just months earlier, were in the same shoes. After the discussion, the students were given the chance to meet the panel members one-on-one, and many seized the opportunity to exchange contact information and submit resumes.
It is difficult to find a more impressive audio resume than that of Mark Berry, who was part of IAR’s third graduating class in 1972. At IAR, Mark did his studio workshops at Vanguard Studios with then faculty member John Woram (who many in the industry believe wrote the best book on recording studio equipment of the era), and did his class work with school founders Irv Diehl and Al Grundy.
After graduation, Mark traveled to AIR Studios in London to work under the tutelage of Sir George Martin, legendary producer of The Beatles. After two years, Mark moved back to the United States, freelanced, and started at Vanguard Records, working his way up to Staff Producer and A&R Director. He left Vanguard when it was sold to the Welk Music Group, and successfully freelanced as a re-mixer and producer for almost a decade. In 1996, he relocated to Toronto, Cananda, where he met his wife and started Attack Records, owned by Attack Media Group.
Today, Mark is Chairman and CEO of Attack Media Group, whose mission is to target potential acquisitions in the music, film, and television industries as well as in children’s and extreme sports. Mark has the responsibility of developing and executing the company’s overall strategy and vision. This includes controlling worldwide licensing and broadcast rights to all Attack Filmworks and Overdrive X-treme visual/audio content and worldwide licensing deals in Asia, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, Benelux Customs Union, and the United Kingdom. AMG includes Attack Records, Kidz Attack Entertainment, AttackTrax Music Supervision, Attackin’ Tunes Music Publishing, Attack Filmworks, Attack TV, Graffiti TV, Overdrive Xtreme Sports, Totally Useless T-Shirts, and Deevel Promotion & Marketing. He still finds time and enjoys producing three to four CDs a year.
Mark’s growth and success occurred fairly quickly as the first record he received credit on was “You’re So Vain” by Carly Simon, a #1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks in 1973. His production, engineering, and mixing credits also include recording artists such as David Bowie, Duran Duran, Billy Idol, Burton Cummings, and Yes. To learn more about Mark Berry, visit his website at www.markberry.com
With all his great achievements, Mark still retains the perspective that “while the business has changed so much over the years, for me it’s still all about the songs, making them sound good and delivering great performances.”
As demonstrated by the very high attendance at the Audio Extras event, IAR students are interested in having their own studios. On October 16th, faculty member Mario Salvati jumped right into delivering a step-by-step tutorial on how to build a studio. Mario first stated that whether the studio would be used for commercial or private use would affect the entire project. Each path includes a unique set of parameters and expectations and, of course, budget concerns which need to be addressed and mapped out. Next followed a discussion of room and space requirements and limitations relating to the engineer’s needs. Mario detailed the differences between what defines a “world-class” studio and an in-home studio and building to the anticipation of the level of clientele an engineer can expect. He referenced many lessons the students had learned or were learning at IAR and their practical uses when building a control room. These included frequency range and resonant and harmonic frequencies, mathematical calculations for room design, and the relationship between studio monitors, the room, and the human ear.
Mario surprised the students when he said that “60-70% of your budget will go into sound isolation.” This related to the physical construction of the studio. Students were given a lesson in carpentry and construction, including the necessary materials, where to buy them, what amount to spend, and how to put the pieces together. Everyday spaces and objects that students gave little notice to before, such as windows, doors, floors, walls, and ceilings became important factors and challenges. The evening lasted over two hours and Mario provided a great wealth of information from start to finish. Students who attended the session left with a better understanding about constructing a home studio that would contribute to their future success as composers, producers, and audio engineers.
IAR students Anthony Collier and Angelo Davila captured 2nd place in the Audio Engineering Society (AES) Student Recording Competition. AES is the leading professional association worldwide for professionals and students involved in the audio industry. Students from around the world submitted recordings into one of several categories (Classical, Pop/Rock, Jazz/Blues, World/Folk, Sound for Picture).
There were over 100 submissions this year in the competition; Anthony and Angelo came in 2nd in the Sound for Picture category. The submissions are evaluated and judged by industry professionals and three finalists are chosen before the annual AES Convention. On the first day of the convention, each finalist delivers a presentation covering the recording setup and procedure to the judging panel and convention attendees. This year, the judges were from Canada TV and Sony Pictures. Each finalist is asked questions and given comments by the judging panel and, on the last day of the convention, the awards are announced. Anthony and Angelo received a Certificate of Achievement and the complete Sony Sound Effects Library, valued at over $500.
The competition began in 1999, and a student from IAR has placed in the top three in a category every year. IAR was the only audio institution represented this year; the remaining entries were from students of four-year colleges and universities. This amazing feat is a testament to the level of education IAR provides and the consistent high-quality work that students and faculty produce. A special acknowledgement must be given to Anthony and Angelo’s PPA instructor Zack Goldberg for his support and assistance.
IAR Faculty member Gary Fritz is coordinating a musical presentation for a very important event in African American history, the African Burial Ground dedication ceremony in New York City. The burial ground was discovered when construction began on a new federal office building; 420 bodies of enslaved and free Africans from the 17th and 18th centuries were discovered at the site. It is estimated that between 15,000 to 20,000 African men, women, and children are buried in lower Manhattan. Construction would have continued had not a public outcry and protests put a halt to it and, after many years of struggle, the site was classified as a national monument.
The ceremonies will take place in NYC on Friday, October 5th and Saturday, October 6th. Friday’s activities will include a candlelight procession at 5pm to begin at Battery Park, with an assembly to receive the torch coming from the Statue of Liberty, and then proceed up Broadway to Foley Square. Gary is putting together a group of 420 Djembe players, each representing a body uncovered at the site, to participate in the procession. Everyone from all backgrounds is invited to bring percussive instruments to join in the activities from the sidelines.
Please relay this message to your friends and family and, if you are an accomplished Djembe player and would like to participate in the procession, please contact Gary at wickedgf@hotmail.com.
IAR’s The Next Level 5 competition, held on September 26th at Arlene’s Grocery, was packed with cheering IAR students, faculty, and fans of the IAR student performers competing on stage. Justin Headley & Monica Loefgren, Randy Cuevas, Radio Noise, No Outlet, The Fuzz Brothers, Greg Smith & The Broken English, Step Aside, Most Official, and K Banger performed while the audience cast their ballots for the winner. All musical tastes were satisfied, with the diversity of genres ranging from hip-hop to rock to good old-fashioned jam band.
Each competitor had the opportunity to experience the thrill of performing for a large audience in one of New York City’s most popular venues. Regardless of which act the crowd was there to see, each received cheers, applause, and support before and after their performance. The artists and spectators surrounded the merchandise tables for the latest IAR T-shirts, free IARecord CDs, as well as artists’ flyers and CDs. By the end of the night, the ballot box was nearly exploding with votes.
The ballots were tallied and the winner was announced on the following Monday. Step Aside won the competition and received a $1,000 CD prize package from Disc Makers and, of course, bragging rights. The high level of musical talent made for a stellar and impressive show, making this the best Next Level event to date. IAR would like to thank the performers, students, and faculty who came to enjoy the show, as well as faculty members Nell Gwynn for hosting the event and Jody Dobson, Georgia Aprile, and Dave Tardy for making the event one to remember
On September 18th, Mario Salvati held a seminar for IAR students about how to make an album from the engineer’s perspective. The evening began with a packed house listening to audio tracks from sessions Mario had engineered. Mario further captured his audience’s attention when he delivered a realistic view of an engineer’s life in the professional world. “Engineering in your home is not the same as in a studio for a paying client,” he commented as he transitioned into detailing the necessary organization, scope of knowledge, and expertise an engineer must have to be successful. “This is not a nine to five job that becomes your world, but you are involved in some incredible moments…know your studio and every piece of gear because you must be able to say ‘yes’ if you are asked to do something.” He emphasized the importance of taking notes, creating track sheets, and treating every take as if it is going on the album.
Another of the seminar’s focal points was to show the significance of psychologically interpreting the engineer and client environment as well as maintaining the flow of the session with the artists and producers. It’s important to observe the artists as they interact with each other to determine the types of personalities the engineer will work with as well as to assist in forming a plan of action for the album.
Mario broke down the ‘Making of an Album’ into clear sections, and students had the benefit of listening to a seasoned professional explain his ‘tricks of the trade.’ Students were encouraged to ask questions, and they went home after having gone through a poignant description of an engineer in action in the professional world.
On August 29th, IAR again held its Audio for Pictures (AFP) Awards Festival showcasing the audio post-production projects of fourth quarter students. Over 25 submissions were entered, ranging from movie trailers and television commercials to animated scenes. Students selected a segment of video and added their original sound effects, editing, music, dialogue replacement, mixing, and Foley. The projects were submitted in one of three categories based on length. The Short Format was for work up to 30 seconds in length, Medium Format was 30-90 seconds, and Long Format was over 90 seconds. A winner and runner-up were selected in each category, and various awards for outstanding achievement were distributed. The packed audience consisted of grads, students, and guests, and they were presented screenings of each of the projects submitted.
IAR would like to thank all participating students, the judges, Nell Gwynn, who organizes and manages AFP, and Ileeshell Lehman, as well as James Garvey and Scott Nawrocki, who provided tech support. Click Here for a list of winners.
Come Hell or High Water is the title of singer-songwriter Lisa Bodnar’s new folk rock/alternative/pop album.
Lisa hit the music scene in late 2003, prior to the official release of Maybe I Did, when she began getting radio airplay in Philadelphia as a featured local artist on WXPN.
Her playing and promotion almost came to a halt as her home and rehearsal space were destroyed in 2004 by hurricane Ivan and then again by floods which devastated the Delaware River area in 2005 and 2006. Inspired by these tragic events, Lisa wrote another group of songs which are featured on her new CD.
Come Hell or High Water, recorded at Kampo Studios in New York, was the result of a collaborative effort by Lisa and Dann Araque, along with several IAR instructors including multi-platinum engineer Dan Grigsby, percussionist Gary Fritz, violist Flavio Gaete, and multi-platinum engineer Jim Bonnefond, as well as IAR staff members including singer Richard Bernard, Vernil Rogers, Angel Rivera, and James Garvey. Grigsby, whose credits include work with Keith Richards, Sting, and Joe Cocker, produced, mixed, and engineered the album.
The recording also features Kenny Margolis and Frank Funaro, the keyboardist and drummer from the band Cracker, members of Conan O’Brien’s horn section including Eddie Manion, Mark Pender, and Richie Rosenberg, the drummer for Saturday Night Live, Sheryl Crowe, Celine Dion, Shawn Pelton, vocalist Elaine Caswell, who has done vocals on albums for Celine Dion, Cher, and Meatloaf, and vocalist Curits King, who has sung on albums for artists such as Peter Gabriel, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Carly Simon, and Bruce Springsteen.
For more information on Lisa Bodnar and the new album, log on to lisabodnar.com. For more information on engineer Dan Grigsby, please visit dangrigsby.com.
In July, IARecords, IAR’s indie record label, released its highly anticipated The Next Level 3 album.
The Next Level 3 features IAR student bands and vocalists who participated in The Next Level New Artist Competition which took place at Arlene’s Grocery.
IARecords would like to thank IAR students and artists Rick Warren, Foundation, Midway, Danielle Parente, Kevin Depot, the Sean Carolan Project, Jeremy Schindler, Chris Reck, and Malcolm Young for their contributions to the album. Thanks also go out to IAR instructor and engineer Dan Grigsby and assistant engineer Clinton Jones for producing, recording, and mixing the album.
Stay tuned for the upcoming Next Level New Artist Competition on September 26th at Arlene’s Grocery, when IAR student performers will compete for a $1,000 Disc Makers package, a track on The Next Level 4 CD, performance photos, web space on IARecords, and air play on IARadio.
The Sonature System, invented by IAR instructor Bernard Fox, is a recording process that creates authentic 5.1 surround sound in all formats (including DVD A and SACD) for home theater, cable, satellite, broadcast, and movie theaters. The Sonature system provides an extraordinary, unprecedented, greatly enhanced listening experience from any location in the room, unlike conventional 5.1 surround sound, which requires the listener to be directly in the center of the room.
The Sonature system design is based on a new understanding of the physiology of hearing. The system processes existing stereo and monaural masters in all surround sound formats, while preserving the integrity of the original production and concept of the artist and producer.
Ellis Marsalis, the world renowned New Orleans based recording artist, pianist, and composer has recorded with the Sonature system at Kaufman Astoria Studios.
Bernard teaches audio technology and is an audio veteran with more than 35 years of experience as a producer, engineer, and audio-visual systems designer. His credits include the Oscar-winning feature film When We Were Kings, the Tony award-winning Broadway productions “City of Angels,” “Sweeney Todd,” and “Sophisticated Ladies,” and several theme park attractions at venues such as Busch Gardens and Mystic Aquarium.
Along with being the CEO of the Museum of Sound Recording in New York, Bernard has completed hundreds of CDs and records and has received several double-platinum awards for projects including The Best of the Tonight Show as well as War of the Worlds. He has also received numerous credits for live television mixing for the Grammy and Tony award ceremonies.
For more information on Sonature, log on to www.sonature.com.
2006 IAR grad Vinny Guerrera recently contacted IAR to tell us about some hip-hop recordings he’s been working on.
“Over the past several months I have been freelance engineering. I hit the streets hard and recorded anyone and everyone in order to afford my apartment and production studio. Now I am the engineer for Infamous Mobb. Through them, I have recorded countless songs and mix tapes for artists such as Prodigy and Havoc (Mobb Deep), Twin, Nitty, Godfather, PT3, Chinky, Foul Monday, Starvin B, Jungle (Bravehearts), and Alchemist, to name a few.”
“I am currently involved in many projects, such as the upcoming Infamous Mobb albums Love and Loyalty, Mobb Life, and Black Mobb, as well as recording Tru Warier artist Foul Monday’s mix tape and album. All of this work is done from my home studio.
To view a recent recording Vinny did with Infamous Mobb and Prodigy of Mobb Deep, Click Here. This video and track was done as a promo for 77 Store, a Germany-based urban apparel shop.
“I just wanted to share with IAR the fact that your program gave me the tools I needed to record hip-hop legends that I grew up listening to.”
IAR alum Errol Everton Ross, who now resides in Miami, FL, recently contacted us to let us know what he’s been up to since graduating!
Errol grew up in Jamaica and came to NYC to attend IAR. He was one of the first recording engineers in Jamaica to receive a formal audio education.
Since graduation, he has worked in Kingston, Jamaica as an audio engineer for Aquarius Recording and as a mastering engineer for Dynamics Sounds Recording Company. Some of his engineering credits include Soul Reggae by Beres Hammond and Badness No Pay by Leroy Smart, which was Jamaica’s first-ever 45RPM record that spun at 33RPM so that two songs could fit on one side.
“I also had the pleasure of starting Steven Stanley’s career. I asked my studio to hire a kid who I could train as a tape-op. Steven was hired right out of high school. I gave him a roll of blank 24-track tape to practice on and he used it to collect recordings of individual lines of various instruments from musicians when they were on break. He basically honed the music he collected this way into the hit that keeps on coming back, “Genius of Love.” At least a half a dozen artists have versions of this. Most notably, Jekell and Hyde brought it to the top of the U.S. R&B charts a second time, and amazingly, after more than 20 years or so, Mariah Carey did her rendition on her Daydream album.
“It was a pleasure working with these guys. I have also worked with Inner Circle. We used to laugh at them back in 1976 when they said that they were going international one day and, 20 years later, not only was their “Bad Boys” single in your living room every night as the theme to the show COPS, but they also scored the most coveted #1 position on the U.S. charts with “Sweat.”
His closing thought: “I’ve always been proud to have attended IAR!”
IAR is happy to add another show to IARadio, Complete Nonsense. CN is hosted by Sean Carolan (DigiBoy), an IAR alum who not only produces the show, but also runs IARadio.
“I keep things in order. When I got involved with the station, I added more student music and shows. I even got IAR staff members to add some music that they created and produced themselves.”
When asked why he created a show for IARadio, he responded: “To add some variety to the other student-produced shows. Something a little bit more odd, if you will. And always to keep my chops up with ProTools; I love to edit in ProTools.”
Sean has been writing and recording his own material for over 20 years and has played in several bands. Currently, he plays bass for the band CLYDE with fellow IAR staff members Jody Dobson and Jake Ninan. He also plays guitar and sings in his own band, the Sean Carolan Project. And, as if he’s not busy enough, he also plays guitar for performance artist Vernita Nemec.
Why did he come to IAR? “It was time to really kill the whole daytime job thing and make music my full-time job. So, I chose IAR for its reputation. And after finishing the curriculum, I have succeeded!”
As for the future? “Post is what I really like to do. Sound design, mixing and editing movies and shows; anything with picture. I do enjoy the music studio end, but post work to me is a bit more interesting and challenging. The work I did at my internship with G&E Music was a great experience. And then of course, there is composing and doing the band. A steady post job and gigs with my band, that would be a great future to look forward to.”
So check it out, every Wednesday at 12pm on IARecords.
IAR would like to congratulate IAR Audio Post-Production and Digital Music Production teacher Flavio Gaete on officially becoming a member of the viola section in the Philharmonic Orchestra of the Americas. The orchestra’s next performance will be at 7pm on June 12th at the Frederick P. Rose Hall, home of jazz at Lincoln Center.
Born in Caracas, Venezuela, Flavio is an active classical performer and has played both acoustic and electronic instruments with Richard Boulanger, Klaresque Ensemble, the Mendes Brothers, and Pharoah’s Daughter. He has degrees from Boston University (M.M., Viola Performance) and Berklee College of Music (B.M., Music Synthesis). He also came up with the idea to do IARecords’ FLUID album, which showcases electronic music produced, recorded, and mixed by IAR students and can be heard on IARadio.
Flavio was invited to play with the Philharmonic Orchestra of the Americas when it was just being formed. Alondra de la Parra, the orchestra’s founder and conductor, and he share a mutual friend, Patricia Abdelnour, who works as the Cultural Attache of the Venezuelan Consulate in Washington, D.C.. Patricia suggested that Flavio play with the orchestra. “I started playing some informal concerts with them at a couple of churches on the Upper West Side (in NYC). Then, a team was put together to manage the orchestra and raise funds. Now, we have a full yearly season of concerts, as well as tours in Vermont, Texas, and Mexico.”
The June 12th Gala Concert will be conducted by de la Parra and will feature soloist and Grammy Award winner Paquito D’Rivera who has become the “consummate multinational ambassador, creating and promoting a cross-culture of music that moves effortlessly among jazz, Latin, and Mozart. Student discounts for performances are available.
Congratulations, Flavio. We’re sure that you will give a dazzling performance. Bravo!
On June 5th, IAR held its highly anticipated Audio for Picture (AFP) Awards Festival, which showcases fourth quarter IAR student audio post-production projects. Over 35 projects were submitted ranging from movie trailers, television commercials, television scenes, movie scenes, videogame trailers, and animated short films. Students are responsible for sound effects, editing, music, dialogue replacement, mixing, and foley.
The festival was packed with IAR students and faculty. Pre-fourth quarter students eagerly watched on, and many said that they could not wait to participate in the festival.
At the end, festival host Nell Gwynn announced the award winners and oustanding achievements, which were given in several categories and judged by IAR faculty.
IAR would like to thank the students who participated, Nell Gwynn, Dan Gaydos, the judges, and IAR tech support staff James Garvey and Scott Nawrocki.
For more information, please visit AFP Awards.
IARadio is proud to announce a new radio show, In the Lab, which is being hosted by IAR students Adam DeRossi and Young Easy. Young decided to attend IAR because of its reputation, facilities, and curriculum. Adam came to IAR to learn how everything works in the audio field, including the secrets that audio professionals are reluctant to give.
Currently, the pair is helping local hip-hop artists with producing and recording their projects. Adam also specializes in dance music and mixes, and is DJing events on the side, every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday in Long Island.
Young is very interested in getting involved with radio and the broadcast field. When asked how he likes working with IARadio, he replied, “I Love it!” As for Adam, “I always listened to the radio for the music part, but now I listen to the radio part,” such as tags, commercials, and other aspects of broadcasting, in addition to the music.”
In the future, they both want to work in the production end of things, such as a recording studio or a post-production house. Currently, they’re content with producing music and exploring all of the avenues that IAR has to offer.
Check them out Mondays at 12pm and on IARadio.
Congratulations, Adam and Young!
IAR Career Services staff member Georgia Aprile recently organized, on behalf of IAR, a hat drive in collaboration with Hats Off for Cancer and successfully achieved her goal of 250 brand new hats.
Hats Off for Cancer, a non-profit organization based in California, collects and donates hats of all kinds to amazing children who lose their hair due to cancer treatments. Over the past 10 years, the organization has donated more than 650,000 hats to hospitals, camps, and individuals around the world. Recipients have included American Red Cross, American Cancer Society, Ronald McDonald House, St. Judes Children’s Research Hospital, and the Make-a-Wish Foundation.
IAR and Georgia would like to thank Ruthy’s Bakery in New York, IAR receptionist Harriet Carter and her pastor Reverend Regina V. Johnson, the Life Family Worship Center in Hempstead, NY, IAR Dean of Students Michael Ring, the Prospect Park Track Club in Brooklyn, IAR Director Muriel Adler, Temple Israel of Jamaica, NY, and everyone else who made a contribution in the battle against cancer.
If you’d like to learn more about Hats Off for Cancer or how you can help, please visit their website at hatsoffforcancer.org.
On May 9th, IAR presented a Master Class for its faculty on “state-of-the-art” developments in Mastering. The presentation was conducted by mastering engineer and studio owner Alan Silverman of ARF Digital Productions.
After starting with a brief history of mastering, Alan presented some incredibly powerful DAW plug-in tools that have changed the way engineers can manipulate mixed tracks. He demonstrated a new approach to editing called spectral editing. Using a plug-in called ReNOVAtor by Algorithmix, he demonstrated how an engineer can seamlessly remove unwanted sounds such as coughs, studio noises, ambient distractions, etc. from a recording that was already mixed, leaving the desired sounds unaffected. The plug-in has other musical uses as well, such as rebalancing mixed harmonies.
Alan then demonstrated the latest mastering-grade EQs that outperform traditional (and expensive) high-end dedicated hardware; he showed both linear phase and minimal phase EQ plug-ins.
He went on to discuss how object-oriented editing is a recent operating paradigm that has greatly increased DAW power and flexibility, and has made traditional time-line based automation obsolete. In support of that fact, he demonstrated some powerful object-oriented editing techniques using Magix’s Sequoia native digital audio workstation.
IAR Dean Noel Smith was interviewed in the April 2007 Issue of Pro Sound News magazine, for the article entitled “SR Education: Analog Process in a Digital World.” The article focuses on how crucial it is for aspiring live sound engineers in today’s professional sound reinforcement industry to get a comprehensive education. The article also raises the point that even though the “digital realm holds sway over pro audio these days, most sound reinforcement educators remain adamant that their students be introduced to live sound using analog gear. As corners of the live sound pro audio sector get more niche-oriented, the impetus falls upon educators to provide students with as wide-based an education as possible.”
Noel is quoted as saying that “IAR’s approach is defined by its roots in studio recording as well as its surroundings: Our facility is located in the prime Manhattan real estate market, and we do not have the luxury of a large performance space in which to set up large rigs. We use small-venue setups and models as our training platforms. We focus on signal flow, setups, and the functioning of each of the systems that would typically be found in a club or arena. We use gear from many different manufacturers; a sampling would be: DBX (Zone Pro), Rane (crossovers), Hafler, Crown (power amps), Yamaha (mixers), Lectrosonics, HME, and Sony (wireless mics).”
“For all the focus that the working industry may place on equipment, it’s important that students gain an understanding of live audio that won’t go out of date with the next software upgrade from a given manufacturer.”
On April 24th, IAR was packed with students for IAR’s “Careers in Audio” alumni panel discussion.
The panel consisted of recent Emmy-nominee Jenna Emens, Chung King Studios’ Joe Demby, and Bad Boy Entertainment’s Francisco Villacis, all of whom currently work in different areas of the audio industry. Students were given the opportunity to meet and ask them industry- and job-related questions, as well as submit their résumés.
The panelists were extremely eager to answer questions regarding job interviews and résumés. Also, they talked about their personal work experiences and gave advice about job hunting.
IAR would like to thank Jenna, Joe, and Francisco for making this such a successful event and an experience the students will never forget.
IAR is proud to announce, a new program on IAR Radio, Method to the Madness. The show is hosted by current IAR students Sunny Glottmann and Ashley Aniano.
Sunny, originally from Miami Beach, FL, now resides in New York City and is the singer and bassist for the band Supersound. She is currently interning at 91.1 WFMU as a production engineer.
Ashley is from Long Beach, NY. She is an exceptional viola player who has been playing since the age of 9. Now she is taking guitar lessons to expand her musical talent.
Both Sunny and Ashley decided to attend IAR to expand their musical backgrounds. “Music is the only thing I can do everyday and not be miserable,” Sunny says. “And I love learning about it. It’s a way to grow up, but never grow old.” Ashley says, “It’s the creative process; it keeps you youthful.”
Looking beyond IAR, Sunny plans to travel the U.S., hopefully producing local bands throughout her journey, and eventually create her own label. She would also like to work in radio and become a DJ.
Ashley also plans to work in radio because it offers all the things that she loves. “It has music, electronics, and I like talking. I always have a lot to talk about.” She plans to further her education and get a degree in music while studying the guitar.
The show, Method to the Madness, will showcase IAR artists in a live setting. Their goal is to give other IAR students an idea of what’s going on around them and demonstrate that it’s not all about tech, labs, and lectures!
Method to the Madness will air every Friday at 12pm and 6pm. You can also check it out at IARadio, where you can hear other student shows as well.
When 2004 IAR grad Anthony Fontana recently visited IAR, he was proud to tell us that he just received his first gold record as an engineer for the “Don’t You Fake It” album by The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus.
After graduation, Anthony began working as an intern at Water Music Recorders in Hoboken, NJ, where he moved up to assistant engineer. “That’s what I had hoped to do when I started at IAR – to get my name somewhere in small print. Interning also taught me in greater depth about what goes into making an album; it’s not as easy as you think.”
“I’ve also had the opportunity and honor of transferring and editing a great collection of classic rock, which gave me the chance to listen to live mixes from well-known engineers whom I had only read about, but I had to sign a non-disclosure agreement to work on these projects, so I can’t go into the specifics.”
“IAR gave me a general knowledge of the recording process and the related editing skills you need when recording and mixing.”
Anthony’s advice to current IAR students is to “be prepared to work insane hours – a short day is ten hours. You need to understand signal flow and be extremely organized with patch bays and your studio sessions. You should mix at low levels and listen to your mixes on at least three or four sets of speakers, if possible. Last but not least, you should make sure that you know how to properly tie up microphone cables. It can be very annoying untangling a bunch of those things; remember to start with the female side first.”
Congratulations, Anthony, on your first gold record.
IARadio is pleased to present a new show, Mogulishess, produced by IAR students Victoria Angueira (Best Kept Secret) and Denise Fuller (DJ Cali). The show will air on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 1pm.
Bronx native Victoria, 19, was inspired to do a radio show by IAR alum Samantha Braham, known to her listeners as DJ Ya Highness, the host of another IARadio show, SUBLEVEL. When Victoria approached classmate Denise about producing a show together, the two quickly realized that they “have a really good chemisty.” Victoria will be hosting, and Denise will be recording, editing, mixing, and co-hosting.
Victoria learned about IAR from alum Jonathan Avila (DJ Yonny), who currently produces his own show on New York’s Power 105.1, and soon decided to enroll in order to become an audio recording engineer.
Denise, is from Long Beach, CA and decided to attend IAR. “IAR is the oldest school in the business,” she said. So she packed her bags and moved to New York, which is where she really wanted to be.
In addition to playing IAR tracks, Mogulishess will feature audio industry news, IAR news/events, and IAR student/alumni/faculty interviews. “We want our audience to be thoroughly informed and entertained as well as have a great time listening.”
Upon graduation, Victoria will pursue a career as an audio recording engineer; Denise plans to focus on the audio post-production business.
Congratulations! We look forward to your show.
1995 IAR grad Jenna Emens has been nominated for a New York Emmy in sound design for her work on the show Secrets of New York, which airs on NYCTV. The awards ceremony will take place on April 1st and will be broadcast on NYCTV on April 10th.
Jenna said she was surprised to be nominated for the award because of the large number of people who submit their work for consideration. However, if she wins, she knows what she’ll do with her statue. “I’m definitely going to go out and buy a really cool shelf and put it on there,” she said. “Hopefully, I’ll get more over the next couple of years.”
Secrets of New York is a half-hour show that investigates and uncovers hidden secrets about New York City. She said some past episodes have focused on New York jails and an abandoned underground subway station. “It’s pretty interesting stuff that you would never think about or know but that really exists.”
“I definitely felt that I would have fun doing the sound design for this.” In fact, her job is to create all the sound heard on the show. For example, if the show called for a war scene, she would be responsible for adding sound effects such as cannon and rifle fire to the footage. She said most of a segment’s sounds are not recorded on location but rather are added later, during post-production.
“Most people don’t really think about where the sound was recorded; they just assume that it’s there,” she said. Before she moved into post-production, Jenna worked at Unique Recording, a recording studio for bands in Manhattan. She said musicians such as Marilyn Manson, Nine Inch Nails, and the Wu Tang Clan often recorded at the studio.
“I worked with people from the Wu Tang Clan, but I didn’t do a lot of bigger bands when I was working there because I was new to the scene,” she said. “That job was kind of crazy, but it was a lot of fun.” After finishing up there, she decided she wanted some stability and more steady pay. To that end, she landed jobs at a number of post-production houses in New York and worked on commercials for the likes of Nickelodeon, Noggin, and Gillette.
Jenna said that while she enjoys working on commercials, it is much more fulfilling to work on television shows. “I definitely enjoy working at a TV station more,” she said. “It’s more fun to work on shows because they’re longer.” Now, it would appear as if she has found her niche at NYCTV. “I really love coming to work every day.”
She advises aspiring sound designers to go to school, get certified, complete internships, and pay their dues if they want to end up in her position. “It was a long road getting here, but you just have to take whatever you can get and learn as much as possible,” she said.
Congratulations on your Emmy nomination, Jenna.
The Institute of Audio Research and LaGuardia Community College, a member of the City University of New York (CUNY), are excited to announce a new program under which graduates will earn an Associate in Applied Science Degree in Music Recording Technology from LaGuardia. The joint 2-year program provides students with an excellent opportunity to learn audio recording and production at IAR and to study for an Associate Degree by taking courses in English, the Humanities, Mathematics, and Management at LaGuardia. Full details about the LaGuardia program are available HERE.
IAR teacher Sam Skaf, who specializes in analog and digital technology, recently mastered the album Somebody’s Got to Win for artist Fo Onassis. The album was produced by IAR graduate Robin Henriquez. Sam was asked to do the mastering by one of his students, Jesus Henriquez, who engineered the project.
“I heard the album and liked it. It sounded professionally produced and engineered. I didn’t know that Lynx (one of his former students) was such a talented producer until after he graduated. Jesus is an extremely intelligent student and engineer,” said Sam.
Sam’s mastering technique for the twelve songs consisted of 48K/24-bit files being exchanged via FTP servers. The tracks went through a T.C. Electronics System 6000 digital mastering processor, and he used custom tube EQs and compressors. His digital audio mastering workstation of choice was Magix’s Sequoia.
The album started in Jesus’ basement and was finalized at Reflex, a studio in Piscataway, NJ which is owned by Jesus, his friend Robin, and Fo Onassis. “For engineering the album, I used a RØDE NTK microphone, Waves plug-ins, and a Trident pre-amp. The production was done with a Yamaha Motif keyboard, an Akai MPC1000 , ProTools LE, live drums, sax, and vocals. We really wanted to focus more on the musical aspect of hip-hop with an old-school flavor,” he said.
“The album is on an enhanced CD, which means that it contains multimedia content,” said Sam. For more information, please visit cdbaby.com and myspace.com. The album is also available for purchase/download at the itunes.
On February 27th, four IAR student artists performed at New York’s live venue Arlene’s Grocery in front of their fans and IAR peers for a chance to win a fantastic 1,000-CD package from Disc Makers.
The artists included rapper Shea “Invy” McDonald, singer/acoustic guitarist Kevin Depot, singer Danielle Parente, and the hot band Midway.
Unlike previous Next Level competitions, The Next Level 4 was judged solely by audience balloting. Arlene’s Grocery was packed with loyal supporters, and audience members were even dancing on stage with some of the performers.
IARecords’ CDs, including The Next Level, Volume 1, The Next Level, Volume 2, and Fluid, were given to everyone in attendance.
IAR and IARecords would like to thank Jody Dobson, Nell Gwynn, Georgia Aprile, David Tardy, and all of the IAR student volunteers for making this event such a success. Stay tuned for the winner!
Latin Grammy winner Luiz Tornaghi, a 1993 IAR graduate, recently came back to the school to give a lecture, along with a Q & A session, on mastering music.
Attendees listened intently and asked Luiz about the tips and techniques he uses when mastering music, his suggestions on hardware signal processors vs software plug-ins, his equipment choices, and what tweaks can be done to a home studio to get the best quality mix.
Over the years, Luiz has had the privilege of mastering and mixing for some of Brazil’s top artists such as Maria Bethania, Chico Buarque, Caetano Veloso, Joao Donato, Francis Hime, Paulinho da Viola, and Simone. In 2005, he won a Latin Grammy for “Album of the Year” for his work in mastering the album Cantando Historias with engineer Moogie Canazio.
Today, Luiz is a partner in the mastering studio Batmastersom in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The studio has a 5.1 system with B & W 805 speakers, and the processing is entirely computerized. “We are finally at a point where, if you are very careful about every aspect of your system, you can have an all-digital signal path with enough quality to get any job done and have the invaluable advantage of instantaneously tweaking details anytime throughout a project.”
Thanks for coming, Luiz, and good luck in your future endeavors.
2003 IAR graduate Joe Demby is currently putting his audio skills to work at New York’s famous Chung King Studios, where he is in charge of operations, staff bookings, billing, client relations, and studio expansion. “I sell time, which means I communicate with independent and major record labels, managers, and artists wanting to use the studio. I also coordinate with the head technician, decide which assistant engineer gets to be on a session, what plug-ins to purchase for our rigs, and ultimately which artist works in which room,” he said.
He described how he worked his way up the ladder: “After about three months of scrubbing floors and getting coffee, I began to assist on sessions and help with office work. After six months, I had earned a paid position involving the billing and invoicing of labels. I continued to work in the office while helping the owner build out studios for about six months, until the studio manager left the company, at which time I was promoted into the position because I showed my superiors that I was indispensable.”
When he’s not at the studio, Joe also DJs at weddings, private functions, parties, and clubs, and he has produced music for film, television, theatre, dance, and documentaries. He just finished an album to be released later this year on Raptivism Records, entitled Protest in Disguise, for a spoken-word artist from New Orleans.
“IAR opened my eyes and ears to the many different frequencies we hear, or do not hear, every day. Both a blessing and a curse, it has made me so much more aware when listening to music; I appreciate how much more is going on than just sight and sound. Without the knowledge I gained at IAR, I would never be able to converse with world-class engineers and understand what they’re referring to, whether it’s a microphone pre-amp or standing waves occurring in a room.”
When asked what advice he has for current IAR students, he replied, “Stay after class and spend extra time with the instructors. You’re paying for an education, and the instructors at IAR are experienced in real-world audio. They will have extremely relevant information for you to learn. Create a relationship with the staff and fellow students, because you never know when you may need them, or they you, in the future. Start to get an idea of what you want to do, and ask around to see how you can make it happen.”
After graduating from IAR in 1996, Rani Merom had several internships at studios in the New York City area. During that time, he did post-production work on projects for ESPN, Fox 5, and the Atlanta Olympics. When he returned to Israel in 1998, Rani continued working in post-production and sound design as well as doing sound for documentaries and TV sitcoms. “In smaller, more concentrated markets like Israel, audio engineers are expected to wear a lot of different hats, so the comprehensive education I received at IAR really gave me a competitive edge,” he said.
Currently, Rani is employed in the quality assurance department at Waves, the audio plug-in company. “It’s really great to be part of the development process of audio plug-ins, knowing that the tools we make have been, and are going to be, used in the creation of so much music. Part of what I do is make sure the plug-ins work the way they’re supposed to before we release them. Since we test them on virtually every computer host and platform, I’m essentially immersed in the computer audio environment day in and day out. Were it not for the well-rounded, hands-on experience I received at IAR, I never would have had the opportunities to work in so many different areas of audio production. And since my job requires proficiency with compressors, limiters, equalizers, reverbs, basically every kind of audio processor imaginable, my IAR education gave me not only the technical background I need to do my job, but the confidence to take on new challenges that test and push my boundaries. You’ve got to know the basics and know them well. But, more importantly, I think you need to bring your own unique ideas and creativity to whatever project you happen to be working on. You can master ProTools, but then again you have to bring your own sense of self to the mix. That cannot be taught. It’s a part of your character.”
Congratulations, Rani!
During the past two years, IAR has been renovating the entire three floors that the school has occupied in Greenwich Village since 1969. With the completion of the last phase of this renovation in January, 2007, all the public areas of IAR have been modernized. Entirely new offices have been created for Student Services, Career Services and Graduate Placement, Admissions, Financial Services, and Reception, and new acoustical treatments have been put into every classroom.
Highlights of the renovation include a new radio production booth for IARradio, our student-run, in-house radio station, an upgraded learning resource center, and a revamped student lounge. Prospective students and their families and friends are invited to call 212-777-8550 to schedule an appointment to tour our newly renovated facility. One excellent opportunity to visit IAR would be our Spring Open House on Saturday, March 3rd in the afternoon, for which a reservation should be made in advance.
IAR graduate Luis Lahav, who currently resides in Herzliya, Israel, went from engineering Bruce Springsteen’s Born to Run to becoming one of Israel’s top producers, and was recently featured in the Nov/Dec 2006 issue of Tape Op Magazine.
“It was the late 60s and, like every other Israeli teenager at that time, I was drafted into the Israeli army. I started as a marine, but eventually joined a military band. Two years later, I was released and flew to New York to attend NYU, planning to study philosophy and cinema studies and even fashion design at some stage, but it didn’t take long before I made a turn and started studying at IAR.
While still in school, I was looking for a way to set foot in the New York studio scene, so I contacted the World Bank, telling them that I intended to set up a studio in Israel, which was my original plan. Back then, they had a policy of assisting third world countries, so they were willing to introduce me to some industry people. One thing led to another and, at some point, the people at Ampex introduced me to Neil Diamond’s producer, Brooks Arthur, who took me under his wing and made me a runner at his 914 Sound Studios in upstate New York.
It took me about six months to become a house engineer, and all of a sudden I was recording the likes of James Taylor, Janis Ian, Blood Sweat and Tears, and others, which were all Arthur’s clients at that time. One day in 1973, a producer named Mike Apple brought a young, practically unknown, artist to the studio, with whom I immediately fell in love. It was Bruce Springsteen, and we made two records almost right on the spot (Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. and The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle, both released in 1973). After these two records were released, we started working on a new one, beginning with the title track, Born to Run.”
While at 914, Luis also toured with Lou Reed doing PA sound and became the studio’s resident maintenance engineer. For a short time prior to working at 914, he was an assistant at A&R Studios, working in sessions with Phil Spector.
Tape Op: You seem to take advantage of all the goodies offered by DAWs. Do you ever look back?
Luis Lahav: More than anything else, I miss analog tape. Recording to digital is utterly different. To me, it’s all in the way it deals with transients. With analog tape, peaks are largely ignored or compressed, depending on how you look at it, while digital accepts it all. So you get a lot more punch in digital, but then you have to limit the signal in order to bring up the rest. On analog tape, it’s done by its nature – you get a lot more texture which you don’t have to unhide.
TO: It seems that the small size of the Israeli market has an effect on the way records are done.
LL: Yes. Selling 100,000 copies from an album is considered a phenomenal success, with most artists hoping to sell 10,000, but not making more than a few thousand. Record budgets have to be determined based upon that ratio. $80,000 for a master is considered a huge budget, and it’s mostly between $20,000 and $30,000. So plug-ins and virtual instruments are a blessing. I can do things that would otherwise have been out of reach, considering the budget. Unlike working with a band, when you deal with singer/songwriter artists, the result is focused around the vocal performance – so you can achieve great results in a project studio environment. It turns out that most of my recent works are of that nature. Or maybe I choose to do such projects because it fits my setup better.
Looking back on projects that didn’t do well artistically or commercially, I realize they were all done while I wasn’t completely in tune with myself. Sometimes you don’t pay attention and you’re actually trying to fulfill an image you had in mind, or a preconception, or just trying to meet other people’s expectations. That’s when you’re losing the thread that’s giving you the truth. Considering the fact that, after all, you’re dealing with someone else’s art, that thread can be very hard to maintain. It’s all about listening to your inner voice.
After an overwhelming response to WIAR’s current radio show, SUBLEVEL, hosted by IAR student Ya Highness, IAR is pleased to present a new show entitled Moment of Truth, which will be hosted by IAR grad Quitman Patterson. Moment of Truth will air on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 1pm.
Says Quitman, “My show will focus on the music industry. I’m going to talk about real issues in the business and in life. This is what makes my show unique. I was inspired by my love of music and all of the negativity in the industry that needs to be shifted to a positive note. I want my audience to be inspired by the show and get current industry info.”
The show’s guests will include songwriters, producers, and up-and-coming artists talking about the music industry and other music-related topics while Quitman spins tracks done by IAR students.
Congratulations, Quitman! We look forward to your show.
Since graduating in August 2004, Mee Lee has been engineering at both Integrated Studios and Broken For Good Records in New York. She has also started her own freelance engineering company. Some of the major projects that she has worked on include assistant engineering on Majestic 12’s For Majic Eyes Only (2006 SMD BATB/SONY BMG) with renowned engineer and producer Carlos Bess, and engineering on 2Pac’s Pac’s Life (2006 Amaru Entertainment/Interscope Records).
Until September 2006, Mee Lee was an in-house audio engineer for Integrated Studios, a commercial recording studio in downtown Tribeca. She started out as an intern there and, within months, was engineering for major clients including G-Unit and Lauryn Hill. While she was at Integrated, the studio teamed with Walters-Storyk Design Group and Professional Audio Design and underwent a major renovation, the end product of which was featured on the July 2006 cover of Mix Magazine. Mee was also an engineer for indie label Broken for Good Records, where she ran live sound for concerts and engineered on projects for label artists including Jinny Kim’s Finding Ophelia. Currently, she continues to freelance for both Integrated and Broken for Good Records while also concentrating on working with indie artists and developing her own company.
“Before attending IAR, I had no prior knowledge of sound or the audio industry. IAR has definitely provided a basic foundation of information that I’ve utilized in all of my sessions, from basic studio etiquette to engineering sessions on an SSL mixing console,” she said.
Her advice to current IAR students and grads is to, “Have a good attitude. There’s always something to learn. Be prepared for anything. Know your signal flow. Always start with the obvious. Sleep is a luxury. Trust your ears.”
Lane Spigner graduated from IAR in February 2006, at which time he began an internship at Goldcrest Post Production Studio in New York. While at Goldcrest, Lane was able to make edits for various independent films, perform and record Foley for film and television, and learn all of the ins and outs of the daily studio routine. In May, he moved to Kingsize Music, which was in the process of putting together a pre-production library of music to be used in film and television for Sony/ATV. They were in need of editors for their cues, as well as someone to supervise and catalog all of their submissions for the library.
After interning for a short time at Kingsize, Lane accepted a position as Production Supervisor for the Sony/ATV Production Music Library. There, he is responsible for reviewing and approving composer submissions for the library, maintaining a relationship with the composers, cataloging and meta-tagging the cues for the library, and creating edits for each of the cues using ProTools . Lane has also started his own company, Audial Bliss, where he is able to submit music for various small films, including one that was just accepted for the Slamdance Film Festival in January 2007.
“I found that IAR gave me a broad scope of the live and studio work environment, and helped me to decide which path I needed to take. It also gave me a great reference for future opportunities by teaching me how to promote myself as a business, and that there are more ways than one to finding work in New York. I had to put myself out there, and not expect work to just come to me,” he said.
His advice to current IAR students and grads is, “Don’t take anything for granted. Some opportunities don’t reveal themselves immediately, so just be patient. Any work in this field is to be cherished. Another thing I have learned is to know when something isn’t the right fit. Great advice from IAR staff in regards to an internship: if you aren’t learning at least 50 percent of the time you are giving, it may be time to move on.”
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