I'm really, really curious about this

[Anderton]

What made you decide to become a musician, engineer, or whatever? Was there a certain moment where everything clicked into place, was it something that was with you for as long as you remember, or what?

 

I'll break the ice and tell you why I wanted to play guitar. It may seem ridiculous, but...at the age of 9, I became totally entranced with the song "Greensleeves" as arranged on guitar. I realized that if I learned guitar, I could play Greensleeves any time I wanted, day or night, in any way I saw fit -- I wouldn't just be limited to hearing the same thing over and over on a record. A few weeks later, I saw an Andres Segovia concert and was totally, completely, blown away but the beautiful sound that old man was coaxing out of a single guitar. That's what did it.

[Anderton]

...of course, later on I discovered that playing guitar was the great equalizer for appealing to the opposite sex if you had zero chance whatsoever of making the football team .

[Guest]

Music was always played in my household, and when I was 8 I started playing the Clarinet. Then when I was 15 or 16, polyphony interested me as did several popular guitarists of the time.

 

I really got into guitar from that moment on. And I started playing LOUD electric guitar when I realized that all everyone in my family did was talk about their hobby... Lionel Electric Trains. So I then used the guitar and music TO DROWN THEM OUT.

 

Shortly thereafter I discovered that it was an actual instrument played (occasionally) by masters and it was magical. I began listening to Parkening, and Segovia, and Frank Zappa, and Steve Morse and from then on I've needed music like I've needed food. (sometimes music and Pizza is a good combination... though lately it's been Chinese Food and music)

 

My dad (in addition to being an electric train addict) was an EE, so I grew up with subscriptions to Popular Electronics and Radio Electronics, and built my first hobbiest projects at an early age. Then I studied for my EE (didn't finish, probably should, wanted to be in the music biz right away [god knows why]). And as you can predict, being a musician, I didn't flourish but it DID get me into a few studios, and from there it was short work to combine my love of music and electronic gadgets into becoming an audio engineer.

 

It was there that I realized producers really don't have a clue and get lots of un-deserved credit... http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/smile.gif

 

I figured with my background(s) I could do that too. http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/smile.gif

 

And at any moment Paul Harvey will break in and say something about you knowing "the rest of the story..."

 

Rich...

[alphajerk]

i was forced into taking piano lessons. i said fine if one day if i was good enough if i could get a synth, they made a LOT more kinds of sounds than a piano. i used to sit on this horrible helicopter patch all day when i got it (and still have it). as long as i can remember, i wanted to be in a band. then i heard jimi. i saved and bought a les paul, i liked the tone better than a strat, though now i have all combinations. so you play guitar, you play bass. i always had the rehersal space so drums were always at my disposal, screw therapy, a set of drums costs as much as 4 sessions, mine only one. you beat the crap out of something and when your done youre exausted.

 

a million bands later, a wife and now a kid, i dont play in bands anymore, although im getting together a pornfunk band for local shows so that will be cool. but a studio i could stay put, not have to get out on the road. i too had an EE dad and read his books from the time i could understand them, built am radios that i would listen to late at night after i was sent to bed. since i understood signal flow better than my peers, i got the 4track and recorded thousands of hours on tapes. i had the crappiest stuff but i had it flipped out. so it became an addiction sinking my kids future college tuition and yearly vacations into a spaghetti junction of boxes. i still like taking things apart.

 

i dont think i ever DECIDED. i wish i hadnt sometimes if i did. its like an invisible hand pushing me in the back. i hope one day things will fall in place. dont even ask why i got into animation and design.

[Reitzas]

When I was a teenager playing drums for a record in the studio, my drums never sounded like the "John Bonham sound" that I thought they should have sounded like. The Producer turned to the Engineer and said "I think we need to put a little 10K on the snare". I had never heard of a 10K and started calling my friends to find out where I could buy my own special little 10K to put on top of the snare. When I finally realized what "a little 10K" was, I promptly began my education in engineering and never looked back.

 

Dave Reitzas

[Guest]

Spring of 1975... Don kirshner's Rock Concert (remeber that?? before MTV). they must have just released Hendrix "Midnight Lightning" album, and they played the clip from the London club where he plays "Hey Joe" and "Purple Haze". Suddenly it just gelled - I had to play guitar. And I have, ever since (g). Saw Rick Wakeman in concert later that year, I think that sparked my gradual interest in synths....

[Middle Man]

Dylan. His words were, to quote him, "Written on my soul".

 

Actually, in remembering back, the Halfback on my highschool football team had a guitar and I thought, "If I can't play football as good as this guy maybe I can get better than him on the guitar". I did very quickly and "YES" it did help on the dating scene.

[ssmithmcf-gm.com]

I wanted to play giutar at 14, then i realized that all my friends were learning to play electric, and there was noone playing bass, so I thought i could corner the market and i switched... after awhile i realized that i was a crappy player, but all my buddies in my high school were having me show them how to make their amps sound right, and explain eq to them, so i began to mix... I 'll never forget the first "big" show i did ( about 30 kids, and speakers on sticks to boot!!.) what a rush!

[Dembones_dup1]

There was always music in the house growing up, and when I was 10 I took up violin. A couple of years later my brother invited me to play violin on his album, and I was instantly entranced by the lights, knobs, synthesizers and all the other goodies found in the studio. Through high school I learned to play several other instruments, but I was far more interested in how they sounded than how musically I played them. To this day, I go in waves getting bored with popular music, but I never get tired of sound, which is why I took the path of engineer.

 

------------------

Demian Norvell

AppleSeed Studios

Ruch, OR

[Uh Clem]

My dad was playing Beethoven and Mozart records for me after my first few breaths. I started playing the piano as soon as I could climb onto the bench. Clarinet and marching bands came later. Then Jon Lord and Machine Head that organ solo on Highway Star blew me away I bought a VOX organ and a Leslie and I was set.

 

1/4 2-tracks, cassettes, 1/4 4-tracks - then came the DA-88 - thank God! Yr after yr the gear piled up so the only thing to do was build a studio http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/smile.gif

 

[This message has been edited by stevepow (edited 06-26-2000).]

[Anderton]

Originally posted by reitzas@pacbell.net:

When I was a teenager playing drums for a record in the studio, my drums never sounded like the "John Bonham sound" that I thought they should have sounded like. The Producer turned to the Engineer and said "I think we need to put a little 10K on the snare". I had never heard of a 10K and started calling my friends to find out where I could buy my own special little 10K to put on top of the snare. When I finally realized what "a little 10K" was, I promptly began my education in engineering and never looked back.

 

Dave Reitzas

 

That's a great story!! What I also find interesting is that some people's education stopped at the point where yours began -- they're still looking for that "trick" that will make a great sound, whether it's some special EQ, or hot mic, or whatever. How many people think that "warmth" is achieved by some combination of electronics, not by a good player, a good instrument, and good recording techniques?

[Anderton]

It's interesting that a lot of people point to specific moments rather than a gradual evolution of interest. I thought it might be fun to list some of those other specific moments that happened to me...

 

The first time I saw a live rock band. It was the Blues Project (yes, the one with Al Kooper), and I was blown away by the power of a bunch of musicians playing through amps.

The first time I did an overdub in the studio and played a harmony on top of something I'd played. That moment of transcending real time got me hooked on the studio.

Buying a four-track recorder and realizing that even though it couldn't do as much as pro studio machines, there was no hourly rate and no one watching the clock.

Stepping up to a Moog Series III synthesizer at Temple University, thanks to a buddy of mine (Charles Cohen, who's still active in the NYC electronic music scene) in the theater department. The first time I heard a sawtooth wave going through a lowpass filter started a romance with synthesis that continues to this day.

Seeing Dr. Walker "play" the mixing board at a concert over in Germany - my first real exposure to live performance loop music. It was the first music I'd seen in a long, long time that had no precedent and defined its own paradigm, yet appealed to me viscerally as well as intellectually.

 

I'm really enjoying all the stories about how you got started! But if you want to broaden out to include other pivotal moments, that might be fun too.

[alphajerk]

just too much of a blur.

 

just too many shows... too much tape... too little time.

[blackwon88]

#1. Age 5 my dads acoustic guitar a lil record player and my first 45 James Browns "Poppas Got A Brand New Bag". Age 6 toy Drums that i beat the crap out of.

#2.My sister listening to Funkadelic if my memory serves correctly "Maggot Brain"

#3.My First bass guitar Curtis Mayfield "Freddies Dead" around this time Piano lessons Moved to Cali discoverd Earth Wind & Fire (George Massenberg's recordings maybe one day he will tell me about those sessions...), Parliment and many more bands and muscians that i still love to this day. Drum lessons & more Piano lessons in school we had a small Synth in music appreciation class I believe it was a Butchla im not shure but that was my first time playing a synth.

Elton John, Led Zeppelin, Steely Dan etc...

 

During this time period early - mid - late seventies I started experimenting with recording (because of the sound that George was getting) bouncing 2 8trks (yes 8trks)to do overdubs that sounded crappy and just recording things on Eight Track from records, to King Biscut and other syndicated live shows but i learned bigtime about tape and mic placement (recording mono TV shows of maybe EW&F or The Brothers Johnson placing one mic up close to the speaker and one aways back for ambience and balancing the 2 crappy but i learned also about this time i was trying to make my crappy steroes sound better so i could hear the records so i started reading everything i could get my hands on and turned into i HiFi nut out of this came moniter placement, gain & eq (2 recievers, one with the inputs built in record player and 8trk patched to the other receiver via the speaker outputs with the source reciever serving as the gain controller i just dialed it till it started to distort and backed off and used both eqs shelving of course to tweak the sound it actually sounded quite good for a kid.

 

#4.My 1st Fender bass more Earth Wind & Fire

Watching their bass player Verdine White and keyboard player Larry Dunn play that Rhodes Mini, Poly Moogs, Arps, Oberheim 4 voice with the extra 4 modules proving that all you need is one Keyboard player to make things happen, and watching and listening to the band as a whole made me a better musician weather it was bass drums or keys, but it was Maurice White that made me listen to arrangements and want to produce.

#5.Combining all of those elements and geting my first cassette recorder with Dolby I started recording everything i could get my hands on just like with the 8track and trying to make them sound better...

I know im rambling but thats what started the long road to playing, producing and recording.

ES

[alphajerk]

maggot brain is one of the best albums EVER. the opening track is the shit.

[good morning]

Craig,

 

Funny your inspiration came from Greensleeves. Mine too -- that and Exodus. I don't know why, but those songs (esp. Greensleeves) always moved me to tears. I'd listen to my father's Mantovani (sp?) albums of those songs over and over until he couldn't stand it anymore. (I wasn't in grade school yet, so he had to "operate" the stereo.) Trouble was, every other song I heard was just garbage to my ears, and eventually he gave up control and let me move the phono needle around myself. I then picked out the melodies on the piano they rented for my sister. That got me roped into years of hated piano lessons. Now I just write my own, but everything I do has to be a strong melody with hooks. I kill lots of song ideas 'cause they don't move me enough, and my taste in rock and classical (mostly what I listen to) is broad but extremely selective. Greensleeves spoiled me!

 

Oh yeah, and thanks for the advice on mic placement on the recording thread.

[TRiP Project]

When I got interested in music, and when I started pursuing being a musician are two separate times in my life.

 

I've been interested ever since I can remember. There's pictures of my holding records, listening to headphones (Those big 70's headphones looked large on my head too!) when I was 3 years old. I also remember jumping around scratching my stomach for company to Kiss records about a year later.

 

When I was 14, a kid down the street from me had conned a Poison 'Look what the Cat Dragged In' tape from someone and given it to me. I traded it to my future brother-in-law for Led Zeppelin IV and was hooked. (Quick count--who got the better of that deal?) I became obsessed with recreated what I heard on tape and told a friend "I'd like to play guitar someday", he responded with "What's wrong with today?", and taught me a few things (Alice Cooper's 'Is it my Body', Smoke on the Water, and Stairway to Heaven). From there I was obsessed. I played for 12-15 hours a day, with some 72 hour marathons in there.

 

And on it goes...

[lwilliam]

When I was 4, I would sneak down from my bedroom and hide behind a old tweed Fender amp (it had 4 speakers in an open-back cabinet) while my dad and his friends jammed the night away. They'd find me curled up, asleep behind the amp in the morning.

 

I got my first guitar that Christmas - a 3/4 size electric with a little bitty amp. Way cool!

 

From those first jam sessions of my Dad's, I always sort of knew I would play the guitar. Later, I loved putting together those Heathkit amps, preamps, etc. - which led to easier understanding of the engineering side.

 

I fought like heck against having to learn the piano in music school, but I'm glad I did.

 

It wasn't until the Fab Four came around that I found the fairer sex could become extremely interested in musicians...and ditto for being too skinny for the football team...

 

 

 

------------------

Larry W.

[THE MIX FIX]

Well, I have a slightly different story here. It may or may not be as interesting, but it IS different, and WAS fun!! http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/biggrin.gif

 

I grew up in a family without a note of Music, and no EE for a Father, either. The ONLY stereos or radios we had are what we got for Christmas, or bought ourselves. We had money, just not Music.

 

I decided to start to play drums at nine, on my own, and knew I wanted to be in the Music Business, and have been, ever since then.

 

I played in the typical school band, and got a full kit within a year or two.

 

Then, suddenly, on February 11, 1964, The Beatles were on the Ed Sullivan show!!

 

I just happened to be a short guy with a big nose who had a Ludwig drum set in Oyster Blue Pearl, almost EXACTLY like Ringos!!

 

Needless to say, I became VERY popular the next day. http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/biggrin.gif

 

We had a few bands, and put our own pennies together to cut demos.

 

The first one was when we were in 8th Grade, and couldnt believe it was us, because the playback had a Fisher Space Expander Spring Reverb on it (like in Hammond B-3 organs) and we could double track the vocals!!

 

Those were the days where you could actually bring your acetate demo around to 1650 Broadway, in NYC, and knock on Doors, and get them to listen to it on the spot.

 

Wes Farrell, of Bang Records, who later went on to produce The Partridge Family, and The McCoys (Rick Derringers Hang On Sloopy group) liked it, until we came into the room, and he saw a couple of 12-13 year old kids who looked like they were 10 in there with him. http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/rolleyes.gif

 

We met Melanie in the elevator, and her Producer/Husband, Peter Shekerk (sp?) sat us down and played us her first album for 2 1/2 hours, and was interested in us, until one guy couldnt record because he had to go to Summer Camp!!

 

And seeing The Critters rolling the Ampeg B-15 out of Allegro studios, which recorded a lot of Loving Spoonful and Bubblegum stuff, and was located in the basement there, was a thrill.

 

So I got a ¼ MONO (hows THAT for a format?) tape deck, and we kept making demos on it with a crystal mic my Father got us for, like $5.00, that just wouldnt give us enough gain or response to get anything to sound close to what it was supposed to sound like.

 

We didnt know about mixers. After we DID accumulate a few High Z mics, of various types, I had the idea to touch all the tips and all the sleeves together, and put them all into the one input of the machine.

 

So, we unscrewed the covers from the ¼ connectors, and alligator clipped the big pieces of metal together, and the little pieces of metal together, and clipped the other end of the clips to a guitar cord, and plugged it in the machine. It worked, sort of, but we got hums, and busses, and lots of other stuff I cant really remember. http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/confused.gif

 

Some one told us about an Electronics store, called Lafayette, and we got a catalogue, and our lives changed!! A four input, battery powered mixer, with TWO outputs, for $19.95!!

 

We saved up for that, and then could use TWO mics on drums, one on Kick, one on snare/everything else, one on Bass, and one on Guitar!!

 

THEN, for $30.00, we got a Sharp machine that let you record Sound with Sound on two tracks!! One for the music, and then, overdub, one for the vocals, solos, etc.!!

 

So we did lots of demos, and got brought into Mercury Studios by TWO major Labels before we were out of High School.

 

No Major Deal yet, but coming close!!

 

THEN, TEAC went along and came out with the 3340, with FOUR tracks of Simul-Sync recording, but the sync playback was SOOO bad, you could only use it to monitor. No sync bounces. http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/tongue.gif

 

I got delegated to operate the machine, since I was the only one who could figure out how to use it, and the sophisticated SONY MX-16 mixer!!

 

We made a bunch of radio commercials with it, but the other Guys hearts werent into it as much as I was. One wanted Pussy, so it took over his life, and I bought him out.

 

One wanted to sniff Carbona, so same thing. (Mind you I got LOTS of Pussy, and put better stuff up my nose than Carbona, following those events, but first things first!!).

 

So, I opened a small four track studio, which grew, to eight, then 16, then, 24, before I had landlord problems, and had to close it down, after 10 successful years. http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/frown.gif

 

I DID get a Major Label Deal for myself out of it, and recorded LOTS of International and National acts, and all that stuff.

 

I now freelance, and have this DAW and Mastering setup, and continue to write for Music and Recording Magazines, and do film scores, etc.

 

But, it all started because I was the only one, who really wanted to just PLAY, but knew how to operate the damn machines.

 

End of story.

 

Wake up and do something worthwhile, now!!

 

http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/biggrin.gif

 

 

 

 

 

 

------------------

Bob.

[Guest]

What is "The Ed Sullivan Show"? :-)

 

Rich...

[Paul Schubert]

My sisters old 45s influenced my tastes in music at an early age (Beatles, Paul Revere and the Raiders,etc.)

When my mother divorced and remarried, I found my step brothers drums set up in the basement of our new home (at this time he had moved away from home). My facination was turned to sorrow when they were quickly taken away.

About the same time I made friends with a guy whos older brother was in a band. Again my facination was sparked when, after the band had left, my friend and I would try to emulate the chords and notes that we would see his older brother playing.

Once his brother caught us and told us to get our own instruments and that he would show us a few chords. I cut many, many lawns that summer I tell you.

Also, at the same time, I wanted to play drums in the school orchestra, but the band leader said they had too many percussionists already. So I was given a clarinet and told to learn it.

Not being happy playing a clarinet, this event drove me to further desire to play guitar just like Alvin Lee, Steve Hackett,and Gary Green/Gentle Giant (who's that?).

Coming from a low income family I had to scrape to buy instruments and electronics.

Most of the gear I could get my hands on was crap. So therefore, I had to learn to fix it.

I took any electronics classes I could, In hopes to be able to rebuild my gear. Susequently, all my friends would bring over their amps for minor repairs(change caps,replace tubes+set bias, etc.) and an occasional hot rod.

To help improve my playing I would record our performances and evaluate it on an old reel to reel. I learned how to disable the erase head and record sound-on sound. Then I learned to bounce tracks from one recorder to another and to increase the high end EQ to try to salvage the previous takes.

Since then I have progressed to building my own home project studio in which I record demos, jingles, and occasionally, other peoples projects.

Many other events. Too numerous to mention.

[THE MIX FIX]

Rich:

 

The "Ed Sullivan Show", was sort of like the "Rosie O'Donnell Show", you know, the one you watch after waking up late at Mom's house, using a tank of hot water for your shower, while blow drying your "hair" (I'll be kind, here). http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/tongue.gif

 

Except the band is WAY cooler on Rosie's show. A Gay pianst, a corny old sax player, and a Black Female bass player. Think they tried a LITTLE too hard to be Poltically Correct, and Hip, or were these the BEST musicians NYC had to offer? http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/rolleyes.gif

 

Oh, and Topo Gigio, the Italian Mouse, on Ed's show has been replaced by Rosie's collection of Barbie Dolls. http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/tongue.gifhttp://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/biggrin.gif

 

------------------

Bob.

[suremann]

This is a truly great thread. I'm new to these forums, but I read quite a few threads before I get the nerve to speak out. I know all of your usernames and most of the stands you take on certain issues. But, frankly, I'm intimidated by everyone's expertise, and embarassed by my own lack of great stories and advice. Your replies to this thread are strong reminders that we all have more than a few things in common.

 

Stevie Ray Vaughan was double-billed with Jeff Beck, and to close his set, he launched into Hendrix's "Voodoo Chile (slight return)." The wall of sound hit me in the chest and, for the first time, I knew I wanted to be part of it.

 

Two years later, I had the opertunity to see Mahler's Symphony 8 at King's College in Cambridge. There were over 1000 musicians playing and singing together for four conductors. The wall of sound didn't just hit me in the chest, it compressed my entire body repeatedly for over 2 hours. I will never forget the experience.

 

Thanks for listening,

Chris

[THE MIX FIX]

Chris:

 

Welcome to the insane asylum.

 

And don't be afraid to speak up.

 

Speaking for myself, we're ALL assholes around here!! http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/biggrin.gif

 

------------------

Bob.

[Guest]

And Bob would know...

 

Rich...

[THE MIX FIX]

Rich:

 

I smell, er hear ya!!

 

http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/tongue.gif

 

------------------

Bob.

[Oli P]

My dad said there was no way I could ever make a living from this.....so I had to proove him wrong http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/cool.gif

 

First band I really got turned on was CCR .

[Peter KF]

I was in third grade (a long time ago...) and a classmate brought in an accordion and played in front of the class. It was revealed to me that one could, oneself, make music. It's not that I didn't realize ordinary people could make music--my mother was having string quartet rehearsals in our living room. But until I saw my peer performing, I didn't realize that I could do it too. The funny thing was, she was playing an accordion, but I suddenly knew that what I wanted to play was the electric guitar--not just guitar, but electric guitar. Now this was long before everybody and their brother was playing guitar, and it took two years and moving to another state to find a guitar teacher (who, ironically, was really an accordion teacher dabbling in guitar-teaching).