My professor, Mike Wisland (Wiz), is one such person. He is very well connected and he knows pretty much everyone in the industry. From the head of Skywalker Sound, to the men who helped engineer the Beatles, to every owner of every recording studio from here to LA. Trust me, this is a man you want to know. He is constantly getting calls from these people with job offerings and pleas for help. This is an easy industry to get blacklisted from. One stupid mistake or one foul attitude, and nobody will work with you again. So Wiz only refers his most trusted students to these professionals.
As of three weeks ago, I was referred to the owner of Priddis music. Priddis is a company that, if you have ever sung Karaoke or used a minus track in a performance, you've probably used their products. Rick Priddis is the founder of one of the nation's largest performance track recording studios. They have thousands of songs in their catalog, that have been recorded over the last few decades.
The problem is that these songs have all been archived using different conventions, different numbering systems, and different media formats. In the back room, there is a huge, 50 ft long shelf, filled with everything from CD's, DVD's, cassettes, ADAT tape, DAT, and so on. These songs need to be re-archived and digitized onto their servers. This is where I come in.
I was hired on to help tackle this huge project. My job is to go through each song and find the vocal tracks, the instrument tracks, and the backup tracks. All of which are in different places. This is my list from which I am working:
There are over 3,000 track sheets in here, all of which are out of order and mislabeled. Fun stuff! Well, for me it is. you see, I've always enjoyed data entry, and I don't mind the experience. When most interns are hired at a recording studio, I'm not kidding when I say they are hired to scrub toilets. Most new hires work for at least a year running for coffee and licking boots, before they are even allowed in the studio! However, I am currently allowed to work, not only in the studio, but even use the mixing board and the computers to do my job. This is AWESOME!!!
This is the greatest thing to ever happen to my career. I actually work at a recording studio! Not only that, but Rick is having us TRAIN to use the board and to do actual recording sessions! This is unheard of! Anyway, needless to say, it's an incredible boost to my resume, and I just can't believe how lucky I am to be here doing this job. Yes, it's tedious and time-consuming, but it's still a real job in my career path. And they're paying me more than an intern would make too. Rick is a very laid back kind of guy, who really knows business. He is an understanding, level-headed man, who seems to be truly happy to have me there... This is something I couldn't have even asked for. To make matters even better, the studio at which I work is the coolest studio I've ever seen.
People underestimate the value of a COOL place to record. The artists need to feel comfortable and relaxed, if they are expected to "gel" and really perform their best. Well, this studio is ALL about "gelling". Check this place out! they call it The Castle:
http://bit.ly/N6p2qG
http://bit.ly/O0bRoM
I just love walking into this place, sitting down at the board, and playing for hours on end, and getting paid to do it! They say if you find what you like to do, you'll never work a day in your life... Well, if I can keep this gig, then that will be more of a prophecy than a cliche.
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