
John Maciel, Miami Dolphin & Tyler Rodriguez: How to Get an Internship, Studio Politics, Learning Pro Tools Fast
Finn McKenty
This episode features a roundtable with three URM moderators who successfully networked their way into killer internships: John Maciel, Miami Dolphin, and Tyler Rodriguez. John is currently working with Beau Burchell of Saosin, Miami is with pop-punk producer Kyle Black, and Tyler landed a spot with Sam Pura at The Panda Studios. They share their firsthand experiences of breaking into the industry and working alongside some of the best in the game.
In This Episode
Get ready for a super practical, no-BS discussion about what it really takes to get your foot in the door. John, Miami, and Tyler get real about the sacrifices they made, from moving across the country to learning Pro Tools on a two-week deadline. They break down the essential intern mindset: being a sponge, adapting to a pro’s workflow, and developing the editing speed to keep up. The guys also share crucial advice on navigating studio politics, like how to “be cool” around clients, when to offer your opinion (almost never), and how to read the vibe of a session. They even drop some serious life hacks for surviving on a shoestring budget while you’re paying your dues. If you’re trying to level up from your home studio to a pro environment, this episode is a must-listen.
Timestamps
- [0:07:43] Why you have to learn Pro Tools, even if you love another DAW
- [0:09:10] Miami’s story: Almost losing an internship because he didn’t know Pro Tools
- [0:11:32] How Miami learned the basics of Pro Tools in just two weeks
- [0:15:30] It’s an art form to watch a master work in their DAW
- [0:16:33] How John networked his way into an internship with Beau Burchell
- [0:19:34] Making the necessary sacrifices to go all-in on an opportunity
- [0:21:37] The importance of being cool and not overbearing
- [0:22:25] The single biggest skill John had to improve: Editing speed
- [0:25:28] How Tyler landed his internship with Sam Pura through social media
- [0:27:46] The intern mindset: Adapt to their world, don’t try to make them adapt to yours
- [0:29:13] Why “cleaning toilets” is really about respect for the space and process
- [0:32:14] Would you rather ride bitch in a Lamborghini or own a Toyota Corolla?
- [0:36:21] Miami’s story of getting robbed after moving across the country for audio
- [0:44:53] Why you need thick skin to survive in the audio industry
- [0:47:14] If you can’t handle the answer, don’t ask the question
- [0:54:22] Save your opinions unless they are specifically asked for
- [0:57:31] A story about handling a client who isn’t comfortable with you
- [1:00:44] The biggest rule: Always respect the vibe in the room
- [1:21:48] How to handle an internship without starving to death
- [1:28:33] The most significant changes they’ve seen in themselves since starting
Transcript
Speaker 1 (00:00:00):
Welcome to the Unstoppable Recording Machine Podcast, brought to you by the 2017 URM Summit, a once in a lifetime chance to spend four days with the next generation of audio professionals and special guests, including Andrew Wade, Kane Churko, Billy Decker Fluff, Brian Hood, and many more. The inspiration, ideas and friendship you'll get here are the things that you'll look back on as inflection points in your life. Learn [email protected]. And now your host.
Speaker 2 (00:00:32):
Hey Eyal Levi. One of the things that I love the most about what I do now is that we have a measurable impact on people's lives. This is the kind of thing that when I was a lot younger, I didn't understand how awesome it would feel to help people like that. And to be honest, I didn't really think I had that in me until very recently, but that's actually one of my favorite things about what we do at URM. I love seeing measurable, tangible results that we help people attain in their lives. It's a feeling that no amount of money can buy and it makes everything worth it. Anyhow, this episode is about three of our admins in our group, in our private Facebook group who have gone on to get really, really killer internships through the stuff that they've learned since they were a part of our community.
(00:01:35):
Also, with a little push and nudge from some of us with the networking. But the point is that these guys are making it happen. And I think that for all of you who may feel like you're not sure how to take the next step or you're not sure if you can sacrifice what you need to sacrifice in order to make it happen, well maybe this is the episode for you. And of course, if you want to talk to these guys about what they did and get some one-on-one time with them, just hit them up in the group. They'll be happy to tell you everything they did. And hey, if you are beyond seeking internship, meaning you're one of our pro listeners who have interns, maybe this is an episode for you to make your intern prospects listen to. I mean, because we get down to how to eat for cheap.
(00:02:29):
For instance, a lot of people who complain about internships complain that they don't know how they're going to eat affordably or how are they going to make ends meet while they're working for free for somebody? But we cover all that. We cover relocation, we cover all the things that an intern really has to really has to conquer in order to make that gig work. So enjoy. Alright, welcome to the Unstoppable Recording Machine Podcast. I am Eyal Levi, and this is going to be a cool episode because I'm talking to three of the admins from the Private Producers Club. The Private Producers Club is our exclusive group that comes with the subscription to Nail the Mix, or URM Enhanced. It's a place where community gets to talk to each other and talk shop and be friends troll free online. And I consider it the best community in audio, mainly because of the troll free environment. That's really, really tough to find. But what's cool also about our community is that lots of our podcast guests and now the mix guest mixers are in the community as well. So you have a bunch of people who are learning along with a bunch of people who are already pretty accomplished just hanging out. And we take the no troll thing pretty damn seriously, in my opinion, that shit is poison.
(00:03:55):
YouTube comments and just destructive environments online really, really bugged me, and I think that they're everything that's wrong with the internet. So we try to not allow that in our little world. We consider it an Oasis online. So anyways, these admins or group moderators that I'm bringing on have been with us for well over a year now. And in that time, they have all gotten themselves sick internships with a really, really awesome producers. And I figured that this would be a cool episode for you guys who are trying to work your way up in this industry to hear about what they did and what it takes and what kind of challenges they're going through and how they've had to up their game. So we'll introduce John Maciel. Hello. How's it going? Miami Dolphin. Hello.
Speaker 3 (00:04:53):
Hey, what's up everyone?
Speaker 2 (00:04:55):
And that's his real name. I've seen his driver's license and Mr. Tyler Rodriguez.
Speaker 4 (00:05:00):
Hello. Hello. Thanks for having me.
Speaker 2 (00:05:02):
Hey,
Speaker 5 (00:05:02):
So hey, before we get started, I just wanted to say congrats on another year, another successful year with URM. I know me and the other guys here are really happy for you guys, and just glad to be a part of it.
Speaker 2 (00:05:16):
Well, thank you very much. It's crazy, right? Started the podcast. Well, we started recording in November of 2014, but we launched it in March of 2015 and started to now the mix November, 2015, so it's exactly two years since now the mix, which is crazy.
Speaker 5 (00:05:35):
Yeah, it's awesome by,
Speaker 2 (00:05:36):
Yeah. Well, thank you guys for being a part of it and helping make the community awesome.
Speaker 4 (00:05:40):
You guys make it easy for us. Yeah, for sure.
Speaker 2 (00:05:43):
We, it's at a point where we can't do it without help anymore. It was one thing when it was like a hundred or 200 or even 500 people in there, but we've got almost 4,000 people in that group. So we need the help and not just need the help, but we need the right people in there who are willing to help other people and be cool and make it the exact kind of environment that I was talking about earlier. So thanks to you guys. And so anyone wondering, John here is working for Bob Burell. Bob Burell is the guitar player from SSON and a badass producer mixer who was actually on Nail the Mix doing a SSON track back in May of 2017. Tyler Rodriguez just got an internship with Sam Pura, the legend, Jerry Pop punk producer, who's best friends with everyone. And Miami Dolphin is working with the Honorable Kyle Black, who also has been on Nail the Mix. He did state champs in October of 2016, and he's also a staggeringly immense talent as a producer and mixer. So congrats to the three of you guys for landing those gigs.
Speaker 6 (00:07:03):
Shit, thanks.
Speaker 3 (00:07:06):
Holy
Speaker 6 (00:07:07):
Shit.
Speaker 3 (00:07:07):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (00:07:08):
So let's start with the most obvious thing. I know that online, a very popular thing to discuss are the DAW wars and
Speaker 6 (00:07:19):
God people
Speaker 2 (00:07:19):
Get really, really butt hurt about. Yeah. People get, and this is important, I just want everyone listening to know, I don't care what DAW you're using, it doesn't matter. They're all good. However, if you want to get picked up by somebody else as an intern, you most likely need to know your Pro Tools. Am I right?
Speaker 5 (00:07:43):
Yeah. Can I chime in on this for a second? You're correct. Yeah,
Speaker 2 (00:07:46):
Chime
Speaker 5 (00:07:47):
In. Okay. So yeah, we see this discussion all the time online, and I'm not going to lie, I like to poke fun at Reaper users just because an awesome doc. I think it's fantastic for anyone getting into the field and they don't have much money, but if you're trying to intern for somebody and they use, I've seen this before online, if they use Pro Tools and you're like, how do I get them to see the benefits of Cubase? It's like, dude, do you learn how to use Pro Tools when a situation comes up? Show them the benefit of cubase, but don't, pro Tools is predominantly used in the industry, so it makes sense for everyone to at least understand how it works and be able to record a session. And then if you use Reaper, cubase Logic, whatever, it's use it at home, but it's just whatever DAW is being used, learn how to use it so that you can land these gigs when they come up.
Speaker 2 (00:08:35):
And I suggest that everyone who's serious about this, even if you love your cubase or whatever, just learn Pro Tools, it is going to come up. Unless if you just decide that you never want to work under anybody, you never want to go to another studio to possibly track drums, you're just going to do everything on your own shit the entire time, then fine. But if you plan on leaving your house and using another studio, you got to learn it. And Miami, am I right that you wish that you had listened to me earlier about that? Weren't you a Reaper user?
Speaker 5 (00:09:10):
Oh,
Speaker 3 (00:09:10):
Miami. Tell 'em your story, dude. Oh, man. Oh man. Yeah. I almost didn't even have a shot at this internship because I didn't know Pro Tools. Let me start by saying first, it's not that you shouldn't know other dogs because I feel like you should know a little bit about all the popular dogs that are out there. You should at least be able to open up a session, be able to record, know a few shortcuts to get your way around. But at the end of the day, you need to be immensely, I don't even know the proper way to say it, but proficient.
(00:09:48):
You need to be proficient in Pro Tools without a doubt. And I like to think of it this way. You need to be a Jack of all trades and a master of one, and the one being Pro Tools. You need to know it inside and out. I was a Reaper user, a strong defender. I was part of the Reaper Cult. Anybody ever said anything? Yeah, yeah. I was making my own skins, writing my own scripts. I was doing everything, but at the end of the day, it didn't really matter because by being a Reaper user, no matter how much I learned in that daw, if I wanted to intern for somebody that was in the field that I was going in and he didn't use it, I wasted my time. I spent all that time for nothing, and
Speaker 5 (00:10:36):
I wanted to put it out there. Miami literally learned the basics of Pro Tools in two or three days, just enough to get him into the position he's in. I don't know a lot of guys who would do that. He didn't sleep for two or three days.
Speaker 4 (00:10:49):
It was really cool to see that happen so fast.
Speaker 5 (00:10:51):
That was rad.
Speaker 2 (00:10:52):
Well, if you didn't do it, you wouldn't have the gig.
Speaker 4 (00:10:54):
Yep.
Speaker 2 (00:10:56):
And I know I was talking to Kyle about it and he was like, I'm going to give this kid two weeks to, he was like, I'm only going to extend this to him because it's coming through you, but I'm giving this kid two weeks to know what he's doing in Pro Tools and if not, moving on. So that was what, five months ago? Four months?
Speaker 3 (00:11:20):
About 5, 5, 6 months, five ago I'd say.
Speaker 2 (00:11:23):
So sounds like you learned it, but I remember that we didn't hear from you online for those two weeks.
Speaker 4 (00:11:30):
Oh, he disappeared off the face of the Earth.
Speaker 2 (00:11:32):
Yeah. Tell us about how you went about learning it so fast. What did you do?
Speaker 3 (00:11:36):
Really? There were a few courses you have to get AL'S course that comes with the bonus information for editing. Are you talking about the bootcamp? That's number Yeah, of course.
Speaker 2 (00:11:51):
That's the Live Monuments bootcamp that I did.
Speaker 3 (00:11:55):
Dude, that's a must
Speaker 5 (00:11:56):
Own for anyone who wants to do this.
Speaker 3 (00:11:58):
Yeah, that literally was, that was a lot of the editing part. But what I would do was I would look up shortcuts and get my hotkeys down, and in the morning I would open up a session and I would only work by using those hotkeys, so I wouldn't do anything manually. I would do that every single morning for about an hour, and then I would let the day go on, do other stuff, and I would go back and I would do it again. Repetition is key. There was a podcast with Joel a long time ago kind of talking about this, talking about speeding up your workflow, and he had mentioned that you need to constantly be doing the same thing over and over, so it's drilled in your brain and you never forget it. And I took it to heart. Now, that's not to say that I became a Master of Tools in two weeks, but I did get a pretty basic understanding. I mean, I could record a session, I could mix somebody in Pro Tools in two weeks. I was able to edit in Pro Tools. I knew Beat Detective Elastic Audio. I knew how to use all of those things in a two week period, and I didn't sleep. I slept maybe like four hours a night. It was pretty crazy and intense, but at the end of the day, that's what had to be done to get to where I'm at now. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (00:13:20):
Congrats, dude. Good job. Well, another thing that I want to mention is that this didn't exist when you were learning it, but we just put out a introduction to Pro Tools FastTrack with John Douglas. It's available through URM enhanced. If you're now the Mix subscriber, go to nail the mix.com/upgrade. Or if you're not, go to URM academy slash enhanced. And this Fast Track is about six hours of the most intense and dense Pro tools instruction you find.
Speaker 4 (00:13:52):
Oh, that's exactly what everybody needs.
Speaker 5 (00:13:54):
Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 4 (00:13:55):
Everyone for real.
Speaker 5 (00:13:56):
Yeah, no, for sure. Everyone needs to, even if you don't use Pro Tools, definitely need to watch it because the stuff that John gives us in there, I'm watching it and I'm just like, damn. A lot of it's cool. Bo does some of it and a little few other things. I'm like, dude, I never even knew that existed in Pro Tools and I've been using it for 10 years, and it's just rad.
Speaker 2 (00:14:15):
Yeah, it's great. And it's basically, if you study that and actually do a good job learning that stuff, you will be good enough to get gigs
Speaker 3 (00:14:27):
If
Speaker 2 (00:14:27):
You actually do the work. And it comes with practice tracks and everything.
Speaker 3 (00:14:31):
Yeah, there's a little bit more to that as well. It's not just knowing how to use Pro Tools, it's being proficient in Fast in Pro Tools. That's really what it comes down to. Oh, yeah. Because a lot of people know how to use Pro Tools. They've been using it for a long time, but can you edit at the speed of what the person you're interning for can? Because if not, you're going to have, yeah. Can you do it in, does it take you twice as long? Does it take you three times as long? How long does it take you and you have? Yeah, especially when you're watching these pros. Trust me, you've never seen anything like it. The way that they move is insane. It's like a second nature to them. It's like they were born with it. It's crazy.
Speaker 2 (00:15:19):
Except they weren't born with it. They definitely were not born with it. They also, at one point in time, did not know what the fuck they were doing inside of their DAW, and they mastered it.
Speaker 5 (00:15:30):
Yeah, no, it's an art form to watch a master work because yeah, you have to put in the time and the effort to get there. And then it makes me watching Beau, when I watch Beau work, I'm just like, shit damnit. I have so much fucking work to do. But then I feel so great when the following week, I can do something twice as fast as I did the week before. And it makes me feel that much, I don't know how to explain it. It's like a natural high. When you get that good at a doll and you're so proficient, it's not just being fast too, it's also making sure your ear is focused in on whatever your task you're doing and executing with the highest of excellence.
Speaker 2 (00:16:05):
So speaking of bo, how did you come across that gig and what kinds of things did you have to, I guess, pick up in order to maintain the gig? That's also been, what, five or six months now? So you didn't get canned immediately,
Speaker 5 (00:16:22):
Which is great. It's been like, I think I'm going on, I've been in LA for three months now, so it's been like a three month gig, but I started talking to him a couple of months prior.
Speaker 2 (00:16:32):
Oh, okay. Got it.
Speaker 5 (00:16:33):
Yeah. So the way I got in connection with Bo is, as you guys know, he did the nail the mix, and I am a huge sales and fanboy. So I was really stoked to see him do and nail the mix and kind of see, okay, cool, I'm going to see him mix with Anthony Green. This is going to be awesome. So we had a URM meetup, which by the way, if you guys are in any local chapter that there's a URM meetup group go to it. I cannot emphasize enough how great it is that you can meet other people from the community. And then if the guys are in town like Eyal, Joey and Joel, it's even more People show up, obviously, and it's even greater. You can network with people. And if you're shy talking, everyone's shy almost. So you can just walk up to someone just like, dude, what do you do? Let's talk about last month's mix. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (00:17:23):
It's a group of people where everybody has social anxiety, so the social anxiety should cancel itself out.
Speaker 5 (00:17:28):
Yeah, no, it's rad.
Speaker 2 (00:17:30):
It tends to,
Speaker 5 (00:17:31):
Yeah. So after that, I got to meet Beau. And the funny thing is I have an original EP from the first sales in EP that I've had since high school. So this thing's like 16 years old or something, and I've never been able to get Beau's signature. So I took it with me at that URM meetup and I wasn't sure about it, but to this day, I'm glad I did it because it helped with how I got into the conversation with him. So he pod it out there that he was looking for an intern, and I honestly was not going to hit him up because of, I didn't think I was ready for that. I was going through a lot of stuff in my own personal life, but Miami is one of those guys that everybody needs in their corner. He'll push you to do stuff you don't want to do.
(00:18:15):
Miami is one of those guys that I'm glad I met him through URM because having a friend like him in my corner really helps keep me in check sometimes. And Miami was just like, look dude, I've talked to Bo one. Are you ever going to have another opportunity to work with someone you idolize and it's doing this and is great? And I didn't have an answer, so I was like, well, fuck it. I'm going to hit up boat. What are going to say? What are you going to say no to that? Just do it. Yeah, exactly. So when I messaged Bo, it was really easy to tell him who I was. I was like, Hey, I'm that guy who asked you to sign the EP at the URM meetup. So right there, he already knew who I was. I was the only guy that did that.
(00:18:53):
And then we started talking and he told me he basically wanted to clone himself. He really needed to have someone who worked exactly how he worked. Luckily through the nail, the mix, his workflow looked really similar to kind of how I like to work. So I was like, okay, that makes sense. So from that point, it was just talking because I was still living an hour and a half away. But after that initial conversation, I went to work the following day, I was like, Hey, I'm moving to la. And I put in for a transfer, put my apartment, got out of the lease, started selling all my stuff. And because in my mind I was like, I'm going to do this and I'm going to go full force. I'm not going to let anything stop you.
Speaker 2 (00:19:34):
I heard you dumped a girl too.
Speaker 5 (00:19:35):
No. Okay, so I'll put this out there so people know. Oh God, it was not dunked. I was engaged at the beginning of the year, and what happened was we were supposed to move to Texas and pursue audio, and the relationship wasn't working. So it ended and there's no hard feelings, still tons of love and respect for one another. So at that point, I hope this helps one out you're with, I replaced her with Bo the best way possible, but no. So a lot of people who has nicer hair, Bo has this awesome dog too, and a heated toilet. Oh dude, the B bidet for days. Oh, now I'm on. Okay. Yeah. So I knew at that moment when it ended, okay, I can either make 2017, stay the worst year of my life and wallow in my depression and shit, or I could fucking make it the best year of my fucking life.
(00:20:37):
And I've honestly have made it the best year of my fucking life to this moment, and I have no regrets. Yeah, it's hard. A lot of struggle, a lot of uncomfortable parts. But I'm so fucking stoked that everything's happened where it's happened now I'm interning for Beau learning so much from the guy, and it's all because of basically what happened at the beginning of the year, me moving to Rancho Cucamonga and then me just taking a leap of faith and moving to LA and just talking with Beau. And one key thing I want to point out there for people, if they're looking to intern from these type of people, be cool. I know it's one thing to say it, but don't overbear them if it's going to happen, it's going to happen on their time because they're doing this for a living and they, they're going to essentially bring you into their world and their world has imagine a fast track to life because that's exactly what they're allowing you to witness, is how to get the job done and how to set your bar.
(00:21:37):
And you've just got to be cool about it. Let them be, just be cool. I dunno how to explain it. When I was listening to Nick's podcast, Nick, without saying it was just Nick Otta. Yeah, that podcast, everyone needs to listen to it because everything he said in that podcast, I was like, shit, I was doing that. Alright, cool. Now it makes sense why I'm still in this position. And you just got to be cool, but also determined and willing to put in those hours. There was plenty of, there's still nights where if I need to be up until four in the morning doing edits for Bo, I'm going to be up until four in the morning and I still have a full-time job, by the way. So it's just a matter of fucking not being afraid to grind.
Speaker 2 (00:22:19):
And what skills did you have to pick up in order to be able to keep this?
Speaker 5 (00:22:25):
Honestly, editing is the biggest thing that I've had to pick up. Beau Moves quick and the first session that I helped him on was this band named Era. They're on Samian. And it was really crazy that the first project I'm helping him on is actually a signed band and he's entrusting me to get these edits done and get 'em done on time. So the project keeps moving forward and I really learned a lot about my workflow and I had to speed it up because he's sending me songs. It's, it's a smearing band, so it's like all metal riffs really quick and sharp. So I had to just figure out what quick keys do I need to learn? What are editing hacks that I'm not utilizing? And I went from being able to edit a song in four hours to two hours and just seeing what I'm doing wrong and seeing what moves I'm doing consistently and how can I take the workout.
(00:23:23):
That's why John Douglas's fast track is so awesome. He's condensed a lot of moves so that it's like instead of taking a minute now you're only taking 20 seconds. That adds up. It does. It really, really does. I mean, you get tired. So it's like I need to learn how to edit this in two hours the right way so that I can apply that two hours. The other two hours I would've done to another song so that, because the way it was working is Bo would send me a track, I would edit and send it to him in the morning and he would review it and if they were still working on it, he would like, Hey man, this wasn't right. Can you send it back? Cool. And I can knock out two songs in one night as opposed to one previously. So stuff like that,
Speaker 2 (00:24:07):
That makes a huge, huge difference. And just for anyone curious, the podcast he was referring to is one with a dude named Nick Palata who went from being an intern with Andrew Wade to being his engineer. And then we hired him to help with all the technical stuff on Nail the Mix. He travels all over the world with us and we trust him and he even films fast tracks for us. And I'm just going to go ahead and say that what you were saying about being cool s very true. Nick didn't know anything about video when we hired him. We knew his personality though, and we took a leap of faith that if we hired him, he would learn it all and he did it paid off. But again, so we did that based on personality, not based on skills. So if your personality is right, people will give you a chance, even if your skills aren't a hundred percent there, as long as they know that you're willing to develop the skills. And then Tyler,
Speaker 6 (00:25:13):
So
Speaker 2 (00:25:14):
You work with Sam. Tell us about that. How did you land that? Because from what I understand, you didn't even have your own rig for a little while. The whole situation fell apart.
Speaker 4 (00:25:28):
Yeah. Well, what happened was for me is that the place where I've been recording and mixing at was at a friend's house and then he moved up to Seattle. So I've been without a rig and setup for a few months. But during that time though, what's been cool is Sam is actually anyone is from the Bay Area. Sam has been a person that everyone pretty much knows either from, he's produced maybe one of your local bands to your fan of the band he was in back around like 2007, eight or oh nine. And so I'm a fan of his in general and over social media for the last year. I would just comment or just ask him questions over Twitter about audio stuff, just general stuff like that. And we would pick up small conversations. And eventually just over the course of weeks, he just sent out an invite to me just saying, Hey man, we should hang out in real life, come by Panda whenever you feel like it, just let me know.
(00:26:19):
We'll hang out. And so what ended up happening was around September right after I had no setup or anything and I had been touching audio for a while. I went up to Panda and my relationship with him is a little bit different than John and Miami's. Sam could pretty much do run everything there by himself, and he edits everything himself right there on the spot in tracking or whatnot. But what he did was he opened the door for me to pick his brain and learn his methods, but then he also started teaching me the flow of his studio and how it all operates and how he does everything when he is recording bands there. And eventually he allowed me to start just helping out with either, whether it was him setting up for the band the next day or he was going to track something for the band or track him doing something for the band or when there was an artist in there helping facilitate getting it all set up. And so it just kind of was this slow progression of just slowly becoming, as he calls it, best friends with him and just learning how he operates and slowly just helping out more and more and more there. And that's kind of where I'm at right now. It's only been about a month that I've been going back and forth up there, but it's been great so far.
Speaker 2 (00:27:30):
So one of the big things that I'm hearing from the three of you, and I know that we kind of touched on this earlier, but you guys are going into these situations trying to adapt to whatever you're given rather than trying to adapt the situation.
Speaker 3 (00:27:46):
Oh, most definitely. Yeah. That wouldn't work in my situation at
Speaker 2 (00:27:50):
All. No, no, it wouldn't work in almost any situation
Speaker 4 (00:27:55):
For me. I just went in as a sponge just like I know what I know from what I've done in the past a little bit, but I'm fully ready to absorb whatever he says is the way he does it. That is the way to do it, and that's it. And I'm ready to go. That's it.
Speaker 5 (00:28:08):
Yeah, no, exactly. You're trying to enter for a guy and he's successful and he's producing label projects like, dude, do it his way. He's successful. Why you wouldn't be in your position if you weren't as successful. So just be cool, do the work and shut up. Oh, it blows my mind.
Speaker 4 (00:28:27):
Everything from this is how we take out the trash to hey, this is how we tie, this is how we do all the cables. This is how we wrap, this is how we organize. This is where in each room they go, it's like, okay, got it. Perfect. I know exactly what you need. And that's the way it is. That's it.
Speaker 2 (00:28:42):
Speaking of taking out the trash and stuff like that, I know that there's talk online and about how an intern's job is just cleaning toilets and all that, but I think that that's mischaracterized. I think what it is is more that part of the intern's job is keeping the place presentable. And it's not like the guy who owns the place isn't going to also help keep the place presentable. But it's like if you're part of the team, it's
Speaker 4 (00:29:11):
Respect.
Speaker 2 (00:29:12):
Yeah, respect
Speaker 4 (00:29:13):
For the studios, respect for the places, respect for the equipment, it's respect for the process,
Speaker 5 (00:29:17):
All that. You try to be an apprentice at a tattoo shop, you're going to freaking sweep and mop floors and clean up. It's just like you got to pay your dues and be respectful and it becomes, the studio becomes a second home. You spend so much time there.
Speaker 4 (00:29:28):
It also needs to be presentable to people who come in too. And you just have to help maintain that. It's not just for someone's ego, it's also, Hey, people come in here. This place needs to be a place that people could come in. And I'm proud of it and it's clean and ready to go.
Speaker 2 (00:29:41):
And the whole respect thing is huge because I can tell you as someone who has hired people, if I don't feel like they respect me or my shit or the opportunity or the space, I don't want to be near them. I think that anybody who does this for a living or is close to doing it for a living, I'm not going to say they're lucky, I don't believe in luck outside of the lottery, but they're extremely fortunate and they're getting to do something that thousands of other people would sell off their parents into slavery or something.
Speaker 4 (00:30:23):
It's not even
Speaker 2 (00:30:23):
Into the black market sex trade.
Speaker 4 (00:30:26):
And for me, it's something I would've not had even expected three months ago. It wasn't even something I was directly aiming for. It was just one of those things that kind of slowly happened over time and just taking in one step, one step at a time.
Speaker 5 (00:30:38):
Dude, I'm so happy for you.
Speaker 4 (00:30:40):
I was the last one. I was the last one to tried to help out anywhere.
Speaker 5 (00:30:44):
He came out to LA and me and Miami hung out with him, and I don't know if maybe it was seriously a week or two later, he's like, Hey guys, I'm hanging out with Sam. We're just like, Hey, yeah, fuck yeah, dude. That's the kind of, I want to be equally as excited for everyone in URM for their achievements as my own. So for him to be in that position, I'm so happy for him.
Speaker 4 (00:31:04):
Yeah, it was,
Speaker 2 (00:31:05):
That makes me think of that cliche that I always bring up, but it's true that you are the average of the five people you spend the most time with. So if you have big dreams and want a life, that's not what you currently have. You want something better than what you currently have. A big part of that is to be friends with people who are more in line with what you want because it'll rub off on you.
Speaker 5 (00:31:34):
Oh yeah, totally. You also say you like being the dumbest person in the room, but not necessarily the dumbest, but you want to be around people smarter than you. I feel the same exact way. If I start hanging out with someone and I realize I've kind of hit a plateau of what our relationship is. I know that time we're still, we can still be friends, but I need something more because I'm ready to grow more as a person. So both of those are very key in success in life, I think. I feel like Miami
Speaker 2 (00:32:01):
Was about to say something.
Speaker 3 (00:32:02):
I was, but I forgot dude, Miami. I was just listening at that point. Just like the
Speaker 5 (00:32:07):
Quietest I've ever heard Miami. I know. Yeah, I know.
Speaker 3 (00:32:10):
He usually likes the floor
Speaker 5 (00:32:12):
And I tried giving it to him.
Speaker 3 (00:32:14):
He's mastermind. I'm letting John get his shine right now. I got some stuff to say. Alright, go ahead Miami. It's all you. Now take it. There's a couple things I do want to talk about. Actually, let's do it. Biggest thing I want to talk about, and a lot of people ask this question, they say, well, do you really want to intern at a studio or do you think that you'd be better off working and building your own studio and going that route? A lot of people will ask me that question. And the way that I kind of look at it is this, would you rather ride bitch in a Lamborghini or be the proud owner of a Toyota Corolla? Oh man, this is the Miami we've been missing. Yes, yes. You know what I'm talking about? No, that's really how I like to look at it. And obviously I'm equating that Lamborghinis who working out of a high grade studio where you're not driving, you're there, you're in the passenger seat when you're driving by, people are looking at you, they think you're fresh, but then you could be not have your car completely paid off and have a Toyota Corolla that's more your own studio. It's modest. It gets the job done, but at the end of the day, what are you striving for? And I'm one of those people that would rather ride bitch in a Lamborghini. That's just how I'm
Speaker 2 (00:33:39):
Also once, if you're riding bitch in a Lamborghini, you're in that environment so you understand what it takes to play at that level. If you're in the Toyota Corolla, that's fine. You will get from point A to point B safely and that's fine, but you're not going to take in the information you need if you want to up your game. And there are a few outliers out there. There's definitely some guys who never interned anywhere and developed huge careers. And then there's some guys who are totally cool with working at a local or regional level, and that's totally fine too. I mean to each their own. But if you want to go big, you need to put yourself around people who are already doing it. And I don't see it as an either or. I don't see it as, would you rather do this or do that? I see it as the universe is going to grant you opportunities
(00:34:40):
And you need to be smart enough and aware enough to pounce on these opportunities when they're in front of you. And these opportunities are not going to necessarily be exactly what you had envisioned. For instance, the opportunity for me to start an online audio school with Joey Sturgis is not what I had envisioned happening years before that. It's not how I saw the future turning out, but it was an opportunity that I saw and I pounced on it. And lo and behold, it's been fantastic. But you need to be able to discern what's a great opportunity that will get you further. So for instance, say you want to eventually have your own studio and be the boss of that, well, maybe interning and engineering under somebody for a few years riding bitch in that Lamborghini can give you all the knowledge, connections, and understanding of what it'll take to do your own thing, but at a high level,
Speaker 3 (00:35:45):
Oh, fuck yeah.
Speaker 2 (00:35:45):
Where you may not have had that info otherwise.
Speaker 3 (00:35:47):
Totally. And to touch on what he was saying a little bit more, everybody is going to have a different walk of life here. Like myself, Tyler, John. We're three very different people. And things that happened for us happened in very different ways when I decided that I was going to really focus on audio, and that was what I was going to do for the rest of my life. And a lot of that's thanks to nail the, actually it's thanks to nail the mix. I'll just say that.
Speaker 2 (00:36:20):
Awesome. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (00:36:21):
I decided to move my family from Connecticut all the way to California. I saved up probably about 10 grand. I was working crazy, doing tons of bands, recording, doing anything to save up money. And I moved out here. And when I moved out here, I ended up getting robbed because I had rented out a place from somebody that was evicted from where it was now. That took a big chunk of cash that I had, but I still had some stuff, but it was really hard to set myself up the way that I wanted to.
Speaker 2 (00:37:00):
Didn't you lose over three grand in that?
Speaker 3 (00:37:03):
Yeah. Yeah. It was a little over $3,000. And the funny thing is you can never be too careful with anything in life. So in this situation, I had recorded my whole conversation that I had with this person. This person's wanted as they have a warrant out for their arrest, the whole nine. It's crazy because I recorded the whole thing. I have conversations like document everything, whether it's this, whether you're with a band and you guys have conversations, always have contracts. Everything you do always cover your ass. And I'm in the middle of getting a restitution from the court from that still. That was over a year ago, and it's crazy what I had to go through. But I moved all the way out here and I laid a little low from nail the mix for a while. Honestly. I was just trying to get my life back together.
(00:37:59):
And then I ended up becoming an admin, and it was crazy. I had picked back up a little bit more into it because I was pretty down. But then I started feeling better about myself and getting back into audio. And then when I joined on the team, everything really started changing for me, and I was getting more job offers I got for what I do for a living now is I work in commercial licensing, so I'm doing audio regardless, but I do basically, you could kind of say that I make songs for television. I guess that would be the easiest way to put it. But all of that led up to the point that I am now. And really what really got me cemented in this spot was Eyal going out on the line for me when he had talked to Kyle for me to make this happen for me. And it was just, I could never repay him for what he did because Kyle was basically, you
Speaker 2 (00:39:02):
Repay me by now, fucking it up and embarrassing me, basically.
Speaker 3 (00:39:08):
I mean, because Kyle is basically directly in my realm and the genre that I work in, I could not have found a better person on the planet. Such a perfect, yeah, yeah, yeah. You guys don't really know me that well, but that is my field. That is my jam. Kyle is basically the person that holds together. The pop punk is not dead playlist. When you search that on Spotify, most of the mixes are by him. So it's just a crazy fit. But that's my story. So it's like I came all the way from Connecticut, moved here and brought my family with me and put it all out on the line to enhance my career. John moved from another part of California and part of his family was separated and he still fought through that to get to where he is. And that's a totally different situation. And then you have Tyler who's just a cool dude and kind of just put himself in the place to walk through the door. That happens for some people. Some people it will work for like that. But you want to be a Tyler, you want to be a Tyler, but most likely you're going to be a John or a Miami. Let's just keep it real. Well
Speaker 2 (00:40:25):
Mean. But either way, the point is that whether or not you, I mean, let's just say that Tyler didn't have his life fall apart or something like that, or get robbed. But still, what matters is if you walk through that door and make a good impression, all the other shit doesn't matter. And it might be insensitive to say that, but the universe doesn't give a fuck that you got robbed. It just doesn't care. Yeah, they don't care. I mean, nobody cares. Your friends care. Well, your friend should care and your family should care and people should care. But at the end of the day, business doesn't care. And all that matters is do you have the right attitude, the right skills, and are you willing to do what it takes? And so to experience that kind of hardship and still be like, fuck it, I'm doing this, is that's actually part of the reason why I felt comfortable contacting Kyle and telling him was because most people would have moved to la gotten robbed and then moved right back
Speaker 6 (00:41:31):
And
Speaker 2 (00:41:31):
Been like, fuck it, LA's too hard. Or I am cursed. It's a curse. It's not going to happen for me. It's a sign. But obviously you were depressed for a little bit, and that's understandable, but you got your shit back together. And I figured that if you're able to do that, most people are not that you probably wouldn't make me look like an idiot for recommending you. Not very. I don't just recommend people. No,
Speaker 4 (00:42:06):
No,
Speaker 5 (00:42:06):
Not at all.
Speaker 2 (00:42:07):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (00:42:08):
That's one thing I love about you. I've done that before. You're a straight shooter. And I personally appreciate that being a URM admin. All of us have gone in the AL'S straight blunt talk,
Speaker 6 (00:42:20):
But
Speaker 5 (00:42:21):
It's always for the better. And I actually think in life it's made me a better person. I don't bitch out when someone has an issue. Now I'm just like, okay, cool. I just won't fuck that up again. Now I'm more competent in that area. Sick. Let's move on.
Speaker 4 (00:42:33):
Yeah, it's very Well,
Speaker 5 (00:42:34):
I mean, I'm not mean though, mean anything. Don't, you're just
Speaker 2 (00:42:37):
Official. Some people are mean. I try to not be mean. I just try to be like, you're helpful. It's more just like this is the problem. I don't want this problem to continue. This is why I don't want it to continue. This is the solution I propose. Or if I don't have a solution, I'll be like, you guys need to figure it out, but this can't continue.
Speaker 4 (00:43:01):
That's what makes it so good. We don't have to try to read into what you say. It's not like gray. It's black and white. We can easily tell, okay, this is what we need to fix. Okay, got it done. We'll move on. Like you said, we don't take it personal. And that's how I am at work. I work a day job at retail, and it's the same way. I love when managers or anyone else is like, oh, this is the issue and this is it, and that's it. You're like, okay, cool. We'll fix it and we're good. And we'll never make that mistake again.
Speaker 2 (00:43:24):
Well, I'm glad to hear that that works, because sometimes I hear from people who fucking hate that I'm that way.
Speaker 4 (00:43:31):
No, unless you're like, you have to personally attack someone for if I have to be personally attacked in order to be like, oh, man, I don't know. Otherwise, I'm like, oh, okay. There was an issue. We'll fix it. All right, good. We're good.
Speaker 3 (00:43:43):
Now, the thing that I look at it this way, if you're that sensitive to constructive criticism, then sometimes this field, this field is ruthless. This field will fuck you up. Yeah. This field is ruthless. The way that Eyal talks to you is he's just telling you the truth and the truth hurts. Sometimes. He tells you honestly how it's going to be. And if you think that what he's saying to you is harsh, then wait till you actually get out there and see. It's like your parents, they're like, oh, you don't know what's going out. And the real world, you're in a sheltered environment right here, and you're just like, ah, they're horrible. They tell me this away, my iPhone. And then you get out. Yeah. And then you're out and you're like, holy shit. Rents do fuck taxes. Yeah, big boy shit. But when he tells you something, he means it. It's like he's telling you the honest truth. He's not lying to you. He would never lie to you. He's just telling you something to point you in the right direction. You need to be able to take that and make yourself a better person for it, honestly.
Speaker 2 (00:44:53):
So let's talk about being thick skinned, because I mean, obviously everybody has their moments of weakness where shit gets to them, but you really do have to have a thick skin. And I definitely agree, and I've actually thought about that too, where I've thought that if someone can't handle me telling them that they need to fix something or that something's not going to fly, then how the fuck are they going to survive in the real world when people will fucking can them
Speaker 3 (00:45:22):
And
Speaker 2 (00:45:23):
Never call them back again or
Speaker 3 (00:45:25):
Potentially
Speaker 2 (00:45:26):
Try to blacklist them? How will they, if you get canned from a gig, it's not just you got canned from a gig, it's also what have you come up and someone asks that guy that canned you why they canned you. And it can lead to all kinds of bad repercussions. And I guess it can, well, it depends on how you deal with it, but what I'm getting at is there's a lot of things that can really fuck your day up if you let it. And part of surviving in this game is not letting that get to you. So I'm wondering, do you guys think that you guys were always thick skinned or is it something that you've developed? Yep.
Speaker 5 (00:46:10):
Developed? Yeah. For me, I was born with it. Good. I know for me personally, the biggest thing that's helped me is being a URM admin, because I've gotten to know UAL and your approach and the podcast and just knowing how to, you have to grow that thick skin. And one thing with Beau that I learned within the first couple of weeks is you have to not only be thick skin, but know anything can fall apart at any moment and not let that bother you. One band might say, oh yeah, we're going to record with you, and the label might have a different plan, and you've got to not let that falling out, disrupt the relationship or anything. The day goes on, business goes on. You just got to be able to not let it hit your ego or insecurities and just be able to just keep moving forward because you let that give you one step back, then it's like, now you've got to build yourself up again, and there's no reason to do that. Just keep going forward and just be the incredible Holt. Just like, no, you can handle any shit that comes your way.
Speaker 3 (00:47:14):
I know, and there's something else I want to say to that too. I'll let you go in a second, Tyler. My bad. The thing that I notice is people never seem to have thick skin with questions that they ask themselves. I feel like when most people say that or they're bothered by something, it's a question that they asked and they didn't like the answer. I feel like if you ask a question to something and you don't like the answer of it, you shouldn't take that personally. I notice a lot of people will say that they can't handle the way that other people talk to them or say things to them. And I'm like, Hey, if you can't handle the answer, don't ask the question. That's honestly how I feel about it.
Speaker 2 (00:47:59):
I completely agree
Speaker 3 (00:48:03):
On my mix, my mix. It's like, can you guys create this for me? It's like, oh, it's lacking low end. Actually, I think the low end sounds fine.
Speaker 4 (00:48:10):
Well, shit,
Speaker 3 (00:48:11):
It's like, well, then what'd you ask me for? You know what I mean?
Speaker 2 (00:48:14):
Yeah. Well, that used to happen to me all the time, and that's why I am super selective about who I give advice to or whatever. But I remember back in the day, there's this one dude who would hit me up and be like, Hey, I want to buy a new guitar rig. Okay, what's your budget? He'd be like, 1500. I'd be like, all right, what are you looking at? And he, I'd talked to him for two or three hours and help him map out this perfect rig, and then he'd get the exact opposite of what I told him to get. And this happened two or three times to where I was just like, that, this is never happening again.
Speaker 3 (00:48:56):
Can we please take a second to talk about option C guy?
Speaker 2 (00:49:01):
Option C?
Speaker 3 (00:49:05):
The person that's like, you're like, okay, I'm stuck between whether I want this API preamp or this Neve preamp. And the guy comes in, well, have you heard of blank, blank, blank, dude? It's like,
Speaker 5 (00:49:17):
You're not helpful. You're not answering the question.
Speaker 2 (00:49:21):
Yeah. It's very, very annoying. And actually, I try to discourage that in the group a lot, but when someone's asking a question like A or B, try to give them the answer to A or B, not suggest something else they didn't hear of, because it's kind of rude. And also it reminds me, A, we get a lot of designers or web designers hitting us up and being like, Hey, did you guys that you could do this and this on your backend? And it's like, yeah, we're aware. Do you think we didn't think of that already? There's probably a reason for why we're not doing it, and sometimes it doesn't bug me, but sometimes it's kind of rude and it's assuming it's because it's assuming that the person who's asking the question didn't already think of that and decide it wasn't good for them
Speaker 5 (00:50:14):
Or more than them. And it might be a person who actually knows more than you. They just want an opinion on A or B, not option C. You know what I mean?
Speaker 2 (00:50:23):
Because option C is not right for them. That's why they're asking A or B. B, they're not saying A or B or a possible C.
Speaker 3 (00:50:31):
Yeah, this is how it is. A lot of times it also goes with questions about budgets or something. Someone will be like, oh, I'm looking for a preamp in the range of 500 to $700. It's like, oh, well, here's the link to this $2,000 preamp that I have. It's like, dude, it's like, obviously that's not what I'm looking for because I just said how much money I can afford to spend. You know what I mean? Dude, Miami, just say that.
Speaker 2 (00:50:59):
I will say, dude, I have said that to people only if I know that they don't know what they're looking for. If they're total nubs, for instance, and they're about to make a really stupid purchase, I will tell them to just save up, because sometimes it's about saving the person from fucking themselves up. And I realized that I just totally invalidated what I said before, but I do have a little bit of expertise on this topic. And so if I know that someone who's a total noob is about to drop $200 on something that's going to break in three months where they could spend $400 on something that'll last 10 years, I'm going to tell them that
Speaker 3 (00:51:46):
Totally.
Speaker 2 (00:51:47):
It's not based on some sort of ego-based preference for an ax effects versus a Kemper or a PC versus a Mac or anything like that. If I do that, there's a super specific reason, and it's usually that I don't want to see this kid who's in the group who's paying me money, paying URM money to help us help them. I don't want to see them make a dumb decision.
Speaker 3 (00:52:15):
And also what I'll add, another reason why I brought this up is sometimes, and I'm sure you guys have been in this situation too, when you're talking to who you're interning for, you're talking to the boss man and they're like, oh, listen to these two mixes, and tell me which one you think sounds better and why you think it sounds better, and
Speaker 5 (00:52:34):
Has that happened to you guys yet? Not that situation, but I've had to listen to other mixes,
Speaker 4 (00:52:40):
Not
Speaker 5 (00:52:41):
Doing,
Speaker 4 (00:52:42):
Not mixes, but with tones. I usually will listen to what he's doing. He'll look at me, do you hear it? And I'm like, yes or no?
Speaker 5 (00:52:48):
Oh, man, those yes or no moments are so eyeopening. I'm just like, oh, they can't be Jesus.
Speaker 4 (00:52:54):
Or sometimes they're so subtle and I'm just like, am I that dumb that I can't hear it yet?
Speaker 5 (00:53:00):
Yeah. Well, your ears not developed like theirs. I don't discourage myself. I'm just like, oh, now I know what to listen for. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (00:53:07):
But it's important to be honest. If you can't tell the difference,
Speaker 6 (00:53:11):
That's
Speaker 2 (00:53:12):
Part of, that's actually good information. I know that when I would do that for an intern or something, and if they couldn't tell that, I want to know that because if they can't tell, most likely I am keying in on something insignificant and I need to focus on something else.
Speaker 5 (00:53:29):
Oh, yeah. And that's only going to shoot you in the foot later on because let's say it's an edit thing and he's like, oh, you hear that and you're like, yeah, yeah. And then when you turn in edits again, and guess what? That one anomaly is there and you're just like, now you look like an asshole. So yeah, don't do it.
Speaker 3 (00:53:45):
But the reason I brought that up was to say, if someone's asking you, oh, what's the difference between, or Do you like a B? And they're going back and forth and playing it with different mastering settings or mixing settings or whatever, don't give an opinion on what you think should be changed to make A or B better or whatever. Just go with the flow. Listen to what they're saying they're asking you, because that's what it's come down to. And I know people that do things like that, they'll be like, well, actually, I think you should change this and this and that. No, no one wants to hear that. They ask you one thing and they want the answer to that.
Speaker 4 (00:54:22):
That's it. That's one lesson or one idea that I've heard a lot with different episodes people talk about interning is trying to save your opinion. Well, I think this could be like this. Just save it. Just save it. They probably do not want to hear it at that moment unless they specifically ask for it. And that is one thing I'm like, whenever I'm there, I'm always like, Hey, don't say something stupid. It's probably not warranted. Just don't even say it, dude.
Speaker 2 (00:54:44):
Yeah, man.
Speaker 5 (00:54:45):
I don't talk to most
Speaker 2 (00:54:45):
Of the time. This is all really great info, because basically what you guys are talking about is when you say, just be cool. What does it actually mean? And these are the kinds of things it means. Don't ask somebody for advice and then shit all over their advice.
(00:55:04):
If you're in an internship position, you're around someone who, by nature of your relationship, you can ask 'em for advice. That's part of what you get as an intern is you're there to get knowledge. So if you ask the dude you're interning for advice on a rig or whatever, don't waste their time and then do the exact opposite. Or if you ask for an opinion, don't argue about their opinion. Or if they ask you for an opinion, be honest. If you don't like something, you do like something and say why. Or if you can't hear the difference, just be honest. These are all things that actually, when I think about it, have fucked up internships for people that I know
Speaker 5 (00:55:47):
Right now. I'm just like, do people actually do that in internships? It's just weird to me. The way we're talking right now, that's how in my mind, it's supposed to run. So to think that the opposite happens is kind of mind blowing. I think part of
Speaker 2 (00:56:00):
The opposite definitely happens.
Speaker 3 (00:56:02):
Definitely. I talked to Eyal a while ago and I was running through guitars and I'm like, oh. I'm like, I really don't know what to get between. I listed a few and he is like, dude, just get a fender. He's like, it's going to work for what you want to do. And the next day it's sitting up on the wall. Right now I'm looking at it right now, but that's exactly what I bought. Ended up grabbing a tell, just because if he's saying it to me and I'm explaining to him what I'm trying to get out of it, and that's what he suggests, then obviously the guy is going to know more about it than I am. You know what I mean? He knows more than I do, and if I'm asking him, then I obviously want his opinion on it and I'm going to run with it. And that's just how I feel about
Speaker 2 (00:56:43):
Anything. I hope that guitar has served you well.
Speaker 3 (00:56:45):
Oh dude. Dude, I've made so much money off this guitar.
Speaker 2 (00:56:48):
Good. Good, good. I'm glad to hear it. Well, Finn and I, Finn our director of marketing, and I always joke about this, about why ask an expert for help if you're not going to listen to them? Doesn't make any sense. It's so annoying. It's so annoying too, because it's not respecting the person's time.
Speaker 4 (00:57:08):
It really isn't totally at all.
Speaker 2 (00:57:11):
Alright, so one last thing that I want to bring up with you guys is being in the room with the clients. Oh yeah. That's a big thing that can make someone lose or keep a gig. Do you guys have any advice for people on,
Speaker 5 (00:57:28):
Can I tell a story? Yeah,
Speaker 2 (00:57:30):
Please go
Speaker 5 (00:57:31):
Ahead. Alright. And it's like, I think this will help a lot of people out there. So the first band was era, right? And Bo had me set up for a tracking weekend. He has a family, so on the weekends he wants to be with the family. So I was like, cool. I had two weekends off in a row. So the first weekend I went to go watch the process and see how everything's done. Second weekend my time is like, okay, it's time for me to record. It went terrible. It was horrible. Jesse, the guitar player, I can just tell he wasn't comfortable with me and he didn't really know me. So Bo ended up finishing up that whole weekend session, but I still stayed in the room and I remember him asking, he was like, Hey, if you can't record me this weekend, then let's just, I'll go and practice and we'll come back.
(00:58:17):
And he looked at me, he is like, I just don't want it to be weird. I was like, no, dude, no, it's your project. And at that moment, for a split second, I did take it personally, but then I realized, dude, this is not about me and my feelings and my ego. I wasn't the right guy at that moment. I didn't have enough experience to be working at that level yet. So instead of taking it personally, I was like, you know what? It's his project. It's going to be a record that's out there for the masses. I'm just going to sit here and watch and observe even more and see what it is that Bose doing that I didn't do, and adapt that to what I need to do to accomplish that. And honestly, I built a great relationship with him before he left, and it was really cool.
(00:59:01):
I was at the point where we were like, we could joke around. So instead of taking that moment and letting it ruin an experience, I was determined to make it turn into a great experience so that when he left, if he were to come back later and I was still with Beau, he would be comfortable with me in that situation to track him. So being in the room with the clients with Beau, I'm always like, I just got to be quiet. Don't say anything. Just follow Bo's lead. If Bo asks for an opinion or anything, and always be helpful if you see, if they mention, oh, I'm kind of thirsty. You guys want a coffee? Hey, you want me to go get a coffee? Jump on it and just be quiet, be cool,
Speaker 2 (00:59:37):
Be proactive,
Speaker 5 (00:59:39):
And just listen to what their conversations and their jokes are and kind of know when it's okay to make a joke and not make a joke. Because a thousand times you got to read the room.
Speaker 4 (00:59:48):
Yep.
Speaker 3 (00:59:49):
Yeah, there's something else I want to add to that too. Sometimes you need to, and this goes along with being cool, but you need to, they were saying read the room. You need to understand the people that you're dealing with. If they're the type of people that would rather be not have you around, and they want you to make yourself scarce, make yourself scarce. You know what I mean? I've been there and state champs is recording, and I'm not saying that they're like this at all, but I just had other stuff to do. If you have stuff that you're supposed to be working on and you have edits to be doing, don't be hanging around the room while they're recording if they're busy and doing stuff. Don't always respect the vibe. Always respect the vibe. So if people are tracking and
Speaker 2 (01:00:41):
Learn to read it, yeah,
Speaker 3 (01:00:44):
It is big. And if you're asked to do something, do it. That's one of the biggest things ever. If you're asked to do something and you're supposed to be doing something, just stick to the task at hand because they're not asking you to do it for no reason at all. Obviously it needs to get done. And one thing I can say about producers, any that I've ever seen, but no one wants their time wasted because that is literally the currency to life. They do not want their time wasted and their time is so valuable to them. So if you can find a way to make it so that they're saving time, you are an asset for life. Yeah.
Speaker 4 (01:01:28):
My whole approach while I'm up at Fremont Panda is that is trying to make myself as valuable as possible to help save on time for him, mainly that. And then also if their client is there trying to make them feel special while they're there, whether it's remembering their favorite rockstar or their coffee order or things like that, that Nick Pilotta episode is, it really is a great one to listen to, especially for handling clients. All I'm doing now is just like, all right, this person likes cold brew, this person likes this. And without even having to them have to ask for it, just be like, Hey guys, I brought coffees. And then everyone's mood perks up and everyone's having a good vibe.
Speaker 5 (01:02:05):
Can I give a pro tip on this? Do it. As soon as you take the order, freaking use the phone to record it and then write it down later in your damn phone so you have it in your phone
Speaker 4 (01:02:14):
For all times. It's already in my notes. Yeah. I keep a little notes like, all right, this person likes this like that.
Speaker 5 (01:02:19):
Yeah, dude,
Speaker 4 (01:02:23):
I had my first day of working with a client last week and I went to go get coffee and the client, he was like, I'm good, man. I'm like, well, I could stop by a store. Is there anything you want at all? Anything? He's like, well, there is if you have a chance. I do love Rockstar. I was like, sure as fuck. I'm going to go grab that for you, man. Just because you only coffee doesn't mean you're going to be left out.
Speaker 2 (01:02:42):
Yeah, good. This is great. And also another great episode is with Josh Newell when he was talking about how he went from being an intern on Lincoln Park to becoming their engineer for 10 years, and
Speaker 3 (01:02:59):
Josh is the man.
Speaker 2 (01:03:01):
Yeah, it was about he got their to go orders, right? Because he didn't fuck up their to-go orders. That's why they felt comfortable bumping him up to try to edit some stuff. I
Speaker 4 (01:03:11):
Was going to say was the cool thing too is Sam isn't one to demand. He's not expecting you just to do food orders, and that's like you live or die by that. But I still have that standard of being like, I want to make it right though for whoever who I'm grabbing this stuff for, because everyone's day will be good if everything is fine.
Speaker 2 (01:03:30):
It's not about being a bitch either. And I'm saying that for people who think they're above that, it's about providing a service to a client and making them feel like totally at home and they're being taken care of. If you go to a five star hotel, you're not, if you have turn down service or whatever, room service or whatever, it's not about belittling the people that are there who are working there or anything. It's just you're paying for a service. You want to feel good about it. And for a band going to the studio, you want them to feel like rock stars. So you don't want them to have to want for anything. And if you remember their drinks, what their drink preferences are, it's that much more personalized and people love that shit.
Speaker 3 (01:04:23):
It's
Speaker 2 (01:04:24):
Great.
Speaker 3 (01:04:24):
Oh yeah.
Speaker 2 (01:04:25):
It's just about a great experience for everyone.
Speaker 3 (01:04:28):
Oh, here's another tip, and this goes for everyone. If you go to Starbucks with the same cup that you ordered with the refills are 50 cents. I learned this from Kyle and I never looked back. Dude. I could not believe it when he told me that one day. So if you have a Starbucks cup, and this is always going to come in handy, the same one that you order with you go there. As long as it's a coffee, cold brew, whatever, it's 50 cents to get a refill. What's
Speaker 5 (01:04:53):
Up? Like the plastic cup or is one of their legit cups?
Speaker 3 (01:04:56):
The plastic cups? Dude, the regular cups. Oh my.
Speaker 5 (01:04:59):
Done What? Done. Done, right, everyone. Am I right? If you learn anything from this podcast that didn't even know this
Speaker 3 (01:05:05):
50 cent refills dude, dude, Kyle knows all the ins and outs of that kind of shit. What he told me the first time he told me this, he's like, yeah, dude. He's like, all right, right. He's like, here's the cup. It was clean and everything. He's like, all right, just bring this back to Starbucks and get a refill. I was like, in the same cup. He's like, yeah, dude. He's like, it's 50 cents. I was like, it's 50 cents. Whatcha are you talking about? And I went back, they looked at the order on the side, gave him 50 cents, and they redid the order. I was like, holy shit. Life hacks. Life hacks, dude. Dude.
Speaker 2 (01:05:37):
That for any kind of drink,
Speaker 3 (01:05:39):
It's for coffees, cold brew and shaken teas, cold brew all day, bro. Crazy. And you can change them. So if you decide after you had a coffee that you want to get a shaken tea, you can do that. Fuck. For 50 cents for 50 cents, dude.
Speaker 2 (01:05:57):
Alright. Wow. Cool. That's amazing. Thank you. It
Speaker 4 (01:06:00):
Is Intern Hacks with Miami Dolphin.
Speaker 2 (01:06:02):
Alright, so we've got some questions here from the group that I'm going to ask you guys now, and hopefully your answers are as good as everything we've done up until now.
Speaker 4 (01:06:13):
Crossing my fingers,
Speaker 2 (01:06:13):
No small time answers. So here's one from nar, which is, we'll start with you Miami. What's been the most surprising skill you've needed to learn and what has been the hardest it can be one thing that's both even.
Speaker 3 (01:06:25):
Okay. Biggest thing, and you've said this a million times, the most important skill that you can possibly learn when you're interning is drum editing. Without a doubt, in my mind, I guess that could be my personal experience, but I feel like with a lot of people I've talked to, the hardest thing that I've had to do is definitely vocal editing because every person that you deal with wants their vocals tuned a little bit differently and you can watch as many tutorials online as you want. You're not going to understand the way they want their vocals done until you've watched them do it over and over again. It's so hard to pick up on that. But I've definitely, now that I've sat there and watched Kyle so many times do that, and I've listened to it, I'm like, wow, my vocals sound so tuned. The way that I used to tune them, they were so dimmed, I dimmed them. I totally, that totally changed my whole thought on vocal editing if I was going to answer that question.
Speaker 2 (01:07:30):
Yeah. Awesome. Alright, John, this one's from Charlie Williamson. Since the actual amount of people who are able to get successful jobs in the music industry is very low, do you think that there's a key difference between those who aren't doing well in the industry and those who aren't?
Speaker 5 (01:07:47):
Okay, so this questions, I'm one of those guys that's really tuned in when someone asks me something because I don't know what he defines success to me. Miami's successful. The dude pays for his bills with doing audio,
(01:07:59):
But if he's talking in terms of like a CLA or a Bober shell or Kyle Black, their opportunities are out there. Man. I think we live in the greatest age of all time. Social media is such a huge thing that I still think people don't take advantage of on an audio platform. You see it in video all the time, but there's Instagram, there's Snapchat, there's so many different ways to put your audio out there and to gain your audience and to find a way to get in with a producer if that's what you want to do is intern with somebody who's a mixture. Those opportunities are out there for you to make. And a lot of people are successful in this industry because they utilize social media. They know how to network, they know how to get themselves to events where they can network and talk to people.
(01:08:47):
I mean, I'm a living proof of it right now, not my term of success is my legacy. I remember talking to Miami about this. I want to be immortalized in the sense that I want to have my name on records that people love and to know that when I pass on, those records will still be there and be made. And if someone looks in the back of a CD and sees that my name's on there, to me that means more than all the money, all the fame, all the other shit. And that's how I define success. So the success, anyone can be successful in anything. It's just a matter of, as Gary V says, are you good enough and are you willing to grind for it? The opportunities are out there, you just got to know how to grab 'em and pounce on it.
Speaker 3 (01:09:26):
John's talking nice right now.
Speaker 5 (01:09:27):
So
Speaker 2 (01:09:27):
You think the big difference that between the haves and the have nots in this industry is just that the haves are willing to grind it out? You think that's the main difference?
Speaker 5 (01:09:38):
Yeah, for sure. They've done their work and they're still doing work. Daniel's last podcast, he's not afraid to work like 36 hour days still. He loves the game still. And I think that's the whole thing. You have to love the process. You really do
Speaker 3 (01:09:52):
36 hour days.
Speaker 2 (01:09:54):
Yeah, listen to that podcast, man. He's crazy. But I mean, the results are
Speaker 4 (01:09:59):
There.
Speaker 2 (01:10:00):
The results speak for themselves. I'm going to bring up something that we were talking about before we started recording. I think that one of the biggest differences between successful and non-successful people is their ability to focus. Every successful person I know can focus like a motherfucker on on the important things. And if I don't want to hear anybody say that they have a DD or a DHD, because I have it and almost every successful person I know has it and they have figured out how to get around it, so you can too. But they focus on the things that will move the ball towards the goal line the most. So in life, you have any number of things you can focus on and any number of things you can choose to prioritize. And I look at things in terms of what's urgent, what's important, what's important and urgent, and what's important and not urgent.
(01:11:01):
And I try to characterize things in any one of those categories. I try to leave things out of the urgent, oh, and of course what's not important if I didn't say that. I try to have nothing be important and urgent, but sometimes you can avoid it. But I try to always have things worry about things that are important but not urgent so that they never become urgent and focus on those the most. Because if you focus on those things, you will stop things from becoming important and urgent and stressing you the fuck out. But anyways, you need to know how to prioritize what's important, how to see the future and worry about those things that are going to be important down the road before they become urgent. And then you need to be able to focus, focus, focus on accomplishing the outcomes you want. And I find that a lot of people who are not successful tend to just fucking piddle around and they might put in the same number of hours, but they're unfocused hours.
(01:12:07):
You hear lots of guys who are like, I've been at it for years and I'm not getting any better. I just don't understand what I'm doing wrong. I work so hard. And then you, dude, that was me. You start to analyze what they're doing and you realize they're not focusing on the right stuff. They think they're working, but they're really just playing around with guitar, for instance. Lots of guitar players think that they practice six hours a day, but in reality, they might practice 30 minutes and then just fuck around for five hours and a half. So when John Petru says that he practiced six hours a day, he meant practice six hours a day where everything was regimented into 15 or 30 minute segments and it was a specific goal and task at hand on something that needed to be completed in those same six hours.
(01:12:59):
If you were just sitting there jamming or whatever, playing riffs, you might not get that much better. And so someone who spent two years with six hours a day of hard focus versus someone who spent two years with six hours a day of piddling, you're going to come out with massively different results. So also like everybody, like I think Miami said earlier, the most important thing is time and successful people value time as their most valuable currency. And one thing that I've noticed is successful people have learned how to be as efficient as possible with their time so that they can get in and get out and be done with it, but still move the ball forward.
Speaker 4 (01:13:41):
Preach.
Speaker 2 (01:13:42):
Okay. Alright, done. Preaching. This one's for Tyler from Dave Cedar. Why did you decide to go the internship route versus going off on your own and starting your own studio?
Speaker 4 (01:13:54):
For me personally, course Lambo, the perks of the Lambo. No, actually for real though. So I am still living at home. I still go to school and I still have a day job. And honestly, I do not have the place right now to really try to have all the equipment. I would want to have bands be able to even come in to do such a thing to record here. And for me, the ability to go somewhere, work underneath somebody who has such a high standard and has all this experience and all this knowledge, and who's willing to impart that upon you and also be able to mess with gear or equipment that you would just never have the access to.
(01:14:39):
The craziest thing was that first day he showed me the whole setup for Panda, how all the rooms are connected, all the ties and all the gear and all the patch bays, and I'd be coming from just using a two channel interface and I was like, oh my God, what the fuck? I had gone from zero to a hundred, but because of that I've learned a lot more about signal flow. I learned a lot more about io. And so things like that, those are such heavy benefits in my eye that I see that as such a huge bonus in me just trying to trudge along without having access or the ability to work with clients even, or work with such high quality of a material. That's the other thing why I love Neil, the mix in URM was because it gave me an idea of what standard was, what is the standard, and then the ability to go work at someone's studio. It's like, oh, this is the standard. This is what it needs to be bare minimum. So that is my personally for me, one of the reasons why I decided to go that route. And I have no regrets about that at all.
Speaker 2 (01:15:43):
Great. Great answer. Thank you. And this is kind of a question for all three of you guys. So it's from Ian Babbitt and he's got three questions.
Speaker 4 (01:15:55):
Oh shit.
Speaker 2 (01:15:55):
But I kind of want to hear from all of you guys. So I'll start with the first one. Is a college degree a boon or does it even really matter?
Speaker 3 (01:16:03):
Okay, I'll answer this one actually, John should answer it, but I want to say something about it. Basically, I would never not go into school even what we're doing now, it nail the mix. URM, it is online education. You're technically going to school just by being here. So I would never knock you for doing that. But I will say, for example, I have a friend of mine, he's going to school for audio, and he just took a class on patch base and I was at the studio and within one hour I had completely understood everything about a patch bay from how it gets wired to the run. It all just clicked and made sense, but he's going to school and taking a really long time to learn something like that. So I think And
Speaker 4 (01:17:06):
Spending how much money
Speaker 3 (01:17:07):
You talking about? Yeah. Yeah. It's not that would I rather go to school and get a degree or would I rather be an intern? I would have to say I'd rather intern because I'm learning things way faster. And as I said before, it time is money, time is life. It's literally the currency to life. So it's not that it's unnecessary to have an audio degree that might work in certain fields, but I think that in the mixing fields, I would be leaning a little bit more towards interning if I had to say.
Speaker 5 (01:17:45):
Yeah. So I have a weird opinion on audio school because I've done it. I got the pro tools audio and post degree certificates. I got a Wave certificate. I also have a bachelor's degree, so I've done education. What's your bachelor's degree in? Business admin. So this is kind of my takeaway from if you guys ever want to talk about more about internships and stuff, I have a bunch of stories for you guys. This is not my first internship, but when it comes to education for me, I'm a very, what's the goal and how do I get to the goal? So if I feel like a music degree can help if you do it for the right reasons, if you're going to a full sail or a musicians institute and you want to learn to mix, that's not the place to do it. It's a cool place to use the gear, but mixing, there's just too many URMs here.
(01:18:38):
Now, if you want to learn to mix, you subscribe to nail the mix, and that's how you learn how to mix. Now if you want to learn how to understand melodies and composition, there's a fast track for it, but actually going to a really good music school and learning from a teacher that can analyze that has years of producing credits under them too. I feel like that is a benefit for a lot of people. And I do think if that's the route you want to go, composition becoming a film score maker, you can do it on your own. But learning how music works, I will never talk down on anyone who wants to learn theory. I feel like theory is really important and a lot of guys can get by without knowing it, but if you do know it, it's just another tool in your tool chest.
(01:19:21):
I personally have never been in a situation where someone's like, oh, you don't have a pro tool certificate. I don't know if you're the right guy for this. If that's what you want because you want it on your resume, then go for it. Don't listen to me if that's what you want, do it. Fuck what everyone else thinks on the forums. I hate when people ask that question on forums because I'm like, well, what is your goal? And if they don't know their goal, then I'm like, don't spend $30,000 on something. You don't even know if it's what you definitely, that's what you want. You know what I mean? I just think you need to really know what your goal is and if that goal makes sense for getting that degree and spending that money and time.
Speaker 4 (01:19:59):
Yeah, no, absolutely. I would totally agree with all those sentiments. Especially I know thinking about myself, it's like, well, going to school for music, if it's theory, it's one thing, but learning the mix, we have URM, we have nailed the mix now there's no reason to spend thousands of dollars to learn that. But for instance, say that there's nowhere close nearby where you can intern at a studio. You want to learn how to track and record and produce. Well track and record engineer, and there's no studio for you to really in at. But there is a school that can do that. That is a good option to learn, get hands-on with the gear and then while you're there, just spend hours utilizing it to every advantage. Now
Speaker 5 (01:20:36):
Use that lab time.
Speaker 4 (01:20:37):
Yeah, I think it was Eyal who's described it before is use the time there and also use that time to network with people too. I mean, Gary v preaches this a lot. If you're going to go to school, hey, shake hands and learn to be friends with everybody. You never know where down the line, you might need that hookup or that help or anything. Just you got to use it to its fullest advantage.
Speaker 2 (01:20:57):
I'll just go ahead and answer number two, which is does anyone really pay a attention to your marks in school when applying for an internship? And I would say generally not. I mean, if you want to intern for Kyle Black, I don't think that he's going to ask you what grades you got in school, what's your GPA? However, yeah, Miami. What's your GPA, right? What is it? Yeah, who gives a shit? However, if you want to work for a company like Universal
Speaker 6 (01:21:19):
Or
Speaker 2 (01:21:20):
Something and work in their studios on film stuff, then you may need a degree. But these things change a lot from what I understand.
Speaker 6 (01:21:30):
Sometimes
Speaker 2 (01:21:31):
You need them, sometimes you don't. At the end of the day, really, if you're badass, you can get the gigs. Yep.
Speaker 3 (01:21:38):
Yeah, sure.
Speaker 2 (01:21:39):
Okay. Question number three, and we'll start with Tyler, but I want to hear this from everybody. How do I handle an internship without starving to death?
Speaker 4 (01:21:48):
How do you without starving to death? I dunno, man. Budget. Budget your money. Find out what you need to live on and just save and utilize that. Be efficient with your money. You don't need to go out and buy Starbucks every day for yourself if you don't have the funds for it, just start buying the essentials at home and learn how to get by on that. That would be my biggest advice to learn to budget rice
Speaker 2 (01:22:12):
And beans practically.
Speaker 4 (01:22:14):
Don't be fancy about it. Don't go to Whole Foods or Trader Joe's. Just go to the smart and final or wherever's the place where you can get the most for your bang, for your buck. And just be creative and learn to love the taste of the same ingredients over and over again for a while. And learn the season.
Speaker 2 (01:22:27):
Yeah, I mean, to get a pound of rice, what is it like a dollar or two?
Speaker 4 (01:22:32):
It's not very much. You just have to be okay with it. And you need to know how much do I need to get by and live by, get that number and then just budget and be disciplined and be strict on it. And that's how you survive. That's how everyone does it. And you get 50 cents Starbucks coffees and you get 50 cents Starbucks coffee, coffees with that life pack, dude. Life changer.
Speaker 2 (01:22:53):
What about you, John? Do you have a job, right?
Speaker 5 (01:22:56):
Yeah, I have a full-time job, but I mean I still have to budget shit Budget, okay. I'm still goal oriented. I'm like, what's the goal? What are you okay eating? You know what I mean?
(01:23:10):
If a month's going to be tight, okay, are you good with eating a couple of noodles for a couple of days? It's not a forever thing. And it really comes down to, a lot of people don't know this, but I'm like a huge couponer. I know how to coupon like a motherfucker, and I know how to buy shit on sale and I'll buy a bulk of it and I might eat ramen for a week, but I have a shit ton of shampoo and other stuff that's going to last me seven months down the road. And you just have to know what do you need? What are the essentials? Are you willing to sacrifice not going to have a burger with Miami and just basically eating some quinoa and black beans and roasted tomatoes for a couple nights in a row, which by the way is healthy for you. And really,
Speaker 2 (01:23:54):
I was about to say, that doesn't sound so bad. Yeah,
Speaker 5 (01:23:56):
It's really not. Another cool life hack is bananas actually keep you full longer just like oatmeal does. And they have the same sugar. It gives your brain the same chemical reaction that a cookie will. So if you're craving a sweet, instead of buying that $2 pack of Chips Ahoy, just buy a dollar's worth of bananas and just eat the banana. Give yourself 10, 15 minutes for your body to realize what's happened. And that craving will go away. It's really gnarly. Thank
Speaker 2 (01:24:24):
You. But yeah, so it's funny, I kind of feel like this, how do you deal with an internship without starving to death? It's kind of just like, how do you learn pro tools in two weeks? Or how do you actually do this stuff at a high level? It's like, well, do you really want it that bad?
Speaker 6 (01:24:41):
And
Speaker 2 (01:24:41):
You'll figure it out because if you really want to eat cheap, you can eat cheaper than fast food and healthier than fast food. If you really try, fucking apples are not expensive eggs, hard boiled eggs, cheap rice beans. You can get so much of that stuff for so little. It's really not an excuse. And hey, you guys still work jobs too?
Speaker 4 (01:25:05):
Yeah, I was going to say, maybe you have to get a small side job just to get that extra funds in. You got to do what you got to do
Speaker 3 (01:25:11):
Miami, you want to chime in?
Speaker 4 (01:25:12):
Oh
Speaker 3 (01:25:13):
Yeah. Yeah. And the way I would answer this question, I mean, well, I work, like I told you guys, I basically have been doing commercial licensing since it's been a while. It's been a while I've been doing that. But besides that, make sure that you're getting things in bulk if possible. So if you can, instead of getting a pound, a bag of rice, dude, get a 10 pound bag of rice. It's like $10. And you go and do the same thing for quinoa, you do the same thing for rice and to make sure that you're getting your nutrients. You can go grab the big cases or the big jugs of boosted, which have, they're like six bucks, but they're giving you more than a week's worth of your vitamins as long as you follow the servings. And that's like $6. So 25 bucks, you have your vitamins that you need for the month, and then you're looking at your other stuff.
(01:26:17):
Rice, quinoa, and we didn't even talk about the biggest one. Pasta. Pasta is cheap is dirt. You get yourself a bunch of boxes of pasta, rice, quinoa, beans, tomatoes, that type of thing. And then the way that you rotate it so you don't get sick of the food you eat is you add sauces to it. They don't have to be unhealthy sauces, but you can add sauces to it, maybe add a little bit of curry to this or whatever you want to add for flavoring or whatever. But that's basically how you do it. I mean, you could easily feed yourself for a month and be happy for a hundred dollars less than that. Wait less if you really wanted to, if you had to.
Speaker 2 (01:27:02):
And if you can't come up with a hundred dollars, maybe you're not resourceful enough to work in the studio under somebody
Speaker 5 (01:27:09):
Anyways. Go Uber. Yeah, dude. And there's Uber and Lyft too, man. Just, you nailed it. Is it that important to you? If it is, you won't even think about it. It just becomes second nature. Okay. What makes practical sense? I've got to have gas money to get to the studio and to work and what makes sense.
Speaker 3 (01:27:29):
Okay. Another thing from Costco, they have these fig bars. They come in a pack of 76 or something like that. They're like 200 calories per pack. And I think it comes with 36 separate packs and it's like eight bucks or something like that. So you got to snack every day for $8. Or the Richie Chicken too.
Speaker 4 (01:27:51):
Oh guys, just
Speaker 3 (01:27:52):
Keep please talking about the Costco. Please just keep doing it. Dude. Costco. Costco holds it down, dude. They hold it down 50. Yeah, make sure, oh, what's
Speaker 2 (01:28:02):
Up? I was just going to say, so no one can ever complain about not being able to afford food again.
Speaker 5 (01:28:06):
Yeah, if you need help, you can message us and we'll tell you. We'll help figure it out for you, but just don't take our advice and then do your own thing.
Speaker 2 (01:28:18):
Take your advice and then order pizza every night.
Speaker 3 (01:28:20):
Yeah, option C guy.
Speaker 2 (01:28:23):
Alright, here's one from Brad Sanders. We'll start with you. Miami. What has been the most significant changes you've seen in yourself since starting your internship?
Speaker 3 (01:28:33):
Oh wow, since starting the internship. A lot of things that I had to come to a realization about a lot of things because there were times even I talked to you in the mixing field and I was always trying to understand why don't things sound the way that I want them to or whatever. And being in that environment, well, you told me ahead of time, you were like, dude, you're not really aiming for the right thing. It's sounding good, but that's not what you're aiming for. You're not doing this right, you're not doing that. I'm like, I'm option C guy. I am like, yeah, yeah, yeah. But at the end of the day, a lot of that had to do with me just not understanding and being in that environment. I guess from being in the studio and interning, I've learned really how all that stuff goes.
(01:29:22):
And it's really changed my mood. It's changed me as a person now. It's like, wow. All the stuff that I've searched for so long, it all makes so much sense to me now. I don't know if I went too far off in that question, but No. Yeah, that's a good answer about, I guess that's basically what it was. Me as a person, I feel like I'm a different person after being at the studio because I'm happier with how my products are coming out for people that I work for. It makes me feel like a better person at the end of the day. I've learned in an astronomical amount, feels
Speaker 2 (01:29:56):
Good to play at a higher level, doesn't it?
Speaker 3 (01:29:58):
And another thing, this is veering off more, and I tend to do that sometimes, but there is nothing like hearing tracks recorded properly in a really good studio. I was one of those people that was always trying to find the answer. It's got to be hidden in some VST or it's got to be going down the rabbit hole. Dude, I've been there so many times for guitar tones, all this stuff. And really what I realized is that stuff just sounds like that. When I used to listen to the state champs, and I was doing this the other day too, but I was listening to the tone that Kyle had gotten from state champs, and I'm like, dude, how does it sound like that? How does it sound so full and the low-end and crunching? And I hooked up the same amp, I used the same microphones.
(01:30:54):
I arranged them in the exact same order, plugged in the same guitar, same strings, same pick. And it sounded nothing like it. I love that. So that just kills me. And it really went to show that sometimes you're really just tone chasing things and you really got to understand the fundamentals of a good recording is just having the ear for it, which I don't have. And I don't think I will for a long time the way that Kyle does. It's like having the ear for it and then having the facility to be able to do such a thing. Just insane. Crazy.
Speaker 2 (01:31:31):
But isn't it great to understand? I think a lot of people think that they're a lot better than they are, and that's a huge problem because they won't get better if they think that about themselves. Isn't it great to know that you're getting better and also be able to see how far you have yet to go?
Speaker 3 (01:31:50):
Yeah, because totally for me, I always thought back home I was a big fish in a small pond. Things that I did, everyone's like, oh dude, this always sounded great, blah, blah, blah, blah. And when I was showing Kyle my stuff, I came to a rude awakening, a completely rude awakening. I was listening to my stuff in that room and I was just like, yo, how did I get this so wrong? Just your listening environment. And the funny thing is, I mix primarily in headphones. I have speakers set up. It's just because of the way that my living situation is. I tend to use headphones, but even that, so I can't really say it was my environment or whatever, but just listening on really nice speakers in a really well-treated room. It's crazy. Just listening back to your stuff and you can hear so much that you did wrong. Nail the mix gives you all the tools to recognize these things. If you can't hear them, you cannot fix it.
Speaker 2 (01:32:49):
Yeah, very, very true.
Speaker 5 (01:32:50):
And what about you, John? Dude, this is, it's so much kudos to Miami for condensing it. I was thinking right now, I was like, everything for me has changed. I feel like a better person. I feel way more competent. I feel like I can handle, I don't know how to explain it. It's just this natural feeling where you're just like, it's the right situation. I'm learning the right thing, and I know what I need to do as an engineer and an aspiring mixer to get myself there. And every move that I make now makes me better for that course of life that I want to go down. So it's just the ability to just soak everything in a sponge and not, I think that's the biggest takeaway with just being around Beau is beau's very go with the flow, but still have that standard and fucking deliver every fucking time. And to me, that's the thing is don't just go with everything and be cool, but fucking deliver on everything you need to deliver on.
Speaker 2 (01:33:51):
Great. Well thanks guys. Thank you very much for coming on. Thanks. Anybody listening, if you're in the group in our private producers club, you can ask Miami, John or Tyler questions. That's what the admins and moderators are here for. Yeah,
Speaker 5 (01:34:08):
Please do. We'd be out here anytime. Anytime.
Speaker 2 (01:34:11):
Yeah. And especially those of you who are not sure, I know that how you're going to actually make an internship happen is scary to some of you when you have a real life to balance it on, balance it with, but Miami's a father, so people make it work if they want it. And you can ask in the group about how to make it work with more specific things like, I've got kids and whatnot, because these dudes have made it happen. So anyways, thank you guys for coming on and yeah, see you guys at the summit in a month.
Speaker 1 (01:34:47):
Oh yeah, St. The Unstoppable Recording Machine Podcast is brought to you by the 2017 URM Summit, a once in a lifetime chance to spend four days with the next generation of audio professionals and special guests, including Andrew Wade, Kane Churko, Billy Decker, fluff, Brian Hood, and many more. The inspiration, ideas and friendship you'll get here are the things that you'll look back on, is inflection points in your life. Learn [email protected]. To get in touch with the URM podcast, visit urm.com/podcast and subscribe today.