Subscribe
Share
Share
Embed
Cause aint nobody got time for Amateur's
Unknown Speaker 0:00
You're listening to local programming produced in KUNV Studios. The content of this program does not reflect the views or opinions of 91.5. Jas and more the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, or the Board of Regents of the Nevada System of Higher Education.
Unknown Speaker 0:16
This is talking with the pro professional,
Unknown Speaker 0:24
this is talking with the pros with me just be I speak to the professionals in the world of audio to gain an insight into what it takes to become a pro talking with the pros. And welcome back to season two, episode two, with our friend Sam, Sam, friend, welcome, we're so excited to have you. And thank you so much for coming on down. Now let's get into who is SanFran?
Unknown Speaker 0:49
Well, hello, I'm Sam friend, and I'm an audio engineer, musician and been around music my whole life. So that's kind of the origins of it. And naturally, the more you do music, the more you start becoming aware of everything that fuels it, right. So after getting a music degree, I really dove into the production world. So that's why I'm kind of audio became a thing that I really started focusing more on. But it always started with music. And I think that's still to this day, kind of the fuel of everything. And then all the technology and all the tech just supports the music,
Unknown Speaker 1:26
audio is something that nobody really knows what goes on in the background that supports the music. Now, you know, music that happens outside of a venue outside of the event, outside of production, how you can help support those musicians and getting what they need on stage. So tell me what it's like, as a musician to be in the world of audio now? Well,
Unknown Speaker 1:51
let's just say you can empathize, you understand what the musician is trying to do. And you can meet him in the middle, you know, it is a team effort. Because I mean, without the technology, unless somebody was physically there sitting there listening to you play an instrument, you never hear that person. So everything that is captured musically is captured either through a microphone or created within a DAW within the computer. So it's like it's necessary just to communicate your ideas creatively, you have to understand the technology. Unless you are literally in person playing in front of somebody. And even then, you know, you can enhance and there's a lot of creativity and a lot of stuff you can do in person when you when you do understand the tech part. And not
Unknown Speaker 2:39
only that you both are speaking two different languages. And when it comes to the technical issues and technical of you know, the instrument, and then as an audio engineers and audio focused, you really have an ear for these things. And many musicians come in expecting or wanting a certain sound. So being able to reference their language, and then this audio language and then meet in the middle like you were saying. And of course we have my wonderful co host. What's up, Holly, how's
Unknown Speaker 3:12
it going? It's so good to be back. Yes,
Unknown Speaker 3:14
I know. You and Sam have a long term connection, friendship and a history together. So why don't you go ahead and introduce like, your guys's world and where you're coming from? Yes.
Unknown Speaker 3:29
So we actually went to unlv we're both alumni. And we met each other in taking classes together. So we we play drums together. Just crazy. I was like this guy's also a drummer. And the way I met him he had long hair at the time. Yeah, so it was crazy.
Unknown Speaker 3:50
And today Sam comes with a shaved.
Unknown Speaker 3:53
Oh, yeah. Okay. Oh, nice. Looks. So whatever. It looks like, it looks like a it looks like a microphone. Are you missing?
Unknown Speaker 4:01
Is that what you're telling me? That's a different time. And
Unknown Speaker 4:06
his head is now the shape of a microphone now. So anyways, yeah, it was interesting, because I mean, I was focused in school focus on doing my thing. And we just hit it off. We played some music together. We were thrown into some very cool, interesting situations with music. And we just bonded, and it was a magical experience. Because this this guy, he's not only a musician, but he's also a writer. He's a he's a composer. And he's just a very dedicated human being. And that's why I gravitated to him in college and asked him for advice on audio actually. So I would not be in this chair right now. Had it not been first Sam friend.
Unknown Speaker 4:48
Wow. I think Sam, you're a great influence. So I'm glad that you're here today to share, like your knowledge, your background, and even give us a little insight into what it is you brought you to UNLV. And then what? What made you love audio? What was it that got you? What was the catalyst to your involvement in the audio world? I know, music was one, but the jump behind the scenes. Right?
Unknown Speaker 5:15
That's, that's a good point. I think going back to what Paul just talked about, yeah, we were, we were classmates together working on difficult recital pieces and difficult music. And, for me, the technical side was always a different part of my brain that I can that I could activate. After, you know, working so hard on difficult music, it's like, I would need a break. And I can go play around with sound. And there, it was, like, it gave me something to just hold on to because, you know, gear and it's like, it's black and white to an extent. So it gives you some answers. Whereas if you're just stuck in the complete artistic world, creative world, it's like, you just want to touch something, right. But I think, you know, Paul, and I, we, we were going through that, you know, what it means to get a music degree, which is very challenging. And, you know, you make friends along the way and you help each other out, get through it. But I always gravitated towards the, you know, I wasn't a person that wanted to be in the spotlight, necessarily, I liked the the detail that goes behind the scenes that people don't notice. And there's something about kind of like, things that you don't notice, that are the reason why it's great. It's like everybody notices the thing. But really, that's just the thing put on a pedestal, but there's a whole platform that's built for that to, to live on. And that's what makes it awesome. That's
Unknown Speaker 6:40
the platform that everybody listening right now probably is curious about. Cuz tuning into the show, I'm sure you're interested in learning audio, you're interested in learning video or something behind the scenes. And it's, that's why I love that you're deciding to do the show, just this is like, this is so cool. We never get to hear these voices in a public format like this. Yeah, so of course, so cool.
Unknown Speaker 7:09
We're audio centered audio focus. And it's really like the middleman, the medium for delivery. So as you were speaking about musicians coming up on stage, and then the behind the scenes, the physical the knobs, the adjustments, the levels, the speakers, even that are involved in presenting the message, whether it be music, or speaker,
Unknown Speaker 7:33
Well, I certainly think even now, my goal, because I'm now an instructor at UNLV, I'm beyond my seventh year now teaching. And that was something I never thought I'd be doing. You know, when I was going to school, I was ready to just go out into the industry and write try to try to make a living and do what I love for a living. And I ended up teaching, and I think it's probably one of the best things I ever had to do, because it's really kind of it makes you, I guess, optimize what you do. And you have the time to actually sit down and really digest what you're doing. And, you know, think of different scenarios. And then when you're teaching people, you got to explain it a million different ways. And, and what's what's interesting is, you know, I have I've had hundreds of students now. And I always find the same things are challenges for them. Right. So as an instructor, now I teach different than I did when I first started teaching, because I really try to aim to fill those gaps and those voids. And those are things that I kind of focus on because I feel like the other stuff kind of just falls into place if you dive in. So what is
Unknown Speaker 8:49
the course specifically that you hear at UNLV teaching? And what are those instances with the students that they have a main challenge on?
Unknown Speaker 8:59
Well, I think our our course at UNLV is very well rounded. Everybody who is an instructor has a musical background has a technical background, and has a good amount of experience professionally. So they understand the way the industry works. They understand the collaboration process with different people. And I think if when you're talking about technology, I think it's it's very one sided. If you only talk about tech, you got to understand the collaboration and the process of when you have different technicians working together when you have an artist working alongside a technician. And then you have let's say a business person or promoter with a company, which is a completely different approach. And you have all these people who are from basically different corners meeting in one place. And I think an approach that kind of helps fill that void is to actually teach it in a very integrated fashion and that's important, rather than to be one sided, only technical because then You have to learn how to apply that in a very integrated sort of artistic human collaborative way. And that's important.
Unknown Speaker 10:08
Right? And so if I wanted to take your course, what would be that course title? And what are a couple of objectives that we'd get into?
Unknown Speaker 10:17
Well, at UNLV, we have mos 231, which is the beginning of recording. So it's recording techniques, one, and the class is technically a recording and audio engineering class. But at least the style that I teach it in is very integrated. It's like you're going to learn everything technical, but you're gonna learn it in a way that makes sense for somebody who's coming from an artistic standpoint, as well as technical as well as human. And I try to glue all that together in a way that's a little bit more applicable. In let's just say, as you dive into your professional,
Unknown Speaker 10:56
of course, I mean, musicians are going to know want to know what it's like for somebody having those controls on their music, and in the room producing our music. What do you think?
Unknown Speaker 11:06
I think, for people that are interested in audio, video lighting, production in any form, it is like, like what Sam was saying earlier, it's, it's something that you're drawn to, it's like a, it's like, you don't want to be in front of the camera, you want to be behind it, you want to have some control over what people are actually experiencing. And that's the beauty in the value getting into this industry is you are actually in control of the way things are presented to the public. For example, a gentleman in a control room, right, right next to us that is dealing with their audio and you know, like he has to he has to understand the conceptual knowledge of how to run this equipment. So that way we can present a product, right. And this is important for communication for everything, it's just the way things work is the is the coolest thing. Yeah, and
Unknown Speaker 12:05
helps with the wants and the needs, and expectations and being able to hone it all in. And instead of letting somebody else take control or ownership, because as an artist, you're you're really about your vision, wanting to present your vision fully into what you want it to look like sound like. And right learning both sides can only be an asset to your long term career, your long term objectives,
Unknown Speaker 12:32
I think, I think it's, it's necessary, I think you're going to hit a wall if you don't approach it that way. And that's kind of the the trap is, for instance, if you are an artist, your goal is to express yourself and get out a vision and, and express the human condition that what your feelings are and put it out there. But that takes a skill set, or else you're going to be limited and you're gonna feel unfulfilled because you can't quite express yourself in the way that you feel you should be right.
Unknown Speaker 13:06
And I think in the world of expansive technology, growing technology, AI technology, you really have to be a master of all aspects. Yes.
Unknown Speaker 13:14
So right now, everybody, a lot of people want to be YouTubers, a lot of people want to be tech talkers, you know, Instagram, people in that. And that's great because you have a free medium to express your art and do really cool things. But the where the trap comes is when you're trying to do a show or when you're trying to perform at a high level in in trying to represent yourself, if you're interested in this, having a great quality product is super important. And sometimes people don't have the budget for that. Right. So I think I think having a knowledge or conceptual knowledge of how things work, how things actually operate, is the best way to, to get your stuff heard to get your stuff, you know, I
Unknown Speaker 14:02
don't think it's necessary just as, as people. If you're in a technological world, how to how to get good enough at it, where you then you don't feel, let's just say you start to appreciate the human element again. It's almost like it's fine. I, I look at the general public. And I remember a very amateur technician, the way the general public thinks of technology, but anybody who's a real professional technician, it's almost like they've maxed out being technical. They're like, Alright, I'm gonna I'm going back to being a person again. Right? And there's a balance there. And I think people are gonna max out how much technology they can handle. You know, they'll find out where their needs are or what they want to embrace out of it. But there is going to be a point of balance, just like anything and it's just an innovation. It's just something it's a tool, right and tools can be overused. And you know, you're not, at the end of the day, we are human beings. So we're gonna go back to that, and it's going to come up with some sort of balance. And I think that's a good thing to also preach is that it's really balanced. I mean, you can overdo or, or under do anything, right. And it's just a matter of discovering both sides. So then you can find a balance. And that's kind of what I call the pendulum process where it's like, find out both extremes, find out when how much you can do until you're completely burnt out. Right? And then, and then you back off a little bit. And it's funny, because every time you try, you can handle more, right? And in the in the burnout, the burnout part or the part where you've maxed yourself out. It's just a natural part of learning. Right? Right. It's not it doesn't end you're gonna and you're gonna feel like you don't want to do it anymore. It's like, that's normal. Like, learn to embrace that. And you look at that, like something that is expected. Right? So when you hit it, you don't look at it as like, Oh, this is the end. I don't know if I want to do this ever again. It's like, No, don't worry. It's your there's a reason you're pushing yourself like this. i
Unknown Speaker 16:15
Well, here's what's happening right now. Like in 2024, we're, we're in this new year, new technology has come out. We have we had ces the other week, and just a lot of new concepts for creative, like creative ways of expressing yourself or are coming out, technology shutdown, technology wise, like for example. I think it was Mercedes or BMW, one of those car brands, they have a car now where you're driving, and you can actually make music as you're driving. Right? Right. Like, that's a crazy thing. So
Unknown Speaker 16:49
while I am was demonstrating, so there's
Unknown Speaker 16:54
all this like crazy technology and plus, to be a creative person now, to be creative. You have to take on multiple full time jobs to be creative nowadays, because you have to learn how to how to operate a video camera, how to mix your own songs, how to how to basically make a full record, and produce a professionally sounding record in your bedroom. Like, that's really challenging. Now, there's a lot of great resources on YouTube. And people have a lot of free options to learn. But there comes a point where just learning is not enough. It's there's a substance to the doing the doing it. And there's there's a substitute other part of learning is tractable. Yeah. So So I think Sam, what do you offer, like to the listeners, people that are interested in learning audio, what are what are the different things that you offer, I
Unknown Speaker 17:56
encourage them a lot to go out there and figure it out and make mistakes and embrace it, because there's nothing I can do to spoon feed them that's going to prepare them enough than going out there and doing it. So all I do is I prepare them to be ready for the failures. Because that's gonna happen and be ready for the burnout, because that's going to happen, but embrace it. Because those moments when you hit that, like rock bottom, when you feel overwhelmed, is the reason why when you finally do get it, it feels really good. And that's how you can be satisfied. That's when you're, you feel like it's like if you have a piece of cake. It tastes good, because you just had a meal full of like salty, you know, in vegetables and everything. That's why cake tastes good. If you ate nothing but cake, you wouldn't appreciate it. Right?
Unknown Speaker 18:44
So it's like, the bitter and the sweet, right?
Unknown Speaker 18:47
You have you I mean, you definitely you have to experience those hard times to appreciate the good ones. But really understanding that and appreciating that notion. I mean, I could tell it to you. And I could even tell it to my self. When you're going through it. You're like I don't want to go through this anymore. But when you finally do go through it, you're like, Oh, this feels great. I got through it finally, and I came through the other side and you appreciate those moments of struggling I would love
Unknown Speaker 19:12
to highlight something that you're more centered in explaining music and diving into like production of music. So let's let's hear from the mind and in the inner workings of San Fran. So Let's cue up a song and then we'll you know kind of dive in dissect it a bit so so this
Unknown Speaker 19:34
so this was a song because we were talking about this. So this is a song that specifically you
Unknown Speaker 19:42
you like yes, it resonates with me for sure. And
Unknown Speaker 19:45
this is and it's vulnerable to like to put it's like listening to your favorite music and telling everybody this is your favorite song. That's a bold move. Yeah, but it's also a really honest move. That it's like you're gonna start tapping into why exactly love this Song. And those are like the things that fuel you to keep wanting to do the thing, this is going to reset you. So it's like, when you're struggling or you're coming up with a, let's say some some sort of block, finding your happy place is something you got to be able to do. And if you're musically oriented, flat listening to your favorite music is a way to reset you. Especially
Unknown Speaker 20:21
if you've been working as a professional already. For years, let's say you're 20 years and 30 years in, you're sick of music, you're working with audio all the time you're working with artists, and it just gets to you sometimes sometimes you get tired of it, finding, finding a place to come back to, that takes you to when you started that passion, that original thing we talked about the beginning of this, that's the way to to just continually create and do and innovate. Yep. Yeah,
Unknown Speaker 20:55
I would agree. But yeah, we can. Let's listen, let's listen to the song and I'll bring it down from a production standpoint.
Unknown Speaker 21:27
So the first thing I'll say, is, so do you think this part is resolving? Or do you feel like it's pulling you somewhere?
Unknown Speaker 21:35
It's going somewhere, right?
Unknown Speaker 21:39
Keep thinking of that. And then as we're listening to the song, think of is this part taking me somewhere? Or is it resolving meaning like, chillin, like, I can, like breathe for a second, right? Because a lot of music production is all about, you know, enhancing that tension and release and finding like, you know, you want the audience to get pulled in. So you're not going to give them exactly what they what they want, but you do it tastefully. And it's kind of hard to like, play a game of like, I'm going to pull you in, get you interested in the song but not giving you everything yet. And then finally giving you what you want. Right. So let's listen to see what happens.
Unknown Speaker 22:39
Okay, so what element came in there that kind of gave me a little bit of a release?
Unknown Speaker 22:48
Was it the echoing like what callback happening?
Unknown Speaker 22:52
Okay, so maybe some of the the lyrical content, right? Did you feel there was the the part where like the kick drum hits in that definitely, it's like, you're like, what's going on? And then like, oh, the beat hits. Now, it's like, you have something to latch on to. Right? Where it's almost like, when that groove comes in, it's like, okay, now I've got something that's repeating. And it's like, naturally, as a person, when something's repeated, you feel more and more comfortable with it. Right? So you, you're at ease, because all all the stuff early was just stuff in the music that's happening once and you don't know what's next. Right? So the minute a kick drum comes in, like, subconsciously, you're like, okay, cool, I can follow that I can understand it, I immediately feel more relaxed.
Unknown Speaker 23:41
Right? More in anticipating giving a reason. Right, right. And
Unknown Speaker 23:45
so then there's a moment where, okay, once you feel safe, if you're too safe for too long, you'll immediately start to get bored. Right? So then the contrast has to happen where it's like, Okay, we got to tastefully get rid of the comfort feeling, take it out for a second. throw you off, and then we'll give you something else right and maybe a changeup. So let's hear how the song builds, gives you kind of what you want and then throws it off and then changes it up.
Unknown Speaker 24:49
So that decision to kind of have a beat and then drop it out and then add like a little random warmth, right? Those are all things that are just breaking up the repetitive nature of a song, right? And when you're a music producer, you have to be consciously aware of every one of those little details. Because, and one thing actually, as an instructor teaching young producers is about, let's just say producing a song, and then not getting lazy where you just want to repeat everything, especially with technology, it's easy to duplicate something a million times, right? But to create those little moments of, let's just say variation. Right? That's actually what is the difference between your audience getting into your music or not, is when you are going to repeat something having subtle variation and developing it and then not overstaying your welcome getting rid of it. Right and then kind of that play
Unknown Speaker 26:23
I'm noticing a couple things. Number one is this is a very popular song on Tik Tok, Instagram, YouTube, and I heard it on the radio. Okay, yeah, you heard it on the radio and like, everybody knows the beginning. I got that good stuff that you want. Everyone knows that. But what I'm amazed by is just snippets of audio that people hear on Tik Tok Instagram, like, literally 15 seconds. Yeah, like little 15 seconds. Like you watch a video and you're just like scrolling right now. And you're looking at your phone, you're like, what is that it's drawing me in, I want to know more about this song. That that is magic. And that's been happening for years, like somebody plays a riff and you're just like, I, I don't want to skip the song. You it grabs you instantly. Like, there's this phenomenon that I noticed when I listened to music. And I just, I play something. And if I don't like it, I switch in the first second. I don't even give the song five seconds. I'm so
Unknown Speaker 27:23
blabbering. Right? I mean, good code, because I feel the same way. Like I can hear as long as it takes me about three seconds. Go ahead, right?
Unknown Speaker 27:30
So so so think about that, right? There's something about when a part transitions, right, or there's a part or something about when a part hits that gets you, right, all that's doing is matching what's happening previously in your life. So it has nothing to do with that song. But somehow the tension in your life or the or the monotony in your life, right? Think of that, like the buildup in the song. The buildup in the song and the buildup of your life before you even press Play is the exact same thing. The only difference is that the sound in your life, the emotion that's being triggered is like a journey, right? It's taking you on a journey. So it kind of makes sense or like a road trip, or if you were like running or you're going somewhere. It's something that's kind of keeping you going and almost I mean, it's literally taking you on a journey. It's not a song that's overly predictable. It's kind of like, Where are you taking me? Right? The whole song? Like, if you were to draw it out, it's kind of it's doing this? You know, it's it's growing over time. And you're like, where's it going? It's like the whole like, it's almost like there's a constant rise of tension the entire song and it keeps you engaged, it's never quite resolving, because the minute minute there's something chillin, there's something rising in the background. There's little things in there that just kind of subconsciously are keeping you engaged, right. And it's funny, because this is a really deep, let's just say it's like a psychological sort of thing, right? But then that's the guide of what tech we're going to be using, we've scratched the surface. That's we just gave you an intro to at least a way of critical listening. And if you're going to be doing audio professionally, you got to develop your ears to critically listen to what is happening. Just thank
Unknown Speaker 29:18
you again, for coming on and diving into these topics. And we'd love to have you back and we can dive more into the inner workings of your world in what going forward into your professional life and what that means for you.
Unknown Speaker 29:33
Yeah, now there's, there's there's a lot here and thanks for having me. All right,
Unknown Speaker 29:38
I want to thank you so much for tuning in. And if you missed any of today's episode, you can find this anywhere podcasts are available like Spotify, Google and Apple podcast. Thank you for listening to today's episode of talking with the pros with me. Just be I love you and I'll catch you in the next one. Bye
Transcribed by https://otter.ai