How my career came to be

I didn't really choose to become a live sound engineer, it kind of picked me. During my 1st two years of college I played in a band. We bought a P.A., and being the keyboard player who understood knobs, I started engineering for the band. After two years of college I knew that I wanted a career in the music industry but didn't have a plan as to how to make this happen.

One weekend I decided to make a trip to the SF Bay Area to visit some friends. On my way down I called my friend Jenna who manages a band called Animal Liberation Orchestra to see what was going on that night. With excitement in her voice she told me that she was headed to an all night recording session at a studio in a school and that I should come sit in on the session. When I got there I was like a kid in a candy store. I stayed up all night helping the engineer do the recordings. His name was Scott, and he was also the advanced recording teacher at the school. Late that night he gave me a tour of the school and all the amazing studios that it has. I was ready to sign up right then and there!

The school's name was Ex'Pression College for Digital Arts, and that Fall I enrolled in classes. Fourteen months later, and very little sleep, I graduated with a BS in Sound Arts. I wanted to get an education that would give me both the technical and personal skills to put me directly into the job market. Ex'pression College for Digital Arts had a great reputation in the industry, and their placement department is top-notch. This year, I had the pleasure to work with Shiloh Hobel and her staff while hiring a graduate to work as lead tech on the stage of Reggae on the River. I was also looking for a school with a top-notch facility and staff. The location of the school in the Bay Area was appealing to me because it's a hub for the sound industry. The school definitely met and exceeded all of my criteria. After sitting in on a recording session and getting a tour of the facility, I was ready to sign up on the spot.

At Ex'Pression College for Digital Arts, there could have been more work done in the field with the students. In my live sound class, our teacher had a rule that if you missed class, you had to go out on a gig with him to make it up. Sure enough, I missed a class and spent one of my Saturdays helping him setup and mix front of house for a big rock concert. That was one of the most educational experiences the whole time I was in school.

After graduating from Ex'pression, I moved back home and started my company, Universal Balance Productions. I began working with my longtime friend, Ishi Dube, and his band, Massagana. We recorded a demo in his kitchen and then he stared booking live shows in Northern California. I started mixing and providing sound reinforcement for concerts in the area. The more that I worked at different venues on the North Coast, the more solid my reputation became. After mixing a show for Ishi Dube at a small club in Arcata, California, I was offered a contract by the club owner to provide sound systems and engineering for all their events. My company has continued to grow into a full-scale sound and production company with a staff of three employees.

I also volunteered as a stage tech for many years at the world-class festival Reggae on the River. Two years ago, my boss and mentor, Jimmy Dangler, had a severe stroke that left him unable to perform as production director and stage manager for the festival. I was asked to step up and take over his position. I chose to take the job, and it changed the direction of my life and career. I knew I could do the job even though I had never undertaken anything this big in my life. I had no idea what I was getting myself into. Not only have I been production director for Reggae on the River for the past two years, but I also work as the production manager and sound company for many large-scale concerts in Humboldt County (Northern California).

I started out on a path that is similar to many in our industry by going to a technical school, but where I am today is very unique. Starting out as an independent contractor allowed me to start my business early in my career. Maybe I was in the right place at the right time. I think that where I am has more to do with my determination and love for my job and the music than anything else.

I have learned some valuable lessons in my career. If I can impart any wisdom to someone wanting to pursue a career in music i would the them that you will get out what you put into both your education and your career. If you are dedicated and work hard, then it will pay off in the end. Stick with it and good things will come to you. Networking is one of the most important elements of success. Making and keep contacts in the industry is invaluable. Take genuine interest in the people that you work with. Take good care of the people that you work for; it makes a difference. Find a way to make money until working with sound does. Stick to the art and science and don't get too caught up in the business, and you will do well wherever you end up.

Bringing you up to date

Since this is a new blog I'm going to try to get you up to date on some of our events so far. My goal is to blog the events that Universal Balance Productions (UBP) does and keep you up to date on our work.

2002:
Universal Balance Productions founded in Humboldt County. UBP's main contract was with a small company called Newgent inc. remaking pop songs for a Karaoke toy called Ekara. I was working primarily as a recording engineer at this time. New Years Eve UBP provided sound and I mixed a show with Ishi Dube at Plaza Grill in Arcata which launched me and the company into the new year and new direction of live sound engineering and production

2003:
Universal Balance Productions moves to Humboldt County. Most of the year entailed doing smaller events in Eureka, Arcata, and Mckinleyville and working with Ishi Dube and other local artist on various live sound events and recordings. Working with Ishi opened many doors for doing sound on the north coast. I got the contract for Reggae of Reason, a small reggae festival on the Klamath River. This was the first festival I had ever run and was a great learning experience. This was also the year that I started working with Steve Watts of Passion Presents. I also volunteered on the Stage Crew for Reggae on the River. Working on the stage of Reggae on the River was an amazing experience and gave me a new vision of what I wanted to do with my life and career.

2004:
Universal Balance begins to grow into larger events and starts working closer with Mateel Sound Company's founder Jimmy Dangler. I continued worked for Jimmy as a stage tech for Reggae on the River as well as other events of his. He was a great mentor to me and helped me learn the ins and outs of stage and event production. During this year I began working with Mazzotti's on the Plaza in Arcata. We started doing mostly DJ gigs but then moved into more complicated events. The first "National" act I got the contract for was Chris Robinson and New Earth Mud of the Black Crowes. This was an intense event that we barely pulled off but in the end we made it happen and the crowd and band were happy. That same weekend we did a 4th of July party at the same site as Reggae of Reason on the Klamath with Edgar Winters headlining the show. Another notable contract we got this year was Woofstock the dog festival in Eureka. We continued to do many live events throughout the year mostly at Mazzotti's.

2005:
This year began with a bang doing two nights with Ozomatley in Arcata. This was my first experience mixing monitors for such a large group and with a mix of in ear monitors and wedges. in the Spring of 05 tragedy hit when Jimmy Dangler, my mentor and boss at Reggae on the River had a sever stroke that left him unable to run his company or the event. I was asked to fill in his shoes and run his company. These were big shoes to fill, and though I had never taken on anything of this scale I accepted the challenge. It was difficult learning how to run someone's system and event without being able to talk to them, but with the help of his amazing crew I was brought up to speed quickly. I started working his events at the Mateel Community Center, then the Summer Arts Festival in Benbow, CA. After successfully running the Summer Arts Fest, I was asked by Carol Bruno, producer of Reggae on the River, to take over Jimmy's position at the event. I accepted this position and somehow made it through my first year of Reggae as the Production Manager and Technical Director. After the event I negotiated with Jimmy and his wife to purchase the Mateel Sound Company and merge his business with mine. Other big events I did in 05 were the Hoedown in Humboldt, The Maiden Halloween Ball (my first show at the Eureka Muni), The Humboldt County Fair, the opening of the Indigo in eureka with Anthony B, and a run of shows from Oregon to the Bay Area with Vince Welnick of the Grateful Dead.

2006:
With the growing need for a place to store all the gear I had accumulated and the Mateel not wanting to store the equipment that I bought from Jimmy anymore, I made the move to rent a Warehouse in Arcata, CA. This has been the home for Universal Balance Productions since then and now also home to our recording studio built in 2008. '06 was a busy year with production in full swing. During the summer i went out on tour with Animal Liberation Orchestra (ALO) across the country as their Front of House Engineer. Four of the shows were opening for Dave Matthews Band. It was a great learning experience to work with such an esteemed and amazing crew. I took every chance I could get to soak up every element of their production. Here is the list of shows from the ALO summer tour:
06/09 Cervante's - Denver, CO
06/11 Wakarusa Music Festival - Lawrence, KS / 4AM
06/11 Wakarusa Music Festival - Lawrence, KS / 4PM
06/13 Border's Bookstore - Ann Arbor, MI / + Live Radio Broadcast
06/13 Magic Stick - Detroit, MI
06/14 Mod Club Theatre - Toronto, Ontario Canada
06/15 Pure Pop Records - Burlington, VT / 4:30pm
06/15 Higher Ground - Burlington, VT
06/16 SPAC - Saratoga Springs, NY w/ Dave Matthews Band
06/17 SPAC - Saratoga Springs, NY w/ Dave Matthews Band
06/18 Mercury Lounge - NYC, NY
06/19 8X10 - Baltimore, MD
06/20 Verizon Wireless Amphitheater - Charlotte, NC w/ Dave Matthews Band
06/21 ALLTEL Pavilion @ Walnut Creek - Raleigh, NC w/ Dave Matthews Band
06/22 The Music Farm - Charleston, SC
06/23 Smith's Olde Bar - Atlanta, GA w/ Col. Bruce Hampton & Code Talkers
06/24 Mercy Lounge - Nashville, TN

While on tour with ALO I was working We moved Reggae on the River from French's camp to the Dimmick Ranch during the summer. In many ways the event was a great success, as well as a great challenge. Summer ended with another successful year of providing sound at the Humboldt County Fair. In the fall of 2006 Passion Presents brought Tre Hardson to the Eureka Muni and UBP was hired to do the production on this event. The show went off without a hitch and set down the ground work for large scale production at the Muni. We ended the year with a West Coast tour with Ishi Dube, Jah Sun, and Ras Attitude. We hit all the major markets from Seattle to L.A. and many small markets in between.