Tyler Bird - Freelance Audio Engineer
Owner - The Fire Below Studios
Hi Everyone, this is Robert Gambardella, principal at Concierge Tax Services, LLC, and welcome to my first edition of "Business Spotlight", a series of articles intended to introduce you all to some of my favorite clients, business partners, and friends. I am "going behind the scenes" to interview them and learn more about who they are, what they do, where they've been, and where they are trying to go. I hope you enjoy the articles, and by all means if you know anyone who would be a good contact or referral for my interviewee, be sure to get in touch with myself or with them directly.
This month I had the opportunity to interview Tyler Bird, a freelance audio engineer in New Haven, CT who recently opened his own recording studio.
Hey! Tell Us Who You Are!
Tyler Bird, Freelance Audio Engineer, and owner of The Fire Below Studios.
How Would Explain Your Business or Service To Someone's Grandmother?
I am an audio engineer. The simple explanation is: you know that guy in the background of a recording studio in front of the giant board of knobs? That's me! I struggle explaining what I do to many people. After years of engineering, most of my family members still do not have the faintest idea of what I do. But, I'll give explaining it a try. As a freelancer, I am a self-employed engineer working out of several recording studios, including my own. I use a variety of recording techniques and many pieces of audio equipment to record, mix, and reproduce sounds...mostly music. I place microphones, and route the sound through various pieces of equipment. Then, those sounds are sent to a recording medium (the computer, these days), where I "mix" and "master" the multiple tracks (drums, guitar, bass, vocals, keyboards, etc...). The goal is to produce a clear and crisp sound of an individual track while each of these various instruments are playing at the same time in a song.
When Did You Start Your Own Business?
I started by recording many projects while getting my Bachelors degree in the recording industry at Middle Tennessee State University, both for school assignments, and out of my home studio in the mid 2000's. I graduated in December of 2008, moved to Connecticut and started officially working as a freelance engineer in January 2009. My personal studio recently opened in October of 2011.
What Made You Start the Business?
In this difficult time for the music industry, most recording studios do not have staff engineers. It's a difficult industry to make a living in, so most engineers are freelance in order to maximize their potential clients. I learned the foundation of my recording knowledge while living and interning in Nashville ("Music City") While doing some internships for major producers on Music Row, I quickly learned that Nashville was certainly not "Music JOB City". The market in Nashville was extremely over-saturated with young engineers, and leaving the area was my best shot at making a living working as an Audio Engineer.
Describe Your Ideal Customer
My ideal customer is a musician, band, voice-over actor, or pretty much anyone who is passionate about their work; their art. They are looking for a professional product at an affordable price, and want to work with an engineer who lives and breathes audio.
What Makes Your Product or Service Unique?
In this service-based profession, the primary source of uniqueness comes from the engineer recording the project. Recording is not only my profession; it is my hobby. I have a huge amount of passion for recording and creating music. I love the challenge of trying to make a song or spoken passage sound absolutely the best it can. I pride myself in the fact that almost all of my clients come back to me for their next project; also, almost all of my new clients are by referral. I have been told by many of my clients (who have worked with other area engineers) that I take an extraordinary amount of care with their projects to get the best sound possible, while still working in an extremely efficient manner. I attribute these skills to working in Nashville for years, where no one has huge "80's" budgets anymore. Because major sessions still need to happen in Nashville without these huge budgets, they make up the cost in the speed and efficiency of the engineers they work with in the studio. Nashville has some of the best recording engineers and musicians in the country because they get things right, the FIRST time.
Six Words of Advice To Those Looking To Start a Business:
Have passion for what you do.
This applies greatly to the recording industry, but I also believe that it is a necessity for any business owner who wants to be successful and offer a great product or service. The customer can tell when excitement about what you offer is genuine or just a sales pitch.
If You Could Start Over, What Would You Do Differently?
I did a song in 2007 that I really wish I could have slightly tweaked the sound of the piano at the very end... Haha! I have several of those, and the irony is that these types of changes are things that no one else would ever notice. In all seriousness, I am absolutely happy with every decision I have made in terms of my business. This might sound a little cheesy in this email from Concierge Tax Service, but if I had to choose something to do differently, it would have to be going to Robert sooner than I did. I learned a lot from him about preparing my taxes, and saved a lot of money too!
Tell Us Something About Your Business or Industry That Most People Don't Know
In all actuality, my business can be extremely boring and mundane....to some people. Would you like to join me in the studio while we attempt to perfect that guitar solo for 11 hours? How about working for 17 hours straight listening to one 30-second song for a television commercial? While I have done both of these, I have enjoyed my worst day as a freelance audio engineer more than my best day working for someone else.
Another thing that many people have difficulty understanding is the reason why an audio engineer is needed. Most people tend to think that a band simply plays their instruments; and, as long as they do it well... the recording sounds good. Unfortunately, this is not the case. The sound frequency range only contains a certain number of frequencies. When you start combining instruments, the sounds start to collect and play off of each other in strange ways. Most of the time, one instrument will mask another so you only hear whichever is loudest. This is why "mixing" and an audio engineer is needed. By using tools such as equalization, compression, and automation, I can shape those sounds in a way where all instruments can be heard and certain instruments are featured to create the most dynamic song possible.
How Do You See Your Company Growing In The Future?
I see my company growing in terms of the amount of work I do and the distribution level of the projects I am working on. Also, I will always be increasing the quality and quantity of my pieces of studio equipment.
What Is Your Favorite Part of Working With Concierge Tax Services?
My favorite part about working with Robert is how easy and personal he makes everything. I sat down with him for a couple hours discussing what I do (does anyone else know that he was once in a hip hop group?), and he was instantly coming up with many creative ways to save me money and maximize my deductions.
How Can We Get In Touch With You?
Check out my personal website with some samples of my work at:
http://www.tylerbird.net
http://www.thefirebelow.com
If you have any questions, comments, or just want to talk music or audio, feel free to email me at:
tyler@tylerbird.net
Hey everyone, thanks for reading! If you are interested in Tyler's services, or know of anyone who might be, please get in touch with him. He's a great guy and will take very good care of your recording project. Big thanks to Tyler for taking the time to put this interview together!
May your days be less taxing,
Robert A. Gambardella, CPA CTC
Concierge Tax Services, LLC
203.767.7197
www.ConciergeTax.com
www.Facebook.com/ConciergeTax
www.Twitter.com/ConciergeTax
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/robert-gambardella-cpa-ctc/1/b1a/561
