Since Jerry Harvey’s career as the “go to” guy for innovative in-ear monitoring solutions first took off in 1995, it’s fair to say his schedule has often demanded that he cover a lot of ground in a very, short time.
To do it efficiently, he made the decision to take off himself – literally – returning to one of his first loves, flying, in 2004.
“I started flying as a teenager, but I scared myself when I was 17,” he notes. “I was landing my first solo when a squall came up and a gust of wind blew me off the runway.”
“I tore the nose wheel off the plane, did a prop strike and almost flipped the plane. That was my last attempt for 30 years.”
Like his flight training, Harvey’s career as one of the driving forces in the research, development and implementation of IEM technology was also interrupted, though far more briefly.
But his ability to get back in the air after a potentially fatal accident – and back in business after being ousted from Ultimate Ears in 2007 – says a great deal about the reserves of discipline that have enabled the 50-year-old engineer and entrepreneur to make his latest venture, JH Audio, such a resounding success.
Then again, his approach to business and life, informed by his motto – “go for it – you either rock or you suck”- is far from timid.
“That’s pretty much how I live. I want to compete. I want to do my job the best that I can; to have the best mix, to be on top of my technology mixing live, and to be the first to market with new in-ear technology.”
So far, so good. With some 50,000-plus hours behind the desk as a monitor engineer and a passion for continuously pushing in ear technology forward, it’s fair to say Harvey’s life’s work has been leading the market in making music sound better for the people making the music in the first place.
A Couple Of Things
Born and raised in St. Louis, Harvey first started mixing at age 16. “I don’t know if I would have called myself an engineer,” he says, laughing.
“I was making sound come out of PA boxes, but I was pretty atrocious.” In fact, that was what drew the attention of Harvey’s first mentor, Ed Bigger, whose advice later became Harvey’s motto.
“Ed was one of Bob Heil’s guys back in the day, and he came up to me and said, ‘kid, I come in here every Wednesday and you’re killing me. Can I show you a couple of things?”
Bigger’s tutoring paid off, and local demand for Harvey’s services increased, but he still wasn’t making a great living. In fact, he was considering changing careers when a chance meeting prompted him to put his motto to the test.
“I sat down at this little bar on Laclede’s Landing after a Van Halen’s ‘1984′ show and in comes Dave Roth with his entourage, and he sits down on the barstool next to me. We never said a word about music, but I thought that was a sign, so I decided to move to LA.”
Two years later, after cutting his teeth with King Kobra and others, Harvey attracted the attention of Roth’s production manager.
