I contacted Los Medanos, San Francisco State, and Berklee College of Music and just asked if anyone had a couple of bright young kids. A referral like that is one way to get a start.
The other way is just to call around, and if somebody says they’re not hiring, send them a resume and follow it up with another call. Or, you can ask if you can come by, drop off your resume, and see the studio. That way, the person who is hiring gets a chance to meet you, even though they might not be thinking about it at the time.
That approach may not work at some facilities that just do not have time or availability to accommodate drop-in visitors, but for many studios, it will work, so it’s worth a try. You should ask, “May I stop by and drop off my resume and meet you, and spend about five minutes speaking with you?”
Studio managers are generally very busy people, but at least you’ve had the opportunity to meet a person in the music community and hopefully make a favorable impression.
Keith: As far as resources, is there anything you think someone coming into the business should be looking at?
Leslie: I think for somebody just starting out, “Mix” magazine might be a little too much. I guess “Recording” or “EQ” magazine might be a better place to start. We haven’t yet talked about knowing computers, either. You certainly don’t have to know Pro Tools editing, but you really should know the fundamentals of either a Mac or a PC. I think having some knowledge of hard disk editing is quite an advantage.
I would also suggest joining the Recording Academy as an associate or as an affiliate member, because you still have access to any of the workshops that are offered once you’re on the mailing list. A lot of those events are free. So the networking and educational opportunities available in that organization are available whether you’re a voting member or not.
A lot of schools have student AES (Audio Engineering Society) chapters; I know San Francisco State does.
As far as conventions, I would think now, NAMM would be a good place to go to learn a little bit about who the players are in the technology side of recording.
Keith: Long term, what’s your sense of the career opportunity represented by becoming a recording engineer?
Leslie: I think it can still be a [good] career opportunity, but I know that even well-respected veteran engineers are learning Pro Tools or some other hard disk editing system, because clients are kind of expecting that and they want that available to them.
Colleagues of mine have said, “Why should they pay someone else [to do hard disk editing,] when they can pay me?” So that’s certainly job security. I’m still pretty bullish on that, but I think there are many opportunities out there with distribution changing with the Internet, uploading, and new technologies.
Keith: Do you have any parting thoughts?
Leslie: Master the basics and the fundamentals. I think that’s the big advantage of working in a big place and not in a small place—you’re exposed to a lot more. In my nine years at Capitol, I was pushed to do so many things, not only the level of clientele that we had, but just kind of the things we were asked to do.
All the Frank Sinatra ednet ISDN sessions for the two Duets albums happened at Capitol. Then we shifted gears to record a film score with a large orchestra at the next session. You wouldn’t really get that kind of experience in a one-room studio. It makes you much more valuable as an employee because eventually, you are going to have to look for another job. It always happens.
Keith: It’s true. A person’s depth of knowledge makes them much more valuable to their employer. Do you have any Yoda-like pearls of wisdom to share in closing?
Leslie: Use your ears, Luke—use your ears.
Editor’s note: The following interview was done by Keith Hatschek in his book “How To Get A Job In the Music and Recording Industry,” available on-line from Berklee Press.