One of the reasons we at the Recording Connection are so passionate about breaking our students into the industry is that we’re staffed with people who are industry pros themselves. Exhibit “A”: Justin Ventling, a member of RRFC’s Financial Services Department, who is a solid mixing engineer in his own right, and who in fact is right now in the process of mixing a record for up-and-coming metal band
Dealey Plaza!
As is almost always the case, Justin’s recent project came to him through connections—in this case, a connection that was over a decade old. Justin revived the connection when he discovered his contact was now on the list of mentors for the Recording Connection!
“About 12 years ago I started booking bands for a local venue out in Palm Springs,” Justin explains. “I made some pretty decent contacts…[one of them] started an audio engineering business out in Florida called Kirkbride Recordings. The main engineer over there is a guy named Chris…we kept in pretty good contact, and then I saw him as one of our student’s mentors. So I reached out to him and kind of touched base and said, ‘Hey, this is really cool. I’m glad you’re part of this program.’ He was extremely thrilled about the program, thinks it’s a great idea, and then he brought it to my attention that he started a new band, [Dealey Plaza]. So he sent me over his most recent demo and had me mix it so that we can keep it within the family, so to say. So I’m just finishing up that and I’m really excited to see how it turns out.”
Justin, didn’t come across the Recording Connection until after he graduated from another audio school—but once he understood our concept, he was hooked.
“When I graduated school, I was kind of looking around for a different job, and I came across Recording Connection,” he says. “I fell in love with the idea of the program. I met with the Head of Admissions, Tommy [Kirby]. We had a meeting and he offered me the position, and I couldn’t be happier. I am really impressed with the program, the way that it works, all the success stories we have. The students I speak with are just blown away…I think that it’s just an incredible idea and I’m really honored to be part of the program.”
Surprisingly, when it comes to mixing records, especially metal, Justin’s DAW of choice is Logic, rather than Pro Tools. “One thing that always stood out to me…is how easy it is to mix within Logic,” he says. “I find it easier to map out certain frequencies. I also find it easier to just mix in general…I know Pro Tools is the standard for mixing, but Logic for me is just so much easier.”
For Justin, landing this project from one of his connections after all these years is just another case-in-point about the importance of relationships, which is what the Recording Connection is all about.
“Maintaining the relationships is imperative to success,” he says. “I think that to maintain those relationships and to keep them healthy is only going to make your success better and make you go further within the industry…the whole point of this program is for connections, and it just goes to show that even over time the connections are still there and you can still make great things happen even after time has passed.”
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