Audio technology has been a fascination of mine since I was a kid — it married the performer side of my brain with the computer-geek side and allowed me to rabbit-hole on both topics without actually becoming an expert on either one. Being the husband of a full-time performer gave me the perfect opportunity to be the designated recording engineer, developing my skills by recording a variety of different ensembles and music-styles.
These days, I do a lot more live-audio work than recording: I do sound design and live-performance audio for local theatre companies and performance venues. Much like starting in recording, it was more a case of “I’m the person available that sort of understands this”, so I’m very self-taught and learning as fast as I can. I’ve learned that I do best under those circumstances, though, because I can just consume information about it voraciously and learn by doing. I would still not compare myself to any of the area experts, but I manage a good show every now and then.