Recording Career Fast Track:
From Student to Chief Engineer
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When it came to figuring out his career, though, he got some good advice. "My mom suggested that I go to work in a studio," he explains. "Actually her exact words were to get a job 'turning the knobs' there. She didn't know any more about what actually went on than I did."
Preston did some research, and concluded that Entertainment Connection's Recording program offered the "best bang for the buck." So he set up his interview and walked
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"The first thing I saw when I got to the studio were gold records on the wall," Preston recalls. "No Doubt, Dwight Yoakam . . . I was blown away!" And that was just the beginning -- Clear Lake's full client list is long and impressive.
"Jimi Eat World, Ringo Starr, Flea, Paula Abdul, Me'Shell Ndegeocello, Clint Black, Trish Yearwood, Adam Ant, Lagwagon -- I couldn't believe I was going to be in a studio where all these people recorded!"
His first look into the control room was just as overwhelming. "The console looked about three miles long, with millions of knobs. Of course, since then it has shrunk dramatically," he muses.
Although he walked in knowing virtually nothing about recording, Boebel studied hard and worked even harder. Within a few months, owner Brian Levi was calling Preston in to work on more and more sessions, including many with freelance engineers.
"The great thing about this program is that you're exposed to so many different influences, all of them in a professional working environment," says Preston. "Even the 'outside' engineers
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Billy Sheehan and Dennis Chambers |
Preston's work ethic soon paid off: within 6 months he was assisting on most of the sessions. After a year he was hired as the studio's chief engineer. It's a job with many challenges.
"One day I'll be doing horn overdubs, the next I'll be recording vocal tracks or guitar riffs," he says. "I've gotten to work with some awesome musicians, like [drummer] Dennis Chambers and [bassist] Billy Sheehan. And, ironically, I have met some screen icons: Steven Seagal, David Cassidy and a few others have done sessions with me."
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Boebel also does post production for films and television. His credits include the HBO hit Six Feet Under, Hysteria: The Def Leppard Story, and several Dreamworks projects.
The greatest part? "It's not like any 'job' I've ever had," he says. "I enjoy being in the studio because no matter what I'm working on, it's always an adventure. I have loved music all my life, and getting paid for being involved in music is great!"
Preston, a Recording Connection graduate found work while still attending the Recording Connection. Today, he is still at it.
