FINDING THE PATH: Two sound engineers embark on an audio journey for technique, themselves, and anyone who will listen
- Matt Thies
- 42 minutes ago
- 6 min read
Trent Harrison and John Kimbrough found their harmony one night at Satellite Bar and Lounge after a Wilmington Voices concert and a few beers.
Their unique synergy led to the Audio Path, a podcast about the technical, business, and human sides of the seemingly arcane world of sound engineering. If you're a musician or aspiring sound engineer or music venue owner, maybe it's the next title to add to your morning commute or evening walk.
In a way, it's odd that either Trent or John hasn't done a podcast until now. They've both done about everything else–including voice-overs for film, acoustic consulting, album production, commercials, audiobooks, even just running sound for corporate events. But as with all things music, timing and harmony are key. After they met, it was such an obvious decision that they say they'd probably do this even if no one listens, just because they enjoy it that much.
And that philosophy reflects what John says about what music needs. John believes there needs to be more "Publicly played imperfect music. More music on street corners, open mics, more people bringing a guitar to a brewery and playing with people. I don't think that music was ever intended to be played just for some to sit and listen to, it's meant to be engaged with."
The Hosts
Both of these producers have a long line of accolades that they've collected over the years. I asked them which ones stood out to them the most.
Trent looks back and recalls his record with Mac & Juice Quartet back in 2015 being one of the first records he was really proud of. "It's got some age on it now, but it still stands up," he says. Subsequently, he became good friends with those guys. Other acts are Groove Fetish and Brown Dirt Cowboys, both local favorites. He's even had the luck of working with Weird Al Yankovic, who dropped in to record some tracks for Jimmy Fallon's Holiday Seasonings album with the Roots while he was in town for his show at Live Oak Bank Pavilion.
He also points out his work with Open Wire, who pushed him back into hard rock and led to working with other acts such as Audiomelt. Trent says that he really enjoyed this project not just because of the music, but because he felt like he was getting back to his roots.
Trent's music career began in high school with a hard rock/heavy metal band, and it was in this unit that he began to fall in love with audio engineering. Young and hardpressed for cash, the band pitched in on a straight-to-cd recorder to make their own demos in-house. Trent really got hooked on the process, so much so that when it came time to leave the nest for college, he enrolled in sound engineering at Guilford Tech. It was during this time that he decided that he wanted to open a studio. And with some sage wisdom from some family members, he found himself at UNCW pursuing entrepreneurship and business, and eventually, Hourglass Studios.
John walked a different but familiar path–one of faith and family. He grew up in church in a family of musicians. He picked up piano and trumpet at an early age, and his passion for music led him to school for music theory and vocal performance where he refined his skills in classical music and choir. It was also during this time that he found his own harmony with the guitar, which he now considers his primary instrument. He had always worked in church, but after being a full-time worship pastor for a while, he began to yearn for more time "in the gears" of technical sound recording. He began working more with the equipment and started helping out in other churches and mixing sound for people, sort of as a vigilante sound engineer. He laments that a lot of musicians are not good sound engineers, and why his role was such a necessity. After years of working his full-time job and working his passion on the side, he was able to go all-in in his studio business about a year ago.
John points to Ben Voight as one of his first big artists, an independent whose stage name is Saint Elias and back up singer for Ashes & Arrows, as well as Nicole Henderson, a gospel musician from Texas. He's even recorded with his father-in-law, Darren Nelson who embodies a 1970's Gerry Rafferty style of music. According to John, it's been a rewarding challenge because every song is uniquely different.
But what is the purpose of Audio Path?
"We're looking for a way to give back and share some of our knowledge and experience we've had over the years and hope that the audience can take something from our successes and and our failures to help them in their career," says Trent.
John adds that what they want for the audience is what they want for themselves; the goal is one in the same. He says that he hopes that this "builds some community around it and that they take what's helpful, and leave what's not."
A large part of the motivation is to inform people how to approach a career in sound engineering from the perspective of the "everyman," how to make a living in the field without living in major cities or music hubs like Los Angeles, Austin, Nashville, or New York. They talk about how sound engineers wear many hats and handle projects that you may not think about in one of their episodes, The Money Episode: Real Ways to Earn a Living in Music.
Their topics range from issues with sound gear like John's unfavorable experience with Presonus products and Trent's love and hate relationship with Pro Tools, to administrative topics like customer and budget management, and to studio-focused topics like mixing, mastering, and room acoustics.
I specifically asked the guys how they handle "difficult" customers, and they actually have an episode dedicated to that as well.
"You gotta be patient," Trent says.
"Almost all of the people who are difficult either don't know what they're doing or they're just not comfortable, with you, with the space, whatever," John says. "And I think that it all comes down to hospitality." He uses an example from live mixing, saying that the first thing he's worried about isn't about setting up the stage equipment presets–it's thinking about having some water ready for them if it's hot.
"People tend to think that that kind of thing is the cherry on top, but it's not, it's the job. Like you should be able to mix–that's the bar–but everything above that is doing the job," says John.
The state of the music—locally and beyond
I asked both John and Trent what wasn't working in music and what is needed to make a healthy music ecosystem.
"Streaming, royalties. Spotify— the whole streaming thing is theft. The model in its inception seemed good, but I think it's done a couple of things, over time it's desensitized the listener to the music to where it's become a valueless product, and they just think of it as this thing that's free," Trent says.
"We need more albums. Singles and EPs have their place, but we need more albums.The art of a full length record that's made with thought from start to finish seems to be a dying art," says Trent.
They both agree that the thing that's needed most, especially in Wilmington, is music venues, specifically the "mid-size" clubs that hold 250-600 people. John asks, "Where is our Orange Peel?"
They say that while studios are important, you can go anywhere to record–but you have to have places in your hometown or area to actually play your music. Aside from the musicians themselves, it's the most essential component of a healthy music ecosystem.
John also emphasizes that there needs to be places and opportunities for musicians to build community, whether that's online forums or quality open mics.
Lastly, I asked what their advice to the audience was. For Trent, he says, "Just get out there and do it. Don't worry about being perfect." John follows up with some heavy insight.
"I'm a big proponent of–whether you're a religious person or not–that you have a higher calling on your life. And if you're really passionate about something, there's probably a reason you're really passionate about it. And it's worth exploring yourself, who you are, and what makes you tick through that entire process. That, in of itself can be the means to some pretty incredible art, and self discovery. If you set out to do something for a reason that's kinda crappy, like say, just to make a lot of money, that's a terrible idea, and that inspiration isn't going to get you very far. If you're like, I want to work with a band, an artist, that I really like their music, I really like their message–that's an inspiration that will get you somewhere."
