Morgan, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
My first few jobs were in retail and various office positions. Relatively quickly, I realized that I wanted to pursue a career that wasn’t just a paycheck rather something I was deeply passionate about. This pursuit led me to the Conservatory of Recording Arts and Sciences (C.R.A.S.) Recording school in Arizona where I received a crash course in all things audio engineering. After graduating from C.R.A.S. they assisted me in landing an internship at the very well known Eldorado recording studio in Burbank. The experience I gained during my internship helped me to land a position as a Studio Runner at the legendary Sunset Sound in Hollywood. I spent close to 15 years working at Sunset starting as a Runner then Assistant Engineer and eventually securing the position of Senior Staff Engineer. At the beginning of this year, I made the difficult decision to step away from my position at Sunset to go fully freelance.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
My path has had its share of ups and downs but I was fortunate enough to have found a great home at Sunset Sound. The Sunset team is a family who provides me with endless amounts of support, mentoring, guidance and luckily, plenty of laughs. No matter what was going on at the studio, I could always count on the unwavering support of the Studio Manager, Craig Hubler. We all suffered a tremendous loss when Craig passed away unexpectedly in September of 2019.
Every artist and musician comes in with their own distinct vision of what they want to create while in the studio. The challenge for me is to understand their goals so that I can assist them in making their vision come to life and end up with a finished project that they love.
Can you give our readers some background on your music?
I have been a recording engineer for the last 15 years specializing in recording and mixing music for studio albums, television and films… During my career, I’ve been fortunate enough to have worked with such artists as John Legend, Haim, twenty-one pilots, Florence and the Machine, Jason Mraz, Alanis Morissette, Dweezil Zappa, The Struts and Death Grips to name a few.
It never ceases to amaze me that I get to work alongside some of the most talented musicians, producers, and engineers in the world. Getting to be in the room when the magical moments happen is something I’ll never take for granted! My ability to get great sounds in different studios and settings has served me well. Over time and countless sessions, I feel that one of my biggest strengths has become managing complicated sessions. A good example would be recording John Legend’s 11 piece band all at once. With limited options for isolating instruments, you have to be creative while giving your clients the best possible recording. My clients have a vision of what they want and it’s my job to make that happen. Even with crazy ideas, it’s best to go down the rabbit hole with them and see where it takes you.
Luckily I have learned from some legendary producers/engineers such as Glyn Johns (Led Zeppelin, Rolling Stones, Beatles), Joe Barresi (Tool, Queens of the Stone Age, Bad Religion, Avenged Sevenfold), Niko Bolas (Neil Young, Toto, Melissa Etheridge, Steve Perry) and many, many more. I’ve picked up so much from these amazingly talented people and applied what I’ve learned and turned it into my own style. Every engineer hears things differently and that is what gives them their own unique sound.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
Success to me is having my client obviously be happy with the work I produce, but more importantly, that they enjoy the whole process and that their experience was memorable. Of course, getting a Grammy nomination (Jason Mraz 2013) is a pretty big ego boost as well! Making a living working in music and doing what I love is the ultimate dream. I still trip out anytime I hear a song I’ve worked on playing in public!