Senior Audio major Reagan Lynch has been around music her entire life. Growing up in San Clemente, California, her father introduced her to music by making mention of his days playing in bands himself in the Los Angeles area. With that as a backdrop, it was only natural that the curiosity would continue to grow while attending Tesoro High School in California.
At Tesoro High School she discovered her love of performing, writing, and recording through experimentation by utilizing Logic Pro, playing in various bands, and joining high school choir. As part of choir, she and fellow members were given a very unique opportunity to record background vocals for pop artist Jason Mraz's song, "Love Is Still The Answer.” As Reagan relates, “The day we recorded was life changing for me. I remember seeing Jason’s crew load in all the recording gear and I could not stop thinking about what microphones they were using and how they were going to even record a full choir in our tiny auditorium. From then on I was more interested in recording music than actually making the music.”
At Columbia College Chicago, Reagan has soaked up every opportunity possible to gain experience in the industry. From being hired as a student worker for the Audio Arts and Acoustics Department, to obtaining several internships (she is currently at her fourth internship site), Reagan has learned a great deal about the industry. According to Reagan, “Each internship for me has been like dating. Although I have enjoyed every intern experience, I have definitely favored some more than others. Each internship has shown me where I can personally raise the bar but also where studios can raise the bar. As interns our job to not only learn but help out where you can.”
From interning at a studio in Los Angeles, several studios in Chicago, and a guitar making school/repair shop, Regan has chosen diverse settings to further expand her skill set and increase her confidence. This semester she is interning at Mystery Street Recording which is owned and operated by Columbia College Chicago alum and AAA faculty member Joe Tessone. According to Reagan, “Mystery Street has been a blast. Not only have I been learning recording skills, I have also been able to grow in my live sound and audio restoration skills. Every internship brings new skills to the table. At this point I feel confident enough to enter any new studio and be able to navigate the clients, engineers, and equipment.”
In terms of her future, Reagan had this to say. “At this point my dream job is in audio. I love it all. I love mixing, recording live shows, recording in the studio, and doing audio restoration. When I graduate, I would love to be in studio, but I am going to continue to pursue other fields of audio in addition to music recording.”
For students wanting to do an internship Reagan has in her words, three rules to live by. “Do your research, it is always better to know too much than not enough. I specifically like to look up a website to see who the staff engineers are, the services they offer, their equipment list and clientele. Knowing your fellow coworkers and equipment before you get in the door will help you navigate the studio so much quicker. Also making sure it's a place you genuinely want to be at.” Number two, “Be prepared to work. You are going to work a lot and it's not always on studio related things. There is never a shortage of work. You'll run into situations where engineers are busy and can't necessarily designate tasks to you. This is when I go looking for tasks. I usually have a couple self-managed projects I come up with within the first week of interning. These include social media posting, updating websites, organizing cables, cleaning random things, etc. Finally, be humble. Most studios are allowing interns to come in to learn. I am surprised how many studios want interns in Chicago. For interns this means not only showing your appreciation but understanding your position in general. Most internships lead to a job or some sort of gig. Having a grateful attitude shows that you are easy to work with, and you value the time the studio is pouring into you. This also applies to criticism. Accepting criticism positively not only helps you grow but shows the studio that you are willing to grow. At the end of the day be yourself, be patient, learn as much as you can, and enjoy your time as intern!”
Comentarios