INTERVIEW WITH MADSAM STUDIOS OWNER JEFF HARRIS
Last year, I began thinking of an idea for a series about local Toledo artists. I wanted to feature artists that had day jobs outside of their art and never use lack of time as an excuse to not get out there and produce their life’s work. This is the first in a 11-part series I’m calling The Moonlighting Series.
I wanted to start this series off with one of my closest friends, Jeff Harris who owns MadSam Studios in Perrysburg, Ohio. Jeff embodies the type of artist I wanted to spotlight in this series. He’s one of the hardest working mix engineers I know on top of having a full-time corporate career. He’s not only hard working, but an incredibly talented mixer. I once told him “One day, you are going to have a Grammy attached to your name” and I still believe that it’s only a matter of time before this is true. In Fall of 2017, Jeff mixed Marc Martel’s version of “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas” featuring Plumb. That song went on to be a top 10 single and was the #1 most added song at Christian radio for several weeks.
I wanted to sit down with him and ask a few questions about his craft, those that say ‘quit your day job and chase your dreams’, and which tools in life have helped make him so successful.
JEFF HARRIS Mix Engineer/Owner MadSam Studios
Photograph by Jeff Harris Photography
What is your official role and title during the day?
My official title is AVP, Director of Technical Services at HCR ManorCare where I’ve worked for the last 23 years. We’re a 4 billion dollar healthcare company that specializes in long-term care, assisted living, homecare and hospice, and rehabilitation services. Basically, my role is equivalent to a Chief Technology Officer where I’m responsible for all of the information technology across all of our various lines of business.
There are camps who say ‘quit your job, chase your dreams’ how do you feel about that phrase? Do you think it’s poor life advice?
I’ve struggled with that question myself for a long time. I’ve often wondered if I chose the correct path or if I missed some opportunities along the way because of the choices I made. I will say that I don’t think it’s wise to just up and quit your job to chase your dreams. That would be foolish. Maybe if I was 22 without any responsibilities I’d have a different answer. But that’s not me. I have a family and I’ve always felt a huge responsibility to provide for them and give them every opportunity to pursue their dreams and ambitions. Something that helped me navigate this question came from a book called “Halftime” by Bob Buford. I was in my early 40’s when I read it and that book was aimed at people like me who had achieved some level of success in their careers and were now struggling to figure out what’s next. As I approached “mid-life,” I was struggling with what the second half of my life would look like. Would I keep doing the same thing? Would I do something completely different? Maybe a combination of the two?
What I took from this book was the idea that we all come to the halftime point in our life and we have some choices to make. There’s a certain amount of restlessness that comes at this stage of life. I was trying to figure out how to move from success to significance. As I was struggling with how to answer that question for myself, Buford’s advise resonated with me. Don’t just quit your job to chase your dreams/passions. Instead, start to really engage in those passions. Get active and do the work alongside your “day job.” By doing that you may find that you don’t like it as much as you thought or maybe you aren’t as good at it as you thought. You may actually find that it’s exactly what you should be doing with the second half of your life.
Either way, you can test the waters without the significant risk of quitting your day job. As you experiment with doing different things, you start to learn more about who you really are, what motivates you, what you care about, where you belong, etc… From there, you can make much more informed choices. You may find that 1) you continue to do what you’ve done in the first half of your life, 2) you discover an entirely new career that takes your life in a different, more fulfilling direction or 3) you end up with a parallel career where you continue with your day job and are still able to pursue your passion projects at the same time. That’s really where I personally landed. I have parallel careers in information technology and music.
What’s your favorite project you worked on in the last year?
By far, the two EP projects I mixed for Marc Martel late last year – “The First Noel” and “My Way Vol. 1”. If you don’t know Marc, you need to. He is a world-class singer/songwriter that has one of best voices on the planet. I prayed last year that I would get the opportunity to work on some higher quality projects than what I had done to date. Little did I know that a small seed that I planted with Marc and his team over a year earlier would result in the opportunity to mix these two EPs. Both projects turned out great and it’s been awesome to watch all the success Marc has had. The Christmas single was the #1 most added song at radio for several weeks in a row and ended up in the top 10 on the charts. Add to that hundred of thousands of plays online, music videos, etc… It’s been a fun ride. The “My Way Vol. 1” EP releases in March and I can’t wait to see where that one goes. After the success of these first two projects, he just asked me to mix a new EP he’s working on this spring. I’m thrilled!
I also just mixed one of the songs on the new Sanctus Real album that’s coming out in April. The guys in the band have been friends of mine for years and I’ve had the opportunity to tour with them all over the country. Getting the chance to mix a song on the new album was another big highlight for me. Having my mix sit alongside mixes from some other mix engineers that I’ve looked up to for a long time, was a real thrill for me.
These projects were big confidence boosters for me. To see my work end up on the radio, to have songs on the charts, to hear accolades from producers and artists I admire and to see my work sitting alongside other great mix engineers that I respect somehow legitimized things for me. As creatives, I think there’s always an element of self-doubt in what we do. For a brief fleeting moment, I felt like I was good enough, ha! Now I’m back to learning more and continuing to develop my craft.
In the music industry, what’s more important. 1000 good connections or 10 great relationships? Why?
On a personal level, I’ve always felt that I’d rather have 10 really good, deep relationships with people vs. having a 1,000 acquaintances. I never wanted to be the guy that just bounces around socially with a bunch of superficial relationships. I wanted to be able to pour into a small number of people and hopefully have them pour into me as well. Life just feels richer to me doing that. Professionally, I feel the same way. A smaller number of meaningful relationships where you are mutually adding value to one another is far superior to a large number of acquaintances where you can’t say much more than “oh yeah, I know so and so…”
Where do you go to learn more about your craft? What websites do you frequent the most?
A lot of different places. I feel like I’m a lifelong learner. No matter what my interests are, I tend to dig deep and learn everything I possibly can. Books, articles, videos, you name it. I’m constantly seeking out opportunities to learn. When I built my latest studio, I read more books and learned more than most would ever care to know about acoustics, sound isolation, and studio design. Some might call me crazy, but I was informed and knowledgeable and I ended up with a great studio. Recording and mixing, the same thing. I’ve learned a lot about mixing from places like PureMix, Audio Legends, Groove3, Produce Like A Pro, The Recording Revolution, etc… I’ve also had the amazing opportunity to sit alongside some very accomplished mixers and just watch them work. No better experience than that. Along the way, I’ve been able to share what I’ve learned with others. I love the idea of giving back and sharing knowledge and experience.
I’ve always tried to learn the why behind something, not just the how. If all you ever learn is how, I think you miss half the story. Really understanding why someone does or doesn’t do something has always been more revealing to me. That allows me to internalize the concepts and the thought process and then I’m better equipped to apply that to my own projects. For example, instead of just cutting 500Hz out of a kick drum by default because that’s how someone or some plugin preset told me to mix a kick drum, I can listen to a kick drum and hear that it sounds a little boxy to my ears and I know that is a result of some build up in the low mids and I know that build up tends to live in the 250-600Hz range so I go find the offensive frequencies and cut them. Mixing isn’t cookie cutter and one approach never fits all situations so you really have to know why you’re doing something as well as how to do it.
Who is your biggest inspiration in mixing?
As much as I love great songs, I’ve always really been in love with how things sound. I was that kid that read every liner note on every album to learn who the people were that made my favorite albums. I still do that now. In the early days, Bob Clearmountain was the king for me. Following him was Chris Lord-Alge. These two guys have mixed many of my all-time favorite albums and are giants in the industry. More recently, I’ve been following guys like Andrew Scheps, Jeff Juliano, Mark Needham, Sean Moffitt, Justin Neibank, Jacquire King, and so many others. These are the guys making some of my favorites sounding albums in recent years.
In this industry what are the top 3 skill sets you use that crossover from your day job?
Communication/people/social skills have to top the list. Simply being able to clearly communicate with people and be someone others genuinely want to hang out with has been a huge help. Years of experience interacting with all different kinds of people and personalities has equipped me to be able to adapt to almost any situation I find myself in.
Expectation management is big as well. Being able to properly set expectations with people and then manage those expectations through effective communication is vitally important. It takes the guesswork out of things for people. They’re informed and feel a part of the process vs. always wondering what I’m doing or where things are at.
Planning and project management skills have been a big asset as well. Being able to accurately estimate and schedule work and then hit deadlines is critical. I’ve found that there’s a lot of “hurry up and wait” in this industry so when a project finally gets to me I have to be on top of my game to deliver in a timely manner.
MadSam Studios. Perrysburg, Ohio
Photograph by Jeff Harris Photography
What advice do you have for mixers trying to make their mark in the industry?
Learn your craft and be ready when an opportunity comes. I spent a long time learning, practicing, learning some more and practicing some more before I ever felt ready to take on projects like I’ve been working on the last several years. You never know when an opportunity might present itself so be as ready as you possibly can be when it happens.
Do you have a quote you live by when it comes to how you mix?
“If it sounds good, it is good.”
What’s been your biggest mistake in learning to mix?
Overcooking things. I would learn a new technique or approach and I’d add it to the one I learned before that which I had added to the one I learned before that and so on. I’d try to throw all these ideas or techniques into every mix I worked on and everything would turn into a big mess. One of the things that has amazed me about watching so many experienced mix engineers work is how little they actually do to the tracks. It’s been a big lesson in “less is more.” I’ve learned to be very intentional about what I’m doing in a mix and I try hard to do the least amount of processing possible to the tracks to achieve my desired result.
What opportunities has having a day job and moonlighting as a professional mixer given you in life that you wouldn’t have if you solely focused on mixing?
Financial freedom and a variety of different life experiences. I am able to pick and choose the projects that I want to work on and I am able to afford the tools I need in the studio without having to worry about paying the mortgage or buying groceries. I’m also able to share these things with others without having to worry about making a buck every single time. I’ve also continued to develop my skills and experience in the corporate world as an IT executive and as a leader. Skills and experiences learned in both these areas of my life spill over into the other and make me a better person and a better leader overall. It’s a win-win for me.
While I still dream of maybe doing this full time someday, I’m not too worried about that. I like my day job. It provides financial security and freedom for me and my family. At the same time, I’m able to fill my creative tank by working on cool projects in the studio and I get to work with some amazingly talented artists and producers from all over the world. I like to work and stay busy. This parallel career thing has worked out pretty well for me so far.