X4 Informational Interview with Thaddeus Moore | MUL101 Introduction to Media Arts

Thaddeus Moore is the original founder and chief audio engineer of Sprout City Studios located right here in Eugene, Oregon. He has been involved in the recordings of over 650 albums since 1997 when the studio first began. He has worked with some reknown artist such as Frank Black, Keb’ Mo’, and Thomas Mapfuma. Thaddeus also teaches The Fundamentals of Sound Engineering Class through the Continuing Education Program of Lane Community College.

Originally, I was hoping to meet with Thaddeus in person but he was fighting a nasty bug at the time and didn’t want to get me sick. However, he had no problem doing a Q&A interview with me via email even though he wasn’t feeling well. After I sent him some questions, it was no more then an hour that I received an email back. This confirmed my thoughts on how much of a courteous and thoughtful guy he is. My main interests and fascination have always been with sound and audio engineering, so I am grateful to have had the opportunity to ask questions about audio engineering to someone I respect and aspire to emulate. Shortly after Sprout City opened in 97,’ my friends and I recorded there. I remember how cool the vibe was — and the tracking room where we jammed in was a place you never wanted to leave.

Here is the Q&A

1) What advice do you have for someone who would like to become an audio engineer and find a job in this field ?

DO NOT build a studio. Get involved in a healthy studio environment that already exists. Build a community.

The numbers just aren’t there for a new engineer unless you are 1. Stubborn/Stupid (like me) and luck your way into success, or 2. LOADED with burnable money (unlike me).

2) Since more and more musicians have access to digital recording tools these days and are making their own recordings at home, how has this affected the recording business?

It makes a lot of people realize, “wow, I really don’t want to have to learn software to make my album… I just want to play!”

Its like plumbing. Really! You can totally Plumb your own house, but if you pay a pro, they will get it done really fast and probably better than you could have done yourself. However, if one is willing to put in the time to learn, ANYONE can get involved. It’s a super fertile level playing field.

3) What does the future look like for the audio engineer?

Kind of like the past, except smaller budgets, because you know… “My cousin has a pack of 57’s and garageband in his basement studio, so…”

4) What’s the best part of your job?

Helping artists see their music in a new way. Finding new tricks to get around all the problems of capturing the emotion of a live performance. Learning every day to get more and more out of the way so that it just happens as it should. Sorry, that’s a lot, I guess simple answer is – Everything.

Peace,

~
Thaddeus Moore
Owner/Engineer

Sprout City Studios
1697 W11th Alley
Eugene OR 97402
http://sproutcity.com/

Check out our mastering service: http://www.liquidmastering.com/

ph. 541.687.0947
em. giddy@sproutcity.com

On facebook: http://www.facebook.com/thaddeus.moore
On about.me: http://about.me/thaddeus.moore
Follow me on twitter: http://twitter.com/SproutCity

Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.

— Dr. Seuss