 Aaron Meier Students from James Love and Jefferson Elementary Schools recently had the opportunity to spend some time with Disney/ABC star on the television series, “Pair of Kings,” Geno Segers.
While in the area Geno did a voiceover at a local Cleveland County studio, Stepping Stone Sound. A professional studio, located just east of Shelby, Stepping Stone Sound is set apart from home studio recording by “the overall quality of the finished project,” owner Aaron Meier states.
In a recent interview, (see below) in his 12 years of experience as a dedicated recording engineer, Meier informs us that when he started the company in 2005, “three ideals…determined the heart and soul of the company: professionalism, quality and affordability.”
When asked, “What was it like working with Geno Segers?”
Meier says, “Working with Geno was truly a pleasure. He is an enormous guy with an equally enormous voice, but he is also very quick to smile and his personality is simply infectious.”
You can find more information on Stepping Stone Sound at www.steppingstonesound.com/
You can find more information on Geno Segers at www.genosegers.com/
Complete Interview with Aaron Meier...
1. What sets studio recording apart from home recording?
There are several advantages to recording in a studio. The first is improved sonic quality. Most studios will have a good selection of high-end recording equipment that just plain sounds better than the budget-level equipment many home recording enthusiasts use, and a trained and experienced engineer will know how to use that equipment to its fullest potential to make your recordings sound as good as they possibly can. Additionally, room acoustics play an enormous role in the quality of the recorded sound, so recording in a treated studio environment is key. It is also a big advantage to have someone with well-trained ears listening to your music and giving you feedback on how to make it sound better. But perhaps even more important than all of this is the issue of having to split your attention between performing and recording. The truth is, most people who record at home don’t do so because they are passionate about the art of recording; they do it because it is convenient. But the biggest key to creating a great recording is capturing a great performance, and it’s virtually impossible to focus on your performance and try to manage the technical aspects of recording simultaneously without one or the other suffering. When you record in a studio, the engineer’s job is to handle these technical aspects, which frees you up to focus on giving the best performance that you possibly can. This is quite possibly the biggest factor in determining the overall quality of the finished project.
2. Why would an artist decide to choose Stepping Stone Sound?
When I first started Stepping Stone Sound in 2005, I built it around three ideals that I was determined would be the heart and soul of the company: professionalism, quality and affordability. In the six years that I have been in business, I have kept my commitment to those principles, and I have a long list of former clients who have testified to that fact. I give every project my complete, undivided attention, and because I consider my reputation to be my greatest asset, I work very hard to make sure that every client is 100% satisfied with the end result of their experience working with me. I provide a comfortable, laid-back working environment at rates that won’t cost you an arm and a leg, which allows the client to relax and focus on the music instead of the clock. And in addition to being a recording engineer with more than 12 years of experience, I am also a musician and songwriter, as well as an experienced producer, so I understand the creative aspect of the process just as well as the technical. This allows me to offer in-depth insight and advice to my clients that they simply couldn’t get at other studios. I am a huge fan of music spanning many different genres, so I have the musical sensibility required to treat each project individually, rather than taking a one-size-fits-all approach that you find at many studios who only specialize in a handful of genres. This has allowed me to work on a wide range of projects in different styles, including rock, pop, country, bluegrass, metal, hip hop, gospel and contemporary Christian, as well as in postproduction and voice-over recording for film and television, podcasting, radio advertising, books-on-tape, etc.
3. What was it like working with Disney/ABC star, Geno Segers?
Working with Geno was truly a pleasure. He is an enormous guy with an equally enormous voice, but he is also very quick to smile and his personality is simply infectious. Once the session began, he was completely focused and professional, as was the entire production team at Disney/ABC and Keep Me Posted (the postproduction facility that my studio was interfacing with during the session), and the whole thing went off without a hitch. But once it was over, Geno’s true nature emerged once again as we sat in the control room for another half hour or so discussing our shared passion for music and for educating children in the arts, while he strummed the chords to Adele’s “Someone Like You” on one of the Martin acoustic guitars I keep here in the studio. It was a fantastic opportunity for a facility like mine, and for me personally, it was one of the highlights of my career. I say this having been in the studio with many different A-list recording artists; Geno is truly a class act, and he deserves every bit of the success he is achieving. I wish him nothing but the best in his endeavors. |
