|
|
Chantelle was no ordinary student. As I sat across from her I was
immediately impressed with her direction - her determination to
enter the music industry and do it on her terms. With that
attitude its no wonder that she got strait A's on her
courses. I was pleased to hand her the certificate that
said she was fully trained as an associate recording engineer,
and to tell her how the school and www.recordingjobsconnection.com
could help her reach her goals in the industry. |
| Chantelle is off to make her way in the industry in sunny
California. I expect her to be "grabbed up" as
an intern in a major studio quickly - I already have one in mind
that I will call personally. If you are a studio manager
reading this interview, and you want to communicate to her about
an inter position, simply e-mail
her. - Bob Dennis |
|
LAST
MINUTE UPDATE: CHANTELLE IS SCHEDULED TO START IN
THE PRO AUDIO DEPARTMENT OF GUITAR CENTER HOLLYWOOD ON
10/1/01. SHE REMAINS INTERESTED IN A STUDIO
INTERNSHIP.
|
|
| Chantelle
Amundson Interview - September 5, 2001 |
| Bob:
So…what made you take classes here at RID? |
| Chantelle:
Because I knew
there was knowledge here that I needed, technical knowledge,
recording equipment. I wanted a keyboard to start working
on music, but I knew nothing about MIDI, nothing about
connectors, nothing about wires, I figured this was a good place
to start, and it gave me exactly what I needed. |
| B:
What are you
trying to do with your career? |
| C:
I wouldn’t want
to call it "songwriter" because I want to actually
sing my own music. I want to be a singer. I have an
idea of what type of music I want to do. I’m more of a
lyricist than a producer at the moment, but I’m working on it…..
I’d like to do music that’s kind of a combination between
Madonna and Tori Amos meets Electronic Music. Kinda
interesting cross…. I’m just trying to pull everything
together. |
| B:
Have you done any
performances? |
| C:
I’ve been in
music all my life. I haven’t been up in front of 20000 people,
but I’ve been on stage. |
| B: What
do you do for a day job? |
| C:
Right now, I’m
modeling to pay the bills, so I don’t have to get a real job.
I like to be in front of the camera, I like the attention. |
| B:
What are you
going to do in CA? |
| C:
Make contacts! Plus I’ll spend some time working with
my Korg Triton (which is EXTREMELY complicated), but I can’t
live without it…. |
| B:
Have you given any
consideration to the engineering aspect. Such as being a second
engineer at a studio, or being behind the boards. |
| C:
Absolutely! If the opportunity presents itself, I’d
love to get into a studio. As soon as I find the right person to
give me a shot. I couldn’t be an engineer yet, I don’t have
enough experience, but a second position would be great. |
| B:
Are you originally
from the Detroit area? |
| V:
No… I moved here
from L.A. about 2 years ago. Before that was Texas, Indiana,
Massachusetts, Singapore, London, I’ve been around. |
| B:
So you’re
prepared for the LA scene? |
| V:
Yep.. My friends
are there, I’ve spent a lot of time hanging out there. |
| B:
How did you
discover RID? |
| V:
Mars Music,
actually.. I was in there looking at keyboards, and I was
talking to this guy, and they mentioned your school. So I
called that day and got a catalog, and the rest is
history. Best decision I ever made. I would’ve
spent years trying to figure out what I needed to learn.
Here, everything is presented like "Here’s what you need
to know, and once you know it, you’ll have the ability to
discover the rest on your own." I’m taking my books
with me, I’m not even packing them. I need to keep them
nearby. I refer a lot to your dictionary when I’m trying
to read my keyboard manual and run across terms – You don’t
find those definitions in Webster…. I
like to know specifics, and RID fills that knowledge. |
| B:
As you know, we
have this new site, www.recordingjobsconnection.com.
This interview is for the debut issue of Recording Jobs
Connection News! |
| C:
Cool! Yay!
|
| B:
Anyway,
we intend to be THE place for finding recording jobs. |
| C:
That is SO cool!
Heck yeah! |
| Note:
At this point I gave her a specific place to visit in the LA
area with a specific person to talk to. I suggested that
she use my name freely. The multi-room facility is owned
by a former graduate of RID. |
| C:
I
love the networking that goes on in this business. |
| B:
The other thing
www.recordingjobsconnection.com
is going to do is target major studios around the country -
finding out what they look for in interns, what they do with
them. For example, one studio I recently visited in
Atlanta got a hold of another recording school's exit exam, and
gives that as a prerequisite for interning. If you can’t
pass that test, you can’t work at the studio! By talking
to these places, I can figure out who the best people to send
them would be - but also I can communicate to our students,
graduates and subscribers EXACTLY what these studios want. |
| C:
This
is all so perfect. I didn’t know what was going to happen.
Now, I’m going to LA with knowledge, and there’s a studio
there that’s run by former RID people who might just take a
liking to me BECAUSE I went to RID, and….it’s just perfect! |
| B:
Anything else you
want to say? |
| C:
Such a general
question…. To anyone who might be considering coming here [to
RID]: Whatever direction you want to go, this place is the best
source of knowledge you’re going to find. Everyone here
is so honest too. When my instructor was asked a question
he didn’t know the answer to, he didn’t try and make up some
BS answer, he honestly said "I don’t know" but was
quick to do whatever he needed to do to find out the
answer. That way, we both learned something, and learning
is great. |
| B:
I agree! Thank you
very much. |
