Ira Parker

Recording Connection Mentor Ira Parker talks His Studio, Networking, Studio Etiquette, and Pushing Yourself Harder

Recording Connection mentor Ira Parker

A true music industry veteran, Recording Connection mentor Ira Parker is the owner and chief producer/engineer for Maximus Music Records, one of the top recording studios in Charlotte, NC, serving clients like Jadakiss, DMX and many others. As a Recording Connection mentor, Ira is passionate about training up new talent and always looks for opportunities to push his students to expand their skills. In a recent conversation with RRFC, Ira shared a bit about his own journey into music and offered some insights into his teaching style, as well as, how he sometimes gains new perspectives from his students.

What drew you into music as a career? 

“It was on my mom’s side of the family. My mom taught school. She was a teacher for 33 years, the majority of that. She was a music teacher for elementary kids, school kids. My uncle was a jazz musician named Matt Smith. [He] was like my hero when I was a little kid. I learn differently so I couldn’t–it was hard for me to pick up instruments like that because I repeat a lot. It was hard for me to go past measures. So I guess falling into engineering. I could just take steps and try to go over it until it’s correct. It’s more like problem solving if anything, so I guess it kind of really worked out, which makes me pay attention to meticulous details a lot of people just miss. So that may have made me keep coming up with my own sound. I’m even nerdy enough to take apart equipment and modify it to get extra measures out of a sound.

And I understand you dropped out of school to pursue a more hands-on education. 

I ended up going to school for broadcast communication. I was bored senseless. I was antsy, and we’re in the classes, some in the actual audio room. kind of like a station, but it wasn’t for the college set up. I ended up putting down broadcast. I just started following myself into audio engineering and ran into a couple of great guys at the time that were actually teaching me. I just kept learning from there.

All of that paid off, and now you are the owner of Maximus! What type of music do you guys focus on? 

We do all music. I guess it’s kind of a cliché because it looks like there’s a lot of rappers and R&B artists up there, but we do all music. My guys are very versatile. I do a lot of pop. I’ve been doing a lot of alternative acoustics lately with guitar and vocals. I’m very good at that. Me and my guys, we do R&B, pop. We do soul. Of course, we have done a lot of hip-hop. In the building, we’ve had Jadakiss, Beethoven Beats, we’ve had DMX, Naughty by Nature. Currently, we had Yung Joc, Yung Ralph.

What is your studio’s biggest advantage? 

Our mixes are what we’re known for. Our guys are just amazing. We’re dealing vintage equipment and having it modified, power supplies taken out, more beefy power supplies put in, analog railings, the headroom and some of this older vintage equipment which allows us to push the envelope a little bit harder than anybody else.

Why do you mentor? 

I’m always providing information to and for someone and explaining it. It’s just a good feeling knowing that you can get that light bulb to go on in somebody’s head. This program should be for everybody: songwriter, artist, producer, engineer, whichever one you want to be. The biggest advantage is you’re working with the recording studio instead of paying a very, very large amount, and maybe not acquire the attention that is needed you’re doing all three at one time, you’re learning, then you’re learning hands-on, then you’re taking a quiz, and then you get to come in and watch it happen realistically every week. The only real way to learn is to be around it enough.

Control Room A in Maximus Music

How do you get your students to push their limits?

I think if you’re going to be here, you should get pushed, because if you’re not pushed, you’re just going to be mediocre and moderate. You’ve got to push the limit. You got to jump on top of the mountain. You got to get up there somehow. So that’s what I do. I’m always trying to find, every week, I’m trying to find a new way to push the limit. I think everybody should.

Do you gain insights from your students? 

The really cool thing is people like Wes Hagy. Wes is curious. His curiosity leads to doors. Sometimes, it makes me scratch my head like, ‘I never thought about that.’ When he gets it, he gets it, and it’s so cool. The fact is he got it by working with me and working with the Recording Connection, and because I push him a little bit harder, then he starts pushing back, and I like that. Sometimes, I get new ideas because of guys like him. I’ve got Spence Green, I’ve got Demario Rushing, Chris Wedlock finished the master’s program. These guys are totally enthused. Julia Putintsev is super awesome. They make it worth the reason to be in this business in the first place because you know you’re doing something that’s making a difference.

What do you look for in an extern? 

First of all, I don’t have to do this; I want to do this. So if you’re really not going to take it serious, I’m not going to take you serious. I am going to go about my life that is serious, for other future students that might need mentoring they really want to take it serious, because at the end of the day, if you’re wasting your time, you’re probably wasting someone else’s time, too.

You are famous for your studio etiquette. What can you tell us about the best ways to present oneself in the world or in the studio?

A professional attitude goes a long way. I tell people to check the ego at the door, keep an open mind, and for me, knowledge is the number one key for me for opening and being professional. Always kind of presenting yourself as confident [without bragging]. I tell people the bragging thing’s not cool. Some people will kind of go more in depth about, ‘I can do this, I’m this, I’m that, I’m this,’ when truthfully the work should speak for itself. So presenting yourself as a professional means for one, again, having an open mind. Presenting yourself to others: “Hi, my name’s Ira Parker with Maximus Music Records Studio. I’m the head engineer here, 750 clients, I’ve worked with eight different labels, major labels, features, production. You name it, I can be of assistance to you. Let me know what I can do.” That’s a really good opener for me when I go to establishments, like going to the legendary Saltmine, which since the 70’s has been one of the most amazing recording studios, from The Beatles probably all the way to Ariana Grande now currently. Going to places like that, how you present yourself is always going to matter.  They’re going to look at you and remember you, so how are they going to remember you? How are you going to present yourself professionally to where people are going to be like, “Okay, I like this guy or gal.”

So let’s say you want to network, you’re out at a club in Los Angeles and you’re talking to other people. Should you be saying, “Hey, I’m an engineer, this is what I do,” or how does one network themselves in sort of a pseudo-social business environment?

You need to understand your surroundings, and this is the phrase that your mom or dad always said, “There’s a time and place for everything.” You’ve got to learn when and where to present. Now, if this is more of an event where you shouldn’t really be approaching people, they’re kind of on a mission, then hold back for a minute. But like I said, it just depends on where you’re at. If it looks like the crowd you’re in front of are a little bit more in the area of performing, they’re writers or producers, then it’s a good time to go up to them and say, “Hey, I see you have interests out here. What music interests you out here?” You’ve got to give an icebreaker. For example, this is my little trick. Take it if you want to, I don’t know. I have a digital flyer on my phone. It’s a two-in-one. It kind of messes with people. My card or my digital flyer on my phone has a $10,000 mike in front of it and my boards. That’s automatically a, “Whoa, this guy is serious.” It gives me an icebreaker and opening to present myself to them without doing the standard, “Hey man, what’s your number? We do music.” That’s like, no. Everybody is going to look at you like, whatever. It’s being creative, opening people’s minds, and making them think. They’re going to remember you. I’m not saying everybody should do it like that, but at the end of the day it’s how you present yourself at a time and a place.

Do you think looking a certain way matters? And can people overdo it?

That’s a good question. Conrad Dimanche told me something very amazing. He told me that when you’re going to go out and you need to present yourself, you need to give a reason for people to remember you. So yeah, I believe that your image is everything. At the same time, you can overdo it. For example, me, I like to do the cool look. I like to have a graphic tee on, something that’s fit, not baggy, but it’s bright. I’ll have on some fit jeans or something like that. They don’t have to be designer. They could be some ripped jeans or something cool, but they’re fit, not loose. I would have very unique shoes on. I’ll find the coolest Nikes, like pink, gray, and white with a designer tee that’s pink, gray, and white. I have a skinny beard that’s kind of long, and I’ll have glasses to kind of match it—white, pink, and gray glasses, something really cool. When I’m in LA, for example, people will approach me at the airport. They’re always like, “You must be in the entertainment business.” I’m not saying I wear Gucci every time I walk somewhere or Versace every time I go somewhere. It’s just presenting flavor, presenting who you are, your attitude, your spirit. If you can mimic your spirit on how you look, people will approach you first most of the time. And it’s cool. Be different. I do weird stuff all the time. Everyone has a look. Everybody has something they’re known for. So you should do your own thing. Whatever you do, whatever your key features are, whatever you do that makes you who you are, you should hone in on that.

Can we talk a little about your creative process? Are you one of these guys who, do you hear something in your head and then you want to put that down somewhere? Or are you more like messing with something and then something happens and that inspires you?

I’m the most random dude you ever met in your life. It’s ridiculous, but I make it work. But I fill up my phone recorders, I’ll fill up two phones with ideas of recording myself. If I’m in a car and I have a feeling, a melody that I cannot get out of my head, I’m going to put a recorder on, and that way I’m not going to get in a wreck, and I’ll hum it and beatbox the drums just so I can get a feeling by the time I get to some electronic goodies so I can actually lay something down. I’ll pick whatever melodies I’m feeling that I have on my phone when I get to it, I’ll drop a good portion of the melodies in my phone, and some way home in my porta-gig or the studio, I’ll at least get the melody out.

How do you stay inspired? It seems like for creatives who work professionally, we have to measure our own level of interest and inspiration and know how to keep that well full. 

The thing is how do you keep the flair and fire going? I do weird things. For example, if I want an adrenaline rush and I need it on a track, I’ll [rent] a Corvette Stingray, dual exhaust turbo, like something dumb, and I will drive that thing for the weekend and just keep revving the engine, and it gives me ideas. It’s just the feeling in the drive, the rush, it makes me feel that adrenaline, and I’ll take my ideas on my phone and I go to the studio and I put that record down. I’ll start the beat and then I’ll go somewhere.