Recording Connection grad Dominic Cerna is Taking it to the Next Level

Dominic Cerna of The Taking, an electro-rock band based out of San Antonio, Texas, had everything going for him. He and his fiancée were expecting their first child, the band was getting airplay and playing major gigs, and they just got representation from a very well-known agent, T.J. Sagen (Disturbed, Device, Fight Or Flight). So what more could Dominic want?

During a trip to Los Angeles where the band went to work in-studio with producer Jeff Blue (Linkin Park, Macy Gray), brought Dominic closer to the process he’s always been curious about: “Just watching the way they work as far as Pro Tools and Logic Pro-X, they just really inspired me to do the same thing, you know, and put the electronic side into modern rock.”

Considering everything that was going on with the band and at home, going away to school just wasn’t an option for Dominic. Nevertheless, he returned to San Antonio knowing what he wanted to do but not how he would get there. He asked around and says, “Y’all’s name kept coming up.” He called Recording Connection and got setup with mentor Mark Sinko at Salmon Peak Recording, just a ten minute drive from where he lives.

So amidst the hectic schedule of working, writing and recording new music with the band, and preparing for a new addition to the family, Dominic apprenticed with Mark and learned the ins-and-outs of recording and engineering. He says the eBook curriculum did much to enable him to get it all done. Thanks to the lessons being available online, he could “study all day, all night” and “be anywhere I wanted to and still learn everything, and do everything I had to do.”

The experience has paid off. The Taking’s self-titled debut album which is engineered by Dominic and the band just released on iTunes, Spotify, Rhapsody and major streaming outlets. You can also find The Taking at reverbnation.com/TheTakingBand and soundcloud.com/The-Taking.

With all the success the band is seeing, Dominic isn’t stopping, he’s using the momentum to take things to the next level. He says, “I barely graduated high school…I knew I wasn’t going to be a doctor or a lawyer, music is all I know. Now that I have a baby, my goal is to just excel in it. If I’m going to do this, I’m going to do this all the way.”

Dominic Cerna is a great example of how staying focused, staying curious and working hard can take you far. Thanks to his newfound skills, he’s taking his music to the next level.

Congrats on the new album Dominic!