Recording Connection grad Jake Kiyokane wins Pensado’s Place AIR Award!

August 30th, 2015–We are happy to announce Recording Connection graduate Jake Kiyokane has won the 2015 Pensado’s AIR Award for outstanding work as an assistant/runner!

Jake Kiyokane was one of three Recording Connection graduates nominated for this very special award. Other nominees were Paul Ramirez (Tucson, AZ) who trained under mentor Jim Pavett at  Allusion Studios and Mike Messina who trained under Sax DMA at Terminus Recording Studios in New York City, New York. We are very proud of all three of these outstanding, dedicated newcomers to the field of audio engineering and music production. We know each of them will continue on to do amazing work!

Jake Kiyokane has exhibited a tremendous dedication to learning and committing himself to the craft. This non-stop, tireless commitment was more than evident in a recent interview, published in the July 6th issue of our newsletter. His dedication has enabled him to assist on sessions with Anthrax and DJ Mustard and to secure paid work at Serenity West, the very same studio where he apprenticed. Jake shares his secret to getting ahead in the studio:

Just go [into the studio], just try to get in there as much as possible…And stay as long as you can, because they’re going to notice your effort and how much you want to be there. And if you want to be there, they’re going to ask you to come more…I see a lot of [apprentices]. They’ll come, they’ll stay, stay a little bit, and they won’t do anything, then they’ll leave. And I’ll be like, okay, you’re missing out, you know? Because at the end, that’s when all the stuff happens. That’s when we shut down the studio. We learn a lot of other stuff…It’s very valuable just staying that little extra time just to get that knowledge.

A graduate of Recording Connection’s Audio engineering and Advanced Audio Program, Jake actually discovered he had a passion for producing and engineering music when he was in college. Being well acquainted with both the classroom structure and the mentor-apprentice approach, he’s a proponent of getting in and getting hands-on: “Like, just [in] college, you go, you take tests, that’s it, you’re done. At least, out here, you’re connecting with people…I feel like it’s easier in this kind of situation. It’s cool, a little bit closer. You have one mentor, and he’s just with you and he’s teaching you stuff.”

Taking place at Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City, CA and attended by more than 600 recording industry figures, the Second Annual Pensado Awards was hosted by mix engineer Chris Lord-Alge (Lady Antebellum, My Chemical Romance, Tina Turner), mixer/engineer/producer Sylvia Massy (Tool, Kylie Minogue, Dishwalla) and Young Guru (Jay-Z, Alicia Keys, Coldplay). The 2015 Pensado Awards is a natural outgrowth of the tremendously popular web-series Pensado’s Place which has more than 123,800 subscribers and is seen in 150 countries with 6 million views annually. Co-hosted by Grammy winner Dave Pensado and the affable Herb Trawick, Pensado’s Place shines a light on the work and techniques that go into making great sounding music, across multiple genres and a myriad of practices and philosophies.

Congratulations to Jake Kiyokane, mentor Steve Catizone and studio owner Cameell Hanna at Serenity West Recording in Los Angeles! Follow your bliss, work hard, create and continue lending your talents to making amazing music!