Recording Connection grad Paul Raymond Gets Hired Full-Time in Detroit!

Probably the hardest part about pursuing a creative career is the fact that there’s no straight ahead, laid out path to planning your “big break.” Nope, you can’t fill out a job application or do a certain number of prescribed steps and voila–you’ve made it. Making plans is great but you’ve got to work, plan, and be able to seize the moment when the moment arises. So creating more and more of those “moments,” well, that’s really what it’s all about.

When you’re first starting out, the initial piece of advice that everyone receives is “go to school.” Getting an education in your chosen field is a good start but make sure that “education” is inline with what the actual work entails. For Paul, Recording Connection’s hands-on approach made the program especially attractive.  He’s openly not a fan of the sit-down and shut-up approach to education. Paul says,  “I hated school. I went to first grade at a public school, and then I was home schooled for the rest of the time because I hated public school. I hated the fact that my teacher had to teach 20 kids because I didn’t learn anything. I already knew what they were learning, so I wasn’t learning anything new.”

Paul’s passion to teach himself new things and learn at his own pace has enabled him to grow some impressive skills as a musician. He has honed guitar, drums, and recording skills all through junior high and high school. When finally deciding to pursue recording more seriously, Paul initially looked into more traditional schools like Full Sail but was deterred due to the fact that they were extremely expensive and talk-down in their approach.

Luckily, Paul’s friend recommended Recording Connection to him as a cost effective alternative. “My friend Chad, who did the program as well, he said, ‘Hey, I heard you were going into recording…well, check this program out.’ He referred me to the recording school, and I was like, ‘Holy cow, how did I not find this?'”

Paul looked into it for himself and was paired with Recording Connection mentor, Kevin Sharpe the producer behind numerous works with Fall Out Boy and Shinedown Metro 37 Recording Studios in Detroit, MI.

Since apprenticing at 37 Recording Studios, Paul has honed serious recording skills while also being able to show the pros he’s meeting just how dedicated he is to the craft. He’s made coming in to the studio the norm. If artists are recording, he’s there, whether he’s asked to help or not. Paul explains:

“Generally, Kevin will say, ‘Hey, there’s a session. You want to do it?,’ I’ll say yes, and I’ll come in. But if he doesn’t call me and say there’s a session, I’m still going in. I’m still going to watch the sessions. I’m still going to clean the live room. I’m still going to sweep the floors and empty the trash… I’m always willing to run over and grab drinks…I feel like it [makes] me more of an asset to Metro because I’m keeping their clients happy. I’m making sure the room stays clean…I’m just making sure that their experience with the studio is the absolute best, because one day I could be recording them.”

Paul’s can-do attitude resulted in a number of live sound gigs being thrown his way and, more recently, a full-on recording session Kevin had Paul run completely on his own with a band that was in the studio. Paul was happy for the opportunity and stepped up to the plate. He had no idea what would transpire next.

Kevin asked Paul to join him for lunch, a pretty regular occurrence at Metro 37. Paul relates what Kevin then said to him over lunch: ‘You did a great job with that last session, so you’ve got a future here if you keep up the hard work. You can keep working here and running sessions for me because they really liked what you did and had nothing but good things to say.’”

Recording Connection grad Paul Raymond is now working full-time at Metro 37 Recording Studios in Detroit, Michigan!

So how’s it going? Paul says, “Working at Metro is like everything I could dream of. I have all the respect in the world for Kevin, because he taught me everything I know.”

Paul’s ability to see opportunity, step up to the plate, and make it happen makes Kevin’s mentorship worthwhile. It is, in short, why we at Recording Connection do what we do. People like Paul make success happen. Paul has worked very hard. He’s done the big work and he’s even swept the floors. He’s had the vision and determination to make those opportunities happen.

In coming years, Paul plans on opening a studio of his own but is pretty content with his situation now. He says, “I realize that I can’t work at Metro forever,” he says, “but I’m going to work there as long as I can.”