Devin Zorn makes his mark in the Dallas music scene

Devin Zorn of Dallas, TX recalls the moment at which he decided to become an audio engineer. It started, he says, in junior high, with the realization that he loved music and wanted to be part of the rock scene, but that his guitar skills were lacking.

“I quickly realized when I first started playing the guitar—man, I suck,” he says. “But I was watching VH1 Classic one day…they’re going over how they recorded U2’s The Joshua Tree. I’m sitting there listening to Brian Eno and Daniel Anwar talk, and I’m seeing him push these faders around…[I was] like, ‘Oh, I could do that. I can’t be the rock star, but I will make the rock star’s music for them.’”

He spent the next few years learning everything he could, and when he eventually enrolled in the Recording Connection, he was paired with mentor Rick Rooney of January Sound in Dallas. He was surprised at how much of a “hands-off” approach Rick took with him—largely because Devin already knew more about the process than he realized.

“He kind of was laughing as we were going along,” says Devin. “[He’d say,] ‘Man, I don’t to have to teach you anything. You just have to go on,’… It’s like, ‘Rick, tell me,’ and he was like, ‘Figure it out yourself.’ And then I’d figure it out myself and [say], ‘Why didn’t you just tell me?’ ‘Well, you figured it out yourself and you did it better than I could have told you.’”

In fact, Devin made himself enough of an asset to the studio that his mentor began opening doors for him and providing opportunities—including the opportunity to take on paid gigs. Since graduating the program, Devin has stayed connected with his mentor and continues working out of January Sound, recording and producing some of the finest talent in the Dallas area. His recent clients include blues band Tommy Katona & Texas Flood, who came in to record a Stevie Ray Vaughn tribute album live in the studio, as well as Kayla Reeves of Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Thanks to his connection with Rick Rooney (an industry vet in his own right), he’s also had the opportunity to work at the All-Star Jam at the recent Dallas International Guitar Show, rubbing elbows with major guitarists like Innes Sibun and Derek St. Holmes. When he’s not doing all that, Devin is working on projects with his own band The Q—a hybrid EDM/hard rock outfit that he describes as “if Pink Floyd made a dance album.”

It was his passion for music that first convinced Devin to become an audio engineer. Now, thanks to his passion, work ethic, and the connections he’s made with the Recording Connection, he’s well on his way to forging a long and happy career, making his mark on the Dallas music scene.