BRIAN PIPER
Brian Piper first came to the Recording Connection looking for more hands-on experience than he was getting at the university where he had enrolled in an audio production program. “I did learn a lot,” he says, “but it wasn’t real world. It wasn’t real life.” When he looked at the Recording Connection website and realized they would be placing him in an actual recording studio, Piper was sold. “I really liked the fact that I got put into an actual studio, a running studio that has their own clients,” he says.
Upon acceptance into the program, Piper was placed in a highly respected recording studio in Cleveland, Ohio, and paired with a mentor, an audio engineer who took a personal interest in Piper’s growth.
“Chris is fantastic,” Piper says of his Recording Connection mentor. “He’s one of the smartest people I’ve met in this industry as far as being an instructor, a teacher, as a mentor, as a human being, and as a businessman. He takes his work very seriously…
He kind of went beyond what I think was expected of him, and I think that’s why I’m where I am today, because I had such a great mentor and such a great recording engineer. I mean, these people aren’t just teachers. They’re actually doing this for a living.”
By the time Piper had completed his studies, he had so connected with the recording studio that he was offered a job there as an assistant engineer. The studio has not only allowed him to build a rapport with new clients, but has also helped him learn how to attract clients on his own. He’s currently working quickly toward becoming a full staff engineer.
Brian Piper loves his job. “My favorite part is [that] every session is different,” he says. “Every artist that comes in is different. It’s a new challenge each time, and I think that’s what’s so much fun…It’s not a regular 9:00 to 5:00 job. You’re not sitting in a cubicle. You’re creating art. I think being with an R&B artist one day, and being with a rock artist another day, it’s amazing to be able to have that creative experience.”
Asked what advice he would give to other students interested in a career in professional audio, Piper doesn’t hesitate. “Surround yourself with it,” he says. “If you’re really serious, you have to surround yourself with music, with different genres of music… You’ve got to really broaden your horizons, and just be around any session you could possibly do, and just make your life this. It’s a rough industry, to be honest, [and] if you’re not dedicated, then it’s not going to go well. So you really have to want to be successful in this industry.”
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