At IPR we train students for technical careers in media arts including audio production, audio engineering, sound design and music business related fields.

These short video vignettes will highlight three current degree programs with Program Chairs Steve Hodge (APE – Audio Production and Engineering), Eric Trelstad (MEB – Music and Entertainment Business), and Jeff DesLauriers (SDVM – Sound Design for Visual Media).

Videos will also feature footage of other IPR Instructors working closely with students. In a recent weekend video shoot, Instructor’s Walter Chancellor Junior, Mary Jane Alm, and Scott “Scooter” Nelson volunteered their time along with several current students and graduates, all part of the IPR family. Thank you all for your participation.

Friday, January 20^th 2012 – Music Business DIY’r and award winning singer/songwriter Dan Israel offered DIY onlookers an acoustic set featuring songs spanning his 15 + year career.

Not only is he unabashedly honest in presentation, Israel’s songs pair pleasant hooks with lyrics rooted in real life industry experience. And the life of a “rock star” is not always glamorous.

Dan Israel performs @ IPR's DIY 360 (Photo by April Wallace)

Music business success may sometimes include multi-platinum sales and Beverly Hills mansions, but Israel has found that regional and local successes are equally important. It was through honest, personal perspective that he earned the Minnesota Music Award in 2005 for song of the year, and again in 2006 for songwriter of the year. As he put it, “It’s like I got fed up with everything and I wrote all of these songs about how fed up I was, and people felt connected.”

When people feel connected to an artist’s music, they support said artist through sales and show attendance. And this connection has turned Israel into a true music business, DIY success story.

He started recording on a 4 track in college and self-released his first record. 20 years and 11 albums later, it’s safe to call him a DIY pro. In spite of all the curve balls life and the music business have thrown his way, he remains a steadfast self-promoter.

Israel understands multiple income streams are the path to longevity; despite income from shows, CD’s and t-shirts, he holds all his own publishing rights, and is starting to license some of his music for use in other media.

You can catch Dan Israel playing solo at the Aster Cafe, St. Anthony Main on February 9^{th @} 9 PM with John Swardson and Ashleigh Still (Cover is $7). For more information about his music and upcoming shows, you can check Dan’s website here.

lft to rt: IPR Students Christopher Weeks and Andy Springer with Bella Ruse

Audio Production 282: This week Kevin Bowe and class were working with Minneapolis based duo Bella Ruse.

Impressively skilled, Kay Gillete (vocals), Joseph Barker (piano and guitar), and Alex Young (Drums, percussion) performed all basic tracks together live. Overdubs forthcoming, Bella Ruse used no click track and evidenced focus on song as art: a treat in today’s world of studio trickery.

lft to rt: Kay Gillette discusses vocal performance with Producer Kevin Bowe

Vocalist Kay Gillete describes Bella Ruse as “indie folk pop”. The band was hard at work on what Gillete called a “short French album” (3-4 songs); they plan to release this one on vinyl.

What makes the album French? Vocals. Turns out Gillete sings as flawlessly in French as she does in English. I’m looking forward to the final result.

lft to rt: Kay Gillette, Alex Young, and Joseph Barker

Many of you know Paul Bolen as an IPR Pro Tools Instructor, but did you also know he is now the proud owner of a new recording facility in downtown Minneapolis? An IPR faculty member since 2007, Paul has been searching a long time to find studio space that meets his expectations.

AGM Studios is located in the Savoie Building @ 126 North 3^rd Street, Suite B10.

Special thanks go out to all interns (IPR students and alumni) who have made the opening of AGM Studios a possibility this quickly; In only a little over a month, AGM is ready for use.  As a thank you for all the help, Paul has decided to offer a special discounted rate to all IPR students, alumni, faculty and staff.

AGM Studios’ grand opening will take place Monday, January 30^th from 4-10pm.  YOU ARE ALL INVITED!

Friday, January 13^th – Today’s music business installment, filled with rock hair and loud guitars, shook the walls of Robinson Hall to the sound of Minneapolis rock ‘n’ roll quartet, Black Church Service. These rockers pull from a wide-ranging blend of influences to craft their unique sound that is part rock ‘n’ roll and southern blues, infused with a dash of classic punk rock a la Ramones and The Clash. The Service often expands its core lineup of Tyler, Adam, Joe and Matt to incorporate more instruments and styles into the performance. As lead vocalist and guitarist Tyler said, “If you play the washboard well, we want you in the band. We want this to be an orchestral experience. A church service, if you will.”

Black Church Service (Photo By Kate Waterloo)

IPR students, as well as anyone else aspiring to a career in the music business, can take a lot from the band’s incredible work ethic. These guys really know what it takes to be successful in the business of music. On top of band practices that last any where from 2 to 7 hours, each of the members puts in about 50 hours a week at work and school.

Recently, Black Church Service completed recording their self titled EP at the legendary Terrarium right here in Minneapolis, and after a few shows in promotion of the EP, they are going to get right back in the studio. There just “ain’t no rest for the wicked”, as most of us in the biz are familiar with. All of their hard work is certainly paying off and the EP is hot off the press and to be officially released at their 7^th Street Entry gig, Saturday, January 21^st.

Black Church Service (Photo By April Wallace)

Admission is $3 for IPR students, so get out there and support your local rock “n” roll, and remember, “If you want to play music, you have to go to Church. A Black Church. Because that’s where you learn how to put soul into music,” – Muddy Waters.

IPR’s DIY 360 series is a weekly educational event that blends performance and do-it-yourself know how to teach music business survival in context of an ever-evolving industry. We at IPR want to prepare our graduates with every possible tool for music business success.

IPR's Kevin Bowe interviews Audio Production Legend Peter Asher

Audio production Instructor Kevin Bowe arranged for another IPR first: a visit from legendary Grammy-winning producer, performer, artist manager, and record executive Peter Asher. Often known for his work with such diverse artists as James Taylor, Cher, Linda Ronstadt and 10,000 Maniacs Mr. Asher was in town for two nights @ Minneapolis’ famed Dakota Jazz Club and agreed to a meeting with IPR students.

Peter’s visit to IPR, hosted by Kevin Bowe, took place to a packed house in Robinson Hall @ 11:30 AM on Tuesday earlier this week. Asher’s visit was reminiscent of IPR’s DIY 360 series in that it followed a talk show format with career highlights spanning Asher’s career from the 60’s all the way to the present day. Asher delighted the crowd with stories about discovering James Taylor and signing him to Apple Records, friendships with The Beatles, running the art gallery where John Lennon and Yoko Ono met, producing for Linda Ronstadt, Cher, and 10,000 Maniacs amongst many others.

Peter Asher greets IPR's Dean of Faculty, Dr. Madeleine Hengel and other guests

As this is a once-in-a-lifetime event, IPR made a student appreciation 20 ticket buy out for students to win by name draw for Tuesday night’s Asher gig at the Dakota.

IPR is very grateful that Mr. Asher took the time to visit; he is always welcome here.

The Euphonix System 5 MC

Our audio production facilities often require Pro Tools updates to keep IPR’s gear current, and I recently interrupted a studio install that’s a pretty big deal. Studio 8 is a little torn up at the moment, but we’re pumped to see the results…

Matthew Koehne and Jeff Deslauriers working the install.

By the time classes resume January 9^th, IPR’s Matthew Koehne and Sound Design for Visual Media Chair Jeff Deslauriers will have a brand new, fully functional Euphonix System 5 MC fitted in IPR’s Studio 8.

Welcome to the latest and greatest in audio production technology! Jeff is quite impressed with the feature set.

Instructor Chad Helmonds looks on as Jeff Deslauriers explains the new board.

According to IPR Lab Coordinator Matthew Koehne, “Pro Tools Lab 2 will be getting five of the Euphonix MC Pro’s.  This is the mini version of the studio 8 board.  Pro Tools Lab 2 will not be up and fully functional until the middle or end of this upcoming winter quarter.” Even so, Pro Tools training continues as usual on dozens of workstations facility wide.

What does this mean for current IPR students? More exposure to more gear, and, as a result, more industry knowledge. If you’re going to find work in the music business, it pays to have as diverse a skillset as possible.

Lft to Rt: Ashley Battle with Jerome Benton, Terry Lewis, and Jimmy Jam, of "The Original 7ven", IPR Director of Career Services Norbert Kreuzer, Christian Groves

Though I didn’t know Ashley as a student, I’ve had the pleasure of watching her work at BMA Network filming an interview with renowned producers Jimmy Jam, and Terry Lewis, along with their fellow band mate Jerome Benton (all currently of The Original 7ven – formerly known as The Time). Not too shabby for a media arts professional who’s only recently received her degree.

Ashley understands the importance of networking, never saying no to an opportunity, and being relentless in the pursuit of her craft. Though her name may not be on your radar yet, I suspect it will be soon. Along with IPR, I am proud to present you with Ashley’s story.

BIO

Ashley grew up just outside Chicago. The youngest of three siblings, Ashley’s passion for music and technology was obvious from a very young age. Whether making music, building a “machine” for an unknown purpose, or declaring herself a “mad scientist”, as a child, Ashley was always combining “elements” in creative ways. “My family called me a little “MacGyver” because I could fix anything or make anything. For Christmas I always wanted instruments or techie things, I was never into the girly stuff.”

In high school Ashley took band, radio, and television electives. By age 17 music making was a top priority and she began using Fruity Loops DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) software to create her own tracks. By graduation she’d decided on a Bachelor’s degree with a traditional college; her goal was to study music education.

Admittedly, traditional college was an odd fit for Ashley; though she was musically creative, the academic side of music wasn’t a top priority for her. “I couldn’t read music, I was the kid in band who memorized all my music. I played snare drum so it was pretty easy to memorize my parts.” As Ashley realized a degree in music education wasn’t for her, she decided to leave her program and pursue her true love.

Back home, Ashley began building and piecing together a studio in her basement. For Christmas or birthdays she asked for Guitar Center gift cards to spend on gear. “I told my family I didn’t care if the cards were only five dollars, it didn’t matter. Within two years I’d gathered approximately five thousand dollars’ worth of equipment.”

From MPC’s to Pro Tools to all types of MIDI keyboards, alongside a pretty decent mic., Ashley taught herself how to use the equipment. She’d record local artists from around the city to make a few dollars, but always knew she wanted to study recording and production at a professional level.

After researching several schools, in 2009 Ashley discovered IPR. Before this point she’d struggled to find the right educational fit or an internship that might teach her what she needed, but nothing seemed to offer what she was looking for. “When I went to IPR I felt at home and everything went so smoothly. Yes, it was a challenge – definitely not a walk in the park - but I knew I had found where I needed to be.”

Ashley’s hidden passion for film also took root at IPR. She found video post-production offered as an IPR capstone, and studied the art of audio for film and television as well. “Now I’m seeking a second degree in film, and I’m currently working at BMA Networks. I still love music production, but I can use both my film making and audio skills together to one day make something great. Post production and film are in the same family and people always tell me that it’s a good thing I’m doing both.”

Ashley’s combined skill set makes her a valuable media powerhouse, and IPR is proud to have played a role in helping her learn the skills for success.

What would IPR students and instructors say they remember most about you?

Honestly I was very quiet and kept a low profile, but I always had people complementing me on my hard work. I remember I had an internship at a local studio in town my 2nd quarter. I remember Kevin Bowe telling me that with my kind of determination I will go far. I kept looking for work outside of school; it didn’t matter if my skillset was fully developed. What mattered was landing the gig – no matter if I knew what I was doing or not.

Were there any big projects you undertook in your production or engineering capstone that laid the ground work for some of the things you’re doing now?

All of my engineering and post production classes taught me something. Some things I use all the time like file management or rules about levels and the way things sound. I will say I’ve learned a lot and sometimes I run into things that I didn’t understand during school that make sense to me on the job now. Then I say to myself “oh I remember this from class”.

Ashley Battle @ BMA Network working hard

Out of all your instructors who would you say worked most closely with you and had a special interest in your success?

Honestly I don’t know who I would say. I know taking the intro to video class with Amanda Kirchner opened my eyes to another world . She was very helpful and always told students she knew were interested when opportunities became available to work on projects. One of those projects is where I met Pete Rhodes which is who I work for now at BMA.

How do you feel your IPR education prepared you for the industry?

The biggest thing for me was most of the instructors were honest about “the business” and that it isn’t easy. IPR students work on projects together and separately, and all the instructors are working in the industry outside the school; it’s a great networking opportunity, but it also pushes you to work hard and learn your craft well. Sometimes you could even do something that might get you recognized by all your peers in the school. But once you hit the real world, you are competing with so many other people. I feel that most instructors were honest about the industry and tried to prepare us by giving us an honest look at what to expect.

What do you think it means to be successful in this industry? What advice would you offer to students who are either just getting ready to graduate or who are wondering how to find their place in this industry?

Being successful to me is doing what you love every day, being happy doing it, and making a living – Not being famous! My goal is to be recognized one day for my work and making a good living off what I do.

Ashley Battle on the WCCO set.

Since ours is often considered a male dominated industry, do you feel that being a woman in the industry offers you unique challenges that your male counterparts don’t face? Explain.

Oh Yes! Either people doubt me or they like the fact that I am a female. I feel some people are more comfortable working with males, especially other males. I don’t let it bother me anymore, I actually like it because I stand out; I am a woman of color so I create diversity.

What types of engineering work have you done since graduation?

I’ve worked mostly for TV, not much with music. I am actually looking to get back into the studio and do more audio engineering work.

Do you have experience with audio and video editing?

As of right now 90 percent of my work is video work and that includes editing videos.

How important do you think attitude is when it comes to success in the media arts?

Very important! With any job you should have a positive attitude. Your attitude reflects other people and your work. If you have a bad attitude people will see that, and working in the business of media or entertainment there’s no room for bad attitudes because you will be known as a tough person to work with. And, because of this, if you are just starting out you will find it hard to find people to work with.

What one trait/ability/skill do you feel has helped you more than any other to be successful in this industry so far?

Keeping an open mind with a willingness to work hard sometimes for very little compensation. I do a lot of free work to prove myself, and it pays off in other ways. I’m also willing to work on any type of project, no matter how silly it might seem. For example, I’d say yes if someone asked me to film their kid’s birthday party or record their four year old singing the alphabet. At this point I feel like this is where I am breaking into the industry. I am never too good for the smallest jobs. There are some things I won’t do for moral reasons or time, but I feel like I can learn from every experience until I get to a point where I am calling the shots or making enough money to not have to worry about finding work.

Seated lft to rt: Lance Sabin, Sue Ferkingstad, J.R. Hunte (standing)

The Institute of Production and Recording’s second floor is filled with new students here for the winter orientation. Spirits are high, and lines are long as eager new starts wait to finish last minute Admissions requirements. To pass the time in line, a beat-boxer and free style vocalist put together a memorable performance preview for fellow student bystanders (right outside this blogger’s office). As is typically the case, this new crop of IPR talent brings a high level of creativity to the table, and we can’t wait to see where they will take
the industry!

IPR President Lance Sabin, Director of Admissions, Sue Ferkingstad, and Director of Financial Aid, J.R. Hunte, take time at every orientation to meet with parents and encourage them to tell us how the IPR team has done throughout the enrollment process. We always look forward to serving IPR families as we prepare to offer our quality best to the industry’s up and coming talent.

Music business proponent of the “Do-it yourself” model, performer Chris Koza, visited IPR’s DIY 360 Friday, December 9th, 2011.

Koza’s success in the Minneapolis music scene can be partially attributed to his work with band Rogue Valley: noted for their regional release of four albums depicting the four seasons within a year (an ambitious work to say the least).

Those familiar with local music and entertainment business elements understand that indie bands like Rogue Valley are equally at home beside a very eclectic group of DIY artists here in the Twin Cities. And, these artists, like Chris Koza of Rogue Valley, can branch off into as many different audio experiments as they choose and remain equally viable in local music business markets.

His visit to The Institute of Production and Recording brings the spotlight to Koza’s folksy solo work.

Chris Koza Performs for IPR's DIY 360 (Photo By Kate Waterloo)

Koza’s solo material, enigmatic against the backdrop of the Rogue Valley sound, carries its own sonic branding. Even so, Koza is equally comfortable in his role as solo artist, and there is no denying the careful poetic element present in this work.

While many solo singer-songwriters fit the standard “acoustic-guitar-and-a-stage”
mold, Koza cracks the standard by padding personal charm and storytelling
prowess into his song-crafting.  “All the lyrics I come up with have been written and re-written to get to where I am satisfied.  No one ever truly likes what you write initially; you just have to listen to that inner critic,” Koza says.

Despite his success in the local music scene, Chris Koza is the epitome of humility; a true humanitarian who is considerate of others. Music business Instructor Scooter Nelson always says, “Be the person that others want to see succeed.” Chris is that person.

To learn more about Chris Koza, visit his Facebook page, and his website. Enjoy this accomplished young songwriter in this YouTube video.