Buurman warming the crowd while it’s raining ‘old women’ as the saying goes in Dutch. Better luck next time rain.

I won’t go into too much detail about the things I’ve done before this blog got its first tune, as it would be about as interesting as your granny talking about how the youth has gone wild these days.
Should you really want to know, check the elephant about page or send me an email. Basically, this kind of sums it up:

I got an electronics degree in Belgium, did an audio course in the UK. This isn’t in any way an obvious path into the music business, but is there one really? Getting into music is much more about having sound stuck in your head day in day out. It should be a constant presence and passion in your life.  From a musical point of view, I got into things rather late and I’m very much aware that I’ve still got lots and lots (really, lots) to learn, but that’s what makes you want to get up in the morning right? Get as much hands on as possible.

As for what I’ve been involved with professionally:

• summer job, coding at apex audio.
• summer jobs, being a stage hand with deadline entertainment.
• hauling around small PA systems for all the local pub gigs. I still do this, as it is fun.
• assisting at Motormusic studios: Installing mobile capturing studio, general assisting, live sound capturing. Recording Brussels Philharmonic Orchestra in Brussels, Brugge, Antwerpen, Gent and Paris. Assisting for Jo Franken, Werner Pensaert, Steven Maes, Huub Reynders, Frank Duchene (bands: School is cool, Raymond van het groenewoud, Customs, Mintzkov, countless classical sessions, …)
• working freelance for Motormusic Mobile: Brussels Philharmonic, de Filharmonie, The Artist score recordings. Main square festival france 2011 (Coldplay, PJ harvey, Elbow, Moby,…), Take that Manchester live recording, Le compte Ory operahaus Zurich… Mostly technical.
• working freelance for Motormusic studios: mixing Hyber nation – Johnny Berlin, Le temps qui reste, recording eurovision belgium 2012, de nuttelozen van de nacht, Ron Reuman, …
• working freelance for Jo Francken, recording/support: We the young – Willow, Het beste en tot nog eens – Bart Peeters, Eleonor, Buurman, Piet van den Heuvel, Pigeon, Kris Dane, Kommil Foo, Sir yes sir…
• working freelance for musica divina: PA jobs, live recording.

Things I think are worth remembering:

• For all you people who want to get going at this: Get. going. keep. going.
• You might as well quit if you see your next project as ‘just another job’.
• It’s good to know how an SSL desk works, but it won’t get you far. The same goes for most equipment.
• Know how pro tools works.
• When assisting/tech’ing and wanting to do a good job: speak sparcely, be early, be ready to go all day, just fix it, stay late.
• and: