Recording studio gurus speak at SPC event Feb. 18

Music, Music Industry Recording Arts, Performing Arts

miralogoJoin us for a FREE panel discussion on Recording Studio Etiquette with stories and tips from award-winning professionals with decades of experience at the highest levels of the music recording industry. No RSVP is required for this free event held on:

  • Thursday, Feb. 18, 7 p.m. (doors open at 6 p.m.)
    The Palladium Theater
  • 253 Fifth Ave. N., St. Petersburg

Recording Studio EtiquetteSponsored by SPC’s Music Industry Recording Arts (MIRA) program  the event is open to SPC students and the public and will feature a variety of topics including:

  • Communications protocols
  • Unspoken rules of the recording studio
  • How to improve session workflows
  • Professionalism in the recording studio

Professional recording studio panelists

We are pleased to welcome the following guest artists:

Tom Morris

Tom Morris has been an audio recording engineer and producer since he and his brother Jim started Morrisound Recording in 1981. He has produced and/or engineered Gold and platinum records and worked with a wide variety of local and national artists including:

  • Seven Mary Three
  • The Dixie Dregs
  • Morbid Angel
  • John Travolta
  • Beyonce
  • Destiny’s Child
  • Trans-Siberian Orchestra
  • Plies

Morris has also been active in the Recording Academy as one of the founding members of the Florida Chapter Board of Governors. He has been elected to represent the chapter as its Vice-President, President, and Trustee. A proponent of audio recording and music business education for musicians for the last 30 years, he teaches audio engineering at St. Petersburg College and the University of South Florida.

Al Pitrelli

Al Pitrelli has been a highly sought after recording and performing guitarist since breaking into the NYC session scene in 1985. He has earned 32 Gold and Platinum records for his work, both as a member of several bands as well as a session player, with artists including:

  • Alice Cooper
  • David Lee Roth
  • Michael Bolton
  • Celine Dion
  • Taylor Dayne
  • Dee Snider
  • Savatage
  • Megadeath

He is currently the Music Director for Trans-Siberian Orchestra.

Mike Major

Mike Major has been in the recording business for nearly 30 years, working with artists like:

  • At The Drive-in
  • Coheed and Cambria
  • Sparta
  • Davenport Cabinet
  • As Tall As Lions
  • Jordan Cook

Major was the manager of Rosewood Studio in El Paso, TX for 18 years and later created Mike’s Mix Room, his personal mixing and mastering studio. During his time in El Paso, he was the Front of House System Technician and Crew Chief for South Coast Audio, the largest regional sound and lighting company in West Texas.

He is the author of  Recording Drums: The Complete Guide, a comprehensive book about the difficult and often misunderstood task of recording drums. He has conducted masterclasses and instruction about all things recording and enjoys sharing his acquired skill and knowledge with fellow recording engineers. He has also created a YouTube video series entitled The Method to the Mix, where he demonstrates and dissects a mix from beginning to end.

John Stephan

John Stephan is is the head engineer and president of the Springs Theater, a full-service recording and multi media studio in Sulphur Springs, Florida. He is a voting member of the Grammy Foundation with more than 30 years of experience in the music industry with artists like:

  • Jennifer Lopez
  • Joshua Bell
  • Isaac Stern
  • Robert Shaw
  • Andre Watts
  • The Florida Orchestra
  • The Tampa Bay Symphony
  • The Master Chorale of Tampa Bay
  • The Key Chorale
  • Sam Rivers
  • Ray Charles

Eric Schilling

Four-time GRAMMY winner and 12-time Latin GRAMMY winner, Eric Schilling started his career at the age of 16 in community radio recording, working on live broadcast for Weather Report, The Mahavishnu Orchestra, Keith Jarrett, Taj Mahal and Randy Newman. At age 19 he became an assistant engineer at Record Plant Recording Studios in Sausalito, CA working with Sly Stone, Joe Cocker and Fleetwood Mac.

In 1977 he relocated to Florida to become an engineer at Bayshore Recording Studios, where he met and began mixing for Gloria Estefan. In 1990, he built Crescent Moon studios for the Estefans, which he ran through 1996. Since moving to Florida some of his engineering and mixing projects have included:

  • Madonna
  • Natalie Cole
  • Ricky Martin
  • Jon Secada
  • Shakira
  • Frank Sinatra
  • Arturo Sandoval
  • Cachao

He also works as a broadcast music mixer on the Billboard Awards, ACM awards, various Iheart shows , The Latin GRAMMYs broadcast and The GRAMMY awards for which he has been awarded five prime time Emmys for audio.

For more information on this event, contact Rosaria Pipitone at 727-341-4722.