Today we’d like to introduce you to Mike Weitman.
Hi Mike, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
For me it started from the pure fun of playing an instrument. Picking up the drums and the joy I felt in my body. I think a lot of people can relate to the idea of finding something and becoming so engrossed in it they refuse to put it down. That’s how it started. Eventually it grew to other places. Setting up a few microphones on instruments, recording with friends, opening up logic and throwing random crazy plugins on everything. It was fun to make crazy sounds. I didn’t know what I was doing or what the plugins did and the music I was making with my friends was probably ridiculously trippy sounding, but we didn’t care about anything except having fun. In my mind there’s no better reason to do something like that. Have fun, mess around, get your hands dirty, just for the sheer fact that you love it, not because you have to get something from it.
Basically, that spirit never left me. I learned more as the years went on to more properly produce and a lot more of the ropes, but inside I still feel like my young self. Chasing around joy, funness, openness, and the wonder of it. Experimenting. Making unusual choices. Always rewarded by learning more, creating an interesting sound/vibe, playing by no ones rules except our own.
I’ve learned a lot more from where I started, but my spirit is very much the same. In a lot of ways it still feels just like how it was making music with my friends as a kid.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It’s not always smooth. Especially when it comes to skill in art. Self belief and esteem are often involved. Comparing yourself to people that are further along the path. It was frustrating at times. One thing I had to learn was patience. I would remind myself, “This is where I am on my path. I am continuing to walk and will go further. It’s not fair to myself to compare myself to someone that’s further along. Nor is it fair to compare my life to theirs. They great artists have something great to offer based on their own unique life experience. Everyone is unique. For that reason everyone has something special and unique to offer. If I keep working, I may find it.” The path extends every day you work on it.
As you know, we’re big fans of Weitman Studios. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
I am a music producer that runs a recording/mixing/mastering studio out of Fairfax, VA. I record bands, solo artists, and collaborate. I also run mixing and mastering services for my own recording clients, or for anyone who is at any stage in production and want my help along the process. In my mind when it comes to art, nothing is off the table, and I will explore any visions that someone has no matter how normal or extreme it may be. Because in my mind, they are the client, and they are here to bring their vision to life. And my job is to be a vehicle to guide them along the way. I treat music production often like painting. Just using brush strokes, techniques, finding unique styles, and the canvas is what is coming out of the speakers. I’ve built my studio like a lab, so I can access a wide breadth of ideas for clients, where the array of possibilities is wide. The studio is a place to use your imagination, and ideally, the limits are only how deep your imagination goes. The gear, techniques, execution are tools, but what is in your imagination is the art and picture being created.
Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
There are a lot of resources that help in terms of audio engineering. We are living in a great age of information. If you are curious about how a sound is created, a lot of the time you can find out. But it all has to be in context. Using it to apply to your workflow. Youtube, textbooks, production breakdown websites, blogs like gearspace or rig rundown websites. They help but the best tool is the context your brain applies the knowledge and how it puts everything into play.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @weitmanstudios
