Prairie Sun Profile: Gene Cornelius, Freelance Engineer/Producer

What can I say?! Gene came to me when we had a small audio school operating from Prairie Sun. He was driving a truck (3rd shift) for a bread company in Santa Rosa. I have logged so many miles with this can-do mother-******. We rebuilt the Neve in B. We modified, commissioned, and recommissioned rooms. We save our most perplexing audio issues for him because without fail, he gets it done!! Over and over I have heard from the best engineers and producers in the world, "Mean Gene the Recording Machine is the best engineer we have ever had the pleasure of working with from staff anywhere." Now let me tell you about Gene's good side. :) I couldn't have done it without him and I hope to continue working with him well into the future. Thanks Gene.

Gene's extensive credits include work with Tom Waits, Primus, Les Claypool, Norton Buffalo, Stephen Barncard, Marvin Etzioni, and UFO.

Mooka's Notes:

Most of the time, I nearly double the length of the newsletter in this section so I can talk about all the gear I'm excited about. But we've been involved in so many studio upgrades, gear purchases, and maintenance projects that we decided to tell you all about them in separate supplement. If you're already subscribed to the newsletter, you should receive this supplement in your email, but if you aren't, you can find it by clicking here.

I also wanted to take a moment to introduce everyone now yet in the know to our new Studio Manager, Marshall Fassino. You can reach him at the office at (707) 795-7011 or by email at marshall@prairiesun.com If anyone out there in the extended Prairie Sun family has not yet met Marshall, go ahead and give him a call to say hello. His sign's up and he's ready to get to business, and I guarantee you this kid can chat it up with the best of them!

Tough times ahead! We see it and hear it every day. We have been in tough times before and should not be discouraged by the situation at hand. Call me an optimist, but I believe in the power of positive thinking. I see the opportunities, as well as the challenges before us and I don't feel it's anything new. 30 years later, what haven't we seen? What about our industry hasn't changed? Good music - good engineers - good producers - amazing musicians - good friends. As to the challenges: illegal downloading, lack of a farm club style of music development, fewer and fewer venues to play - these are just what is - and part of being in the moment is accepting what is. I believe the solution is applying the same creativity we use in our craft to help transform the "business" side as well.

Remember, whatever side of the business we're dealing with - audio is a delicate negotiation.