For episode 613, Matt talks with Ben Mellott — recording engineer, mixer, and owner of Nothing but Noise studio in Northern Virginia. Ben has been freelance since 2014, balances studio work with live production at churches, farms, and local venues, and runs every dollar through the Profit First system. They talk about building a career on curiosity, the alternative path through cassette manufacturing and church sound, and why the business side of audio doesn't sound like fun until it absolutely is.
In This Episode, We Discuss:
Northern Virginia, Born and Raised
A Dad at Toys R Us and a Mom in the Church Choir
Recording Bands on a Tascam Four-Track at Ten Dollars a Song
The Recording Workshop in Chillicothe, Ohio — Audio Boot Camp
Learning Signal Flow Before Hardware
Manufacturing Cassettes and CDs at Lion Recording
Moving Into Graphics — Quark Express, InDesign, and Terrible Early Websites
Roadie and Merch for a Month-Long US Tour With Frodus
Getting the Farm Festival Gig
Ten Years of Sunday Church Sound — and What He Learned About Temperament
The Drummer in the Crowd Who Got Him the Venue Gig
Real-Life Social Proof — Likable Enough (For a Live Sound Guy)
Curiosity as a Career Strategy
Nothing But Noise — The Studio and the Freelance Life Since 2014
Debt, an Inheritance That Didn't Change the Slope, and the Pandemic
Implementing the Profit First System
Of Every Thousand Dollars, Only $150 Is Spendable — and Why That's the Point
Self-Financing Gear and Paying Yourself Back on a Payment Plan
The Sweetwater Rep Who Said You've Got a Lot of Gear
The Business Side Doesn't Sound Like Fun Until It Is
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