November 2008—paying it forward

It’s probably been the most “interesting” year of my life (though there have been a few interesting ones before!), and starting a new job in a new company after pretty much working at one place in my “modern” era has been a real treat.  The world changed right about the time I did…but if there’s one thing I’ve been pretty good at over the years it’s knowing how to survive.  It may be my only skill as far as I can tell, I’m not much of a “right place at the right time” kind of guy but once I’m in place I seem to find a way to make it hard to get rid of me.  We shall see, as the bigger world continues to be an interesting place, and I expect it will continue to get more difficult for a while.

I’ve been all consumed the last 7 weeks with getting up to speed quickly in my new day job.  After a couple weeks I thought I had it figured out, but everything changed.  A couple more weeks I though I had a handle on it again, and things changed again.  I’ve been putting more hours in than I ever intended but I think I’m only as confused as everybody else now. 

This weekend I actually made some time to work through a backing track I’ve been promising to the world for the last couple months, and even started to write a new song.  I also gave some thought to the future of Gator-Studios.com.  I started this business somewhat accidentally and it takes a lot of my time, but I have enjoyed the work, the results and the impact we’ve had across the globe over the last 3 years.  So what’s the plan going forward?

There actually is a master plan.  The fundamentals of it is to improve – improve the environment and improve the capabilities so both we and the RiffWorks community benefit.  I have some plans for next year that line up nicely with what the RiffWorks folks are working on (I won’t tell you my plans or their plans, but they both will make for better end results!).  Beyond that at some point a big new mixing room is also in the plan.  We’ve been operating a couple notches above the typical RiffWorks user in converters, monitors, mix environment (not to mention engineering experience), and will continue to move up the chain into the high end.  Our work here has yielded some pretty bitchin’ results on CD’s, tracks, and potential film / TV placements.  The quality gains are small from where we are today, but do RiffWorks users deserve anything less?  I think not!

Have no doubt, we’re here because of you, and for you.  We’re intertwined…and we intend to continue to pay it forward…we’ve been operating in a “pay it forward” model for the last 3 years.  There always is that next purchase on the list that will help the next guy, whether it be mastering software, monitors, acoustic treatment etc.  Each new gig pays for the next enhancement on the list…so why not give the benefit to the artist that’s bringing us to the next level and pay it forward first?  You’re not only getting your project done, you’re helping yourself and the next guy.  And if history is any indication, you’ll be back for your next project and reap even more benefits.  Since our first job we’ve taken care of that “next” thing on the list before the gig instead of after…paying it forward. The hope is one day we’ll run out of things on the list and things will keep going!

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