Career Area: Audio Engineer

  • Cynthea Kelley

    Cynthea Kelley

    “Even though it’s in the arts… being able to afford taking a day off has been huge for me lately.”

    Cynthea Kelley is a Nashville-based audio engineer and performer. She balances technical work and artistry in the dynamic worlds of music and gaming.

    Interview

    Transcript

    Emma Plutnicki 00:02  

    So, to start, what do you do for work and where are you currently working from?   

    Cynthea Kelley 00:06  

    So, I’m based in Nashville, Tennessee, and I am an audio engineer and musician, performer. So, primarily what I do is edit audio from home, and I also run live sound. In addition to performing, I sing and play guitar.  

    Emma Plutnicki 00:27  

    Cool! And how long have you been doing all of those?  

    Cynthea Kelley 00:30  

    I’ve been performing since I was like, I grew up in a musical family, so I grew up performing, but I guess kind of doing my own thing since I was 14, so about 14 years now. And then, as far as engineering goes, I really started doing it more seriously when I was a student at Coastal. So, I got to work at the Wheelwright Recording Studio for like, two and a half years while I was a student, and got to really understand and learn more about like how to record various types of ensembles and different kinds of projects.  

    Emma Plutnicki 01:10  

    Amazing, and so what would you consider, if you had to boil it down, everything that you do, what would you say your official job title is?  

    Cynthea Kelley 01:20  

    I would say musician and audio engineer, or just musician.  

    Emma Plutnicki 01:28  

    Amazing! And so, what does your day to day look like? What’s expected of you on a daily basis? What kind of things do you get into? Just kind of describe what your days look like.  

    Cynthea Kelley 01:39  

    So, I am self-employed, and kind of have, like, a lot of different work that I do as an independent contractor. So, day to day, it kind of varies, but I, about a year ago, started doing audio editing for the video game Fortnite, and so that’s, like a very specific thing in Fortnite, with Fortnite Festival Jam Stage. So that’s like music editing. So, I get to set my own schedule, which is really cool. I have, like, a certain amount of hours that I’m expected to work every month, but there’s flexibility there so I can kind of decide, like, you know, I wake up and then I have my tea and then sit down and get to audio editing and that might be between like, three and seven hours a day, and so that’s kind of like an audio editing day. On days where I run live sound, that’s at a venue, and so I’ll get there in the evening, early evening, and set up, and then be there for maybe like five to eight hours, working with a band and running sound for an event. I also sing with a wedding band, and so that usually involves some travel, maybe, like, two to three hours one way. So, I’ll like, you know, get up and kind of take it easy, and then in the afternoon, drive to the location, perform like three to four hours and then drive home. So, it kind of varies a lot. There’s also, I’ll assist at recording studios, and so those are typically like, longer days where I’ll arrive at like 9am and be there until anywhere between like 6 and 8 or 10pm so it kind of varies. Sorry, that’s not a super specific—  

    Emma Plutnicki 03:54  

    No. Totally fine. So, when you have events, you’re traveling, you have things late at night that you’re working on. How are you able to manage kind of a work life balance? Because it seems like the work kind of consumes a lot of your day-to-day life. So how do you manage that?  

    Cynthea Kelley 04:11  

    Yeah, that’s something I’ve been learning a lot about in the last two years, and I feel really grateful because doing the audio editing from home, having that flexibility, I’m able to, like, if I have a day or two or three in a row where I’m just like, going, going, going traveling, performing, usually I can, like, take a day or two to just, kind of like, relax. And as a musician, usually we’re working on the weekends. And so, I feel grateful that I kind of get to compensate for that through the week and just like, take a couple days off. But yeah, I’ve like, really been learning how to prioritize sleep in the last few years, and like, eating healthy food that’s going to give me energy and like, not make me feel lethargic. So, yeah, it’s been, I think I’ve been learning how to, like, prioritize resting as well. And just like, started bird watching and Zelda, like, I’ve never been—I wasn’t allowed to play video games when I was growing up. So now I’m like, okay, I’m just gonna chill and fun thing and like, not feel like I have to, like, go, go, go all the time.  

    Emma Plutnicki 05:30  

    Yeah, I love that. And within a creative career, I feel like a lot of times it can be hard to figure out what success looks like. It’s different for everybody. So how would you define success, both personally and professionally?  

    Cynthea Kelley 05:43  

    I think for me, since I moved to Nashville at the beginning of 2022, I’ve been doing music full time. And I think when I was a student, that was like, really, all that I would have said is like, “Oh, I’m doing music full time. That means, like, I’m a successful musician”. And now, I think especially being surrounded by so many musicians in Nashville, because it’s Music City, it’s given me the opportunity to see, like so many different lifestyles and like careers like, what different types of careers as a musician can look like. And so, for me, I feel like I’m very grateful to be doing what I love full time. And so I think that that feels like part of it, for me, is like, that’s part of the definition is that, like, obviously, like, it’s not 100% of any job that you’re gonna love, like that everything has its tedious parts, or it’s things that you don’t love as much, but, like, I would say, like, 90% of it, I’m just like, really, I really enjoy and really love, and so that feels like success to me. And then also being able to, like, just put money in a savings account for the first time, it’s like, “oh, this is really cool.” That feels like building on success. And so, there’s, like, even though it’s, you know, it’s in the arts. And so, it’s not like crazy, you know, extravagant, but being able to, like, afford things like, you know, like I was saying earlier, like healthy food. Being able to afford taking a day off that, is, has been huge for me lately. And then another part of it has been being able to decide and prioritize what kind of projects I want to work on, especially as an independent contractor. If there, you know, maybe I took a job and it ended up being way more stressful than I expected, and so being able to say no when things like that come up in the future, or if, you know, maybe I wasn’t treated the way that I wanted to be treated, or it was unprofessional, being able to yeah, just like, decide who I’m working with.  

    Emma Plutnicki 08:28  

    Yeah, no, it definitely makes sense. And, I’m sure you’ve worked on a wide array of projects throughout your career. So, has there been one that’s had a significant impact on you, or one that sticks out in your head as being, you know, exceptionally meaningful to you?  

    Cynthea Kelley 08:45  

    Absolutely, yeah, this, this job with Fortnite. I started in February of 2024, and it’s kind of been like ideal for me, because I’m super introverted and a homebody, and so the fact that it’s from home is really cool. And I’ve never worked on a project with like, such a big name before, so that’s felt really exciting. And what’s been really cool about it, too is like, not only do I really enjoy the work, but the teams that I’m working with are just like, super solid, and I feel like they really value the people who are working on their teams. And so it’s just like a really good support system. And in addition to being really fun, so I feel like it’s, it’s like a little bit of a dream job. So I’m really grateful to be—  

    Emma Plutnicki 09:45  

    Yeah, and so are you able—when you play, I assume you play in some aspects, are you able to, like, hear the pieces that you’ve worked on? Like, how does that feel?  

    Cynthea Kelley 09:55  

    So, my specific job is for the Jam Stage in Fortnite Festival. So basically, what that is players can choose an instrument, like drums, vocals, guitar or bass, and it takes loops of different songs, and you can, like, mash them up together. So, like, you could have the guitar part from a blink 182 song playing with the drum part from Metallica and vocals from Lady Gaga. And so, my job is basically to make the audio from those songs flexible enough so that they can all fit together at the same time. So, I’ve worked on, I don’t know it’s like, maybe definitely dozens of songs at this point in the last year, maybe upwards of 100 but yeah, so they’re, like, featured in the game now, and players can, like, use them. And yeah, it’s fun to fun to hear and see it like implemented in the game.  

    Emma Plutnicki 11:02  

    Yeah, that’s very cool. So, did you have any fears going into this job role, or just fears in your career as a whole?  

    Cynthea Kelley 11:11  

    Yeah, I think something that feels difficult in the arts and in music and as an independent contractor doing so many different kinds of jobs. I feel like in something that’s more, maybe more like typically structured in the job world, like you might be able to say, like, “Oh, I did sales at this place for five years, and now I’m like, this in this management position, and so that’s why I’m qualified to do this job,” you know, like with the arts, it’s like, well, I did this thing and I did that thing over there, and I did this over here, and I think they all relate. But like, am I qualified, you know? So, I was super nervous that, like, I thought I knew what I was doing, and then all of a sudden I would start doing the job and wouldn’t have what I needed. You know, so I think definitely, like some imposter syndrome played into that for me. But yeah, I think again what’s been really cool about this team is that it’s super supportive and just really great people to be working with. And so even with things that you know, I needed to learn or like needed to brush up on, the team was just, like, really welcoming and really supportive, and like, we all help each other out.  

    Emma Plutnicki 12:42  

    Amazing, and having lived in South Carolina, has that had any influence on your work at all?  

    Cynthea Kelley 12:49  

    So, I lived in South Carolina basically for high school and college years, then moved after that. But I will say that my junior year, I went to the Academy for Art, Science and Technology, and was able to major in entertainment technology and learn a lot about like production and video, like video production, and got to do some music production for those as well. And then being in the songwriting community in Myrtle Beach too was just like, huge for my development. And I’ll give a shout out to Brian Ressler, who’s just like, you know, like the Papa of the music community. I felt in the songwriter community and so, and then being at Coastal too, I just learned so much and made a lot of, like, really great connections with my professors and with my colleagues and fellow students and so I haven’t had a lot of work in South Carolina since I graduated, but I do think that, like a lot of the educational elements that were offered within the arts in South Carolina really played a big part in my development and like getting me to where I am now.  

    Emma Plutnicki 14:09  

    Yeah, amazing, and hopefully those programs continue to grow. Well, thank you so much. Just wrapping up here, is there anything else you want to speak on, maybe advice or anything else about your career?  

    Cynthea Kelley 14:25  

    Yeah, I think, as far as advice goes, I think that the biggest thing that I’ve taken with me is just being persistent, especially again as an independent contractor, where you might not know where your work is going to come from, like week to week or month to month or year to year, just like being persistent in making connections and networking and reaching out to people. And I think advice, just like for me, that I feel like I’ve been learning is we ask ourselves and get asked the question too, so much like from when we’re kids, like, “What do you want to do? What do you want to be when you grow up?” and we’re thinking about what kind of opportunities we want to take and what I’ve been kind of trying to learn how to ask myself more in addition to that, question is, like, “how do I want to be treated in those as well?” So like, being able to set boundaries and recognize when it’s like a healthy working relationship and a professional one. So, I think those are kind of the biggest things.  

    Emma Plutnicki 15:37  

    Definitely. Yeah, thanks for sharing that. It’s great advice, and a lot of times people can’t find that, so I appreciate that. But yeah, thank you so much.  

  • Brandon Goff

    Brandon Goff

    “I put in 30 minutes of practice every day, whether it’s guitar or composing. It’s like exercise 30 minutes a day goes a lot further than five hours once a week. It keeps your brain engaged.”

    Brandon Goff is a composer, producer, engineer, performer, and professor of Music Industry at Francis Marion University in Florence, South Carolina. As a Memphis, Tennessee, local, he attended Rhodes College where Goff’s creative path began. This path has taken him through academic and professional music spaces across the U.S. and abroad. With a PhD and a background in music composition, he believes in celebrating every step of creative growth, whether that’s writing an album or landing a gig. His career is a witness to persistence, curiosity, and the value of creative support systems.

    Interview

    Transcript

    Emma Plutnicki  00:00 

    So, to start, what do you do for work, and where are you currently working from?  

    Brandon Goff  00:06 

    I mean, I do a lot of things to be fair, but I’m a professor of Music Industry in Florence, South Carolina, at Francis Marion University, which is obviously going to be the biggest chunk of what I do. But my, you know, my background’s as a composer, a producer, and an engineer and a performer does a lot of different aspects to being a professional musician, and you don’t always do just one. And I’m one of those people who do all those all the time. 

    Emma Plutnicki  00:27 

    Amazing. So how long have you been working as a professor, and then how long have you been doing all the other things? 

    Brandon Goff  00:35 

    I’m from Memphis, Tennessee, and I’ve been teaching on a university level since, oh my, it goes way back. I first started a Rhodes College, which is a really nice liberal arts school in Memphis, and then I moved from there to probably started teaching, you know, around 2003 2004 so it’s been a minute. Yeah, it’s been a while. Then I went to, like, around Nashville, at a place called Lambuth University, and then I came here from there, and I’ve been here since 2011 so I’ve been in South Carolina for like, you know, proper, 14 years now.  

    Emma Plutnicki  01:11 

    Okay, so what is one thing that you love about working as a creative in South Carolina, specifically, as opposed to in Memphis or Nashville?  

    Brandon Goff  01:22 

    Well, you know, I do. I—anybody who works in the creative, especially the music industry, is going to love Memphis and Nashville. These are two, like, major hubs of music industry. But along with that, from an academic standpoint, meaning from in the in regards to the education portion of what I do, it’s fun working with students who don’t have that grandiose expectation of someone who’s growing up in Nashville. I mean, these in the talent pool, it’s a misconception. People always think, well, everyone’s so talented in New York, London, Nashville, they’re always just like, let alone actually, mathematically, no, they’re not. They’re just surrounded by an industry which really kind of draws that talent out. So, one of the beautiful things about South Carolina, that I love is the talent pool is thick. It’s just as the talent pool is just as big as it is anywhere else. But there’s just less exposure to it, less exposure to your opportunities, your potential, to chances you can take that you don’t realize you can because you’re not in one of those big music hubs. And I do, I really do love that. Actually, I do. I do enjoy that a lot. 

    Emma Plutnicki  02:26 

    Yeah, that’s amazing. So, has South Carolina had any unique influence on your work specifically? 

    Brandon Goff  02:34 

    I mean, of course, yes. I mean, it would do, wouldn’t it? I mean, it’s the, I don’t feel, musically? How would I—there’s a, it’s a different—you know, I’m from Tennessee, in Memphis and Nashville. Everyone’s a musician. That is the thing that everyone does. You probably have an uncle who’s a songwriter. You might have another uncle who works for a record label, who’s like a, you know, a talent scout. And I kind of, I didn’t, honestly, I didn’t realize the rest of the world wasn’t like that until I moved here. When I moved to South Carolina, I was like, Oh, this isn’t like the major industry. This isn’t what everybody does. And so, in being steeped in a non-music focused culture is going to obviously be influential. There’s a complete different music culture here. There’s a different kind of nightlife culture, a different culinary culture. And so, I’m constantly stealing, like, little, you know, snippets of sounds and lifestyles and putting them in songs and putting them in, you know, pieces and stuff like that, which I think is as well you should. 

    Emma Plutnicki  03:37 

    Yeah, I love that. So how would you describe the local professional community within South Carolina? 

    Brandon Goff  03:45 

    In regards to music professionals? You know, again, you’re not in—there’s not, there aren’t a ton of recording studios. There aren’t just a ton of, you know, production houses and things like that. There aren’t a ton of publishing houses. There aren’t a ton of things like that. There are a few here and there and around. It’s more competitive getting into those spaces because there are less spaces for people to access. But one of the biggest, we’re still a big production state, in large part because we do, we still have a lot of arts funding, and we have a lot of massive churches that run big productions. So, I’ve had a lot of students who go work for big, big churches here in South Carolina who have productions that are equal to that, of, you know, equal to that, of like, a large performance venue. And we do have large performance venues, you know, Myrtle Beach, the coast has a lot of that stuff. Even Columbia has a few things like that, Green Velocity, nice stuff or something. A lot of students who have internships up there and stuff like that. And it’s just, it’s going to be, your churches are massive, and they have a massive production budget, so a lot of students will go work for the big churches, and a lot of students that’s like, that’s kind of what they want to do, because that’s like, that’s how they got into music this lot of in the we’re in the Bible Belt, so a lot of the students are picking up musical skills, and the gold concepts in church, and then end up wanting to go back there and kind of work in that church as a worship leader or as a production leader or something like that. 

    Emma Plutnicki  05:10 

    Yeah, makes sense. Very cool. So, within a creative career, it can be difficult to define success sometimes, because there aren’t always clear expectations. So how do you define professional and personal success within your career? 

    Brandon Goff  05:26 

    Oh, how you, know what I think—I tell this to my students all the time. Yeah and I suspect that depends on your personality type as well. But when I was quite poor, grew up very, very poor and actually I was not, I was not a high school graduate. I was a high school dropout. I dropped out of high school and got a job at a factory. And so, you gauge your dreams and your expectations of success on the reality around you. So, as you accomplish something, you then gauge, well, my next level of success will be that. And so, like, at that point in my life, I was like, you know, my dream is to work inside a place that has air conditioning, because I was working at a factory that had no air conditioning in the South, so it was hot. So, but then as I, as you move forward, like, Oh, I just, I just wrote a song. So I want to write 10 songs. And you, so each one of those little accomplishments is a success of its own, but ideally, and you find contentment and what you’ve accomplished, but you also, it’s fun to see how far you can push what you can do. So, you’re always looking for a new kind of success, but then recognizing the success that you had as you move through it. So, I mean, if you’re a full-time musician anywhere, you are mathematically successful because you’ve done something that’s difficult to do. You’re making a living off of a craft, art, a passion that’s very few people get to do that, and so that’s already successful. But even if you don’t do that, even if you’re just someone who’s actually sat down and written an entire album worth of material, and that’s not what you do for a living that’s still incredibly successful, because very few people have the patience and the skill set and the focus to accomplish that. So, there’s success can be found in so many different avenues. And I think it’s important for—I always tell this to my students, to recognize that and to reward yourself emotionally and psychologically for those successes, regardless of the monetary outcome that you might receive. 

    Emma Plutnicki  07:28 

    Yeah, that’s a great way of framing it. So, did you have any fears going into this career, or were you…? 

    Brandon Goff  07:35 

    I mean, I was too stupid to be scared like I didn’t know. I didn’t I mean, I didn’t know I had then that’s, that’s a benefit of youth, isn’t it? Like, no, I’m gonna, I mean, I’m gonna do this because I don’t know that I can’t do this. And it’s amazing how when you don’t know you can’t do something, that you kind of put your all into it, and all of a sudden, you’ve done it when everyone else knew you couldn’t do it. And it turns out you could do it all along. So, you’ve kind of got to the ignorance has its role there some level. Or, you know, unabashed arrogance helps as well. Because I’m going to do this no matter what, I’m just going to push through it. Just stick to it, even if you know you can’t do it, just convince you commit yourself you can. 

    Emma Plutnicki  08:18 

    Yeah, and was that something that you just found within yourself, or were there people along the way giving you advice? 

    Brandon Goff  08:25 

    I mean my undergraduate, you know, actually, my undergraduate degree is in music composition, so it’s not even music industry. Music industry is a lot of what I do, but that was just the nature of being a musician in Tennessee, where there’s a massive music industry. And I got into the music industry because I was one of the first people who was using computers to produce music, and so studios would call me to come do that kind of work, and that just opened the door for me. But again, I wasn’t, it wasn’t part of a grand plan. I was just, again, I was poor. I was, it was day by day. I was like, Okay, I need, I’ve got to eat tomorrow. So, I’m going to do this gig tonight. I’ve got to figure out how to make this happen. So, it was a constant. There was a constant, just a, you know, piece by piece by piece by piece by piece, and you kind of work it, work it out and make it happen.  

    Emma Plutnicki  09:10 

    Yeah, makes sense. Can you recall any times when maybe a mentor or professor within your degree maybe gave you some good advice, or even the worst advice you’ve ever heard? 

    Brandon Goff  09:27 

    I mean, I say advice, perhaps not advice so much as just support and belief. And that was very meaningful for me when I was, when I was an undergrad, you know, I had a professor who thought that I was very, very bright, and therefore gave me a scholarship to learn a new piece of software that the university had acquired. And that software turned out to be a thing called Pro Tools eventually. So, I was one of the first people who knew how to use this particular software thing called Pro Tools. And so that particular belief and my ability to do that changed my life dramatically. And then, when I was doing that PhD, my PhD professor just really loved my music, loved what I did professionally, and as such, would often, he was a very, very famous composer, would bring me along, would program my works on big concerts across like Europe and from Turkey across, you know, through France and such. So that gave my work massive exposure that I would not have gotten, if not for a particular professor who saw something in me and really, really took it upon themselves to push me forward, if you call that advice. But it was yeah, no, but it was both those, both those episodes were very, very life changing for me. 

    Emma Plutnicki  10:46 

    For sure, and with Pro Tools being really life changing in your life, would you say, or, I guess, could you describe a time or a project that you’ve worked on that has been very meaningful to your life? It can be a significant, I don’t know, project or piece that you’ve performed or written, or just anything that you feel has had a significant impact on your life and has really showcased your creativity. 

    Brandon Goff  11:13 

    You know, it’s funny, the most popular piece that I have, and it was not. It was never intended to be this way. I was, I was relatively new to South Carolina, and I’m a guitar player. I play lots of instruments, but my guitar is kind of one of my main instruments. I would do session work in Nashville as a guitar player, but I’m a composer. I’m a writer. And so, the concert band director said, Hey, Dr, Goff, we would love you to come in and play perhaps an electric guitar concerto, which is where you have, like, a large concert band or orchestra and with electric guitar as a lead instrument. And so, I thought, okay, great, I’ll let me find a piece that will be good. And so, I searched and I searched and I searched and I discovered that there were almost no electric guitar concertos that are in existence. I was like, Okay, this doesn’t really exist. So, I said, Hey, how about I just write a piece for you guys that you did this for me and for you. And so, I did this. It’s a piece called Full On Rumble. So, it was like, and I actually made it. I wanted to make it kind of tongue in cheek, if you know that phrase, I wanted to make it kind of like, I used all of the over the top guitar techniques from like, the 80s and 90s. They’re all like, all the, you know, the big hair guitar players would play, from Led Zeppelin to AC DC to Van Halen, all the, I threw it all in there. It’s kind of a kitchen sink piece. It has like every little nuance in it, kind of poking fun at, like, the absurdity of guitar solos and stuff, yeah. But everyone loved it, and it’s become, by far, probably 80 to 90% of my professional work is traveling the world, playing that particular piece with other orchestras and concert bands all over the place. I’ve done it in the past two or three years, from London to Portugal to Germany to Istanbul, all the way. It gets performed all the time. So that one piece, that one little weird thing where I was like, Well, I can’t find that piece much better. I better just write one, that was that, changed everything, that opened so many weird doors that’s still a lot of what I do is just manage the distribution, publication and performances of that piece. 

    Emma Plutnicki  13:13 

    Very cool. You said it’s called Full On Rumble. Full On Rumble 

    Brandon Goff  13:16 

    Yeah, F, U, L, L, on Rumble.  

    Emma Plutnicki  13:22 

    All right, I’ll have to check it out. And so nowadays, what does a typical work day look like for you? 

    Brandon Goff  13:29 

    It’s, I’m, unlike most musicians, I guess I don’t know. I’m regimented, because I have to be. And it’s taken, yeah, I mean, everyone deals with this. I guess you discover over time what times of day you’re better at certain things. Because when I first get up in the morning, that’s not the only time of the day that I have the mental acuity to like, to do all my invoicing and to send, like, do all my communiques emails, like, I’ve got about an hour and a half where I have the I have the emotional wherewithal to sit down and, like, okay, because I don’t, I don’t relish that. I love creating, I love producing, I love teaching, I love performing. But all of that is tethered to, like, if I’m doing the music for TV commercial, I have to then invoice that, and then have to go through and like, you know, I might have to do all kinds of clerical work behind that, and then send off demos to other places for public publishers. Yeah, it’s like, tons of legwork. So, I have an hour and a half of morning legwork. You have to do that every morning. Just get all that stuff done. And then I’ll always, always put in about 30 minutes of just practice. And we can practice guitar, or could be practicing composing. It is just like, just like exercise, which I do as well. But I do that because it just keeps your brain engaged. You know, 30 minutes a day goes a lot further than five hours one day a week. So, I always do that. Then all my classes are always in that little mid-day chunk, and then I do a lot of production work late in the afternoon, a lot of like mathematical studio stuff I go through and take pieces I’ve worked on and start working on new mixes for them, for release and things like that. Yeah, I know those, the times a day, like times a day when I am most effective for those arenas. If that makes sense. 

    Emma Plutnicki  15:11 

    Yeah. You have to know yourself.  

    Brandon Goff  15:15 

    Yeah, you did. It takes a long time too.  

    Emma Plutnicki  15:25 

    Yeah. So how are you able to, you know, balance work and life, and just keep your creativity at you know, just keeping it alive, because it can be hard, you get bogged down and other things. So how do you keep that work life balance? 

    Brandon Goff  15:31 

    Oh, wow, that’s man, that’s enough. You know, work life balance. And these are generational concepts. When I was young, I don’t know that anyone ever really discussed work life balance. So that was the kind of, I’m sure we had issues with it. We just hadn’t figured out how to name it and, you know, manage it. So, if you do something that you really, really enjoy, if it’s the kind of thing you would do, whether you’re getting paid for it or not. That is a beautiful, beautiful thing, but it’s also rife with its own challenges, as you can imagine, because you’re never really off work, and that’s one of the biggest challenge for me, is to disengage with what I’m doing and find a way to tune it out, you know, after, say, 8pm so that I have a shot in hell of sleeping, which is my dream scenario where my brain isn’t frantic at 10pm and like I’m asleep before to 2am I’ll be great, difficult to do, because it is you do what you—it’s what I’m thinking about, whether I’m working on it or not. Like I often, like, in the summers, when I have the rare weekend where I can, like, not do music and go mow my lawn, I’m like, wow, that was amazing. I went and mowed a lawn, and I’m done, and I’m not thinking about my lawn now, like, I like that. I like that. You can put something to bed. And as a musician, you rarely get to do that. You’re just, it’s always doing and you have to. I—so I’ve called it work life balance, so much as just because you love music. And music’s everywhere. So, every time I turn on a Netflix show, there’s a piece of music in there that I’m like, Oh, I could steal that idea. I could do—and so everything’s research, so it’s difficult to pull away from that. So, I’ll often listen. I’ll often dive into, like, some sort of talk radio, because it has no affiliation to my career whatsoever. And it just kind of helps bring me, pull me away from that, that whirlpool of creativity. 

    Emma Plutnicki  17:38 

    Yeah, that must be hard, because music is everywhere, and it’s just part of life. Which is good and can also be challenging. But you’re right. As we just wrap up, are there any, is there anything else you’d like to add, or any questions you wish that maybe I asked that I didn’t? 

    Brandon Goff  17:58 

    I don’t think so. Thank you. That was a really nice selection of questions. I mean, it’s, my colleagues often call me—they say he’s kind of workaholic, he’s kind of hyper, and I am kind of hyper, and I can’t appear to be a workaholic, because I do love to perform and I love to write and I love to write and I love to produce. These aren’t all the same thing, but there’s absolutely no reason you can’t pick one of those things and be that. Be that thing. One of my best friends is one of our piano faculty here, and he’s just a concert pianist, and that’s all he does. But, and that’s a beautiful thing. If I just performed, I think I would lose my mind because I want to write as well, but I also love being in the studio and like, you know, stacking guitars and laying things in and making a nice product, that’s my particular passion. Is that diversified approach to a career, but it is by no means I don’t know what I would even suggest that to every student, because that said that it’s a challenge, and that’s it. That suits my personality, that suits the way that I work, pretty well, but I suspect it’s not the best fit for most people. I suspect I’m a minority in this that that arena. It’s hard to say. 

    Emma Plutnicki  19:17 

    Yeah, hard to find a balance, but amazing. Well, I’ve loved hearing your story, and thank you again for taking the time to speak with me. Last thing is, do you have anybody that you think would be great for us to interview another professional in the creative space? I could give you some time to think also and shoot you over a nominations link.   

    Brandon Goff  19:43 

    Yeah, please do. I know a lot. I know a lot of great creatives.  

  • Cynthea Kelley

    Cynthea Kelley

    “Even though it’s in the arts… being able to afford taking a day off has been huge for me lately.”

    Cynthea Kelley is a Nashville-based audio engineer and performer. She balances technical work and artistry in the dynamic worlds of music and gaming.

    About


    Cynthea Kelley is a Nashville-based audio engineer, musician, and performer who has steadily built a multifaceted creative career. Whether she’s editing music for Fortnite Festival’s Jam Stage or performing with a wedding band, Cynthea’s days are shaped by adaptability and artistry. Since graduating from Coastal Carolina University, she’s been on a mission to forge a sustainable creative life.

    Her work with Fortnite editing tracks to seamlessly blend vocals and instrumentals for in-game mashups, is one of her proudest achievements. “It’s kind of been like a dream job,” she said of the experience, noting the prestige: she’s working with a globally recognized brand.

    Success, for Cynthea, is defined by doing what she loves while sustaining her well-being. That means financial stability, creative control, and learning to set boundaries in professional relationships. “How do I want to be treated in those [jobs] as well?” she asked.

    Through her journey, Cynthea has embraced the balance between rest and hustle. She encourages other creatives to stay persistent and remember that professional fulfillment includes both passion and self-care.

  • Edward Howard

    Edward Howard

    “Do your best and never settle for seconds.”  

    Eddie Howard, from Greenville, South Carolina, is the Director of the Recording Arts Program at the Fine Arts Center. Establishing the program in 2007, Eddie Howard teaches both younger and older students how to record music.  

    About

    Eddie Howard was born and raised in Greenville, South Carolina, where his love of music and recording was passed down through the family. In 1958, Howard’s four uncles on his mother’s side built the first recording studio in Greenville, where Howard spent most of his childhood. “My dad used to love to hang out at the studio when I was five or six years old. For years, really, all my life, we would go hangout at the studio—sometimes at night or on weekends when they were doing their sessions. So, I kind of got the studio bug from that,” said Howard.  

    From 1971 to 1974, Howard played guitar in a band for the last few years of high school. “We finished high school in ’72 and hit the road, and the band got very, very busy, and we were staying gone so much,” said Howard. “I didn’t like traveling that much, so I decided to come to Greenville, wanting to get into the studio business.”  

    Howard returned to his family studio business and began working there in the spring of 1977, where his career path in the recording business grew. After a few years, Howard owned three different recording studios and was a consultant in building several others. Howard’s involvement with the Fine Arts Center began when the jazz program director, Steve Watson, asked him for advice on creating a recording studio for the arts magnet school. Howard agreed to assist and continued to help Watson run recording sessions even after completing the studio. Subsequently, Howard played a pivotal role in helping the Fine Arts Center launch its first recording program as an afternoon class in the fall of 2007.  

    Since the development of the program and as the Director of Recording Arts, Howard’s typical workday involves teaching a morning class consisting primarily of younger students as an entry-level course of recording basics and an afternoon class of older students build on their experience in the studio to tackle more complex projects. 

    From Howard’s experience in the recording arts and helping to develop the recording arts program, he offers advice he gives to his current students and upcoming creatives interested in a recording arts path. “Some of the biggest things I try to do with them is teach them how to be self-disciplined, manage projects, manage their time, and just do their best,” said Howard.  

  • Edward Howard

    Edward Howard

    “Do your best, and never settle for seconds.”

    Eddie Howard, from Greenville, South Carolina, is the Director of the Recording Arts Program at the Fine Arts Center. Establishing the program in 2007, Eddie Howard teaches both younger and older students how to record music.  

    Interview

    Transcript

    Edward Howard 00:00 

    I am from Greenville, South Carolina. I teach the Recording Arts program at the Fine Art Center in Greenville.  

    Haley Hansen 00:07 

    How long have you been working there?  

    Edward Howard 00:08 

    Well, I started the Recording Arts program in 2007 as an afternoon class, teaching high school students- the art of recording. It’s like a recording studio. And that’s what we have. And so, I’ve been teaching afternoon classes since then. But we just added a morning class, so, that is it is doing I’m doing that full time now.  

    Haley Hansen 00:28 

    What is your official job title at the Fine Arts Center?  

    Edward Howard 00:31 

    It is the Director of Recording Arts.  

    Haley Hansen 00:33 

    Can you walk me through a typical workday there?  

    Edward Howard 00:36 

    Okay. Yeah, we have a morning class of younger students who are more on an entry level, just learning how to record the very, very basics. So, I walk through and demonstrate different things they have, they do some book work, but it’s mostly hands-on.  

    Edward Howard 00:53 

    And then my afternoon class has little older students. They are typically 11th and 12th graders, sometimes 10th graders.  And most of those students are already recording when they come into that class. They have figured out ways to do it at home, and so they have some experience going in. So, they just kind of come in and take it to the next level.  

    Haley Hansen 01:16 

    How did you end up in this field? 

    Edward Howard 01:18 

    My uncles, my mother’s three- four brothers built the first recording studio in Greenville, South Carolina, in 1958. And so, my dad used to love to go hang out in the studio when I was five or six years old. So, we, for years, really all my life, would go hang out at the studio, sometimes at nights and on weekends when they were doing sessions. So, I kind of got the studio bug from that.  

    And then later, for the last couple of years in high school, I was a guitar player. And that was involved in a couple of bands between 1971 and ’74. We finished high school in ’72 and hit the road, and the band got very, very busy. And we were staying gone so much, I just did not like traveling that much.  

    And so, I decided to come back to Greenville, and wanted to get into the studio business. And so, that is what I did, I came back to Greenville in ’74, started hanging out at the studio, and went to work there in ’77, spring of ’77.  

    So, I worked in the studio ever since I’ve been in the recording business; I have owned three different studios, been part owners/partners, in three different studios. And I’ve built several studios for people as well. So, that’s what I’ve done.  

    Haley Hansen 02:34 

    How did you wind up at the Fine Arts Center? 

    Edward Howard 02:36 

    Well, a friend of mine, Steve Watson, who is retiring this year, has been directing a jazz program at the Fine Art Center for 27 years. He and I met in 1985 when he first moved back here from L.A., and he and I worked. We did a number of jazz records together, and a number of albums together in the studio. Became friends and just have ever since.  

    And so when they built the new Fine Arts Center in 2006, I believe it’s when they were it was under construction, he called, and he said, “I think I can get the budget to put a recording rig in my jazz class, I just won’t be able to record my kids.” And so, we met, and I consulted with some folks there about what kind of equipment to put in, and you know, everything had gone Pro tools and computers and stuff by then. So, he did that. And they installed all the equipment.  

    And every couple of weeks or so he would call and say, “Can you come by on Thursday afternoon or something and record the kids?” And so, I’d go over and do that every couple of weeks or so. And I will say recording one day in 2007, I believe it was, and Dr. Flour, the director at the time walked in, and he said, “Oh my gosh, we’ve got $80,000 worth of equipment in this room, and we’re not doing a recording program.” And so, I said, “I’ll help you start it. And I give you the afternoons, that’s all I can give you: two-hour afternoons.”  

    And so, we did that and started our first semester, which began in 2008. I think it was fall of 2008, and that has a two-hour afternoon class. And then we just added this past year, added the morning class. So doing a morning and afternoon class.  And I have about 20 students now.  

    Haley Hansen 04:16 

    Are you still teaching out of the first studio you helped design there? 

    Edward Howard 04:19 

    Where? 

    Haley Hansen 04:20 

    At the Fine Arts Center, like the one that you were hired as a consultant for? 

    Edward Howard 04:24 

    Yes, that’s our main control room. And since then, since we started the program, we’ve added two spaces. There are two rounds that are about 12 by 12 spaces. One of them has three workstations in it, the other one has four workstations.  

    Haley Hansen 04:39 

    Do you have a defining moment in your creative journey that made you realize this was what you wanted to do with your life like a particular project that you worked on?  

    Edward Howard 04:48 

    No, really, I had always loved the recording process. And even when I was traveling on the road before I always had in the back of my mind that “You know one day I need to get into the studio that’s what I need to do.” And I really just kind of knew that. I had grown up around it and had seen enough of it to know that that’s what I want to do. And so, I did that and started in ’77. And I have been doing it ever since.  

    Haley Hansen 05:14 

    What was the biggest adjustment or challenge that you faced when you started your current role at the Fine Arts Center? 

    Edward Howard 05:20 

    Well, when Dr. Fluhrer, Roy, is what we always called him. When Roy asked me to start the program, I said, “Roy, I’m not the teacher. That is not something I feel like I do.”  

    My biggest challenge was learning how to teach, learning how to develop curriculum. I have done some workshops. Me and a friend of mine used to do some workshops in the studios, but it was mostly for adults, producers, and arrangers and musicians who wanted to learn how to record. They wanted to learn the technical side of the recording.  

    So, I’ve never been in a position to teach kids, you know, students. So that was probably the biggest challenge. Learning that, but the faculty, the other teachers, these guys are just incredible people. And they were so helpful to help me to learn how to do stuff like that, how to develop a curriculum, how to teach, you know, how to teach a class. Yeah, it’s a whole different thing than recording with a bunch of professional musicians. 

    Haley Hansen 06:24 

    Do you recommend any specific skills that someone aspiring toward you, toward your field or position like yours should try to develop? 

    Edward Howard 06:32 

    Just learn, learn how to do it yourself. You know, most of my best students come in, and they’ve found free software programs at home. And they found out ways to do it. And a lot of them are just doing stuff on their phones nowadays. And they come in with these demos, impressive demos that they’ve done with them, on their phone, with free software. And that’s, that just seems to be the best way to get started with it.  

    And a lot of times when I am interviewing students, one of the first questions I ask is, “Are you already recording?” And if they say, “No, I’ve not done anything yet.” So, I’ll tell them, “Then find a way. Go out and find your way. There’s free software all over the internet, you could do it on your phone, you can do it on iPads, if you have the luxury of having a good computer available, you know, even better. But find a way to do it.” And that’s really the best way for them to learn the basics, to start learning the basics. 

    Haley Hansen 07:31 

    What’s something that you want your students specifically to learn about pursuing a career in a creative field? 

    Edward Howard 07:39 

    The biggest thing you know, some of the biggest things I have tried to do with them is to teach them how to be self-disciplined. Teach them how to manage projects, manage their time and do their best, you know, never settle for seconds, go in for the best sounds. And because if they go out in this business as a recording engineer, or producer, or composer, that’s what the challenge is going to be in the real world. 

    Haley Hansen 08:02 

    What would you say is the hardest part of advising students for college and for career-readiness? 

    Edward Howard 08:08 

    In this kind of work, in the recording work, the college of choice has more to do with where do you want to be when you come out on the other side? Because they’re their universities around the country. Almost all universities have great recording programs now. Unlike when I came along, there were no educational, no colleges, were offering any kind of training in recording field, and audio or video. And so now just about every university has serious recording programs.  

    But each university tends to steer students in a particular direction. So, if you go to Nashville and Belmont, you are probably going to end up in Nashville, you know. So, different universities and different programs tend to guide students in different areas into different parts of the country. So, you have to kind of look at their programs, and look at their internship programs, and see where do they push students at the other end? You know, and where do you want to be? You want to be in New York, you want to be in Dallas, LA, you know, or in a small town somewhere, like Greenville?  

    Haley Hansen 09:13 

    What part of that process of preparing students for college and career readiness would you say that you’re very successful at? 

    Edward Howard 09:20 

    Just teaching at a commercial-level, recording. Teaching them how to how to record music, you know, live music and digital music. And how to produce music. How to work with people, you know. I really encourage my kids to collaborate on projects because they will learn 10 times more collaborating with someone else than they will if they just sit down at their computer and work in a bubble. The progress they make will be very slow for most students, generally, but they will progress much faster if they work with other students creating music projects. And that prepares them for university level. 

    Most of the college programs, that are doing recording programs, I constantly get feedback from people from the universities, that will tell me that my, my students that go into those programs, they’ll tell the students, you’re going to be bored for the first semester or maybe for two semesters, because it takes that long for, for my students to catch up with where you are. So, they’re getting a real boost ahead in the recording program, you know, if they decide to enter a four-year program of recording. 

    Haley Hansen 10:31 

    I know that some of the colleges in South Carolina have an arrangement with the Fine Arts Center, that the classes there count as college-level courses. I took creative writing there, and I got credit for a creative writing class at Coastal [Carolina University. Does your program have anything set up with colleges like that?  

    Edward Howard 10:51 

    Yeah, we try to get colleges to do as much of that possible. We have actually had a contract with Clemson for a number of our programs, with Clemson University. Were with Recording Arts, they can test out of a semester, or they might test out of two semesters.

    So, if they decided to go into the Recording Arts program, depending on what level that they’ve learned in my program, they might be able to skip a semester at Clemson, for instance. And we’re working on more universities that do that there. A lot of universities will talk about that. And they’ll say, oh, yeah, that’s a great idea. But it is a very time-consuming thing to put together an agreement like that. It’s a very complex agreement.  

    Haley Hansen 11:33 

    Are there any organizations or programs, or events that you recommend for folks in South Carolina who are interested in your field?  

    Edward Howard 11:41 

    For universities?  

    Haley Hansen 11:43 

    Universities, or summer camps, like getting involved in the community, or anything like that? 

    Edward Howard 11:49 

    Well, I encourage them to get involved in the community, all they can. They can go to other studios and hang out, or they go hang out at some live concerts and just kind of get the feel of live music as well. But there’s not a lot of programs, summer camps, for that kind of thing.  

    We are actually doing a thing this summer, called Summer Intensive, where a number of our programs at the Fine Arts Center are doing one week, three hours a day for a week. Four days, it’s just four days, not a week. And so, it’s kind of like an icebreaker for a student that would be coming into my program. And I’ve got several students that have enrolled in my program next Fall that are coming to the Summer Intensive thing, just to kind of get a leg up on it, you know, get ahead of the game. So that’s a particular thing.  

    But you got universities, like in this area, immediate area, you’ve got UNC Charlotte, you’ve got Francis Marion, I think Coastal Carolina has a program, Clemson has an incredible program, the USC [University of South Carolina] has a program. And so, most of the universities nowadays are doing really good Recording Arts programs.  

    Haley Hansen 12:57 

    Before we end the interview, do you have any advice for current students or young adults who are pursuing a creative career? 

    Edward Howard 13:05 

    You know, Dr. Fluhrer, the guy who started the Fine Arts Center and ran the Fine Arts Center for years, always had this whole thing…. All the time I’ve worked around him, he had this little saying, and he would say he would just say, “Do the work.” You know, just a simple thing. And that’s coming to school every day, doing the work, you know, not lollygag, not hanging out, just talking.  

    But you know, I think for the Recording Arts Program, I tell parents and students, this is not if you’re not a very self-disciplined program, this is not for you. Because we don’t have a class where I gather everybody up every day. And today’s students, this is what we’re going to never happen. Everybody works at their own pace at their own level. And that’s the way the real world works. In the recording business.  

    You know, nobody in the recording world wants to be paying a studio musician or a recording engineer or producer and has to say, “Come on, guys, let’s go for it. Let’s get this done. You know, they don’t want to be pushing people. You know, they want people to work there because they love what they do, and they do it well. And that’s what I try to get my students to learn, learn how to do the work and do it well. 

    Haley Hansen 14:20 

    Is there anything else you think it’s important to say before we end the interview?  

    Edward Howard 14:24 

    No, just self-discipline and do what you love. My dad used to tell me, “Whatever you decide to do, make sure it’s what you love to do.” There’s no reason why anybody should hate their job or their career. And so, when you choose students when they choose, we just try to encourage them to choose the right career for the right reason. And choose something that you love to do.

    You know, not something that your parents want you to do, or somebody else is pushing you to do it. Or not because you think, “Oh, I’ll look at that career because you can make a lot of money.” You know, you can’t do it for the money. You know, the recording business is a very lucrative business for people who are very self-disciplined and determined. It makes a great career. And if you do that for the right reason, the money is always there. 

    Haley Hansen 15:17 

    Well, thank you for taking the time to speak with me.