Today we’d like to introduce you to Tony Blade.
Tony, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I moved to LA when I was 19. Just like everyone else, I came with a suitcase and dream. At first, I was deadset on being a rapper and I was recording myself and others on the side. After I had a few projects under me and did a few shows, I came to realize that I loved the recording process more than I loved the songwriting process. I switch over to engineering completely shortly afterward.
After a random occurrence at a guitar center, I came in contact with a guy named Josh who offered me an intern position at a songwriting house in North Hollywood. This is where I learned high-level recording techniques and workflow. I was able to practice my recording, mixing, and mastering skills with my good friend and newfound brother, Ash Minor. I remember vividly recording day after day, doing 12-15 hour days back to back for almost a year straight. During that time, I refined my skills and it shaped who I am today.
Life happened, plans changed and I left the songwriting house and ventured out into freelance work. I was still running around doing 12- 15 hour days but instead, I was running all around LA to different studios that people would call me to. From there, I met Caviar. He is an established producer and owned Vortex Studios in Hollywood. He took me under his wing and I was doing sessions as a house engineer under him. Time went by and I was engineering every day until my ears would tire, eventually a room upstairs at the compound I was working at opening up. Caviar told me that he had a lot of people fighting for the room but because I was his main guy and I’ve been helping out a lot, He gave me first dibs on it. That was the birth of Blade studios.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
There were many challenges to get where I am now. It made me fully realize that audio engineering is not for the faint-hearted. You really have to have a deep passion for the sound.
Here’s some of my struggles.
My parents and their initial pushback when I told them I was going to abandon everything I worked for to be in marketing, quit college, and run off to La to do music. THAT was an insanely hard thing to do. I really took a chance on my dreams.
Another was fighting to get into the songwriting house. The offered the position but blew me off seven times before I actually got my first meeting and accepted into the house.
When I ventured to freelance, there was a huge transition that I had to make mentally to even comprehend how to be my own boss. I had to figure out how to time manage, how to communicate to clients, and more. My good friend JFont helped me out a lot with that. I owe a lot of my success in freelance to his guidance and council.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Blade Studios – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of and what sets you apart from others.
I am a Recording, Mixing, and Mastering engineer. I run a personal studio out in Hollywood where I specialize in recording vocals, vocal production, and vocal effects. I also specialize in mixing down records and mastering them to ensure quality for distribution via Spotify, Apple Music, and other streaming platforms.
I am most proud of the sound that comes out of my room. I largely focus on the quality of the sound and pay extreme attention to details. When I work for first-time clients the initial response is “wow, you’re really fast at this”. The songwriting house made me accustom to an efficient workflow. My motto is “when the client walks out of the booth, the song should already sound 85% done”. That’s the speed that I hold myself to and I believe that my song turnover rate, as well as the quality of the sound, is what sets me apart.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
I would like to expand to a second room eventually or get a house and build out a studio infrastructure there. It all kind of up in the air because I just open my first room. However, I do look to expand and get engineers working side by side with me in the near future.
Contact Info:
- Address: 1141 Seward St, Los Angeles CA 90038
- Website: tonyblade.com
- Email: tblademixedit@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thetonyblade/?hl=en
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