Hidden Gems: Meet Trip Brock of Monkeyland Audio

Today we’d like to introduce you to Trip Brock.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I’ve always been fascinated with all things audio. First it was music. Growing up in the 1970’s and 80’s in the suburbs of Washington D.C., I experimented with many various instruments, starting with the violin in elementary school, which if I remember correctly got me out of some other seemingly boring science or math class! From there it was a quick stint drumming in a marching band and ultimately onto acoustic and electric guitar, and I was hooked. Early in high school, my friends and I formed a rock band and honed our skills playing local school dances, parties and talent shows before graduating to the local DC club scene. From there, we began writing and recording original songs in the studio, where I was introduced to a whole different side of audio. I really gravitated towards the technical side of music production and engineering and all the technical wizardry that happened behind the scenes in the recording studio. This led me to attend college at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, where they had a really good audio production program. After graduating, I returned home to D.C. where some of my first jobs were working as an assistant for a local recording studio and doing various audio-visual jobs for the Smithsonian. Too many politicians and too cold winters in DC, the move to Los Angeles was next!

Jobless, I moved to Los Angeles in the early 90s eager to advance my music career, but quickly found myself headed in a very unexpected direction. In need of finding a job to pay the rent, I answered an ad in Variety for an “Assistant Editor”, whatever that was! I landed the job, which ended up being for a sound editorial company that was making the transition to working with computers and digital workstations. I had a little experience with computers and the software they were using and that was my in. This was my introduction to audio post-production for film and television.

I was very lucky to work for and learn from some of the industry’s very best sound editors and supervisors, all of which have remained good friends and mentors throughout my career. Sound Editing became my new passion, and within a few years, I was sound editing for actual real Hollywood movies! In 1993, I started my own sound company as a part-time sideline to my regular full-time gig in order to further scratch my creative itch, getting involved in other aspects of post-sound such as mixing, ADR and Foley. Monkeyland Audio was born in the spare bedroom of my Studio City apartment, and within a couple of years, I was having so much fun with it I left my much higher-paying editing job to make Monkeyland my full-time commitment. Now 30 years later, Monkeyland has continued stronger than ever.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Founding a creative services company and keeping it respected and relevant for 30 years has been no easy task. The thing that has kept me going throughout all the ups and downs is my continued love and passion for my craft and my amazing team. Besides my creative work, luckily I also enjoy all of the other hats it is necessary to wear to run a successful company. After this many years, I swear every hands-on small business owner should be given honorary degrees in all the other fields we deal with on a daily basis, including banker, CPA, contractor, accountant, lawyer, janitor, realtor, insurance agent, crisis negotiator and therapist!

It’s funny the name “Monkeyland” actually came about in response to some of my college friends with the “real” college majors like business and economics who made fun of my audio production curriculum. They called me the “TCOM Test Monkey”, joking I should get a real major!

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Monkeyland Audio?
Monkeyland Audio is a multi-award winning, full-service, state-of-the-art facility celebrating our 30th anniversary in 2023. We provide complete audio post-production creative services for film and television to all of the major studios and independent producers and directors alike. We’ve done many feature films, documentaries and dramatic television shows for Universal, Warner Bros., Paramount, Disney, Sony, MGM, HBO, Netflix, Showtime, Starz, Amazon Prime, Miramax, Dimension Films, Lion’s Gate, 20th Century Fox, Hulu, ABC Television, National Geographic, Lifetime, Hallmark and many more.

Our 12,000 square foot facility in the center of the Burbank/Glendale media corridor includes (4) Re-Recording mixing stages capable of all popular mixing formats including Dolby Atmos (theatrical and home), 7.1, 5.1; ADR Stage, Foley Stage, (10) Avid Protools and (4) Avid Media Composer editorial suites, and comfortable client lounges and amenities second to none.

I am so proud of all the success our entire Monkeyland team has achieved over the years. Our creative, technical and management teams are some of the best in the business and are our greatest asset. One thing I realized very early on in my career was the importance of surrounding yourself with like-minded creatives. It has always been a priority for me when hiring to seek out those who I feel have that same passion and excitement for the work the same way that I have. It makes such a difference for our work environment and most importantly in the final product we provide for our clients.

How do you think about happiness?
Many things make me happy these days! Besides Monkeyland and my legit excitement to head into the office every day and face whatever curveball awaits, I’ve found myself gravitating back toward creating music in my free time. I just bought my first guitar and amp in over 30 years and am in the process of building a new home music studio.

Spending as much time as possible at home with my longtime girlfriend Wanda and our 4 black kitties, visiting our 2 grandbabies and family as often as possible, good times with friends and colleagues, margaritas & Mexican food, chilling in the hot tub, smoking meat, Washington Commanders football and playing poker are also at the top of the list!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.monkeylandaudio.com
• Instagram: @monkeylandaudio @tripbrock
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MonkeylandAudio
• Twitter: @monkeylandaudio
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/monkeyland-audio-inc-glendale-3

Image Credits:
Bruce Burr, Brandon V., Peter Lago, Dario Piana