Life & Work with Warren Pettey

Today we’d like to introduce you to Warren Pettey.

Hi Warren, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
As a young pianist, it was an aspiration of mine to move out of Southern Massachusetts and into Boston, where I would attend Berklee College of Music. I secured an audition after I graduated high school at 16 years old and to my surprise, I was offered a complete Presidential Scholarship. During my sophomore year, I applied for the study abroad program in Valencia, Spain. It was here that they offered a unique, one-semester Music Technology minor. A few of the professors were so passionate and skilled in audio engineering and mixing that I fell in love and decided to pursue a double major in Music Production and Engineering as well as Performance. My journey at Berklee was completed in 2022 after graduation, and the next chapter of my career will begin in LA in September 2023!

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Looking back over the past 15 years, I have to acknowledge just how much my parents, professors, and friends have supported me and contributed to my career. It is thanks to them that I am still doing what I love most and have been able to persevere through times I’ve wanted to give up. As a young kid of 10 or 11, my family went through a period of financial hardship, and I remember being told that we could no longer afford lessons. At this point, I already knew that music is what I wanted to pursue professionally, so I started picking up small jobs around the neighbor and at my grandparent’s place to save whatever money I could to pay my piano teacher in order to continue studying. The next major obstacle didn’t present itself until the pandemic in 2020, and I don’t think I need to go into detail about the hardships that it caused. That being said, the silver lining in the pandemic was the uptick in the remote side of the business – around half of my career is based on audio mixing that can be done from my personal studio, and I am thankful for that.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I split my time evenly between audio engineer and being a musician.

As a musician, I focus on versatility. I love playing synths, keyboards, and the organ in addition to the piano. During my time at Berklee, I was fortunate enough to work with artists and producers of nearly every genre. I learned from this and expanded my repertoire and musical ear.

As an engineer, I primarily focus on mixing. I mix for clients both freelance out of my home studio and also through local companies and producers.

What do you like and dislike about the city?
I love the sheer amount of gigs and variety of opportunities LA has to offer. However, as an East Coast boy myself, I prefer the short and direct method of conversing and working from back home in Boston.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.warrenpettey.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/warrenpettey
• Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/people/Warren-Pettey/100086041515050/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmPlQIo-Fd6BTVbb3z9vvTw