AES Student Blog

Tell us a little about yourself. Where are you from and what do you study?

I am an audio engineer singer/songwriter and composer. I currently work as an audio engineer for The Cleveland Institute of Music. At Case Western Reserve University, I study a foundation of classical recording and acoustic production techniques with Bruce Egre, Alan Bise, and Jack Renner.

I have recently completed work on a new EP “Give Me a Reason”. My YouTube Channel has amassed thousands of views and features original music videos and covers. Two of my original songs “Dream of You Tonight” and “Not as I Have Been” were featured on Dee Perry’s radio show “Around Noon” on 90.3 NPR after winning the Great Lake Theater Festival’s Bardstock songwriting competition.

I have had the honor of working with The Aspen Music Festival, Megan Zurkey, The Kneisel Hall Chamber Music Festival, The Contemporary Youth Orchestra, Roots of American Music, The Chagrin Falls Academy for The Performing Arts, Stagecrafters Teen Theater Academy. As a musician I have performed in a variety of venues around the eastern united states including; The House of Blues, Peabody’s, The Grog Shop, Negative Space Studios, Menorah Park, and The Evening Muse and more on a variety of recording, live sound, composition, and performance projects.

I have composed, arranged, engineered and performed original scores for several theatrical productions including Peter Brook and Jean-Claude Carriere’s “Conference of the Birds”, and Ben Claus’s “May Day”.

What initiated your passion for audio? When did it start? 

My passion for audio engineering began out of necessity. In 2013 I was ready to move forward on recording my first studio album. I was inspired by independent artists on sites like YouTube, BandCamp, and ReverbNation to attempt recording my first album myself. As you can imagine the learning curve was pretty steep. I ended up recording several smaller projects before I was confident enough to begin work on a 10 track album. I learned a lot by trial and error and through my exploration of audio recording technology and microphone placement I realized that I had a real passion for audio engineering, which lead me to pursue a degree in audio recording from Case Western Reserve.

Tell us about production of your submission? What is the story behind it? What inspired it? How long did you work on it? Was it your first entry?

Singer/Songwriter Megan Zurkey’s “All My Life” was recorded as the title track to her most recent album. “All My Life" has a pop/rock feel with a 50's beat in the bridge. In Megan’s words “All My Life about the idea of someone more than about one particular person. It's the simple hope and wish anyone has when looking for their match. It's always easier for me to put feelings into music, and this was how I felt thinking about the ideal guy.. that I'd get to be with.. All My Life”. The song is arranged for a basic four-piece rock combo. The challenge to this piece was to create the lush, and full soundscape that has become synonymous with pop music of this sort, while maintaining the integrity of Megan’s singer/songwriter roots. It was important to maintain transparency and accuracy to the source sounds of her and the band whenever possible.

All My Life represents my second entry to the AES Student Competition. My previous entry, “Neon”, received the Bronze award at AES New York 2015. 

What/who made you join AES?

I actually joined AES in 2015 in order to enter the Student Recording Competition. However, I decided continue my membership full time. The membership fee really pays for itself when you take into account the many benefits of membership, such as free plugins, services, and networking/professional development opportunities. I plan to continue my membership into the foreseeable future. 

Tell us about your favourite experiences at the 141st AES convention in LA!

My favorite experience at the 141st AES convention in LA, was definitely the technical tour of Paramount Studios. It was an eye-opening experience to see the inner operations of a studio that worked in very different musical styles from my current job. Everything from the esthetics of the rooms themselves to the tuning of the studio monitors was unique and I enjoyed seeing the space in action. 

To hear Keifer's project, click here