Meet Andrew Hill of Off The Record Studio in Roswell

Today we’d like to introduce you to Andrew Hill.

Andrew, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I’ve been captivated by music ever since I was a small boy. After expressing an early interest in drums, I began taking private drum lessons at age nine and performed my first show at Stone Mountain Park in front of hundreds of people when I was 11. I began recording when I was 13 at the home studio of my friend David Carr (Third Day). Fast forward to 2003, when I began learning how to use ProTools and engineering my own music and bands. In 2007, I attended Atlanta Institute of Music for their drum program. Upon completion, I continued playing in bands around the Atlanta area and before I knew it I was in 8 bands simultaneously, recording drum sessions for Tree Sound Studios, and teaching drum lessons at Music Matters in Alpharetta.

As I recorded and performed I became more involved in song construction, writing, and collaboration. I realized I was technically producing. I began studying the engineers and producers we worked with. I was mentored for years by one of my good friends who was a professional audio engineer. It was a natural progression to build a recording studio in metro Atlanta and begin using my knowledge to engineer and produce other artists. I opened Off The Record Studio in 2015, and so began my journey to professional music production.

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?
As with all things in life, there have been obstacles to overcome. I decided I was going to build my recording studio in my home, even before I bought my house. So, after looking at over 100 homes, I chose a home in Roswell with a basement that would be the perfect space for my buildout. I consulted Jeff Hedback, who has built home studios for Ozzy Osbourne and Christina Aguilera, and he drew up the designs. Roy Hendrickson from Avatar Studios in New York also helped with the design of the live room. One of my close friends at the time, Grammy-award winning mixing engineer Steve Hardy, was instrumental in helping me choose my gear, mentoring me on outboard gear, and helping me oversee the project. In 2011 we began construction, and there were numerous challenges. You never know how a space will sound until you actually build it. I got very lucky and my live room sounds amazing, not too live and not too dead, kind of the perfect balance. It’s a versatile room where I can track almost anything from drums to strings to vocals, with great success. Construction was completed in 2012, and for a couple of years I used the studio space privately for my own band Ravens & Wolves. Eventually, my band broke up and I opened the studio to the public in January of 2015.

Navigating the business side of the music industry has been challenging. There are so many moving parts and aspects of the business that make it almost impossible to do everything yourself, so having a strong network of reliable people is key. I also learned to get everything in writing, so there is a clear record of things such as co-writing credits and finances.

We’d love to hear more about your business.
Off The Record Studio is a recording studio just north of Atlanta that specializes in producing and engineering high-quality records for recording artists. I am the owner, engineer, and producer. Many of my clients are up-and-coming young singer/songwriters. My genres range from pop, rock, indie and R&B. I feel like it is the perfect space to nurture artists, and help craft their unique sound. My motto is to make music that moves people. I am proud to offer a wide range of services, from simply engineering an instrument or record to full-on production of a song or album, including music production, songwriting, tracking, mixing and mastering.

Off The Record Music Camp is a unique service we’ve offered the past several years to young artists who have never recorded before. This is a week-long camp that was the brainchild of my good friend Jennifer Zuiff (Indee Killed The Pop Star) and we’ve been lucky to have Patrick Taylor (Lazuli Vane, Trash Panda) involved as well, as a co-producer and multi-instrumentalist. Artists such as Olivia Knight, Grace Conley, and Sanjana Asha have all attended Off The Record Music Camp, and we are extremely proud to have been able to produce, engineer, mix and master their very first records.

Off The Record Sessions is another aspect of my company, specializing in live audio/video recordings in the recording studio.

What were you like growing up?
My earliest memory is sitting in front of my Dad’s record player wearing headphones which dwarfed my tiny 4-year old sized head and listening to music by artists like Paul McCartney and The Alan Parsons Project. As I grew older, my fascination and thirst for music became stronger, and I loved anything that had a strong beat or that I could dance to. I would dance for hours to records by Michael Jackson and Queen. I began showing an interest in playing the drums at age seven by lining up all the pots and pans in the kitchen and playing them with wooden spoons. After putting up with this behavior for weeks and months, my parents finally relented and bought me my first set of drums. Things progressed quickly, I tore that drum set apart (it was basically a department store toy) and they got me another one the next year. I played that one until it broke too, so for Christmas that year they bought me a real drum kit.

I subsequently immersed myself in music and practicing. I was inquisitive, curious, and fiercely dedicated to music. I would spend hours sitting in my room practicing drum rudiments and studying music. I joined every band I could – symphonic band, jazz band, youth group bands, bands with friends, church band, marching band. I studied every style of music that interested me, which was most. I became captain of the drumline at Dunwoody High School, and I was the drummer for the Clemson University Jazz Band. I recorded as much as I could with friends and bands and performed live often. All of these experiences helped shape me into the musician, performer, producer and person I am today.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.offtherecordstudio.com/
• Phone: 7708510969
• Email: andrew@offtherecordstudio.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/offtherecordstudio/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/offtherecordstudio
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/OffTheRecordLtd

Image Credit:
JC Dombrowski, Grace Conley, Jennifer Zuiff, Janelle Stephen, Michael Howard, Susie Kezh, Patrick Taylor, Sam Chang

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