Today we’d like to introduce you to David Leonard.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I started out as a musician playing local gigs in Florida, then relocated to the Atlanta area in 1977. A couple of years later, I was one of the first members of the Atlanta Songwriters Association (now the Georgia Music Industry Association) and served as president in the mid-eighties. In those days I was a studio musician and self-taught engineer. I learned the recording process primarily as a way to save money on my own song demos.
I moved to Nashville in 1989 and while living there had two of my original songs recorded and released by national artists. One of them made it to the Billboard Hot 100 Country Singles chart and earned enough money for me to purchase the equipment for my first home recording studio setup. I moved back to the Atlanta area in 1996, and in 1998 formed a production company, Writeside Productions. I was working one-on-one to create radio-ready music for solo artists, songwriters, and vocalists.
Beginning in the early 2000’s, I also began doing audio enhancement work for lawyers, private investigators, and individuals. That gave way to creating another company, Reveal Audio Services, which today offers both musical production and audio restoration and enhancement services.
Has it been a smooth road?
It hasn’t been all smooth and I was warned early on it would be that way. When I was young – in my teens – all I wanted to be was a musician. I went to college at my father’s insistence and majored in music composition, but that only prepared me to teach. One of my first big breaks was the scoring and arranging work for a concert by a visiting European pop star, and I got stiffed on the payment. At the same time, the engine in my new used car blew. So I had to learn the hard way to be a better business person and a better car maintenance person.
When I moved to Nashville I started out doing temp work and landed a job in artist relations for Gibson Guitars. It was great, but when it ended I didn’t have much to show for it. It was back to being broke, doing temp work, and writing and recording music whenever I could. So again, I had to learn to make the most of my other skills – computer programming, word processing, spreadsheets, in order to keep things together. And those were the skills that were vital in helping me set up my business nearly ten years later.
From my own personal experience, I feel that nothing you ever do in your life is wasted. If you are paying attention, at some point every skill and natural ability you have acquired will come together into the thing that maybe only you can do. Your calling, if you will.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
The company is really an outgrowth of my personal musical and audio journey. I began as a musician first, then a teacher, then a songwriter. Because of the advances in technology, I came along during the transition from analog to digital. I learned how to play keyboard and guitar at an early age; studied orchestration, composition and music theory in college; and with the advent of the computer and MIDI, became a virtual one-man orchestra.
I offer those skills to my clients as sort of a one-stop-shop where they can hire me to help them get their ideas out. We create this product together every step of the way, from arranging to tracking to mixing and mastering. I love working with local and regional artists because they have fiercely individual ideas about what they are doing. I want them to succeed and hopefully remember me as the place they got their start.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
The Atlanta area is rich with talented creative people. The film industry has made it even more so. For businesses like mine who are working with local and regional artists, it makes sense. While the music industry is not what it was when I began, there will always be people who have the drive to play music and have a record of their performance, regardless of which way the current trends blow. If a business can provide the expertise, encouragement, and guidance, there will always be musicians who feel they have a home.
Contact Info:
- Address: 327 Buckinham Dr, Marietta GA 30066
- Website: http://www.revealaudio.com
- Phone: 7709281955
- Email: david@revealaudio.com
Image Credit:
Jennifer Ferren, Dolf Berle, Mike McCarroll, Mike Register, Skip Folse Photography
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