Today we’d like to introduce you to Jimmy Ether.
Hi Jimmy, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I started making records in 1992 while in college at GA State University. I was getting my BS in Commercial Music and Recording, which gave me access to some decent professional studios.
After a while, I apprenticed on records under my recording mentor, local producer Donal Jones, at his King Mattress Studios in Avondale, GA. I helped him and his business partner, Jimmy Byrd, build that location in exchange for studio time. From there, I started building my studios and started my record label, Headphone Treats.
Since then, in tandem with making records, I’ve worked in corporate audio and video production around marketing.
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?
Early on, another engineer was in town with the same name as me. Whenever I booked a session around town, people assumed he’d be walking in, and instead, they got me. So, I started working under the pseudonym Jimmy Ether. It stuck. I’ve gone by that for nearly every music-related project ever since.
But as far as challenges go, yes, there are many of them in the music business. Where the money is coming from has always been a big one, but it gets worse each year concerning how people undervalue music. I decided to stop charging artists for production a while ago. If they can’t hope to make a return on what they spend on me to help them make a record, then they shouldn’t have to pay. So I’ve made my living doing corporate production work, and the sessions I’ve done since have been bands I wanted to record. Usually released on my label.
Finding alternative means to fund music is high on my agenda. It’s one of the reasons for starting a podcasting network. We’re launching several podcasts early this year connected to the record label. It’s called the Headphone Treats Podcasting Network. We hope to build enough of an audience where a combination of advertisers and fans will give us the resources we need to support releasing more music.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’m known for recording bands playing together in the same room and capturing their live energy. That may not sound like such a rare thing, but it is certainly no longer the norm.
Most records are layer upon layer of overdubs, which can also be cool. But something different happens when musicians react to each other through site, sound, facial expressions, smell… just human contact. The microphones pick up that atmosphere and interaction. You can instantly tell whether something is good or not.
It’s similar when it comes to things like podcasting. You just want to get people in a comfortable space and get them talking. Stick nice microphones in front of them and put some nice cameras on them; the rest just happens.
We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you.
I’ve been fortunate in who I’ve met and gotten close to in music and business. I’ve learned a ton from these folks. What to do and what not to do. I don’t believe too much in luck, but I do believe you have to put yourself in places where you will gain useful experiences.
All of the podcasts I’m working on now are about people. Fretful Dreams is a podcast for electric guitar lovers. Striking Kooks is about songwriting and recording music. The RPM Podcast is about underground music that is local to Atlanta/Athens and expanding to bands worldwide. There are even a couple of business podcasts. But they are all about people. Ethics, philosophy, art… it’s all people.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://jimmyether.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jimmyether/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ear4audio
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jryanakajimmyether/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/jimmyether/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_wJrTHrWsYY3VvNxYMkBfg
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/headphonetreats
- Other: https://headphonetreats.com
Image Credits
Mike White of DEADLYDESIGNS.COM and Headphone Treats
