SCAN highlights School of Communications alumni who recently landed jobs in their field. Joshua Hearst (BA, Audio Production, 2006) works as freelance audio engineer and independent consultant in Los Angeles.



SCAN: How did you land your job?
Joshua Hearst: Well, I got my internship/job through Webster graduate Bruce Buechner (BA, Audio Production, 1998). The freelance stuff I do is based on relationships I have built within the industry and my work thus far.

SCAN: When did you realize this was the career for you?
JH: I realized I wanted to do something in the music business when I was five. When I was 16 or so my interest in production/engineering peaked. My friend and I started producing dance-based music and giving friends copies of our tracks, then other groups from school started asking us to mix demos for them. That’s when I knew.

SCAN: Any funny interview stories to share?
JH: During my last semester at Webster I came out to LA over fall break to work in the studio with my boss Warryn Campbell. Bruce and I went over to The Record Plant to hang out for a bit and to introduce me to some other engineers. I met the assistant engineers at the studio and they were really cold towards me. After we left the studio, Bruce and I started talking about it and he told me that two of the three guys wanted my job and they were upset that I got it.

SCAN: Any advice for those looking for a job?
JH: Keep your head up and be prepared to work as hard as you can. It takes a while for things to happen, especially in a new city, and it can be easy to get discouraged. With some hard work and a little luck, things can begin to happen rather quickly.

SCAN: Best on-the-job experience so far?
JH: There have been so many, but I think the best experiences have been either being under a tight deadline or making a mistake — those experiences taught me about myself and how I react in those situations. They allow me to make myself a stronger engineer.



SCAN: Company you’d kill to work for?
JH: Industrial Light and Magic would probably be one. They push the limits of what can be done and if it can’t, they design a way to get what they want.

SCAN: Person you most admire in your field?
JH: I admire the early engineers like Bill Porter — those guys did it because they loved it. They weren’t getting big checks from labels or any of that, they did it because it was in their blood. You have got to admire that.

SCAN: What Web site is your home away from “Home”?
JH: It depends; I spend a great deal of time on auction websites looking for gear. Any site where I can learn something is also a favorite, such as prosoundweb.com. Usually sites with forums like gearslutz.com, I enjoy communicating with my fellow audio nerds around the world.

SCAN: Best way to fuel creativity?
JH: Being around creative people. It keeps the juices flowing. I talk to people almost everywhere I go about audio. I even struck up a conversation with another engineer in the grocery store. We were so involved in talking about projects we forgot to move with the line and upset all the soccer moms behind us. Research on new techniques and tricks is also something I regularly do, then when the time comes, I can utilize that info.



SCAN: What’s on your desk right now?
JH: At this moment, nothing. I just got back into town from a tour. However, I am expecting some tracks in the near future from a rapper from New Orleans that I will be mixing. Physically, there is a bobble head Scooby-Doo.

SCAN: How many hours a week do you work?
JH: My week is usually around 80 hours or so. I am currently working as an independent consultant for a studio design firm here in L.A. that takes up about 50 hours. I also work freelance assisting Mark Linett, and any other projects that find their way to me. Then, if it’s a slow week I go into Fever Studios to work with Bruce and Warryn.

SCAN: Favorite fringe benefit of your job?
JH: Knowing that I am helping make music that people are hopefully out there enjoying. I also get some cool gear from producers and engineers I work with for cheap or free. Having special access to the high quality gear and mics is also nice.

SCAN: Is your current salary more or less than you expected to be making at this point?
JH: It is a little more, I have been fortunate enough to land some pretty good gigs in which I have been taken care of quite nicely.

SCAN: What’s on your iPod?
JH: I don’t own an iPod. I listen mainly to CDs obviously, but I found this hip record store about a block or so from my house. It’s got the feeling of the record store from High Fidelity. They have some great music. I just bought “The Thelonious Monk Quartet with John Coltrane Live at Carnegie Hall” on vinyl. I have not had a chance to listen to it but I am looking forward to it.

SCAN: Last movie you saw?
JH: In the theater it was “Silent Hill” I enjoyed the sound design quite a bit.

SCAN: Things you miss most about Webster?
JH: I miss hanging out with my friends. It was great to have the opportunity to get to know all the people I have become friends with and to help each other learn.

Did you just land a job in your field? E-mail scan@webster.edu and tell us about it.

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• Words from the Dean

• Nikki Boyer ’97
  Media Communications

• Roll the Credits: SOC Alumni Permeate
  Crew of “Bill”
• Advertising Students
  Net National Honors

• Joshua Hearst ’06
  Audio Production
• Radhika Rai ’05
  Advertising and
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  Communications
• Lindsey Timmerman ’05
  Public Relations

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