Rising Stars: Steve Goodison

Our regular Rising Stars focus first introduced in Audio Pro International returns to bring you the news on the latest up-and-coming figures in the pro-audio industry.

Kicking off AMI‘s Rising Stars revival is sound mixer and engineer Steve Goodison, who tells us how he came from recording awful mixes for his first band to working FOH for bands like New City Kings, as well as his love for darker sounds and why he’d like to work with AC/DC and Snoop Dogg. 

How did you start out/where did you study?

My first experience with music production was a Music Technology course at Norton College in Sheffield. I went on to study music production at the University of Huddersfield, which is a great establishment where I met lots of talented people.

Where are you based?

I live and work in Sheffield, musically based at Old Pig Farm recording studio.

What made you want to work in pro-audio?

Like many of us, I was in a band and we wanted to record our tunes. I bought a little Tascam portastudio with 8 inputs, recorded the entire band and then did an awful mix! It sounded terrible but it made me want to learn how to really do it. From then on I just kept getting hungry for more knowledge. Then when you finally get in to a large, professional studio with great gear, that’s it for life. There’s nothing else I could ever do now.

Who would you say are your biggest influences stylistically?

I lean towards a darker sound when I’m mixing. Ken Andrews’ mixes like the Paramore self-titled record and A Day To Remember’s Common Courtesy are sounds that really appeal to me. They’re very realistic, 3D sounding with a great mid-range focus. I also love the sound Chris Lord-Alge got with Billy Talent’s Dead Silence album for the same reasons.

Can you tell us about any recent projects? What are you working on currently?

I’m just about to head over to Holland with New City Kings as their FOH engineer for a show, and when I get back I’ll be hitting the studio with a London band called The Drink who are signed with Melodic. Their last album was a big success so we’re hiring in a U47 FET, a U67, 1073’s, Urei 1176’s and a Thermionic Culture Vulture to help make their follow up even better. I’m also recording a local band called Dead English Gentlemen who have had some great recordings done before, so I have a great challenge ahead of making them sound even better.

Can you tell us about some of your favourite gear? What do you find yourself relying on for projects?

I’m loving the Rupert Neve Designs 5024 preamps right now. They have a great smooth response to nearly every mic I’ve paired them with, and they never fail to warm up a drum sound. We’ve just installed an Antelope Orion 32 interface at the studio which has some of the best sounding AD converters I’ve heard. As far as software, I’ve recently invested in a UAD system. Their plugins are second to none and I think their Pultecs are probably the greatest software EQs. Slate Digital’s analogue emulations such as VCC 2 and VTM are on every project I do, and the Virtual Buss Compressors are absolute gold, they have a fantastic effect on any sound you put through them.

If you could work with one artist/group, who would it be and why?

In a live situation, I would love to work with AC/DC as FOH or monitor engineer. They have been my favourite band since I was very young so they would be my ‘dream job’, so to speak. In a recording situation, I actually think I’d like to work with Snoop Dogg. I’m a huge fan of his, and I think the experience of recording with him would be always interesting, educational, quite mind-opening and most of all fun!

Where do you want to be in ten years? 

If in 10 years I have recorded or mixed a UK Top 10 record, I would be a very happy person. I would love to be touring regularly as FOH for a major act, going all over the world and still be recording very often. I have the same goals as many engineers I suppose.

To get involved in our Rising Stars column, whether you are an engineer who is new to the industry and would like to be featured, or an experienced engineer who would like to nominate a particular student/apprentice, please contact Audio Media International staff writer Matt Fellows on mfellows@nbmedia.com or +44 (0)20 7354 6001.