I have to thank John Gilbert of Voodoo Planet for introducing me to Andrew Chapman — or at least to Andrew’s incredibly informative YouTube channel. A few months back, John dropped me a line to tell me that a content creator on YouTube on was looking for a band to produce, so I checked out the channel and was immediately impressed by Andrew’s affability and knowledge. It wasn’t just that he knew his stuff, it was that he had a larger framework (and possibly greater enthusiasm) for thinking and talking about music production. He was definitely the kind of producer I could imagine working with, so I got in touch and shared a few DelCobras tunes with him. Soon enough, the fellas and I were in the studio with him, working on our latest single, “Get Closer,” which will be out soon.

As I recall, you mentioned that you were an English major in college. How did you migrate over to music production? 

Truthfully the traditional college route was entirely to please my family. The only thing I wanted to do was to play music in bands and play shows and tour and live on the road. I jumped from band to band, slept on strangers’ couches, met my heroes, and loved every second of it. But at the same time, I realized that if I were to have longevity working within music, I needed to learn the production side. So I went to audio school to learn the ropes, and fell head over heels in love with production. 

How did you get into being a content creator, and when did you realize you could do it for a living?

Content creation is just a part of the job now. I remember reading a paper called “1000 true fans” by Kevin Kelly which essentially irons out a path forward for utilizing content to give you a meaningful income in literally any creative field. This resonated heavily with me. And even though I wasn’t really someone who was seeking a career as a content creator, it was undeniably valuable. So I got on tiktok, and uploaded multiple times a day for nearly a year. Which taught me how to be natural in front of a camera. From there I went over to youtube which is where I found my largest audience. It’s been wild, but it’s been incredible. 

You’ve taught music production at the college level. Where do you teach, and what are the classes?

I am the Audio 101 instructor at Mediatech Institute’s online learning program. I teach my students the fundamentals of audio and recording, and give them a strong foundation to build off of so they can go on to their other classes to get their degree in The Science of Recording Arts. This is essentially the principles of recording, everything from the science of digital recording standards, to how a preamp works, to basic microphone technique. I love it.

What have you learned from teaching, and how has it helped you with your approach to discussing music production on YouTube?

I try to approach my content the same way I approach teaching. I try to look at things from the perspective of my audience. What do they care about? Obviously the fun stuff is in there, the mics, the outboard gear, the smart shoppers with limited budget trying to figure out where they get the best bang for the buck. But I also want to look deeper. I want to get into the philosophy of recording. Why is it that the best engineers in the world approach it this way or that way. Like what’s beyond the “hey, this expensive mic sounds cool,” and what’s actually going on inside the mind of a great engineer. Why are they doing what they’re doing. Not only does that make for what I think is compelling content, but something that legitimately offers value to the world. 

What would you say sets your channel apart from other channels that cover music production, or is it just a case of the-more-the-merrier?

The world of music producer content creation is better now than it used to be. I remember the time when it seemed like titles and thumbnails expressing “TrY ThIs OnE TrIcK ThAt wIlL SaVe YoUr MiXeS!!!!” were what dominated. And the information would have been hilariously terrible advice, like “all you need to do is take out 4kHz and your vocals sit in the mix perfectly now.” But truthfully this bad advive version of youtube has dissipated for the most part, and it seems to be channels that are focused on gear, or channels focused on mixing and mastering tips. But all are valid. So long answer long, the more the merrier. 

Your channel offers a ton of valuable information, but I get the sense it’s driven by a single philosophy. What’s the main lesson you want viewers to take away from your videos?

I have a few: 

• Make music by any means necessary.
• Gear makes a difference.
• Gear doesn’t matter at all.
• There are literally no rules. If you get a sound that you like, that’s literally all that matters. 

In your experience, what are some misconceptions people have about music production?

There’s literally too many to count. But I would say some of the biggest ones I see consistently are:

• If you don’t have room treatment you shouldn’t even bother recording (this one gets under my skin…).
• You can emulate anything with plugins. 
• You can always fix it in the mix.
• There is no difference between plugins and hardware (notice how I didn’t say one was better). 

The social media world is full of haters. How do you deal with the inevitable negative comments that some people are bound to leave on your videos?

My Brain is forever broken. I LOVE my haters. They are my literal favorite comments to read. I don’t even register their comments as criticisms, I view them as curiosities or misunderstandings that are drenched in ego. As long as you make sure that you have enough space in your world for differing opinions, nothing can touch your own. I mean this is really not that serious, it’s this whole idea of like “oh no! you don’t like the same microphone as me?!?!?” If that’s the biggest concern in your life, then this should be a reminder that you live an extremely privileged life. How lucky are we that we get to argue about something as unimportant as microphone preferences? It’s an amazing life. 

That’s a great perspective! I know that you’re always looking for artists to record so you can generate content for your channel. Is there anything in particular you’re looking for in a project? And how can artists or bands get in touch with you if they’re interested?

I feel like where I offer the most value is in the world of alternative genre music. So anything from punk, emo, indie, math rock, acoustic singer songwriter, folk punk… please, get in touch with me at AndrewChapmanCreative@gmail.com

What are your plans for the future? Are there any areas of music production you’re particularly eager to explore?

I really want to stay focused on making sure my skills are sharp for my students and my viewers. After all, my ultimate goal is to empower and encourage that kid in a garage or a basement that’s passionately screaming into his focusrite scarlet 2i2. So if I’m helping that kid find his style, then I’m doing my job.