I have been passionate about music my whole life (my whole family are musicians) I have been playing music since I was 9, started running sound for things when I was 12 and stepped into a recording studio for the 1st time when I was 18 and I knew what I wanted to do with my life.
I was part of the student sound crew at University of Northern Colorado in 1985-1986 and the lead audio tech for the music department at University of Wisconsin Eau Claire from 1987-1988. While at college I mixed front of house and or monitors for multiple festivals and concerts as well as broadway style music reviews. I mixed FOH for Milton Berle with UNC Jazz 1, and FOH and monitors for Jazz 1 and Vocal Jazz 1. I mixed monitors for Wynton Marsalis, and FOH for Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers. I also recorded many student recitals. Basically, if I was not playing in the ensemble or show I was mixing and or recording
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I moved to LA in 1988 to attend Trebas Institute of Recording Arts and was hired as an intern at Valley Center Studios which lead to a staff position for the remainder of my school career. Classes were held at Red Zone Studios (original KENDUN Recorders location) and Promise Production. Valley Center Studios was a small overdub space and while there I assisted or engineered projects for Gary Myrick, Steve Caton, Keiko Matsui, Dave Koz, Phillip Bailey, Alphonse Mouzon, and Gary Cambra for clients like Warner Brothers, Geffen Records, and Sony. That room was based around a Trident 80B and an MCI JH24 tape machine with mix down to a Panasonic DAT machine and/or and Otari ½” machine.
After LA I moved back to Minneapolis and got a job as the head audio tech at ValleyFair! Amusement park I was responsible for design and maintenance of 4 stages and the hiring and training of the seasonal engineers. I also mixed the flagship show in the park. ValleyFair! was sponsored by Yamaha, so all PA gear was Yamaha, during that time I was also mixing front of house and monitors for a local top 40 band called Soulution, in the off season I was also a line cook at a 3 star restaurant, working under Austrian and French chefs.
In 1993 we moved to Nashville and I was chief engineer at The Green Room. This setup was based around a CAD console and a 3M 79 24 track, with most of the pre production being handled in Opcode Studio Vision software. The Green Room was associated with a gospel record label but we were available for hire and during this time I worked with Keith Diamond, and recorded and mixed Take 6 for their version of the Martin theme for the Martin Lawrence Show, besides the in house label work.
In late 1994 I went to work for Opryland Productions at the Opryland Theme Park as one of the staff engineers in the sound services department. We were responsible for the design and maintenance of the sound systems for 9 theaters ranging in size from 150 – 4400 seats. We were also responsible for all audio in the park including background sound and emergency paging, ride theming and any interactive devices in the Grand Ole Opry Museum. We had systems running Yamaha, Gamble, Meyer, EAW, Martin, Ramsa, Tannoy and various other components. The Theme Park closed in 1997 and I went to work as production manager handling technical production of shows at the Opryland Hotel. During this time I also began a 17 year run as FOH, production manager and tech volunteer coordinator for The greater Nashville Church.
Beginning in 2000 I started an association with Anything Audio an independent installation and integration company that continues to this day. Our main focus is audio and video for houses of worship. I have been the lead installer/install manager since 2007 and continue to work as a consultant as my schedule permits. We have installed sound and video in churches all over the Midwest and Southeast. With equipment from Tannoy, Yamaha, EV, JBL, DPA, Countryman, Grass Valley, etc.
In 2000 I also made a decision to leave the entertainment industry so that I could focus more on my growing family. Between 2000 and 2008 I worked as a Database Administrator for a telecom recruiting company called ComPlus, a Network and NOC specialist for Cybersensor (a satellite communications company) and as a server and application administrator for Deloitte Consulting, I was also co-owner and Senior Consultant with Info Innovations Inc an I.T. consulting company focused on the small to medium business market.
In 2008 I had an opportunity to get back in the studio as an assistant engineer at Curb Studio. Over the ensuing years that role has grown and since 2014 I have been a full time staff engineer there. Being associated with Curb Records we have a built in clientele and an extensive catalog of material stretching back to the 60’s. On a daily basis at Curb I may go from setting up and recording a string date one day to performing quality control checks on a new vinyl release the next, followed by mastering a compilation record, or recording guitar vocals for one of the staff songwriters. Our space is also used by the company for various functions and showcases which allows me to keep all of my live production and production management experience sharp. Our main system at Curb is currently “in the box” based around a 32 in and 44 out Burl Mothership, and a CAPI summing mixer, with Focal and Dynaudio monitors. We have a fantastic mic and vintage gear collection as well as everything in between. We are currently writing a proposal to upgrade our facility to be centered around a new API AXS console with a full control room and playing room makeover. (which will include the purchase of some complement of DPA microphones) Over the course of my time at Curb I have recorded, or assisted in the recording of artists such as Rodney Atkins, Lee Brice, Dylan Scott, Jo Dee Messina, Clint Black, Stephen Dorff, Benny Golson, The Memphis Horns, Bill Anderson, Lynda Davis, Bobby Bare, Max T Barnes, Russell Hitchcock, Selah, Natalie Grant, For King & Country, We Are Messengers, Ruthie Collins, and some of the best musicians and players in the entire world.
Favorite DPA Microphones
My current favorite(s) in the studio are 3 4006's in a Decca Tree. The depth, width and clarity of that configuration has served us well with multiple string dates and even on a day of drum overdubs.
Career highlights
At Curb Studio
Rodney Atkins “Take A Back Road”
Larry Gatlin and The Gatlin Brothers “The Gospel According To Gatlin
Dylan Scott "An Old Memory"
Ruthie Collins “Cold Comfort”
Rodney Atkins “Caught Up In The Country”
Dylan Scott “Dylan Scott”
Russell Hitchcock “Tennessee – The Nashville Project”
Stephen Dorff “Wheeler Soundtrack”
Tenille Arts “Tenille Arts”
For King & Country “Little Drummer Boy”
prior to Curb
Philip Bailey – “Family Affair”
Brian Bromberg – “It’s About Time”
Alphonse Mouzon – “The Survivor”
Divine Styler – “Word Power”
The Teagle Family – “Love Lifted Me Higher”
Michael Winslow – “Vocal Vision”
Contact information
Instagram Account: @1100fps
Email: dbates@curb.com
Nashville,Tennessee