Meet Rolando Brown | Audio engineer/ Sound recordist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Rolando Brown and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Rolando, is there a quote or affirmation that’s meaningful to you?
“Life begins at the end of your comfort zone” by Neale Donald Walsch. It has been one of the guiding thoughts in my mind whenever I feel apprehensive about taking a risk or trying something new that I am unsure of.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I love the creative process when it comes to recording and mixing, the transformation from a raw idea to a work of art is a priceless feeling. I feel what sets me apart from other engineers is the fact that I used to be an artist myself. Dealing with different engineers helped mold me into the engineer I am today, I took notes of what I did and did not like dealing with each engineer and once I had clients of my own I made sure to exemplify what I liked and did my best not to follow the path of what I didn’t like.

Some of my proudest moments as an engineer is seeing a client’s reaction to my work on their art. When they’re trying to explain how they want something to sound and I find a way to create that sound quickly and effectively and their reaction is normally overwhelming joy.

To get to where I’m at today required a lot of networking and word of mouth just to start receiving calls for work. The journey I am currently on is not easy, but I’ve found ways to overcome challenges. My wife has been a cornerstone of overcoming challenges, just having someone in your corner is essential to elevating, being resilient and also trying to stay optimistic regardless of the situation has helped get me to keep moving forward whenever I felt I was at a standstill.

One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned was to stay professional and to have a thick skin. When dealing with people in a creative process emotions will get involved and can cause someone to become unreasonable, and I feel as the engineer you are supposed to be the most professional person in the room and keep the vibe alive where possible. Some of the other lessons that I’ve learned is not to burn bridges, always ask questions, and never stop learning, always be a student.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
My itinerary is based on the world before Covid.

The first day would be a welcome to Atlanta tour showing them around the area where I live and the neighboring area and ending at my favorite bar the righteous room in Brookhaven. The second day would probably be some range therapy at my favorite shooting range, Quickshot Buckhead, afterwards would be getting some food down the street, since Buford highway has so many options I would let them pick their cuisine, however if it was up to me El Rey Del Taco would be one of my first picks. After eating, then a trip to the park, either Stone Mountain or one of the neighboring parks in my area. After the park we would just hang out and go to places in the area for food and drinks. Third day would be to travel more into the city with Marta and seeing some of Atlanta’s famous landmarks from museums to Centennial park and more. While exploring we’d stop and grab food and drinks at different places and pick a restaurant randomly based on the area we’re in at the moment. Depending on the day we’d follow the exploration with a trip to Apache Cafe to enjoy some live music and open mic performances. After Apache either we’d get some rest or enjoy the night life of the city. The fourth day would be to relax and vibe in the nearby area probably order food in from different local restaurants. Fifth day would be to go to the different shopping locations such as Lenox mall and others. The sixth and last day would be more of a recap to re visit any of the favorites throughout the week or do more exploration in the city and finally a little going away party back at the Righteous Room.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
First and foremost I dedicate this shoutout to my amazing wife Dowaa, who has stood by me through all of the ups and downs from the beginning, It has not and it is still not an easy road and she has been in my corner pushing and motivating me to elevate and whenever I feel like I am not making progress she’s there to remind me of my past accolades and to lift my spirits. Secondly I dedicate this shoutout to my family who helped shape me to be the man I am today. Thirdly I dedicate this shoutout to my friend and colleague Jacob Wasden who recommended me to this shoutout in the first place, and has made this journey of audio excellence a smoother ride by providing a wealth of knowledge, help, and advice from gear to techniques. Last and definitely not least I would like to thank all of my education institutes and instructors who helped widen my knowledge and skillset of audio, session etiquette, critical listening skills, and more. Honorable mentions include Grayson Tech where my passion to pursue audio as a career bloomed and a special shoutout to my teacher, Corey Crockett. To the school that gave me me my foundation in audio SAE Atlanta, where I earned my Associates in Audio Technology, I especially would like to thank my instructors, Mike “Snotty” Miller, Jamie Roop, Courtland Liddell, Cappriccieo Scates, Harper Harris, Christopher Kazmarek, Brad McDonald and the rest of the SAE family. Last of my education shoutout goes to the Art Institute of Atlanta, where I met Jacob and networked with other students and teachers which led to opportunities that I benefit from to this day special shoutout for the Art Institute goes to French Spencer, Jeremy Dudman, and Tanya Ostrovsky, My final shoutout goes to my Silent Sound Studios family where I interned at, the staff and my fellow client services interns whom I have learned a wealth of knowledge and dealing with clients include TK, Miles Walker, Ryan Jumper, Zack Menebeats, Randy Warnken, Jonathan Conner and the rest of the Silent Sound family.

Website: https://www.roscytheentertainment.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/roscythe/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ro-brown-a04170b1/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/RoScythe

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClSNDux7-6hKbn-QjM7WUOQ/videos

Image Credits
photos courtesy of Elias Zamudio https://www.instagram.com/tha22nd/