We recently connected with Mack Damon and have shared our conversation below.
Mack, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – walk us through the story?
My typical recording artist client is usually referred by other industry personnel (I.E. managers, promoters, record labels). The favorable word of mouth is that together with my team, I push artists outside of their comfort zone to reach for extraordinary results. We take the great ideas that are brought in and expand the possibilities available to the people we work with. “You don’t have to do this alone” is a common repeated message with clients. I try to get behind their motivations, personally and artistically, to speak directly to the voice inside them that brought them to my doorstep in the first place. Sometimes this means bringing in like-minded writers to work alongside them, or hiring instrumentalists that can execute ideas that are too daunting. We always examine where they’ve just come from to make sure we’re choosing a direction going forward that has longevity, and lastly being a cheerleader and champion for their best efforts while tactfully mitigating areas where they come up short. We are constantly taking risks.
My job everyday is to create permanent versions of individual collections of experiences, ideas and emotions and organize them in a way that makes them inspired and accessible to a larger audience. It’s always intensely rewarding when we reach the end of a project and the result exceeds all of our individual expectations.
Mack, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
When I was ten, my cousin gave me a drum set and got me started playing. Since that moment, I’ve been making music in one form another for the past 40 years. While I never intended to become a professional musician or work in the industry, music kept putting me in the right place with the right people at the right time. When I finally had my first recording studio experience at 17, I knew that finding my way back into a studio was the only path forward for me. This coming spring makes 32 years full time working in a recording studio, and 20 years of owning them (3 so far!). My experience in corporate studio production for clients as diverse as Microsoft, MTV Networks, General Motors and Glaxo SmithKline alongside producing music in almost every conceivable genre gives me a unique perspective guiding new and established artists that need to “connect the dots” so to speak. Last year I won a Grammy for Tejano Album of the Year with Bobby Pulido, and I speak very little Spanish! This just reinforces the fact that music can be a universal language that connects people.
While I do own a really nice recording studio, mine is not always the right tool for the job. I frequently work in other studios and environments around the country when it suits the client’s needs. While a great deal of my clients refer to me as a “unicorn”, I’m really just a facilitator that pays close attention to details. Turning an idea into a finished reality of a product requires a healthy dose of both imagination and determination. My clients will happily admit that we keep both in excess quantity as much as possible.
What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?
Inspire people. Help them achieve greatness, and sit back and let them own the spotlight when it’s recognized. Those clients become friends that in turn cheer you on to others in the future. My business is largely built on relationships, because artists want to be challenged, but they also need to make sure you hear, understand and protect their vision. I don’t do much advertising, because my ideal client already has an understanding of my process from referrals and are enthusiastic to start the process.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
It’s critically important to recognize that a client’s limited understanding or experience doesn’t have to be a limitation at all.
Some of my most valuable insights over the years have come from people that don’t have technical or musical qualifications. I worked with a record producer early on that didn’t play an instrument and didn’t know how to operate the studio equipment. My initial estimation of him was quite low but as the project progressed, his ability to lead the other musicians to greatness was inspiring. Everyone I meet is at different points along the curve, and sometimes a novice hits a home run their first time at bat.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.stonecreeksound.com
- Instagram: @mackdamon
- Facebook: facebook.com/mack.damon.producer
- Twitter: @mackdamon
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