We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Chris Dicola. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Chris below.

Chris, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s jump to the end – what do you want to be remembered for?

I hope to leave a legacy of encouragement and empowerment when my work is done. My mission is to make people feel proud of themselves through the work that I do – otherwise, I’m not really living up to my own standards. There are a lot of reasons to write and record music, and my favorite one is what I like to call the “time capsule”. Regardless of streams, fans, all of the things that make the music industry an industry, you have your music for the rest of your life once you’ve recorded it. It’s a personal thing, and I think that’s special. And I think it’s worth doing the best job you can for that reason alone. I hope people will think of me as someone who helped them do their best job. The same goes for providing opportunities. I want to be the reason producers and engineers believe in themselves, I want people to see their worth and their value, and go reach for their goals instead of wasting their time doing things they don’t care about. The greatest joy (and challenge!) I’ve had throughout my career is working for myself, and I want to light that fire in others as well. Because it really is attainable – you don’t have to have a million in the bank and a Bentley in the driveway to be proud of yourself.

Chris, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I started playing guitar at 11, and I got into producing music around the age of 18. My dad had a microphone and audio interface he used for a brief stint in freelance voiceover work, and when he was finished with that, I asked if I could use them to record music. I met my longtime collaborator and best friend, Tobyraps, around that time, my freshman year in college. I started producing his music, started running a studio out of my dorm room, and obsessively learned everything I could about the craft. I would sleep every other night to maximize my progress. Going to class didn’t really fit into that schedule, and the university reprimanded me multiple times for soliciting a business on their property, so that turned out to be my only year in college.

Nowadays, I offer recording, mixing, and general production services to artists in Cleveland OH, and around the nation. I think my work is set apart from others’ by my consideration and respect for the artist. At this point, I can do a lot of things: songwriting, pre-production and arrangement, production, recording, mixing, playing instruments… sure, there aren’t a lot of people who can tackle all of these tasks proficiently. But those skillsets are just the result of dedication and discipleship to the craft. I can do all of those things without compromising an artist’s vision, and that’s what makes me a great candidate for a project. You can put me to work in a number of ways, and I can do a great job, but at the end of the day, we become a team when we begin working together. And I do all I can to make sure the artist feels valued, and knows that they are in charge, and I am simply at their disposal.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

There are a few things that helped establish my reputation. Some are quantifiable, like sticking to a social media plan, which I did in 2020. I consistently posted videos of artists in the studio with me, having fun. People noticed and wanted to get in on the action, plain and simple. Other things aren’t as tangible, such as the approach to production I mentioned. I think I made a difference to a lot of artists by making myself indisposable to their projects, and making clear that I valued your vision. The word got out about that after a while. People remember the way you made them feel before they remember anything else about you. Besides that, I kind of hit the ground running in my industry. As soon as I found a passion for it, I dedicated every day to learning, and as soon as I had the chance, I dedicated every day to making a living in it. In most cases, you’ve got to give it some time before people start talking about you, because consistency is absolutely paramount to building a good reputation. I would give that advice to anyone looking to start their own venture – the sooner you start, the sooner you hit your ten year anniversary.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

The phrase “know your worth” is a really popular one among business owners, gig workers, and really just the working world in general. I had a phase with that anecdote, shortly after I made the transition to going full time with my work. I believed that if I was going full time, I deserved to work with artists who had bigger budgets, bigger fanbases, and bigger productions than many of the artists I was working with did. I started to get choosey about who I worked with, because I felt I had learned to “know my worth”. The clientele that I cut my teeth on started to fade into the background as I offered my services to better known acts. And in a way, it was healthy I guess, because we are always growing as business owners and entrepreneurs, and not everyone can come along with you to the next step.

But one day, I was talking with a videographer/promoter who was working with our studio on some ads, and our conversation showed me that I was turning down business moreso out of arrogance than growth. I didn’t want to extend my services to the audience that he had at his disposal, because frankly, I felt I should have been working with artists who had more developed careers. He told me that I wasn’t in a position to be sticking my nose up at anyone, and I was just leaving money on the table. He told me just like that, short and sweet, and I’ll never forget it. My attitude did a 180 that day; it’s necessary to grow and adapt and develop. But knowing your worth isn’t about upcharging or alienating the clientele you provide services to just because you feel like you deserve it. It’s about self awareness – nothing more, nothing less.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.signalflowstudio.com
• Instagram: @chrisdicolamusic
• Linkedin: Chris DiCola

Image Credits

Josh Richey, Matt Brown, Joe Francisco