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Bristol Recording & Voice Studios • Bristol Entertainment • 169 Massachusetts Ave • Boston • MA • 02115
Email: info@bristolstudios.com  • Phone: 617-247-8689

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A Spotlight on Jon Henshaw








Q. Why did you want to pursue audio engineering?
A.
I've always lived in a musical household. My mother is an opera singer, and taught singing out of our apartment for my entire life. She always encouraged me to follow my musical inclinations, and in high school I started producing my own electronic music. I started out working mostly with loops in Acid 3.0, but eventually graduated to synth software like Reason.

Q. What are your goals within audio engineering?
A.
After I finished my college degree, I tried out a few office jobs--but I HATED it. I wanted to pursue a career where I could take advantage of the skills I had begun to develop with my (then hobby of) music production, and I eventually found myself at Bristol Studios.

Q. Why did you choose Bristol Studios to help you achieve your goals?
A. When I decided I wanted to try to follow a career path in the music industry, I went online and did an inventory of all the recording studios in and around the Boston area. I had heard of Bristol before, and they seemed to have the most straightforward program; even if you have zero experience, you can take the courses, sign up for the internship, and if you make it through, you've got the tool-set to work professionally in an audio career.

Q. What were the courses like for you?
A. My instructor was Dan Steinbrink. He was a really cool guy who always had a good story story about success (or more often, near-success) in the music industry, designed to teach you about audio dos and don'ts. After the 5 weeks were up, he had imparted upon us a great understanding of basic and advanced mixing techniques.

Q. What are some projects that you’ve worked on?
A.
I assisted on a few recording sessions with rising country artist Matt Johnson, who has performed with some big name country stars in the Texas area!  More recently, I assisted on the production of a song for the new Bristol holiday album, Boston Kids Rock In the Holidays, which was a cover of New Kids on the Block's "Funky, Funky X-Mas," performed by Jordan Hawkins. I really got her to go for the gusto on that record and Kate, a staff member at Bristol Studios, said that it was her favorite track on the disk which totally made my day.  I've also been running sound for a bunch of the music video shoots we've been doing. One shoot--for Vilma De Vellis--had me stuffing an entire PA system and portable battery laced up with wires into a suitcase, which I had to drag down into the subway. We made quite a scene!

Q. Who do you aspire to work with?
A.
I would love to work with any of those big synthpop/industrial acts or producers--Depeche Mode, Nine Inch Nails, Flood--I was ecstatic when Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross won the Oscar for the Social Network soundtrack. I'd love to have the opportunity work with and learn from them.

Q. What is your signature style?
A. Ryan Darcy (one of the other interns at Bristol) is always telling me that my songs sound at least a little bit industrial, no matter what I'm trying to work on. Maybe he's right, haha.

Q. What is your favorite audio style? Why?
A.
I really love the dark stuff--evil and haunting, or brutal and destructive; rock, electronic, and hip-hop alike. I also totally enjoy good pop stuff, and even a lot of the more experimental/eclectic stuff. As long as it's delivered with attitude and panache, I can find something in the performance to enjoy.


Q. How has the Bristol Internship prepared you for a career in the industry?
A.
You can have access to all the best gear, plugins, and instructional manuals, but nothing beats practice. And at Bristol, I've found an environment where I can practice my mixing and production skills, pow wow with other interns and the professional engineers for feedback, and take that knowledge into my next mixing project.

Q. Why would you recommend the program to others wanting to pursue this avenue?
A. On your first day of your internship at Bristol, your hands are on the gear, and you're working on projects required to complete the checklist for graduation from the internship. The other interns are there to help you along, and you can quickly get up to speed and start assisting on sessions with the engineers here.





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Call today for more information, current specials, and to schedule a studio tour! 617-247-8689

Full Audio Courses Offered Include: Engineering 1 and 2, ProTools 1, 2, and 3, Production 1 and 2, Digital Performer, and Reason 5! Learn Microphones, Monitors, Mixers, Recorders, Mixing, Compressors, EQ, Reverb, Delays, Gates, Digital Recording and Editing, Live Recording, Pro Tools, Computers, and Midi.
We also offer PROFESSIONAL INTERNSHIPS.

"I felt that the recording course I took at Bristol Recording Studios was by far one of the best production courses I have ever taken. The teacher made a complex subject easy and explained things in a way that I could understand. I got exactly what I wanted out of the course and more. I had taken similar at [a very prestigious music college in Boston], and I would recommend the Bristol course over the intro production class I took at [the other learning institution]. After taking the course at Bristol, I am now capable of walking into a studio and making a recording using the required equipment." -MK


"The staff at Bristol has given me the dream and opportunity to succeed in the music business. With their training, I have boosted my ability as a musician and now as an engineer and producer." -B.G



BRISTOL RECORDING STUDIOS • 169 MASSACHUSETTS AVE. BOSTON, MA 02115