Meet Jeff McKenzie | Audio Engineer

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

Hi Jeff, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
I have never been a fan of 9 to 5’s and that led me to working rotating shifts for many years. Being a fan of music for as long as I can remember and working on shifts gave me the flexibility I needed to explore my passion. It’s something about sound that moves me. I love that audio engineers really have no bounds. The sounds come together to create wonderful combinations of melodies and rhythms and it is the engineer that helps it all come together to create music that is pleasing to the ear.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
As stated earlier, I am a lover of music. What sets me apart is my genuine love for sound. I am not bound by any particular genre of music. I love all music and most importantly I want all music to sound good. I have learned in order to create a good sound there has to be a delicate balance of low to mid to high frequencies. I am most excited about what is to come with music. It is always changing and there is always something new to learn about it. I know that dedicating myself to music means that this is a life-long commitment. I am also excited about the growth that is still to come. I am where I am today because of hard work and dedication. It has not been easy. I believed in myself and then others started to believe in me. It took several years for me to get where I am. I spent many hours in my studio reading, mixing, writing, recording…I did whatever it took to learn. When I had no one’s music to work with. I wrote and recorded my own music and mixed that. I never want to stop working at perfecting my craft. I never want to get comfortable with what I am doing, because if I do, then the music will not sound the same. I watched, talked to and tried to learn from anyone that was willing to share their knowledge. I am proud of where I am now, because I was not always here. What I want the world to know is whatever you are passionate about is what you need to be doing. I have been able to finally pursue my passion and it is exhilarating! I want my future customers to know that I am someone that is not just looking to make money off of them. I want to understand their vision and help them bring it to life. I want their sound to be unique to them. I want people to remember that this is not just what I do, it is a part of who I am. The artist shares themselves through their lyrics and I share myself through sound.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
If my best friend was in the H for the weekend, I would have first make sure that we go to Star Pizza off of 59 and Shepard drive. They literally have the best and freshest pizza in town. Next we would head over to EaDO ( East Downtown) to go hang out and bar hop. The 8th Wonder brewery is a great place to start. Get some beers, hang out for a a few hours and walk of some of that pizza from earlier off. We would end that night at Grooves off of 45.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I would like to take a moment to shout out to Studio 713. Rick, along with the audio engineers Matt, Will and Ryan. I also want to give a shout out to Recording Connections. I want to shout out to the various artist that I have that worked with. Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to bring your various visions to life. Special shout out to AM, an artist out of Dallas, for being one of the firsts to believe in me and my talent.

Instagram: @jeffmckenzie2

Image Credits
I would like to thank my beautiful wife for the photo shoot.