Today we’d like to introduce you to Barry Ford.
Barry, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I grew up in a community where several community leaders took an interest in the development of the youth. Since African-American males are typically considered more at risk, than their female counterparts, of school dropout, drugs, crime and homicide, community leaders of St. Louis community, in Tyler, TX, stepped in to provide a Boyscouts chapter and organized sports opportunities that continued, during the summer months. I was known to be academically inclined, played with a donated chemistry set, old electronics and was probably expected to become an engineer or scientist. I can remember the disappointment on several faces when, at high school age, I decided to study music, because the consensus was that African-Americans needed to produce more engineers and scientists.
In the 4th grade, my mother encouraged me toward the free violin lessons that were offered at my elementary school. Because I exhibited talent on the instrument, the Women’s Symphony League, who offered the school enrichment program, began recommending that I prepare for a symphonic career. I continued studying the violin, until I reached the 7th grade, and was eligible for the school band. I began playing the saxophone, entering musical competitions, playing at church and joined a cool garage band with some kids across town. I signed up for jazz band in high school, and have been interested in advanced harmony (chords) and improvisation, since.
The musical competitions exposed me to classical music on the saxophone, lots from the Romantic Period. And jazz ensemble piqued my interest in different jazz styles. I would continue that simultaneous interest, even in college. One high school instructor asked some band students to provide music for his video production, and I became the default composer. My chosen career and college major became obvious. I was a performer, but I also enjoyed the deeper side of composition, music composition more so than songwriting. So, I studied Music Composition, at UNT, while taking Jazz electives. No single major seemed to be tailored to my liking, so I also entered the Recording Technology program at Cedar Valley College. I approached my education like an artist, very compulsively, and I eventually culminated with degrees in Music Education (to satisfy my practical loved ones), Composition and Recording (for me), It had to feel right, and that is how I approach production today.
So much background to describe my preparation to start. But, though I hadn’t sought a loan or venture capital to start a production company, my preparation was so obvious to those close to me that, one day a group of friends cornered me at church. and said, “We want to invest in a production company for you!” A Tascam reel-to-reel 4-track recorder, a computer equipped with Cubase, as a digital audio/MIDI workstation and a 100-watt amplification system, became the beginning of Future Broadcast Interprize, in 1994. I thought that I was equipped to write movie soundtracks, using my composition skills, but with DFW being very voice-over and commercial conscious, at the time of my start,
After consulting with my investors, I began writing 60 and 30-second “soundtracks”, called voice-over beds, but people have made my niche for me by requesting a production and continuing to refer me to others. Some have asked me to do voice-over work after hearing my bass/baritone voice. Many have contacted me with lyrics and a melody, hearing that, or wondering if, I produce music, and referrals from those keep me doing the same. Just like in the developmental days, I’m a performer and a composer, so I play freelance saxophone in several musical groups when I’m not in the project studio. I stay too busy to actively look for one, but I still believe that one of my referrals or just the energy of which I think about it, will lead me to a soundtrack (smile). Maybe it will be animated, maybe a documentary or just maybe a movie.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
I faced struggles along the way. Some, I faced out of obligation. Mama had sacrificed, working as a maid, but taking out a loan to purchase a better quality saxophone for me to compete with the best in the state of Texas. She had been instrumental in my discovery of music, as a passion. But she also had a concern about my having a stable career and not just being “out there”. I am a passionate artist, and it has to “feel right”. But if I had gone straight into doing it my way, without studying Music Ed., then Mama would have been distressed when I started hitting bumpy roads. Wearing the practical hat along with the artistic hat, was difficult and artistically draining. Regarding the artistic hat, I was also a trailblazer in my family. No one else had pursued an artistic career. Plus, I forged two careers that require a niche, Music Composition, and Recording Engineering into one.
Since I didn’t try and try again, at first, until I finally found my niche, to facilitate living my dream, and then add a family afterward, I needed that job in the educational system to provide for my family. The greatest challenge was making the transition away from a job, with a wife who was not used to that level of risk. Just like my friends, at church, who became investors, she could see that we had something to work with, but to take an actual risk on a dream that exists in my head, but only in her’s, by association, required not just companionship, but faith. The greatest challenge to an entrepreneur has to be the state where there is no contract, and if someone doesn’t call before the time is up, the necessary funds won’t be there.
Please tell us about Future Broadcast.Interprize (FBI).
Future Broadcast Interprize is an audio production company. The company also enhances, cleans or completely replaces the audio content of video files. Audio production may entail new compositions, which are developed into full multi-track rhythm section and/band recordings, with individual solo vocalists through multi-voice harmony. Pop, Classical, Jazz, R&B, Neo-Soul, Hip-Hop, Blues, Rock, Country, and Tejano, are all produced genre specific. Audio may be produced as a sub-part of a bigger production, or for the purpose of a complete song, documentary, jingle, voice-over bed, sound effect, etc.
As a sole proprietor, production company, customer service and satisfaction is my job, and it won’t be assigned to anyone who is detached or unconcerned. I’m not just working for a paycheck, but am always auditioning for the next reference or next job.
I am the primary writer, composer, beat-maker for all styles of music mentioned above. I may consult or subcontract with others for authenticity in trendy genres. But I test my hip-hop content, for example, with younger artists, quite frequently, just to see if they can guess who wrote it, and have fun with it.
What sets me apart as a recording engineer is that I am truly a performing engineer. So I have insight into the feelings/emotions of the client I am recording. I tend to pull better performances out of seasoned performing artists and help less developed artists achieve better results.
What sets me apart as a voice-actor is that I was blessed to have a voice that most clients want on their product., And, though my deep baritone is attractive to many, I know how to sound unromantic for factual, business type product. Though I can adapt my voice, I don’t fall into a one-size-fits-all rut. I also have great relationships with other voice actors/actresses, and a great sense of when another voice captures the feeling of the product.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
My mom initially encouraged me to pursue the musical side of my talent. My wife had to endure the transition from a job oriented to an entrepreneurial lifestyle, as I mentioned in another module. My spirit already begged for a way for me to start a production company, but those five friends at church, who cornered me and announced that they wanted to invest in me, were the key to the company existing today. They know who they are, but I didn’t get permission to include their names.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.futurebroadcast.biz
- Phone: (214) 808-3948
- Email: bford@futurebroadcast.biz
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/futurebroadcast , www.facebook.com/bfordbarry
- Other: www.barryfordmusic.com
Image Credit:
Photo from Randy Breedlove
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