Today we’d like to introduce you to Chris Howell.
Chris, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
I started playing guitar when I was 12 years old, learning John Denver and Eagles tunes. This began a lifelong love for music that took off at 21 when I quit college to play in my first band, Tellus. We recorded two albums, played extensively around North Texas and Oklahoma, and had some great experiences. Although that band didn’t “make it,” I married the bass player/singer (Mary), and we did, in fact, make it. We’ve been married now for 25 years.
I played in a few other bands but was always drawn to recording and the entire process of making an album. I always loved being in the studio and would drive the engineers crazy with my questions about what all of the equipment did, and how does this work, and why are you doing that, etc.
In the late 90s and early 2000s, digital technology advanced quite a bit, making it possible for more people to have access to decent recording equipment. I was one of those people, and so I started doing my own home recording. Initially, it was just to make demos for the bands that I was in, and also because I enjoyed tinkering with mics and preamps and figuring out how the whole thing works. Over time, I started amassing more and more gear, and I started recording other people. At first, it was just as a favor, but after a while, I realized that a lot of people were contacting me because of my engineering skills. Now, about 15 years later, I own and operate Cafe Solo Studios in Denton, TX.
Can you give our readers some background on your art?
I am a guitarist and an audio engineer. I do session work and tour occasionally as a musician, but I mostly record and mix music for other musicians and bands at my recording studio, Cafe Solo Studios. I find great satisfaction in the creative process, and the studio allows me to enter into all sorts of interesting and unique musical relationships with people that I might otherwise never meet. I love helping artists ‘give birth’ to their musical ideas and working with them to realize their artistic vision.
I love everything about the recording process: experimenting with different microphones, amplifiers, instruments, compressors, equalizers, etc. in order to capture the best possible quality of an instrument or voice in a recording. I love mixing all of the tracks that have been recorded and inserting my own creativity in how they are arranged and treated individually as well as a whole. Mixing is an opportunity for me to “perform” and I find it very satisfying and meaningful to be part of how a song or an album sounds, just because I was involved in its production.
Most importantly, I find it very satisfying to help other artists grow and learn from their recording experience. I always felt like I learned a lot about my strengths and weaknesses as a musician whenever I would go into the studio, which I found extremely helpful. I want other musicians that work with me at the studio to not only produce a great sounding album, I want them to enjoy the recording experience, and hopefully come out the other side as a better musician, recording artist, and songwriter.
Any advice for aspiring or new artists?
I think to grow and “succeed” as an artist, you have to really be careful of comparing yourself to other people, either in terms of their ability or their “success.” Most often that’s a very unhealthy thing to do. Instead of comparing yourself to other people, compare yourself to who you were in the past. Have you written anything recently? Have you performed recently? Have you worked with other people recently? All of these things and many more will result in you growing and perfecting your art. That should be your goal, not how much money you make or how many people you play in front of. Is your art honest, sincere, and does it come from a place of genuine vulnerability? Is it true, beautiful and good? If so, I think you will find that much more satisfying than just chasing after what the world often regards as “success.”
Also, I have found that the more that I have been open to working with people in different styles of music from what I would naturally write, the more I enjoy music in general. When I was younger, I was much more stubborn, arrogant and somewhat elitist about my music and the style of music that I was into writing, performing and listening to. I was pretty narrow-minded. As I have gotten older, I have become more and more open to playing and working with people who write completely different styles of music than what I am used to. This has forced me to learn new things, and to grow as a musician because it required me to try things that I was originally too scared or uncomfortable to do. Its exposed weaknesses in my musicianship and highlighted where I needed to improve, for which I am extremely grateful. Now my mindset is more of “even if this is not my favorite type of music, is there anything I can learn from this artist/band?” Practically, it also results in you more likely having worked as a musician since you’re not restricted to one particular field or style.
Finally, to all of those young musicians who are studying hard, practicing their scales and aspire to make their living writing or performing music. First of all, more power to you! I certainly hope that you realize your artistic goals, and I would love to encourage you however, I can, so here’s one key piece of advice: make sure that you develop as much skill with people as you do on your instrument. As the owner of a studio, I am often asked to find session musicians or consult about who would be the right person to write or play a certain part on a recording. I live in a city with hundreds if not thousands of extremely skilled musicians.
You know who I call first? It’s not simply musicians who are really good on their instruments. I call musicians who are also really good with people: that is, they respond to phone calls and texts in a timely manner, they show up at the studio prepared, having learned the song, they show up on time, they take direction well during the recording process, and they go the extra mile to make sure the artist is happy or satisfied. This is something that you can definitely control and will only enhance your reputation, as well as your marketability.
What’s the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
iTunes, Spotify, and many other digital formats, lol! Seriously, there is a list of artists I have worked with on my website, and you can hear my work on their recordings. I also have demo reels of the last several years’ worth of work that I’ve done at the studio on this page of my website.
You can support my work by contacting me about your next recording project; I’d love to hear about what you are working on!
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.cafesolostudios.com
- Phone: 940-268-5854
- Email: chris@cafesolostudios.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cafesolostudios/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Caf%C3%A9-Solo-Studios-230090363624/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/cafesolostudios
Image Credit:
Carmen Washam Photography
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