About Don DelaVega
Recording Engineer, American Zen

by Richard Connor

Don's going to be here in a few minutes. We're cutting vocals tonight for the upcoming album, LEVEL 2 = Christ Killer, by American Zen.

Obedience sounds terrible, but it's important.

For me, as a Producer, I sometimes think of the recording artists and recording engineers as my arms, mouth and legs. I hear it in my head, then somehow, I have to get them to do it for me.

This requires obedience.

Maybe it's his country boy upbringing in Yuma, Arizona, that makes him a good cowboy. He understands that I'm the boss and tries as hard as he can to do what I want -- before I even ask for it.

Some people, who I won't mention by name, can be much less cooperative. They also have a vision and want to do it their way.

But that's the job of the Producer. Someone has to make a final decision, and it's either me, or me deciding to let someone else have the final decision.

Obedience requires trust also. Don has good ideas, and maybe sometimes he'd do things differently if I weren't there. But Don delaVega doesn't let his own ideas and desires get in my way. He's figured out how to sneak in his little comments like, "that guy's never gonna hit that note."

He's usually right too. But it's my job to get the most out of my artists so I'll try to figure out a way to make him hit that note, short of stepping on his foot.

He's a good go-between for the artist also. He hangs out with American Zen more than I do.

This sounds more like a pedigree than a resume, but thanks for all your hard work. And, "Yes," I'll get that raise to you as soon as we break even on American Zen's first album.