WCA #498 with Jacob Winik - Gillman Street Experiences, Improving Live Sound, Tiny Telephone, Improved Quality of Life, and Cosmic Standard

Working Class Audio

My guest today is Jacob Winik, the COO, Technical Director, and Sound Designer at Cosmic Standard, an audio production company he co-founded with his wife, Eliza Smith, in January 2020. Jacob has collaborated on projects with TED, Patagonia, Dropbox, KQED, Samantha Crain, Meernaa, Doe Eye, and Steep Ravine. He previously worked as an audio engineer at Tiny Telephone in San Francisco.

In this episode, we discuss

• Bay Area Upbringing
• Parents' Musical Influence
• Early Punk Music
• Divorce Sparks Punk Interest
• Gillman Street Experiences
• Technology at Home
• Early Instruments
• School Band Reluctance
• Discovering DIY Punk
• College Band Experience
• House Shows in College
• Obsessed with Music Making
• Improving Live Sound
• Early Recording Awareness
• DIY Recording at Gillman
• First Demo Recording
• College Film Studies
• Pursuit of Music Recording
• Internship at The Compound
• Learning Basic Recording Skills
• Building Client Relationships
• Internship at Fantasy Studios
• Analog Tape Recording Challenges
• Journey Recording Experience
• Interning with Magic Magic Orchestra
• John Vanderslice
• Studio Setup at Tiny Telephone
• Transition to Professional Engineer
• Hands-on Learning with Tape
• Podcast Company Formation
• Balancing Overhead Costs
• Scalable Team Structure
• Remote Work Adaptation
• Handling Pandemic Challenges
• Client Training Remotely
• Improved Quality of Life
• Building Client Relationships

Matt's Rant: Moving Through Your Audio Career with Blinders On

Links and Show Notes

• Cosmic Standard
• John Vanderslice on WCA

Credits

• Guest: Jacob Winik
• Host: Matt Boudreau
• Engineer: Matt Boudreau
• Producer: Matt Boudreau
• Editing: Anne-Marie Pleau
• WCA Theme Music: Cliff Truesdell
• Announcer: Chuck Smith