Four different jobs that turned out to be the same job.
Pay attention to what's actually happening. Change one thing. Check whether it did what you expected. I learned that on a baseball field, taught it to people learning to code, and use it every night in front of a mixing console.
Learning to throw a strike
When I was younger I really wanted to pitch. The coach let me throw batting practice and I couldn't find the strike zone. My dad said if I wanted to learn, he'd practice with me a few times a week all summer. I came back the next season throwing strikes, and I pitched.
Figure out what's happening first
My approach to teaching is central to how I live my life. I like to believe my actions determine my reality, and that anything I don't like is within my power to change with sustained, careful attention. I don't stop when things don't work; I keep going until I figure out why and what I can do about it.
When a concept doesn't land with a student, I relay it differently. When a vocal isn't sitting right in the mix, I look at what else can move to make room for it. The simplest solution with the fewest moving parts is usually the best one — plenty of complicated explanations could be accurate, but what I want is the simplest one that explains the whole problem.
I mix monitors like I have to listen to them
I got into live sound because I wanted to practice on the gear I'd be performing with — comfortable on a microphone, setting up a PA and a mixer, running my own monitor mix on my own equipment. That was over 20 years ago, and it's been a pleasure to help other people feel comfortable on stage so they can give their best performance.
I work with the musicians on stage first: a healthy signal into the board and a good baseline monitor mix before we run a song. Ten or twenty minutes, because I'm used to short changeovers. I know what it's like to stand on a stage that's too loud, so I keep monitor mixes lean — only what you can't already hear from where you're standing — and I start with headroom, so the band can hear each other and the stage volume stays somewhere the energy feels good. I've been there, so I mix monitors like I'm the one who's gonna have to listen to them all night.
Rooms that weren't built for music
I've worked a lot of rooms around the LA area, plenty of them outdoors, but most of my work is bringing music into spaces that weren't built for it — places where people gather to eat, celebrate, and connect. Narrow rooms. Strange power. Moving tables and chairs to make a stage.
The volume belongs to the room. If you're up on the dance floor at a wedding, it's loud. In a restaurant it needs to be loud enough for people in the back to hear, while the people up front still enjoy the show without being in pain. I relay information from the band to the venue and back if it's needed. I'm generally there to make everyone's night better, and I really enjoy being trusted in that role — a sound tech who doesn't care can ruin someone's night, and one who does can make it.
Magic House Music
My father, A Martinez, has been a professional actor for nearly six decades. I have looked up to him since I was small, and I've had the honor to work with him and his company, Magic House Music, on multiple projects, including a short film called Before Your Eyes, where I performed and ran sound as part of producing it.
The values of being there for family and community have been deeply held and practiced during our time together, and reflected in our art. I hope to carry my family's energy out into the world moving forward, making safe spaces for people to enjoy expressing their authentic selves.