3 minute read
Musicwoman Magazine 2019
My Musical Life Partner
By Ragan Whiteside
The day I rang that doorbell, my life changed forever. It was a warm evening in June and I was going to my first post-conservatory recording session. I was meeting Bob Baldwin at the studio, hoping he would take me under his wing and help me make the transition from classical to jazz. Flute in hand, I walked up to the front door, willing myself to appear cool, and rang the bell. I heard footsteps, then the door opened. Standing there was Dennis Johnson, producer, engineer, songwriter, studio owner, and the man who, 11 years later, would become my husband.
All my cool went out the window. After my brilliant opening line of “Umm,” Dennis introduced himself with his deep voice and edgy, Yonkers, NY, swagger. He led me upstairs to the studio. Twelve hours later, I left the studio with a tape of the radio jingle I played on and a new passion. I vowed to become a studio rat and learn everything I could from Dennis and Bob.
That was 20 years ago. That session sparked a partnership that spans the professional and the personal. Quietly, Dennis and I focused on our craft, composing songs, woodshedding our respective skills - his mixing, mine flute - releasing albums, and learning everything we could about the ever-changing music business. For a time, we were ships in the night, working multiple day jobs and saving for costs related to recording, manufacturing, marketing, and a house where we could make as much
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music as we wanted. All that hustling paid off and we set out to build the perfect studio in our new home by ourselves.
Our first challenge was floor glue that could not be used on a wall. But we found our rhythm and, a month later, the studio was finished. With my room for practice and composition upstairs and the studio downstairs, we were able to work on music at the same time. Dennis created a track and sent it up to me for a melody. I created a track and sent it down to him to add a bridge. When the time came, we recorded the song in T-shirts and sweats. Dennis mixed that song. I prepped the next one. We found a great workflow. Then, the children came.
The children made us even more efficient and creative. We became masters at time management. We planned blocks of time with a babysitter to maximize every moment in the studio. We knew that if we didn’t get it done then, whether it was writing, recording, or practicing, it would not get done. That type of urgency allowed us to ignore distractions and create razor-sharp focus.
Our time management skills enabled us to complete projects efficiently. If anyone says that your music will stop when you have kids, tell them to shut their mouth and keep it moving. Where there is a will and a great partner by your side, there is a way.
