Byron Rodriguez knew he wanted to take Bill Sperl’s Audio Production class before he’d even had an official tour of the Ward Tech campus. His friend and bandmate invited Byron into the class to record when he was a sophomore in high school, giving him an opportunity to get a glimpse of life as an audio production student. “I saw the space, met Mr. Sperl, and totally fell in love with it,” Byron said of his first exposure to the class. The next year, as a junior, Byron was enrolled in Audio Production 1.
Now as a senior in Audio Production 2, Byron, a student from Westhampton Beach UFSD, enjoys the opportunity to learn how the professionals create his favorite albums. That inside knowledge means that when he goes to concerts, he can speak and learn from sound engineers. He has had the opportunity to network with his favorite audio mixers, like Will Putney and Nick Sferlazza, who have worked on chart-topping albums.
“After school, I’d like to do mainly sound mixing, but if I happen to be in a band at the time, I’d love to do both,” Byron said. “It’s hard to be both a mixer and a musician, but I’d love to control my sound, and be successful that way.
