Sound Connections

The Sound Connections podcast is back, and this time we sit down with our very own Steven Harger. Steven is a Business Development Manager with us at Mainline Marketing, offering his experience and deep product knowledge to our customers. In this episode, we discuss Steven's journey, which led him to Mainline, his background in theater, and we even hear his favorite Dad joke! Unlike many who get into this business, Steven never considered himself to be a musician. He enjoys singing and has been known to partake in karaoke every once in a while, but that's it. He wasn't even particularly into the AV gear until college. Steven's first job in the industry happened right around that time when he went to a concert. After the show, he started talking to the grip and asked if he could help break the equipment down. It turns out, if you can wrap a cable, then you can get a job in this industry! Steven soon started to pursue his Bachelor of Arts in Theater, which allowed him to experience a little bit of everything, from the creative performance side to the AV tech behind the scenes. Steven also began working with his church, setting up their AV services. It's this perspective as an end user that gives Steven an edge in helping our clients and customers here at Mainline Marketing. Make sure to listen and subscribe to the Sound Connections podcast on your favorite podcasting apps, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Google Podcasts!

Shereen Kassam is back for another episode of the Sound Connections podcast. Shereen is an award-winning podcast host, and is getting ready to perform her first Ted Talk! In a previous episode, we spoke with Shereen about her stand-up comedy career. Now, we get to focus on other elements of her career, including her podcast Creative Breakthrough. On her podcast, Shereen speaks with successful creative entrepreneurs to help people turn their creative passion into their full-time careers. Her work on the podcast earned her an International Women's Podcast Award last year, sponsored by Shure. Shereen also talks about her upcoming Ted Talk, and how she made sure that opportunity came to be. Make sure to listen and subscribe to the Sound Connections podcast on your favorite podcasting apps including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Google Podcasts!

We have our first stand-up comedian appearing on the Sound Connections podcast! Shereen Kassam (aka Funny Brown Girl) is an internationally touring comedian who has worked with some of the biggest names in comedy and was named Florida's Funniest Female. In this episode, Shereen spoke with us about how she got her start in comedy after her new roommate drank all of her liquor and dragged her to a comedy show in Boston. Shereen hated the show so much she asked for her money back. The venue instead challenged her to go on stage herself to see how hard it was, and the rest was history! In addition to her standup career, she also is a manager for a Fortune 100 company, an award-winning podcast host, and is getting ready to perform her first Ted Talk. We'll talk more with Shereen about her podcast and Ted Talk in an upcoming episode! Make sure to listen and subscribe to the Sound Connections podcast on your favorite podcasting apps including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Google Podcasts!

This week on the Sound Connections podcast, we interview Shure's Bill Ostry! Bill has been with Shure for nearly 12 years now and is a Regional Sales Manager for the Pro Group. It was a long and winding path that led Bill to Shure, starting with his time at college. Bill bounced around between 6 different majors before he settled on studying acoustics at Columbia College Chicago. He's worked throughout the country designing AV systems. He did briefly consider a career at In-N-Out, which would have allowed him to party on the beach in California. Instead of pursuing that, however, he helped his brother start a new business back in Chicago that was unrelated to the AV industry. After a few years, he reentered the industry when he joined the team at Radio Design Labs and soon was hired to work at Shure. Besides Bill's professional career, we learn about his musical family, his career in music, and how much he depended on Wendy's chili while in college. Make sure to listen and subscribe to the Sound Connections podcast on your favorite podcasting apps including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Google Podcasts!

We're thrilled and honored to welcome Emmy Award Winning Director Nick Nanton to the Sound Connections Podcast! Nick has produced numerous award-winning documentaries featuring visionaries, such as Larry King and Rudy Ruettiger. In addition to his documentary work, Nick has been writing songs for over 2 decades and has had his songs recorded by top artists like Lee Brice, Joe Bryson, and Morgan Myles. His songs have also appeared on TV shows like Glee, New Girl, Hell's Kitchen, and The Ghost Whisperer, and he's been awarded multiple Gold records. Somehow, in addition to all of that, Nick finds the time to host his own podcast. Now to Next with Nick Nanton is available wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts and gives Nick the opportunity to sit down with specialists from a wide variety of industries to discuss what's happening and what the future holds. For more information on Nick, check out his website NickNanton.com and on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Make sure to listen and subscribe to the Sound Connections podcast on your favorite podcasting apps including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Google Podcasts!

Our conversation with Mark Johnson continues! If you haven't had a chance to listen to the first part of our interview, make sure to stop what you're doing and go back and listen to hear about Mark's experiences getting into the AV industry. This episode picks up right where the previous one ended with Mark's time working with Meyer Sound. Mark talks to us about his career working in Marketing with Meyer Sound, and his time as an editor and freelance writer for industry magazines like Primedia and Production Media. Mark also dives into his time spent with Full Sail University as the Program Director for Show Production, mentoring the next generation of students who are ready to push the AV industry to all-new levels. Listen and subscribe to the Sound Connections podcast on your favorite podcasting apps including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Google Podcasts!

We recently had the opportunity to sit down with Mark Johnson for an interview at our Experience Center. Mark is currently the Program Director for Show Production at Full Sail University, but that's just the latest stop on his long career in the AV industry which has spanned over four decades! We had such a great conversation with Mark that we're releasing two episodes with him. This first part of the conversation deals with Mark's early days in the business, including his days at Clark University, 10 years at Opryland, a career marketing Meyer Sound, and his time working with some great performers like Platinum-selling artists and Grammy award-winning singer Anita Baker. Listen and subscribe to the Sound Connections podcast on your favorite podcasting apps including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Google Podcasts!

The holidays are a time to catch up with old friends and family, which is exactly what we did with the latest episode of the Sound Connections podcast. Pat has hosted several of our episodes this year, and when he isn't hosting our show he is co-hosting his own podcast, The Junk Drawer Show, with his pal Josh Delgado. Pat and Josh got together in our Sound Connections Podcast Studio to reminisce on their podcasting journey together and discuss building a podcast from scratch. They talk about what inspired them to make a podcast together, how they had to learn on the fly about finding the right podcasting mic, and how they improvised to get the most out of their largely nonexistent budget! The two also discussed what they like most about podcasts, and where they see their podcast heading in the future. Listen and subscribe to the Sound Connections podcast on your favorite podcasting apps including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Google Podcasts!

A guest so nice we wanted to feature him twice. Joe Atanacio makes history as our first returning guest here on the Sound Connections podcast! Joe of course joined us on our special Veteran's Day 2021 episode a few weeks ago, talking about his experiences as a member of the U.S. Air Force. Now, Joe is back to talk more about his time after the service working for large productions like Blue Man Group and Cirque du Soleil, the early days of the pandemic, and why he feels like he wasted those first several weeks during the shutdown. But despite those challenges, Joe is still working as a freelancer and even had the opportunity to work at the Super Bowl in Tampa last year! Listen and subscribe to the Sound Connections podcast on your favorite podcasting apps including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Google Podcasts!

This week on Sound Connections, we caught up with Jason Waufle, Senior Specialist in Market Development at Shure! Before joining Shure, Jason had a long career in broadcast entertainment. He sat with us to talk about how he broke into the industry, what he loved about it, and why he left. Managing RF can feel like a form of mystical art, especially if you don't have a ton of experience working with it. But then there are people like Jason, who are masters of RF. Jason told us about how answering a Craig's List ad got him his first job in the industry, where he was able to learn all about RF. Those skills led to a career where he worked for major productions like Showtime Boxing, Super Bowls, Country Music Awards, Grammy's, Billboard Music Awards, and more! Now as a member of the Shure Pro Audio team, Jason cultivates industry relations, research, insights, and market development for the pro audio line of Shure products related to broadcast, touring, houses of worship, live events, and everything high tier wireless. Listen and subscribe to the Sound Connections podcast on your favorite podcasting apps including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Google Podcasts!

Happy Veteran's Day! To celebrate and honor our veterans today, we are having a special Veteran's Day episode. We sat down with two incredible veterans who were in town for the recent Infocomm Conference. Listen in to see how they served their country, then went on to have successful careers in the A/V industry. Joe Atanacio served with the U.S. Air Force, working with a lot of great talent on several different USO tours. After leaving the Air Force, he continued to work with incredible acts like the Blue Man Group and Cirque du Soleil. Ray Biba is a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps. Ray has had a long and successful career since leaving the Marines, even starting his own rep firm at one point. He now currently works at QSC as the Director of Systems Sales for the U.S. West and Florida territories. Listen and subscribe to the Sound Connections podcast on your favorite podcasting apps including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Google Podcasts!

It's a sports-filled episode this week as we sit down with Scott Adams, sideline reporter (and so much more) for the UCF Golden Knights! Scott has been a broadcaster with the UCF Knights for nearly 20 years. Besides being the sideline and locker room reporter for the UCF Football radio broadcasts, he is the play-by-play announcer for the Women's Basketball team, and has also worked with the Men's Basketball and Baseball broadcasts. Scott also does on-air commentary covering the UCF Knights Athletic Teams through UCFKnights.com and their flagship station, WYGM 96.9 FM. We spoke with Scott about what it takes to be a professional sports broadcaster, from the amount of work required to sound "natural" on-air to the surprising skills needed to succeed. We also find out which sport is Scott's favorite to call on the radio, and how the lack of fans at games last year not only impacted the players but the broadcast teams as well.

We're diving deep into the tech space this week as we are joined by Ed Veeser from QSC talking all things Q-SYS! Ed stopped by our Experience Center for an in-depth conversation with Pat and Neil Hufford from Mainline Marketing. After explaining what brought Ed to QSC, we learn what makes Q-SYS so special, how they handle updates, and what is in store for us in the future. (New to the Q-SYS Ecosystem? This hilarious 5-minute video will get you up to speed on everything you need to know!) We also find out why everyone in the U.P. of Michigan is a Green Bay Packers fan, how COVID impacted the industry, and his love of Wisconsin. Listen and subscribe to the Sound Connections podcast on your favorite podcasting apps including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Google Podcasts!

Rhaelee is a musician, producer, teacher, audio engineer, and entrepreneur. And somehow she still found the time to join us on the latest episode of the Sound Connections podcast! Her career has already seen her working with Prince, KT Tunstall, Andrew McMahon, Quinn, and more. We had a blast talking all about the songs that inspired her, how she approaches her work, and what music means to her. Rhaelee is a musician, producer, teacher, audio engineer, and entrepreneur. And somehow she still found the time to join us on the latest episode of the Sound Connections podcast! Her career has already seen her working with Prince, KT Tunstall, Andrew McMahon, Quinn, and more. We had a blast talking all about the songs that inspired her, how she approaches her work, and what music means to her. In addition to Rhaelee's music career, she runs her own company Androgynous Audio. She is also a teacher, sharing her knowledge with the next generation at the First Institute in Orlando. Listen to hear how guidance from her mentor pushed her into a career setting up hydraulic staging for large concerts and music festivals, why she believes she learns from all of her students just like they are learning from her, and why Captain and Tennille holds a special place in her heart (even if love ultimately didn't keep them together). Listen and subscribe to the Sound Connections podcast on your favorite podcasting apps including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Google Podcasts!

Earlier this year we set out in search of the Finest Florida Podcast, and we hit the jackpot! We found a ton of incredible podcasts made by talented people right here in the Sunshine State. When we decided to start our very own podcast, we knew we wanted to sit down with some of these fellow Florida-based creators. So we invited Scott and Mary from the No New Friends podcast to come down to our Experience Center for a long and winding conversation that dives into everything from their philosophy on podcasting, to why the Purple Wedding in Game of Thrones is one of the more satisfying moments in life. If you want to follow more of the No New Friends podcast, they are constantly pumping out incredible content on their Facebook and YouTube channels. And you can check out their podcast over on their Anchor.fm page of course! Want to hear more from the Finest Florida Podcasts? We caught up with the winners of our contest, the SoundGirls, in a recent episode. Click here to listen! Listen and subscribe to the Sound Connections podcast on your favorite podcasting apps including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Google Podcasts!

Kristin is an entrepreneur, running an all-female entertainment company out of Orlando, FL. She's also an incredible DJ and brings her infectious energy to the latest episode of the Sound Connections podcast! Like many DJ companies, Kristin started out working gigs by herself. But her energetic hosting skills and her music mixing talent soon meant her schedule was completely booked. That led to her having to find other DJs to train, and soon Our DJ Rocks would become known as the #1 all-female DJ company in Orlando – rocking between 800 - 1,000 events annually. Kristin is now one of the most sought-after female DJs and entrepreneurs in the country and is also an author, speaker, and educator for the events industry. Kristin is also a big believer in the quality of QSC products and has become a featured DJ with QSC, producing content with other top talents from across the country. In this episode, we dive into Kristin's favorite bands, her eclectic collection of first albums, and her first-ever concert (NKOTB fans will be happy!). We also learn about Kristin's early time building Our DJ Rocks, and its sister company Photobooth Rocks, the devastating impacts of COVID on her industry, and how she was able to keep everything together and position her companies to succeed as weddings and live events return. Listen and subscribe to the Sound Connections podcast on your favorite podcasting apps including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Google Podcasts!

Leading up to this year's SM58 Day celebration we stumbled across a picture posted online of a man who had a tattoo of a Shure SM58 microphone on his forearm. Since that's not something you see every day, even in our line of work, we did a little digging and realized that the arm in question belonged to a man named Frank who just so happened to be the lead singer in a band AND lived here in Florida. We immediately reached out, packed our gear, and drove out to St. Augustine to sit down with Frank and discuss music, his band, and his love for the SM58. Frank is the lead singer of the band Sladicidal, a Suicidal Tendencies cover band. Frank grew up around music, so when it came time for him to pick a mic he knew it was going to be the Shure SM58 dynamic vocal microphone. And when it came time for him to get a tattoo, it was his wife who suggested he go with the legendary microphone. We also get into the history of the St. Augustine musical scene, specifically at Shanghai Nobby's who were gracious enough to let us record the podcast live at their bar and also happened to be the spot where Frank and Sladicidal first performed. Listen and subscribe to the Sound Connections podcast on your favorite podcasting apps including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Google Podcasts!

Earlier this year we went out in search of finding Florida's Finest Podcast. Simply put, we wanted to find and connect with fellow Floridians who are hard at work putting out great content. And if we could help make their podcast sound a little bit better, then that would be a win-win for everyone! So we put together a Podcasting Prize Pack (we love alliteration around here) featuring two Shure MV7 podcasting microphones, cash, and more, and set out to find ourselves some amazing podcasts. This week on the Sound Connections podcast, we're sitting down with the WINNERS of our Florida's Finest Podcast contest, the SoundGirls! In case you haven't heard of them before, SoundGirls.org is a support network for women and non-binary people working in the professional audio industry. Women make up just 5% of the professional workforce in audio and music production, and SoundGirls provides an opportunity for women to network, share advice, and provide support to one another while also working to inspire and empower the next generation to enter the world of professional audio and music production. Each week on the SoundGirls Podcast they interview audio professionals who share their stories and offer tips and tricks from what they've learned in their careers. Now, we were able to flip the tables and interview two of the SoundGirls podcast hosts, Susan Williams and Tori McCook! Susan started the SoundGirls podcast back in May of 2020, while Tori has recently taken over hosting duties for the show. We get to hear about their backgrounds, why the podcast was formed, and what we can expect from the show moving forward! Listen and subscribe to the Sound Connections podcast on your favorite podcasting apps including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Google Podcasts!

Our first episode of the Sound Connections podcast has arrived and we couldn't think of a more perfect person to talk with than the man himself, the President of Mainline Marketing, Clinton Muntean! Who else do you know that went to school, was hired out of college to their dream job, realized they hated their dream job, didn't know what to do next, only to wind up in a career that was perfect for them? And who is a big believer in A/V karma? Clinton discusses why the podcast is called Sound Connections, and how the name itself was part of what made him and the rest of the team here at Mainline Marketing so excited to get this project off the ground. Making connections is part of what Mainline Marketing does every single day. We connect our brands with resellers, resellers with end-users, and end-users with brands that have the products they might not even know they need. Clinton also dives into his backstory. After attending Full Sail University Clinton got his dream job working for a studio making movies and TV shows. Only, he quickly realized that his dream job wasn't all it was cracked up to be. After wondering what his next steps would be, he ended up getting hired at Mainline Marketing. And from there, the rest is history! Finally, Clinton explains his philosophy of A/V karma. It's not about winning at all costs. Rather, it's about doing your best to help others. And that philosophy has lead to Clinton having great relationships, even with competitors.

We're talking with podcasters, musicians, sports broadcasters, DJs, audiobook narrators, and more! Each episode of the Sound Connections podcast will feature a conversation with a different guest from a wide range of backgrounds, but all related to the world of A/V.