A successful sound engineer not only knows where to put sounds, but usually has an attention to detail and nuance that would make the average obsessive-compulsive disorder sufferer blush. In this respect, Dave Aron is no different.
“If the guy didn’t want mayo on his burger, I made sure there was no mayo on it,” he says. “How is he going to let me master his album if I can’t even get his food order right?”
Aron’s come a long way from fetching burgers, but he still goes to his well of information when schooling perspective engineers?whether he’s recounting his days engineering classic albums or being a lowly “runner” at Larrabee Studios.
Oct. 20-22 marked Aron’s fifth visit to Murfreesboro, which was hosted by MTSU’s Audio Engineering Society and Urban Music Society.
Friday night Aron gave an instructional lecture in the BAS followed by a question and answer session.
Saturday and Sunday consisted of open mixing sessions for “Cadillac Funk,” the latest single by former MTSU student and Interscope Records artist Big Fella. The track features production by another former MTSU student, Kevin Mabin of KJM Productions.
When one student asked the best way to make it, Aron pointed at Big Fella and joked, “You better grab a hold of that man right there.”
All jokes aside, Aron knows the importance of valuable connections and being in the right place at the right time. It was the influence of his uncle, Dr. Lowen Marshall, which led the Asbury Park, N.J., native to the University of Memphis in 1983.
While there, Aron became friends with MTSU recording industry professor Dan Pfeifer, who was then a graduate teaching assistant. A local R&B group needed an engineer at the last minute and Pfeifer gave Aron a crash-course in engineering and mixing live sound.
After graduating, Aron worked at Sun Studios, where he continued improving his skills. At Sun, Aron worked with Prince, U2 and Patti Labelle, until a highly successful engineer gave him a piece of advice that would change his life,
“David Leonard told me, ?You really seem like you can do well at this, but you’re not really going to do it here. There are just not enough opportunities; maybe you should think about moving to where the records are made.’”
Ten days later Aron was on a plane to Los Angeles, where he managed to secure a gig as a “runner” at Larrabee Studios. Dave was slowly moving up the ranks at Larrabee, but he knew he could only go so far as an assistant. His being in the right place to take advantage of an opportunity has made all of the difference. Aron had refused to take another assistants job when the staff at Larrabee called him desperately in need of a lead engineer for sessions with up-and-coming rap label Death Row Records. Aron quickly took the job.
“To me, it just seemed so cool that nobody else wanted to work with them,” Aron said. “We just connected and it was just like being in high school again.”
That high school atmosphere was home to Snoop Dogg and Tupac Shakur among others, and it provided the clout necessary for Aron to permanently kiss his days as an assistant good-bye. Aron has since worked with David Bowie, Sublime and a host of other award winning artists.
“I’ve been Snoop’s live sound engineer since 1995 and I’ve been doing his albums since 1993,” he says. “I feel like the Cal Ripken of Snoop Dogg shows; I’ve never missed a show. That’s a beautiful supplemental thing that also allows me to travel.”
One of Aron’s most recent travels was to Nigeria for the Thisday Music Festival, which featured performances by Jay-Z, Beyonce, Missy Elliott and others.
“After going to Nigeria I’m really appreciative of the things I have,” says Aron. “I’m riding back from the airport in a limo on the way to my house in the hills while drinking champagne. I’m like, ?What a dichotomy.’”
It would appear that the man whom Snoop playfully refers to as Dave Dizzle has come a long way from his days of fetching burgers.
In addition to adding a studio onto his home, he’s currently working on independent production including contributions to Sublime’s 10-year anniversary box set.
“I try to stay diverse. I do a lot of Reggae, Jamaican, Dub, Heavy Metal and I also work with a few Jazz bands,” says Aron. “It makes me happy that I can support myself doing what I love to do.”
