How To Stairstep Your Way From Local Bands To A-List Artists: With Grammy Nominated Engineer Jesse Ray Ernster

Brian Hood (0:00)

This is the 6 Figure Home Studio Podcast, episode 116

SPEAKER_2 (0:07)

You're listening to the 6 Figure Home Studio Podcast, the number one resource for running a profitable home recording studio.

Brian Hood (0:19)

Welcome back to another episode of the 6 Figure Home Studio Podcast. I am your host, Brian Hood, and I'm here with my bald, beautiful, amazing, purple-shirted co-host, Christopher J. Graham. Chris, how are you doing today, my friend?

Christopher J. Graham (0:31)

Well, I'm really good. And let me tell you why. We're at NAMM. We are in the Vista Room on the 14th floor of the Hilton.

We're getting ready to give you guys an episode while we look at Disneyland and mountains in the distance.

Brian Hood (0:43)

This is an epic view. This is the worst way to describe it. I'm doing a video of it right now.

Christopher J. Graham (0:48)

It just drove by us. It's pretty crazy. That's great.

Brian Hood (0:50)

So we're right across the street from Disney World at the Hilton Hotel, where NAMM is. We're actively at NAMM. It's day three of NAMM. It's Saturday.

Christopher J. Graham (0:57)

There's a naked person below us in the pool.

Brian Hood (0:59)

There is a naked person below us in the pool. So these are all the details that you don't need to know. But what does matter is we are at NAMM right now, and we are having an incredible time.

And I'm just glad to be with you, Chris.

Christopher J. Graham (1:08)

I'm glad to be with you too, man. This is fun, man.

Brian Hood (1:11)

By the way, this is the first live in-person interview we have ever done, or episode at all, by the way. I've never recorded in the same room as you for this podcast before.

Christopher J. Graham (1:20)

This is true. Yeah, it's always been remote.

Brian Hood (1:21)

This is weird.

SPEAKER_2 (1:22)

What the hell?

Brian Hood (1:23)

You're right. Yeah, 116 episodes in, and this is our first in-person, like the first time I've ever talked to you on the podcast in person before.

Christopher J. Graham (1:30)

What the heck?

SPEAKER_2 (1:31)

Yeah.

Christopher J. Graham (1:32)

Yeah, man. So we're at NAMM. It's been wild. We've met so many people that listen to the podcast.

Brian Hood (1:38)

My waiter last night was a FilePass customer, by the way.

Christopher J. Graham (1:41)

Who was not at NAMM.

Brian Hood (1:42)

He wasn't at NAMM. This is like 20 minutes from NAMM at Umami Burger.

So shout out to my waiter at Umami Burger.

Christopher J. Graham (1:51)

That's amazing.

Yeah, it's been wild. We went last year, and our podcast wasn't terribly old at the time, but it was weird to meet anyone that listened to us. And now it's just a nonstop smorgasbord of new friends, which has been really, really fun.

Brian Hood (2:07)

This is the shift from last year to now, which is we went to the bottom floor of Pro Audio, the big floor for Pro Audio the first day, and we didn't leave because every seven steps we've run into somebody, we know. And it was like so much fun.

Christopher J. Graham (2:21)

I'm still processing that. It's kind of weird.

Brian Hood (2:24)

So enough about that. So we're having a good time at NAMM. We're loving it here.

My wife just flew in today, which is amazing. So my wife's going to experience NAMM and hopefully not contract NAMM Thrax.

Christopher J. Graham (2:34)

Hilariously, if we had been recording this episode a little earlier when your wife was flying in, her plane, I mean, we can see for like probably 100 miles out of like it's all windows we're at, and we can see all these mountains. She would have flown over those mountains on the way to LAX.

Brian Hood (2:49)

We would have seen her fly by.

Christopher J. Graham (2:50)

Yeah, yeah.

We could use signal mirrors. Yeah.

Brian Hood (2:56)

So today we actually have a guest. This is somebody that I just met you, Jesse.

We'll introduce him right here in a second. Met him at NAMM. Did you know Jesse before this?

Christopher J. Graham (3:05)

Well, I think I met you through Bounce Butler. I think you made a story. I was like right after I launched Bounce Butler, and you had just had a baby, and you put a story up on Instagram about how it was like a picture of you holding your baby, and it was something about Bounce Butler was bouncing bounces for you while you went and had family time. And I was like, that's, oh my gosh. It was like exactly why I built Bounce Butler in the first place was so I could hold my baby 10 years ago.