Meet Brian Starley | Recording Engineer, Mixer, Producer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Brian Starley and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Brian, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
As a kid growing up in (Salt Lake City) Utah in the 80’s, MTV was pivotal in shaping my love for music. Between Headbanger’s Ball and Yo! MTV Raps, my mind was blown.

When I was really young, I’d watch my dad make cassette mix tapes from his vinyl records. We would always listen to those tapes on camping trips. My parents listened to everything from the Beatles to Sade.

When CD’s came out our music collection exploded. I think the first CD I ever got was MC Hammer ‘Please Hammer Don’t Hurt ‘Em’… We had a 5 disc changer that was on a constant rotation!

I think music has been calling me my whole life, but I wasn’t always receptive to that signal. I played ice hockey competitively from age 12 through high school and I eventually tried to make a career of it. After I graduated, I moved to Ontario, Canada to play Juniors. It was around this same time I got really into playing acoustic guitar.

I ultimately decided to quit hockey competitively and moved back to Salt Lake and started working construction while I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life. Whenever I wasn’t working, I immersed myself in learning guitar and eventually became obsessed with recording and overdubbing my guitar. At 22 I decided to listen to my calling and moved to LA in 2005 to go to audio engineering school.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
I am a freelance audio engineer that specializes in recording and mixing music. I own and operate a private home studio and independent record label in North Hollywood – Bergatron Music LLC.

Bergatron Music has been 20 years in the making. While my main focus has been recording and mixing music, I’ve worked several other jobs in the industry to support getting to where I currently am. I wasn’t able to make Bergatron Music my full time job until 2013. Leading up to today I’ve been a runner, a studio tech, a guitar tech, amp tech, managed a cartage and backline company, recorded ADR, mixed independent films, recorded audio books and podcasts, and even taught private lessons on engineering.

To say the journey has been challenging is an understatement. I am really fortunate to do what I do, but it has come at a price. I’ve missed out on a lot of family obligations, parties, dinners, events etc. When you own your own business you’re never not working, especially in the early days.

In the last few years I have found setting boundaries really helps with work-life balance. I think the pandemic shifted everyone’s mindset with work-life balance.

I am currently in the process of expanding my label and studio! I’m hoping to break ground on the new construction before the end of this summer.

Apart from working on other people’s records, I’m currently releasing my own music collaborations under my Bergatron Music label.

‘LIVE from The Bergatron House of Music: Improvisations Vol II’ is coming this July. The EP is an hour and a half of improvised music featuring – Joshua Ray Gooch (Shania Twain/Kate Hudson) Keith Karman (Modest Mouse/Weyes Blood) and Dan Bailey (Father John Misty)

The ‘Improvisations’ series puts 3 musicians together (in the studio) who have never played with each other. There’s no agenda, I just capture the magic that is the music unfolding!

‘Improvisations Volume II is available July 26th. Pre-save here: https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/joshuaraygoochkeithkarmananddanbailey/live-from-the-bergatron-house-of-music-improvisations-vol-ii

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
LA has no shortage of everything and anything…

I’ll stick close to North Hollywood and surrounding area, since that’s where I live:

Live Music: The Baked Potato! Any night is a good night at the Spud!
Hikes: Fryman Canyon, Skyline Mountain Way, JPL, Griffith Park
Adrenaline: 6 Flags Magic Mountain
Art: The Broad, Getty, Hammer, LACMA, Natural History Museum
Garden: UCLA botanical garden (dog friendly and FREE)
Breakfast: Home State, Aroma Cafe, Groundwork Coffee Co
Burrito: Cilantro Mexican Grille (in Chevron)
Seafood: The Lonely Oyster, Chiba
Sandwiches: Hy Mart
Burger: Goldburger
Thai: Soo Ra
BBQ: Burbank Handy Market
Sweets: Maya Brigadeiro, Salt & Straw, Donut Hut, CVT Softserve
Sports: Kings, LAFC

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My older brother has had a huge influence on me musically. As the younger brother, I always wanted to be doing whatever my brother was doing or listening to whatever he was listening to. We are only 18 months apart and kind of grew up like twins. He turned me on to all of my favorite music to this day. He’s always been super supportive and a champion of my musical pursuits. He has also been a major inspiration for me for art in general. He is an incredible artist and painter.

Website: https://www.bergatronmusic.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bergatronmusic

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJy75TStjcHSZPq4fCrwl4A

Other: https://linktr.ee/bergatronmusic