Today we’d like to introduce you to Jeffrey Koteles.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I’ve played music most of my life. Since I was 9 years old in the school band really. They stuck me in the percussion section and I got hooked pretty quickly. Throughout that whole experience, I became increasingly influenced by all the rock bands my parents would introduce me to and ended up begging my parents for my first drum set by the 7th grade. It didn’t take long until I started playing in bands and began to get interested in how to make recordings.
I used to use an old karaoke machine to make cassette recordings of my first band playing Green Day songs in my basement. My interest in audio began once I began experimenting with putting the microphone in different parts of the room and being able to get the vocals to come out better. After that, I was pretty hellbent on learning how to make better audio recordings. During my first job, one my older teenage coworkers told me about a recording arts program he started taking in college. It sounded awesome to be able to go to school in a recording studio and learn how to make real records, so of course, that’s where I ended up going after graduation.
I ended up learning very quickly and began interning at a professional studio here in Cleveland. Throughout the years I would end up working at several studios and making recordings for local bands, my own bands, hip-hop artists, indie songwriters, and everything else I could get my hands on. One day, I was offered a job doing live sound at a local club when their house engineer didn’t show up. I immediately found a new love and began dedicating all my efforts into becoming a better live sound engineer and growing on the professional level of the industry. It has taken me to the point where I have worked with artists, I grew up listening to, including Green Day.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
All roads have their rough patches. For me, those challenges were learning the ins & outs of the business side, building 2-way relationships within the industry, overcoming substance abuse (the party lifestyle), and starting my own rental company. To me, those are all just challenges that come with growing and learning. You can’t just learn how to grill a steak and expect a job in the best restaurant in town. You have to learn as many cooking techniques and work with as many different dishes as possible…and then make it all taste good…Each new skill category in work or in our personal lives comes with its own struggles. Learn the new skill, get great at it, add it to your arsenal, and find a new one!
We’ve been impressed with Banzai Sound LLC, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
“Banzai” was a Japanese battle cry. It’s a word that has an underlying meaning of long life, or “10,000 years”. That’s what I hope for with this business. 10,000 years is a long time, and you can learn a lot within it. Right now, Banzai Sound serves as a small live audio rental company for cover bands, small concerts, weddings, corporate events, and basically any kind of gig you could put in front of 300 people or less. I started the company to target this market in particular because I know it best. I’ve been playing music, recording music, and running live sound locally for over 10 years. It was only natural that I start here.
My professional experience sets me apart from most of the other sound companies in town. I have had the opportunity to (and still continue to) mix both front-of-house and monitors for dozens of major acts in Cleveland’s best concert venues. I get to regularly work alongside professional touring crews and gain more knowledge and talent from being at the top levels of the industry. I then take everything I learn from the big stages and use it to treat the smaller acts the exact same way. My clients know they can play a bar gig to 100 people with an engineer who mixed to a room of 2000 the night before. I also made sure to invest in high-quality equipment that I maintain regularly. That ensures my clients will have a consistent sound no matter where they play, or who is running the show that night if I can’t make it. Banzai Sound LLC does not charge a premium for beat-up, half-working equipment. It’s worth the rental cost to them.
I’m proud to have grown this business little by little in just the last 3 years since I bought my first PA system. The first system was purchased with a loan and ended up paying for itself as well as a 2nd PA system. Both systems are out nearly every weekend on rentals. My goal is to build even more momentum in the next 5 years, eventually being able to upgrade to a nice festival-sized system or 2. I’d also like to legitimately hire a couple employees and give other aspiring engineers the chance to grow & be paid what they’re worth! On top of being a technical skill, it takes a lot of physical work to set up, run, and tear down a show. Especially the smaller shows when you’re the only “crew” in the building.
Are there any books, apps, podcasts, or blogs that help you do your best?
I’m currently reading a book by pro engineer Michael Lawrence called “Between the Lines: Concepts in Sound System Design and Alignment”. I also enjoy listening to the “Signal-to-Noise” & “Live Sound Bootcamp” podcasts and others like it. I’m absolutely obsessed with the tech/nerd side of the job and firmly believe that to mix like the pros, you should probably learn from the pros. The podcasts are great for hearing all sorts of relatable stories from the best of the best. Everyone has bad days in the industry. So, it helps put my mind at ease when I’m struggling at a show, knowing I’m not alone and that even my idols have been there before.
Contact Info:
- Phone Number: (440) 455-1383
- Facebook: facebook.com/banzaisound
