If you enjoy listening to Olivet’s local radio station, you should get to know Alex Greer. He is the music director for the radio station, essentially choosing the songs that are cycled throughout the project.
Where do you start, though, to get to this point? Well, according to him, Alex was eager to enter this world from a very young age. At the age of 11 he would step outside with a camcorder, using it to record the sounds of the wind. He would play back the audio and listen to the differences in acoustics based on the environment and the weather conditions.
Audio mixing seems to be in his blood. He would have never gotten to this point, though, if he had never been influenced by the media he consumed. Growing up, he recalls Star Wars being a big influence.
“Entertainment as a whole got me into audio… it’s hard to pinpoint one [thing]. Led Zeppelin, The Beatles…. I remember really liking the sound design for the original Star Wars trilogy,” he said.
In middle school, one of his teachers picked up on his proclivity for the world of audio too. He was told that he should walk around the halls and go into the rooms around the school, recording ambient audio of all of them. So, he did. This helped him understand what the true elements of sound design were, and allowed him to gain a deeper understanding of what audio mixing really was.
He now uses the skills he cultivated over the years to do a multitude of things in his personal and professional life.
Here at Olivet he works with the radio station. One doesn’t just get here by not knowing their stuff, though. Out of everyone to be doing this job, Alex is probably the best suited. His knowledge of the industry as well as what people generally want to hear proves valid every time he jumps on the radio.
In his free time, though, he does more than just pick songs. He oftentimes composes his own music as well. He has always found himself enamored with video game soundtracks. Naturally, he began to make his own.
Alex uses programs to like ProTools and Fruityloops to make beats and create songs that emulate video game soundtracks. He doesn’t have a specific video game in mind, though. He saves his finished files as songs like “boss fight music”. Video games, like movies and classic albums, continue to propel him forward into the world of music.
As if he doesn’t already have an insatiable appetite for audio design, he also helps with church audio.
Whenever he is home, Alex is constantly working with his local church, Willow Creek Community Church. Here, he helps the audio crew slowly perfect their sound every week. He adjusts things like treble, bass, and reverb.
When asked where he sees himself in 15 years, he envisions a prosperous future: “I see myself becoming successful and leading a team of audio engineers.”
This should come as no surprise, and seems like the most likely route for him to take. After all, not everyone knows audio inside and out.
