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Ashley Stys (President of AES at the Conservatory of Recording Arts and Sciences) opened the meeting by asking all in attendance to answer the question, "What motivates you?" Some of the responses included Pure spite, finding the lost city of Atlantis, family, being a better person, wanting to learn, knowledge of the causation of my actions, lack of sleep and hunger, self-improvement and hatred, dopamine, money and power, my roommate, the need to spread chaos or kindness, and things that are important and really matter.
Ashley then described to the group what AES is and the benefits of joining, stating: "AES is an international organization that unites audio engineers, creative artists, scientists, and students worldwide by promoting advances in audio and spreading new knowledge and research."
Ashley then introduced the CRAS AES office holders in attendance: Ashley Stys - President; Tyler "Seven" Miller - Vice President; William Walton - Secretary; James Shaw - Vice Secretary; Spencer Halpin and Les Danglar - Techs.
Upcoming events currently scheduled for our chapter were announced, including a Women of Audio Meeting with CRAS grad Samantha Kossoff on August 16th at 7:30pm over Zoom, a DAWn Audio Zoom event on August 25th, Two Austin Ribbon Mics events: an August 27th pedal build and an August 28th mic build, a Focusrite event on September 22nd, and CRAS's open house on October 1st.
Ashley spoke about the CRAS Mentor Program, an all-important tool provided to students to ensure their academic success by connecting them with upper-cycle students for help with any topics that they are struggling with.
Current AES Subgroups were discussed, including the DAW subgroup that is led by Teddy Huang. According to Teddy, the subgroup will be focusing on Logic workflow in preparation for the Logic certification. For those interested in attending, it meets at the CRAS Gilbert campus on Wednesday nights at 8:30pm. There is also a Sound design subgroup that meets Tuesdays at 8pm.
Ashley mentioned the Apogee event from the previous week, informing those who weren't in attendance of their partnership with CRAS to give all current students a 1-year subscription to all Apogee plugins. It was also mentioned that Apogee plugins are now Apple Silicon native for computers with the M1 processor.
For Ashley's Mix Tip of the Week, she shared a simple mindset to implement: you're in the business of mixing, not fixing. Take a break from listening, and get some more takes even when you think you've got it, because there are some things that pitch correction can't fix.
James Shaw noted that he had a 10th cycle project coming up and was looking for artists. Tylar Dreyer also mentioned that he was in need of a bass player for his 5th cycle project.
After two Kahoot games quizzing everyone on their knowledge of Core Technology and Microphones, the meeting concluded with networking and socialization.
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