Blackalicious’ sound engineer puts flavor in your ears
August 31, 2016
In 2015, Ronald Gacayan Jr., aka JR traveled with Blackalicious as an assistant tour manager and stage director in support of their latest album, “Imani Volume 1.” The music producer, sound engineer, and mix engineer from San Francisco is now the head recording engineer for the group’s next album, “Imani Volume 2.”
The San Francisco native received his B.A.S. in Sound Arts from Ex’pression College for Digital Arts in Emeryville in 2012. As a working sound engineer, JR is responsible for achieving perfect sound levels in recordings. As a mix engineer, he adds and removes various effects from songs.
Since graduating from Ex’pression College for Digital Arts in Emeryville, JR has worked with local hip-hop acts such as Los Rakas and Gamble. The Pioneer spoke with JR recently about making music in the Bay Area, touring with Blackalicious, and his musical inspirations.
The Pioneer: How did you get into music?
JR: I actually got in trouble in school in 7th grade so I got detention and got sent to a program. That program was the DJ Club and I got interested in that. Part of the program was an app called Fruity Loops where we made beats. I showed the instructor my beat and he played it for the rest of the class. Everybody was congratulating me and from then I was hooked.
P: What is it like making music in the East Bay?
JR: I just feel like the culture is more rich. San Francisco is rich as well but it got a little tainted, it’s been gentrified. In the East Bay, artists can thrive a little more is what I’m noticing. I feel like there is a bigger kind of community when it comes to the arts, not just music.
P: What was is like going on tour with Blackalicious?
JR: We did smaller venues which were more intimate and we performed at the Glastonbury which is the biggest festival in the UK. For smaller venues you can really feel the vibe off of the crowd and that was cool. For those events we had time to set up beforehand to make sure the sound is right and the stage looks perfect but when we do festivals, we roll out the cart, do a line check and fix the sound as we go. It’s super high intensity and fast paced. A lot of things can go wrong and a lot of things do go wrong but you have to just keep your composure without panicking and fix it as fast as possible. The crowds are amazing because you’re dealing with thousands and thousands of people.
P: What are you working on now?
JR: I’m working on Blackalicious Imani Volume 2 right now. I’m actually the head recording engineer for that. I have potential production credits there as well. I also just released SMMR LVR on SoundCloud where I remixed old school beats and made them more modern. I am working on an instrumental album and producing an album with Lance the Genius who has performed at First Friday in Oakland.
P: What are some notable songs that you have worked on?
JR: I engineered the Blackalicious – Sports Alphabet that was featured on Bleacher Report recently. We just finished a show at the Fillmore in San Francisco and Gift of Gab and I went straight into the studio to finish this track. I engineered the Blackalicious – On Fire Tonight track that was featured on ESPN and Los Rakas – Hot which was on FIFA ‘14.
P: What inspires you as an artist?
JR: Producers like Quincy Jones inspire me. What really inspires me though is traveling. Just seeing different cultures and seeing different people inspires me. Like, if I’m in New York I’ll make a beat that goes with the vibe and if I’m in Austria, I’ll make a beat that’s a little more classical because classical music is huge out there. I just draw inspiration from the place I’m at at the moment. I’m just kind of translating what I feel at the moment.
P: What would you tell up-and-coming artists who want to get into the music industry?
JR: Well, I learned a lot from school but I learned a lot more from interning. That’s how I got my start with Blackalicious. I started out as an engineer intern. But there can be a lot of long hours in the music industry. Like I just went from 10 a.m. to 7 a.m. and I’ve done three days straight before. A friend told me you gotta be a little crazy to be in the music industry (laughs). A good crazy though.
